Napoleon, for the eight millionth time — every so often I get a fit to revisit a subject I already know about and enjoy, partially to see what alternate perspectives or different foci could provide, and while I’m not a Napoleon fanatic I […]

Mankind: Have A Nice Day by Mick Foley
I suppose going from a novel by a Nobel winner (reviewed below) to the autobiography of an ex-WWE wrestler is probably about as big a drop in literary respectability as one could contrive. Perhaps predictably, I[…]

Stingray: the comic
I came across a Stingray graphic novel (haha not really, it’s a squarebound collection of old strips – but I thought I’d abuse the term the way it so often is these days) in a charity shop today. There are all so[…]

The Silent Cry by Kenzaburo Oe
This was the first book I’ve read by this Japanese Nobel Laureate. It’s certainly impressive, but I’m not sure that he’ll ever become a real favourite of mine. I can see why Henry Miller compares[…]

PCGMwatch: November 2004
Mental state of political correctness worse than ever!
– “Sydney Scrooge” accused of “political correctness gone mad” – her crime was to put a Christmas tree in the City Hall at Christmas. […]

Catherine Yass: Wall (Alison Jacques Gallery)
When I think of Catherine Yass I mainly think of that upside-down descent from the Canary Wharf clouds to the construction site ground, a piece I found slowly thrilling (from cloud-cuckooland to a false […]

THERE WERE GIANTS IN THE EARTH IN THOSE DAYS…
“1940: On September 22, actor David Niven, now serving as a Captain in the newly formed Commandos, was married to Miss Primula Rollo, grand-daughter of the Marquess of Downshire, whom he had[…]

AND THE WORLD SAID…
“1921: On March 21, vivacious American-born Lady Astor faced an intruder at her Devonshire home threatening to kill her. After coaxing him into a calmer frame of mind, Lady Astor got him out of the house. She then ga[…]

Bernard Cohen (Flowers Central)
Last Thursday I was talking to a fellow FTer about those Roy Lichtensteins where our Roy took the energy and the drippage of abstract impressionism and reproduced it with cartoony flatness.
Bernard Cohen seems to be r[…]

Sometimes completely unexpected connections leap out and smack you in the face. Not too long back I wrote a little on Proven By Science about certain kinds of brain damage that cause aphasias related to ways of seeing. Last night I read the trade pap[…]