EthicalDative

The Art of the Dig

Posted on March 6, 2020 by JMN

The first time age was a big issue in a presidential election was back in 1840. William Henry Harrison, the Whig candidate, was 67 and his opponents referred to him as “a living mass of ruined matter.”

(Gail Collins, “The Presidency Is an Old Boys’ Club,” NYTimes, 3-4-20)

“A living mass of ruined matter” is both quaint with restraint and boldly specific in a way that gives it color and power from its far remove, especially compared to today’s squalid trash talk.

I’ve reflected on the presumptive release furnished by curses and insults, and whether they are a legitimate outlet for horror, or else a vile indulgence best risen above by persons of character and taste. Can’t decide.

Is it a crown virus weighting my synapses? I’ve been possessed of the notion that we’re each a walking microbiome, and that the embodied spew and stew of some individuals may be degenerate and feculent beyond the average, “unpresidented” if you will. The awful phrase “sewage in a suit” hatches in my head.

What’s seductive about “sewage in a suit,” besides its stark unwontedness, is the sibilant “ooh”-nicity of alliteration that grabs even the vowel by its purpose.

But finally it is cruel — the “sewage in a suit” trope. Imputing to another God’s creature a preternatural fetor is, at bottom, lower than one wants to stoop, no matter the depravity that aches for it.

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged language | 2 Comments

Queen’s English Profaned?

Posted on March 1, 2020 by JMN

“Voters of color will decide if Bernie Sanders or Joe Biden prevail.”

(Headline to an article by Steve Phillips at theguardian.com, 3-1-20)

There’s only the slightest chance that it should not be “prevails” instead of “prevail,” since the conjunction is “or,” not “and.” The headline writer has been lulled, no doubt through haste, into thinking that the two proper names in close sequence preceding the verb amount to a plural subject. The little words get no respect, to echo Rodney Dangerfield.

The slight chance I mention is in the event that the structure were subjunctive, not indicative. Subjunctive, implying conjecture and contrariness to fact (“If I were you,” etc.), is little marked in English, and most often crops up in high-flown or archaic, biblical-sounding rhetoric. I’ll conjure this example, sticking with the verb “prevail”:

“Yea, though Sanders prevail, yet if he be unbending he shall not prosper.”

Or something like that. Where I locate an analog of this syntax is in the verse from Job that says “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.”

I apologize for the weaseling question mark in this post’s title. That profanation is much too common in today’s clickbait journalism. And that’s the name of that tune, to quote Tony Baretta.

Posted in Commentary | Tagged grammar, humor, humour, language, rhetoric, style | 1 Comment

Fake Is Free

Posted on March 1, 2020 by JMN

Dr Jonathan Quick: ‘It’s critical not to try to mislead the population.’ Photograph: Steven May/Alamy.

As my students often remind me, news tends to be behind paywalls, while fake news is free.

(Laura Spinney, “Epidemics expert Jonathan Quick: ‘The worst-case scenario for coronavirus is likely,’” theguardian.com, 3-1-20)

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged coronavirus, journalism | 2 Comments

I’m Curious About Something

Posted on February 29, 2020 by JMN

The president makes decisions that affect our lives, our physical safety and that of the planet, and the durability of our democracy. It follows that we should know all that we can about that person’s intelligence, temperament, knowledge, curiosity, stability, judgment, curiosity and diplomatic skill.

(Elizabeth Drew, “Why a Shortened Primary Season May Prove Disastrous,” NYTimes, 2-27-20)

Let’s see… Now what was it?

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged language | 6 Comments

Not a Paean to Peons

Posted on February 27, 2020 by JMN

For many traditional liberals, respect for difference is understood as a sacred duty. Consider, for example, Joe Biden’s warm words for his Republican colleagues, or the left’s many peons to the virtues of empathy.

(Tim Wu, “Quantifying Liberal ‘Suckerdom,’” NYTimes, 2-26-20)

Posted in Quotations | Tagged language | 2 Comments

Crooked Finger, Vodka, and Other Shebangs

Posted on February 26, 2020 by JMN

Models at a Fashion Institute of Technology show wore a pair of oversize lips and blown-up “monkey” ears. Credit… Bennett Raglin/Getty Images For Fashion Institute of Technology.

Mr. Huang said the intent of his show was to explore the beauty in body parts that we don’t appreciate — a thesis that stemmed from his feeling of embarrassment about his crooked finger, which he said he always hides in public.

“The accessories used during the show were intended to be reflections of my own body features and perceptions of their enlarged proportions, which should be celebrated and embraced. They are not ugly features,” he said.

(Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura, “F.I.T. Model Refuses to Wear ‘Clearly Racist’ Accessories,” NYTimes, 2-23-19)

Illuminated skyscrapers in Heihe can be seen from almost everywhere in Blagoveschensk. Credit… Davide Monteleone for The New York Times.

… Regardless of where the virus comes from, he added, Russia has nothing to fear: “Two hundred grams of vodka will kill any virus.” (Russian Aleksandr Kozhin, who lives in Heihe, China, across the Amur River from Blagoveshchensk, Russia)

(Andrew Higgins, “On Russia-China Border, Life and Commerce Frozen by Coronavirus,” NYTimes, 2-24-20)

Amid the racks of guns at the Shot Show, many people were saying that the firearms industry should embrace a more inclusive marketing strategy, if it wants to broaden its reach. Credit… Lisa Marie Pane/Associated Press.

“What I’m not going to show is a guy, with one hand, just jacking it up in the air…” (Jeremy Flinn, of Stone Road Media marketing agency, referring to military-style rifles)

(Tiffany Hsu, “Gun Makers Battle ‘Trump Slump’ With a Softer Sales Pitch,” NYTimes, 2-23-20)

Photograph: François Lochon/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images.

“I’m OK but I have diarrhoea.” (Said to be Warhol’s common answer to a routine “How are you?”)

(Kathyrn Hughes, “Warhol by Blake Gopnik review — sex, religion and overtaking Picasso,” theguardian.com, 2-22-20)

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged language, miscellaneous | 3 Comments

Lifting Skirt

Posted on February 22, 2020 by JMN

‘I lift my skirt to oppression and dishonesty’ … a cast from Sarah Lucas’s Power in Woman exhibit at the Sir John Soane’s Museum in London. Photograph: Graeme Robertson/The Guardian.

This article is about Catherine Blackledge, author of “The Story of V” (2003), which “explores the vagina from a scientific and historical perspective.” It introduces me to the word and the tradition of anasyrma — “the centuries-old gesture of lifting one’s skirt to display female genitalia and ward off evil.”

“Most parents in the UK choose to use vaginal euphemisms such as flower, tuppence, fairy, bits or front bottom… If the UK wants a new non-anatomical word, my vote is for verenda. It’s an old word for the vagina and means ‘the parts that inspire awe or respect’. Grace, gravitas and a great provenance combined.”

(Alison Flood, “‘Vagina is not a rude word’: the scientist fighting to empower women, one word at a time,” theguardian.com, 2-20-20)

Posted in Commentary | Tagged language | Leave a comment

Treading Fashion Pastures

Posted on February 21, 2020 by JMN

A model walks the runway wearing Junkai Huang during the Fashion Institute of Technology’s runway show how [sic] on 7 February in New York. Photograph Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for Fashion Institute of Technology.

It might be nice if schools of fashion were insulated from the culture so as to indulge in questionable tomfoolery on the runway with impunity, but it isn’t so. Every so often a mess is stepped in. Someone in charge must then wipe off their Ferragamos and exhibit contrition over unintended consequences, misperceived perceptions, intentions gone awry, etc.

Following an online outcry over the event, Joyce Brown, president of the Fashion Institute of Technology, said she recognized there was an “unfortunate and disturbing reaction to the use of exaggerated ears, lips and eyebrows… Regrettably, we failed in this instance to recognize a creative statement that could have negative consequences.”

This is the standard simulacrum of apology. It calls the reaction unfortunate and not the stimulus. “I’m sorry you’re upset by what I did” isn’t the same thing as being sorry for doing it.

A uniquely forthcoming apology was uttered by Jonathan Kyle Farmer, chair of the modern fine arts fashion design course which ran the show.

“… I now fully understand why this has happened… I take full responsibility and am committed to learning from this situation and taking steps to do better.”

(Oliver Milman, “New York fashion college apologizes for runway show criticised as ‘clearly racist’,” the guardian.com, 2-20-20)

Posted in Commentary | Tagged fashion, language, rhetoric | 4 Comments

Matthew Wong

Posted on February 20, 2020 by JMN

Matthew Wong took his life on October 2, 2019, in Edmonton, Alberta. He was 35. His obituary in the NYTimes described him as “a promising self-taught painter whose vibrant landscapes, forest scenes and still lifes were just beginning to command attention and critical acclaim.”

His mother, Monita (Cheng) Wong, said Mr. Wong was on the autism spectrum, had Tourette’s syndrome and had grappled with depression since childhood… In a telephone interview, she spoke of his sense of isolation, and of his struggles with depression. “He would just tell me, ‘You know, Mom, my mind, I’m fighting with the Devil every single day, every waking moment of my life.’”

“Winter’s End,” 2019. Oil on canvas. Credit… Matthew Wong Estate and Karma, New York.

Mr. Wong’s paintings also synthesize from Chinese landscape painting, Van Gogh, Vuillard, Milton Avery, Alex Katz and Lois Dodd. But his brush strokes convey their own sense of urgency and speed, which downplays mastery for the sake of direct communication.

And Mr. Wong took equal inspiration from natural forms — leaves, trees, their branches, grass, stones, bushes — translated them into a his own vocabulary of semiabstract strokes and shapes.

Sources
Neil Genzlinger, “Matthew Wong, Painter on Cusp of Fame, Dies at 35,” NYTimes, 10-21-19.
Roberta Smith, “A Final Rhapsody in Blue From Matthew Wong,” NYTimes, 12-24-19.

Posted in Commentary | Tagged art, painting | 3 Comments

Sallies and Japes of the Day

Posted on February 20, 2020 by JMN

The mirror-walled downstairs bathroom, one of Armstrong’s favorite rooms in the house, includes a marble bathtub, gold-plated swan fixtures and Rococo-inspired sconces above a carved marble sink created from an antique French birdbath. Credit… Chris Mottalini.

“Leave It All Behind Ya.” (Slogan printed on photos of himself sitting on the toilet that Louis Armstrong would send to his fans.)

Some days everything I read tastes good and I succumb to a shameful quotation binge.

“This wasn’t the pot calling the kettle black. This was a six-burner Wolf range calling the dorm-room hot plate a stove.” (Frank Bruni)

“Biden hitched up his sock suspenders and performed, for once, with unflagging verve.” (Will Wilkinson)

“Her bangs weren’t shaking, but she spent much of the night on the ropes as she sparred with a pot-stirring Pete.” (Maureen Dowd)

“… Needed to stop and frisk himself for a good answer on all his N.D.A.s…” (Maureen Dowd)

“It is not my attraction that needed to be questioned, it is his.” (Vanessa Springora)

Gucci Fall 2020. Valerio Mezzanotti for The New York Times.

A word on fashion from Vanessa Friedman, then I’ll pipe down.

“… Max Mara’s pinstriped Aqua-execs, in their ruffle-scale-sleeve navy, beige and brown suiting, rope-belted high-tide trousers and whale-size puffers.”

“… Where Luke and Lucie Meier gracefully balanced pristine monochromatic tailoring and a curvaceous classicism in a silent pantomime of communion between opposites…”

“Whether you worship on the altar of fashion or roll your eyes in horror and sacrilege at the metaphor, dressing is itself a kind of minor daily ritual, and clothes are what we all wear to perform our lives. A fashion show has always been, and still is, the most concentrated reminder of that.”

Sources
Frank Bruni, “Despite His Billions, Bloomberg Busts,” NYTimes, 2-20-20.
New York Times Opinion, “Winners and Losers of the Democratic Debate,” 2-20-20.
Valentine Faure, “France Gets Its Weinstein Moment, NYTimes,” 2-20-20.
M. H. Miller, “Louis Armstrong, the King of Queens,” NYTimes, 2-20-20.
Vanessa Friedman, “Gucci Declares the Death of the Fashion Show Greatly Exaggerated,” NYTimes, 2-20-20.

Posted in Quotations | Tagged language | Leave a comment