Doubt the Experts

In a newly-released document, which is thought to have originated in Russia on the dark web, it is claimed that Donald Trump took secret onl...

I did finish the book, though it does not quite live up to my biographical ideals. There is a great deal of information provided about Rohme...

Rohmer's filmmaking career was extremely long, with his first major film releasing in 1967 and his last in 2007. It is confusing to foll...

I seem to have cut back on my "Diary" posts recently and decided that I should write another one. At times I thought that I may ha...

I am finding that, although the French New Wave was a movement, it was not coherent compared to, say, Impressionism. The Impressionists exhi...

John Prine  (from Bruised Orange)

At the time of his marriage, Rohmer was editor-in-chief of  Cahiers du cinéma , one of the leading film magazines in Paris, and this provide...

This book, by Antoine de Baecque and Noël Herpe, is my current reading project. I like most of the Rohmer films that I've seen and wante...

As I've been saying, I think that  The Contrarian  has been doing an excellent job reporting on the abuses of the Trump administration, ...

This is peak cabin fever season for me at the moment. It has been cold and snowy, and the main disadvantage to me is that I don't get en...

In 1855, Walt Whitman self-published  Leaves of Grass  and sent a copy to Emerson. Emerson read it immediately and liked it. He wrote back t...

I'm finally approaching the end of the book, and am looking forward to that, since I haven't become a convert to transcendentalism. ...

I'm up to 1844, when Emerson reached the age of 41. His first child, Waldo, was born in 1836 but died in 1842. This had a devastating ef...

I'm at the middle of the book, and it seems to be getting more interesting at this point. The five surviving Emerson brothers are starti...

At the time of their marriage, Ellen was already showing signs of tuberculosis, and she died on February 8, 1831, at the age of nineteen. Th...

I've started on this biography of Ralph Waldo Emerson, by Robert D. Richardson Jr. So far it seems to be well-written, but, because I...

Although, as I've said repeatedly, I don't like thinking about or discussing Donald Trump, I thought that I should pass along my imp...

This new book, by Giorgio Vallortigara, continues his discussion of apparently complex neurological mechanisms in simple animals. He moves o...

One of my characteristics is that I like to be completely caught up on all responsibilities so that I don't have to worry about things t...

I have been preoccupied for a few days with a visitor and therefore have not spent much time thinking about this blog. I have also been casu...

We are about at peak fall colors now. Some leaves have fallen, but there is still a long way to go. Technically we are still in a drought, b...

  after Antonella Anedda I At last, what must be done falls away undone          Darkness grows like headaches grow from a hard seed & g...

I've finally reached the end of this long biography, and here is the wrap-up.   Her 1862-to-1865 period, when she first corresponded wit...

Emily Dickinson left behind three unsent drafts to a person who was addressed as "Master." This has caused a great deal of scholar...