Comments on "Reading the Rocks - The Autobiography of the Earth" by Marcia Bjornerud
In the beginning they call it the Hadean Eon, from about 4.6 billion to about 4.4 billion years ago, but the oldest surviving rocks are about 4 billion years old. The first signs of life seem to appear in the Archean Eon about 3.5 billion years ago.
Predation emerges at the end of the Proterozoic Eon; around 570 million years ago to around 545 million years ago, at the beginning of the Paleozoic Era. Everything before the Paleozoic Era is called the Precambrian Era. Fish evolve during the Devonian Period, from around 420 million years ago, which is followed by the Carboniferous Period at about 355 million years ago.
In the Mesozoic Era reptiles evolve, and they are followed by the dinosaurs, in the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods at around 200 and 140 millions of years ago. And so on to the Cenozoic Era at about 65 million years ago, which comes to the Pleistocene and Holocene Epochs from 3 million to 10 thousand years ago.
These are only some of the divisions, subjects, and events that are described in this book of modern geology, which now includes the ultra-modern new sciences of biogeochemistry and paleoclimatology. The "old" sciences of geology and biology seamlessly merge today and can hardly be separated. The currently accepted geologic timescale at the beginning of this book includes 5 "mass extinctions".
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Experimental Blog # 93
Comments on "No Higher Honor" - A Memoir of My Years in Washington by Condoleezza Rice
The world might be divided into 2 parts, or, more correctly, 2 collections or areas. One collection is in a relative state of movement or change; and the other collection is in a relative state of little movement or change. The 2 collections of areas do not always remain the same, but over periods of time one, or any area, can turn into the other opposite state. And those areas that are moving or changing might be in various states of disaster or catastrophe, or seem to be wobbling on the brink of disaster or catastrophe.
The author of this book, the National Security Adviser and then the American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, might be described as an African-American Republican "Wonder Woman". And some people might say that she all but seems to be able to "walk on water"!
The many lessons, or histories, in this overwhelming book, about 735 pages, are far too numerous to try to enumerate.
The world might be divided into 2 parts, or, more correctly, 2 collections or areas. One collection is in a relative state of movement or change; and the other collection is in a relative state of little movement or change. The 2 collections of areas do not always remain the same, but over periods of time one, or any area, can turn into the other opposite state. And those areas that are moving or changing might be in various states of disaster or catastrophe, or seem to be wobbling on the brink of disaster or catastrophe.
The author of this book, the National Security Adviser and then the American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, might be described as an African-American Republican "Wonder Woman". And some people might say that she all but seems to be able to "walk on water"!
The many lessons, or histories, in this overwhelming book, about 735 pages, are far too numerous to try to enumerate.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Experimental Blog #92
Comments on "Don Quixote" - a play by Mikhail Afanasevich Bulgakov
Mikhail Bulgakov signed a contract with a soviet theater in December of 1937 to write a play based on the classic novel "Don Quixote de la Mancha" by Miguel de Cervantes. Bulgakov was far from being the first, even first Russian author, to write a stage play on this famous book; and he rewrote, or abridged, his play about 7 times to obtain the approval of the soviet censors. The notes to this play, "Don Quixote", say that each revision generally made the play less comic and more tragic.
The approval of the soviet censors was finally given in January of 1939, but Mikhail Bulgakov died in March, or April, of 1940; right before his play was actually published. However, Bulgakov's "Don Quixote" was performed within a year, or so, in at least 4 cities. In spite of being "safely sovietized", Mikhail Bulgakov's play, which is one of his last works, is still quite interesting, and even funny.
Mikhail Bulgakov signed a contract with a soviet theater in December of 1937 to write a play based on the classic novel "Don Quixote de la Mancha" by Miguel de Cervantes. Bulgakov was far from being the first, even first Russian author, to write a stage play on this famous book; and he rewrote, or abridged, his play about 7 times to obtain the approval of the soviet censors. The notes to this play, "Don Quixote", say that each revision generally made the play less comic and more tragic.
The approval of the soviet censors was finally given in January of 1939, but Mikhail Bulgakov died in March, or April, of 1940; right before his play was actually published. However, Bulgakov's "Don Quixote" was performed within a year, or so, in at least 4 cities. In spite of being "safely sovietized", Mikhail Bulgakov's play, which is one of his last works, is still quite interesting, and even funny.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Experimental Blog #91
Comments on "The Dragon and the Foreign Devils - China and the World, 1100 B.C. to the Present" by Harry G. Gelber
The previous publications by this author, Harry Gelber, suggest that he is from Australia. This particular book, which came out in 2007, was an up-to-date generally British view of China and the rest of the world. Besides being a very good defense of the English side of events, this book could be called very "politically liberal"; and it contains what might be called certain "gaps", or "historical oversights".
Harry Gelber describes and emphasizes America as the world's only "hyperpower" at the end of the 20th century, after the collapse of the Soviet Union. This description and emphasis seem rather exagerated, even artificial; although the author goes on to say that these times are changing; as they always are.
Throughout the book Harry Gelber writes about the "differences" between China, on one side, and Europe and America on the other. He does not suggest that both sides are responding to, or "acting out", the same "intellectual fashions" of their times, but in their own ways.
The previous publications by this author, Harry Gelber, suggest that he is from Australia. This particular book, which came out in 2007, was an up-to-date generally British view of China and the rest of the world. Besides being a very good defense of the English side of events, this book could be called very "politically liberal"; and it contains what might be called certain "gaps", or "historical oversights".
Harry Gelber describes and emphasizes America as the world's only "hyperpower" at the end of the 20th century, after the collapse of the Soviet Union. This description and emphasis seem rather exagerated, even artificial; although the author goes on to say that these times are changing; as they always are.
Throughout the book Harry Gelber writes about the "differences" between China, on one side, and Europe and America on the other. He does not suggest that both sides are responding to, or "acting out", the same "intellectual fashions" of their times, but in their own ways.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Experimental Blog #90
Comments on "The Darwin Archipelago" - The Naturalist's Career Beyond "Origin of Species" by Steve Jones
"The Voyage of the Beagle" is a very interesting travel book that many people continue to read. "The Origin of Species" is Charles Darwin's famous scientific book, and it is also read by people today. However, these 2 books represent only about 15% of Darwin's lifetime publication.
Charles Darwin wrote more than a dozen other equally well written, "in good, plain Victorian prose", scientific books. They cover various subjects: "Barnacles"{most exhaustively}, "Orchids and Insects", "Variation under Domestication", "The Descent of Man", "Expression of the Emotions", "Insectivorous Plants", "Climbing Plants", "Cross and Self-Fertilisation", "Forms of Flowers", "Movement in Plants", and "Formation of Vegetable Mould by Earthworms". These books make up what the "eminent evolutionary biologist" Steve Jones calls the "Darwin Archipelago". All of these subjects, and others, are expertly brought up to date.
The last chapter, or "Envoi", of this book is entitled "Darwin's Island", which is what Steve Jones says the world has now become; that is, the world is no longer an "archipelago" of far more distinct biological environments.
"The Voyage of the Beagle" is a very interesting travel book that many people continue to read. "The Origin of Species" is Charles Darwin's famous scientific book, and it is also read by people today. However, these 2 books represent only about 15% of Darwin's lifetime publication.
Charles Darwin wrote more than a dozen other equally well written, "in good, plain Victorian prose", scientific books. They cover various subjects: "Barnacles"{most exhaustively}, "Orchids and Insects", "Variation under Domestication", "The Descent of Man", "Expression of the Emotions", "Insectivorous Plants", "Climbing Plants", "Cross and Self-Fertilisation", "Forms of Flowers", "Movement in Plants", and "Formation of Vegetable Mould by Earthworms". These books make up what the "eminent evolutionary biologist" Steve Jones calls the "Darwin Archipelago". All of these subjects, and others, are expertly brought up to date.
The last chapter, or "Envoi", of this book is entitled "Darwin's Island", which is what Steve Jones says the world has now become; that is, the world is no longer an "archipelago" of far more distinct biological environments.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Experimental Blog #89
Comments on "Deviltry - How Two Twins Destroyed a 'Middle Manager'" and "Dog's Heart - A Monstrous History" by Mikhail Afanasevich Bulgakov
This absurd short story of about 35 pages seems to be Mikhail Bulgakov's first attempt at social-political satire. "Deviltry", or"Dyavoliada", was published several times in 1924, '25 and '26, and, at first, it was little noticed. The main character, Varfolomay Petrovich Korotkov, apparently, disastrously "collides" with the circumstances and people of the new Soviet Union. In a few days he evidently becomes violently insane and ends his life, and this story, by jumping off an 11 story building.
"Deviltry" was eventually, and soon, severely criticized and condemned by most communist literary writers; along with Bulgakov's later, even more absurd and fantastical stories.
Although numerous attempts were made to publish this "novella" of about 89 pages, which was written in 1925, and the Moscow Art Theater had made a contract to produce a play; "Dog's Heart", or "The Heart of a Dog", was not allowed to be published in the Soviet Union until 1987.
In the introductory pages the story is told by the "thoughts" of the dog, Shareek; then the story is mixed with ordinary narrative, followed by the introduction of people. After Shareek's grotesque operation; which replace his gonads and a small part of his brain, Shareek undergoes a completely unexpected physical and mental transformation. In about one month he becomes a young man; who eventually names himself Polygraph Polygraphovich Shareekov.
However, in another month or so, Polygraph Polygraphovich is, apparently, forcibly operated on again, and within 10 days he is on his way back to being the dog Shareek. The story soon ends with his complete retransformation.
Mikhail Bulgakov's fantastical satire in this story is "deeper" and, some people might say, even shocking and cruel, sometimes, than in any other of his literary works. Some people might feel that Mikhail Bulgakov was not completely free of the prejudices of his times, and that these prejudices sometimes showed through in this not entirely funny, but still surprisingly impressive and provocative story.
This absurd short story of about 35 pages seems to be Mikhail Bulgakov's first attempt at social-political satire. "Deviltry", or"Dyavoliada", was published several times in 1924, '25 and '26, and, at first, it was little noticed. The main character, Varfolomay Petrovich Korotkov, apparently, disastrously "collides" with the circumstances and people of the new Soviet Union. In a few days he evidently becomes violently insane and ends his life, and this story, by jumping off an 11 story building.
"Deviltry" was eventually, and soon, severely criticized and condemned by most communist literary writers; along with Bulgakov's later, even more absurd and fantastical stories.
Although numerous attempts were made to publish this "novella" of about 89 pages, which was written in 1925, and the Moscow Art Theater had made a contract to produce a play; "Dog's Heart", or "The Heart of a Dog", was not allowed to be published in the Soviet Union until 1987.
In the introductory pages the story is told by the "thoughts" of the dog, Shareek; then the story is mixed with ordinary narrative, followed by the introduction of people. After Shareek's grotesque operation; which replace his gonads and a small part of his brain, Shareek undergoes a completely unexpected physical and mental transformation. In about one month he becomes a young man; who eventually names himself Polygraph Polygraphovich Shareekov.
However, in another month or so, Polygraph Polygraphovich is, apparently, forcibly operated on again, and within 10 days he is on his way back to being the dog Shareek. The story soon ends with his complete retransformation.
Mikhail Bulgakov's fantastical satire in this story is "deeper" and, some people might say, even shocking and cruel, sometimes, than in any other of his literary works. Some people might feel that Mikhail Bulgakov was not completely free of the prejudices of his times, and that these prejudices sometimes showed through in this not entirely funny, but still surprisingly impressive and provocative story.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Experimental Blog #88
Comments on "Fatal Eggs" and the play "Dead Souls" by Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov
Although only about 72 pages long "Fatal Eggs", which was published in 1925, is referred to as a novel, or book, in this volume of Bulgakov's collected works. This "fantastical - satirical" story is filled with references to people and events of those times, but almost all of them have little or no meaning to an American "outsider" today. The obvious exceptions are a couple of phone calls from a "rather well known, but mysterious person in the Kremlin" to professor Persikov, the primary character in the story, who "speaks in a sonorous bass voice", "sympathetically", or "importantly and tenderly", or "condescendingly".
Perhaps by 1930, when Joseph Stalin called Mikhail Bulgakov and identified himself, Bulgakov was already acquainted with this "baritone" voice; or perhaps Bulgakov had only heard about such calls from other people who had received them.
Although in 1930 "Fatal Eggs" was still counted as one of the most read books in the Soviet Union, Bulgakov had been at first mostly condemned by Soviet critics as a "right-wing and a reactionary writer" and then ignored and refused publication for his works.
The play "Dead Souls" was the first, or one of the first works, that Mikhail Bulgakov completed after he received his phone call from Joseph Stalin, which led to his employment at the Moscow Arts Theater. The play premiered in November 1932 and was performed at this theater for "decades", and, it seems, it was made into a movie.
The book "Dead Souls" by Nicolai Gogol was, as is well known, incomplete and, maybe, partly destroyed by the author Gogol himself. Roughly the first 2 of the 4 acts of this play sound rather repetitious and, perhaps, distorted to conform with the approved Soviet Marxist-Leninist idealogy. The play is called a comedy, but there doesn't seem to be anything to really laugh at, or about.
However, the rest of the play improves, where Bulgakov becomes more the real author; for instance, where in the book does Chichikov end up briefly in jail? The play becomes more alive and entertaining, and even a little bit genuinely satirical, in spite of the required ideological conformity.
Although only about 72 pages long "Fatal Eggs", which was published in 1925, is referred to as a novel, or book, in this volume of Bulgakov's collected works. This "fantastical - satirical" story is filled with references to people and events of those times, but almost all of them have little or no meaning to an American "outsider" today. The obvious exceptions are a couple of phone calls from a "rather well known, but mysterious person in the Kremlin" to professor Persikov, the primary character in the story, who "speaks in a sonorous bass voice", "sympathetically", or "importantly and tenderly", or "condescendingly".
Perhaps by 1930, when Joseph Stalin called Mikhail Bulgakov and identified himself, Bulgakov was already acquainted with this "baritone" voice; or perhaps Bulgakov had only heard about such calls from other people who had received them.
Although in 1930 "Fatal Eggs" was still counted as one of the most read books in the Soviet Union, Bulgakov had been at first mostly condemned by Soviet critics as a "right-wing and a reactionary writer" and then ignored and refused publication for his works.
The play "Dead Souls" was the first, or one of the first works, that Mikhail Bulgakov completed after he received his phone call from Joseph Stalin, which led to his employment at the Moscow Arts Theater. The play premiered in November 1932 and was performed at this theater for "decades", and, it seems, it was made into a movie.
The book "Dead Souls" by Nicolai Gogol was, as is well known, incomplete and, maybe, partly destroyed by the author Gogol himself. Roughly the first 2 of the 4 acts of this play sound rather repetitious and, perhaps, distorted to conform with the approved Soviet Marxist-Leninist idealogy. The play is called a comedy, but there doesn't seem to be anything to really laugh at, or about.
However, the rest of the play improves, where Bulgakov becomes more the real author; for instance, where in the book does Chichikov end up briefly in jail? The play becomes more alive and entertaining, and even a little bit genuinely satirical, in spite of the required ideological conformity.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Experimental Blog #87
Comments on 3 plays: "Bliss", "Ivan Vasilyevich", and "Alexander Pushkin" by Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov
The plays "Bliss" and "Ivan Vasilyevich" are both science fiction satirical comedies based on the invention of a "time machine" by an eccentric scientist-engineer. In fact, although the inventor is not the same person, other characters in both plays are the same people; and they even say the same, or almost the same lines in the opening scenes of the two plays. The play "Bliss" goes forward in time about 300 years into the 23rd century, while "Ivan Vasilyevich" goes back about 350 years to the 16th century, that is, to the time of the well remembered Tsar "Ivan the Terrible".
Both plays were contracted and read at a theater in Moscow. It seems, however, that Mikhail Bulgakov had his usual problems with the soviet censors and critics, and they could not find acceptable compromises to his politically satirical, and often comical and intertaining hints and remarks. Even Joseph Stalin, who almost certainly must have read all of Bulgakov's plays whether they were published or not, gave his views on the positive reevaluation of Tsar "Ivan the Terrible", that is Ivan Vasilyevich.
A form of the play "Ivan Vasilyevich" seems to have been published in 1940, and again in 1965. "Bliss" seems to have been published in the magazine "Star of the East" in 1966 in Tashkent.
The play "Alexander Pushkin" is considered to be a serious play, and it has little or no noticable humor or satire. In the beginning, around 1934, it was a joint effort with a well known writer and historian of literature, V V Veresaev. However, they could not agree on various points: for instance, on the character and reputation of "Dantes". By the time that the play was finally approved in 1939, Mikhail Bulgakov was the only author.
"Dantes", who never seems to be mentioned by any other names, besides being the man who shot and killed Alexander Pushkin in their duel, also turns out to be Pushkin's brother in law.
Eventually the play "Alexander Pushkin" was deemed to be "ideologically acceptable" from the Soviet point of view. It premiered in 1943, and was performed for 16 years, apparently continuously, and perhaps in various theaters.
The plays "Bliss" and "Ivan Vasilyevich" are both science fiction satirical comedies based on the invention of a "time machine" by an eccentric scientist-engineer. In fact, although the inventor is not the same person, other characters in both plays are the same people; and they even say the same, or almost the same lines in the opening scenes of the two plays. The play "Bliss" goes forward in time about 300 years into the 23rd century, while "Ivan Vasilyevich" goes back about 350 years to the 16th century, that is, to the time of the well remembered Tsar "Ivan the Terrible".
Both plays were contracted and read at a theater in Moscow. It seems, however, that Mikhail Bulgakov had his usual problems with the soviet censors and critics, and they could not find acceptable compromises to his politically satirical, and often comical and intertaining hints and remarks. Even Joseph Stalin, who almost certainly must have read all of Bulgakov's plays whether they were published or not, gave his views on the positive reevaluation of Tsar "Ivan the Terrible", that is Ivan Vasilyevich.
A form of the play "Ivan Vasilyevich" seems to have been published in 1940, and again in 1965. "Bliss" seems to have been published in the magazine "Star of the East" in 1966 in Tashkent.
The play "Alexander Pushkin" is considered to be a serious play, and it has little or no noticable humor or satire. In the beginning, around 1934, it was a joint effort with a well known writer and historian of literature, V V Veresaev. However, they could not agree on various points: for instance, on the character and reputation of "Dantes". By the time that the play was finally approved in 1939, Mikhail Bulgakov was the only author.
"Dantes", who never seems to be mentioned by any other names, besides being the man who shot and killed Alexander Pushkin in their duel, also turns out to be Pushkin's brother in law.
Eventually the play "Alexander Pushkin" was deemed to be "ideologically acceptable" from the Soviet point of view. It premiered in 1943, and was performed for 16 years, apparently continuously, and perhaps in various theaters.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Experimental Blog #86
Comments on 2 plays, "Flight" and "Adam and Eve" by Mikhail Bulgakov
The play "Zoykina's Apartment" has been described as about the rather large number of people who had not supported the "Bolshevik" revolution in Russia, but had to live, somehow, with the results. While the play "Flight" is characterized as being about a much smaller number of people who also did not support the "Bolshevik" revolution, but who left Russia around 1920, or soon after. The small group of people in this play went south from as far north as Staint Petersburg to the Crimea, and then on to Constantinople. From there they perhaps went on to France, but a few eventually even returned to Russia.
Mikhail Bulgakov wrote, and rewrote, "Flight" numerous times in response to political and other criticisms, over more than a ten year period. Although there seem to have been many readings and attempted rehearsals, only one of the eight scenes, or "dreams", was ever published in Bulgakov's lifetime. "Flight" was called anti-soviet by Joseph Stalin himself, and he approved, for the last time in 1937, that its performance was to be prohibited. It seems, however, that the play was performed for the first time in 1957, in Stalingrad, and possibly later.
E Y Yerikalova, the author of the notes to the second play, says that "Adam and Eve" was written in 1931; a time when the world seemed headed more and more toward war. Other Soviet authors, such as Aleksey Tolstoy, were writing about future war and other "catastrophes". During this time important Soviet scientists, historians, and economists, besides others, were being arrested and sometimes executed. Some people who went abroad decided not to return to the USSR.
In 1931 Mikhail Bulgakov made contracts with at least one theater and made at least one reading of "Adam and Eve". However, after a copy was sent to the Soviet government for the necessary approval, it never came back one way or the other. Bulgakov apparently did not push the matter, which is what he had previously done. "Adam and Eve" contains, among other things, critical and intertaining comments about communism in Russia, and it seems prophetic in various ways.
"Adam and Eve" was not published in the USSR until 1987, but an earlier shortened and somewhat defective version came out from the Paris, YMCA Press in 1971.
The play "Zoykina's Apartment" has been described as about the rather large number of people who had not supported the "Bolshevik" revolution in Russia, but had to live, somehow, with the results. While the play "Flight" is characterized as being about a much smaller number of people who also did not support the "Bolshevik" revolution, but who left Russia around 1920, or soon after. The small group of people in this play went south from as far north as Staint Petersburg to the Crimea, and then on to Constantinople. From there they perhaps went on to France, but a few eventually even returned to Russia.
Mikhail Bulgakov wrote, and rewrote, "Flight" numerous times in response to political and other criticisms, over more than a ten year period. Although there seem to have been many readings and attempted rehearsals, only one of the eight scenes, or "dreams", was ever published in Bulgakov's lifetime. "Flight" was called anti-soviet by Joseph Stalin himself, and he approved, for the last time in 1937, that its performance was to be prohibited. It seems, however, that the play was performed for the first time in 1957, in Stalingrad, and possibly later.
E Y Yerikalova, the author of the notes to the second play, says that "Adam and Eve" was written in 1931; a time when the world seemed headed more and more toward war. Other Soviet authors, such as Aleksey Tolstoy, were writing about future war and other "catastrophes". During this time important Soviet scientists, historians, and economists, besides others, were being arrested and sometimes executed. Some people who went abroad decided not to return to the USSR.
In 1931 Mikhail Bulgakov made contracts with at least one theater and made at least one reading of "Adam and Eve". However, after a copy was sent to the Soviet government for the necessary approval, it never came back one way or the other. Bulgakov apparently did not push the matter, which is what he had previously done. "Adam and Eve" contains, among other things, critical and intertaining comments about communism in Russia, and it seems prophetic in various ways.
"Adam and Eve" was not published in the USSR until 1987, but an earlier shortened and somewhat defective version came out from the Paris, YMCA Press in 1971.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Experimental Blog #85
Comments on 2 plays, "Zoykina's Apartment" and "Crimson Island" by Mikhail Bulgakov
A M Smelyansky, V V Gudkova, and A A Neanov supplied many pages of necessary information and notes in this volume of the collected works of Mikhail Bulgakov.
The first play, "Zoykina's Apartment", is considered to be a comedy, and it was completed and it premiered in 1926. V V Gudkova says that the Soviet press gave more attention in the years 1926 and 1927 to Mikhail Bulgakov than to any other dramatist. Besides playing in Moscow, "Zoykina's Apartment" played in Leningrad, Saratov, Tiflis, the Crimea, Rostov on the Don, Simferapol, Riga, and Sverdlovsk, and maybe other places; and everywhere it had "material success".
However, there was almost unanimous condemnation from the critics; who used a very great amount of "political labeling and accusation": "counterrevolutionary, lack of sympathy for the serious problems facing the Bolsheviks, rehabilitation of the past", and many, many other charges. The play was performed about 200 times before it was taken of the stage in 1929.
The second play, "Crimson Island", was finished and premiered in 1928. It is characterized as "parody and sharp satire". It seems to contrast with "Zoykina's Apartment", and it was part of the politically "left theater" of the times. "Crimson Island" is extremely "fantastical" and has numerous "unexpected transformations of scenes" and other theatrical devices.
However, the "overwhelming majority of the press" was also sharply negative about this play too. Joseph Stalin also gave his negatve evaluation of "Crimson Island". The play was staged more than 60 times before March of 1929 when it was apparently no longer allowed to be performed.
A M Smelyansky, V V Gudkova, and A A Neanov supplied many pages of necessary information and notes in this volume of the collected works of Mikhail Bulgakov.
The first play, "Zoykina's Apartment", is considered to be a comedy, and it was completed and it premiered in 1926. V V Gudkova says that the Soviet press gave more attention in the years 1926 and 1927 to Mikhail Bulgakov than to any other dramatist. Besides playing in Moscow, "Zoykina's Apartment" played in Leningrad, Saratov, Tiflis, the Crimea, Rostov on the Don, Simferapol, Riga, and Sverdlovsk, and maybe other places; and everywhere it had "material success".
However, there was almost unanimous condemnation from the critics; who used a very great amount of "political labeling and accusation": "counterrevolutionary, lack of sympathy for the serious problems facing the Bolsheviks, rehabilitation of the past", and many, many other charges. The play was performed about 200 times before it was taken of the stage in 1929.
The second play, "Crimson Island", was finished and premiered in 1928. It is characterized as "parody and sharp satire". It seems to contrast with "Zoykina's Apartment", and it was part of the politically "left theater" of the times. "Crimson Island" is extremely "fantastical" and has numerous "unexpected transformations of scenes" and other theatrical devices.
However, the "overwhelming majority of the press" was also sharply negative about this play too. Joseph Stalin also gave his negatve evaluation of "Crimson Island". The play was staged more than 60 times before March of 1929 when it was apparently no longer allowed to be performed.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Experimental Blog #84
Comments on "Batum" - A Play by Mikhail Bulgakov
This play, "Batum", begins in 1898 in the Georgian city of Tiflis, or Tbilisi. A nineteen year old Joseph Vesarionovich Dzhugashvili is being expelled, because of his revolutionary propagandizing, from a seminary; where, it seems, he had been a student for almost 6 years. Young Joseph was not known as Stalin in those years, and among his comrades he was usually called "Soso". Sometimes he was called "Pastir" because he had been a seminary student.
The play continues through 1902 when "Soso", or "Pastir", is arrested and imprisoned, for leading strikes and demonstrations in Batum; and, eventually, he is exiled in 1904 to Siberia for a 3 year term. However, in only about 2 months, a 25 year old "Soso", or Pastir", is unexpectedly back in Batum; and the play ends.
Completed in July of 1939, "Batum" is the last literary work of Mikhail Bulgakov. He died the next year. Bulgakov thoroughly researched "Batum", and, inspite of not being believable in a few places, it is considered to be historically accurate. The author of the notes to "Batum" in this volume, A A Neenov, has also been very thorough. A 59 year old Joseph Stalin read the play and said, "it was very good, but could never be put on stage".
The big question is, "How did young Joseph return so quickly and easily from Siberia where he was supposed to stay for 3 years?" The official soviet version has been that "Soso" had "somehow escaped and had obtained forged documents". In the following years "Soso, Pastir, or Koba" would have repeated successful escapes from prison or exile. Besides that, the underground communist party organizations with which "Koba" was connected had a history of "large scale failures and downfalls.
Eventually an official document was discovered in Soviet archives that revealed a connection between "Koba" and the Tsar's secret police, or "Okrana", that showed that in 1912 "Koba" had given information about communist party activity to an "Okrana" agent. A A Neenov maintains that young Joseph's relationship with the Tsar's secret police goes back to 1904, and that is how he was released from Siberian exile; and that his papers were not forged, but were in fact genuine. So things worked well for "Soso" or "Koba" or "Stalin".
However, these views only confirm what is already well known; that is, Stalin was a dedicated and dogmatic Marxist-Leninist in the extreme. A A Neenov writes that people in the communist party, working at the same time with the secret police, were not at all uncommon.
Perhaps Mikhail Bulgakov wrote this play, "Batum", to remind Joseph Stalin of the years of his youth, and he hoped it would have some affect or influence on Stalin's tyrannical leadership. An early, but not completely corrected, version of "Batum" was published in 1977 in America. However, the most corrected version was not published until 1988, and it was published in the Soviet Union. The play still seems to be something of an embarrassment to many people.
This play, "Batum", begins in 1898 in the Georgian city of Tiflis, or Tbilisi. A nineteen year old Joseph Vesarionovich Dzhugashvili is being expelled, because of his revolutionary propagandizing, from a seminary; where, it seems, he had been a student for almost 6 years. Young Joseph was not known as Stalin in those years, and among his comrades he was usually called "Soso". Sometimes he was called "Pastir" because he had been a seminary student.
The play continues through 1902 when "Soso", or "Pastir", is arrested and imprisoned, for leading strikes and demonstrations in Batum; and, eventually, he is exiled in 1904 to Siberia for a 3 year term. However, in only about 2 months, a 25 year old "Soso", or Pastir", is unexpectedly back in Batum; and the play ends.
Completed in July of 1939, "Batum" is the last literary work of Mikhail Bulgakov. He died the next year. Bulgakov thoroughly researched "Batum", and, inspite of not being believable in a few places, it is considered to be historically accurate. The author of the notes to "Batum" in this volume, A A Neenov, has also been very thorough. A 59 year old Joseph Stalin read the play and said, "it was very good, but could never be put on stage".
The big question is, "How did young Joseph return so quickly and easily from Siberia where he was supposed to stay for 3 years?" The official soviet version has been that "Soso" had "somehow escaped and had obtained forged documents". In the following years "Soso, Pastir, or Koba" would have repeated successful escapes from prison or exile. Besides that, the underground communist party organizations with which "Koba" was connected had a history of "large scale failures and downfalls.
Eventually an official document was discovered in Soviet archives that revealed a connection between "Koba" and the Tsar's secret police, or "Okrana", that showed that in 1912 "Koba" had given information about communist party activity to an "Okrana" agent. A A Neenov maintains that young Joseph's relationship with the Tsar's secret police goes back to 1904, and that is how he was released from Siberian exile; and that his papers were not forged, but were in fact genuine. So things worked well for "Soso" or "Koba" or "Stalin".
However, these views only confirm what is already well known; that is, Stalin was a dedicated and dogmatic Marxist-Leninist in the extreme. A A Neenov writes that people in the communist party, working at the same time with the secret police, were not at all uncommon.
Perhaps Mikhail Bulgakov wrote this play, "Batum", to remind Joseph Stalin of the years of his youth, and he hoped it would have some affect or influence on Stalin's tyrannical leadership. An early, but not completely corrected, version of "Batum" was published in 1977 in America. However, the most corrected version was not published until 1988, and it was published in the Soviet Union. The play still seems to be something of an embarrassment to many people.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Experimental Blog #83
Comments on "White Guard" by Mikhail Bulgakov
This relatively short Russian novel, around 249 pages, was written during 1923 and 1924, in the relatively "mild" soviet regime of those years; which, however, soon came to an end. The novel is somewhat autobiographical, and everything takes place in the Ukrainian city of Kiev, or nearby places, in several months of 1918 and 1919.
To the American "outsider" the history of this time is rather confusing.
Imperial Russia had collapsed in 1917 and, from the notes to this volume, in Kiev a soviet government had taken control and had proclaimed a "Ukrainian Peoples' Republic", but when that government announced its independence from Russia in January of 1918 they were invaded by the soviet army in February. However, in March of 1918 the German Army drove out the soviets and occupied Kiev. The occupying German Army supported a government of the "Hetman of All Ukraine", but they were defeated in December of 1918 by a larger Ukrainian Army. However, this army and its government lasted only until February of 1919 when the Red Army returned and again occupied Kiev. At this point "White Guard" ends, but there were more very violent changes in the years ahead.
The style of writing of "White Guard" is considered to be very "Tolstoyan" in its portrayal of people in the vast movements of history, and, perhaps sometimes, in the description of the most unpleasant details. It contains no noticable satire, or other humor, and its focus is on a rather limited number of people in a large city of hundreds of thousands of people. And these people all seem to be, not aristocratic or governing people, but from the same "officer" class. Of course, the story is about one family, and a few people associated with them, over about 2 months of time. It is also noticable that, in spite of a great deal of violence against people, there is little or no destruction in the city, and even the electricity never seems to go out.
This relatively short Russian novel, around 249 pages, was written during 1923 and 1924, in the relatively "mild" soviet regime of those years; which, however, soon came to an end. The novel is somewhat autobiographical, and everything takes place in the Ukrainian city of Kiev, or nearby places, in several months of 1918 and 1919.
To the American "outsider" the history of this time is rather confusing.
Imperial Russia had collapsed in 1917 and, from the notes to this volume, in Kiev a soviet government had taken control and had proclaimed a "Ukrainian Peoples' Republic", but when that government announced its independence from Russia in January of 1918 they were invaded by the soviet army in February. However, in March of 1918 the German Army drove out the soviets and occupied Kiev. The occupying German Army supported a government of the "Hetman of All Ukraine", but they were defeated in December of 1918 by a larger Ukrainian Army. However, this army and its government lasted only until February of 1919 when the Red Army returned and again occupied Kiev. At this point "White Guard" ends, but there were more very violent changes in the years ahead.
The style of writing of "White Guard" is considered to be very "Tolstoyan" in its portrayal of people in the vast movements of history, and, perhaps sometimes, in the description of the most unpleasant details. It contains no noticable satire, or other humor, and its focus is on a rather limited number of people in a large city of hundreds of thousands of people. And these people all seem to be, not aristocratic or governing people, but from the same "officer" class. Of course, the story is about one family, and a few people associated with them, over about 2 months of time. It is also noticable that, in spite of a great deal of violence against people, there is little or no destruction in the city, and even the electricity never seems to go out.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Experimental Blog #82
Comments on "Notes of a Deceased - A Threatrical Novel" by Mikhail Bulgakov
Besides working as a doctor in World War I, Mikhail Bulgakov apparently was "conscripted", at different times, to serve as a doctor during the Russian Civil War by both sides; both the "Red Bolsheviks" and the "White anti-Bolsheviks". It might be that he never actually "fought" for either side.
Mikhail Bulgakov's greatest endeavor was to write plays and have them put on stage, and by the middle of the 1920s he was a well known and usually increasingly popular dramatist in the new USSR. However, by 1930 he had been completely excluded from any such work by the Bolshevik regime. In that same year Bulgakov received a completely unexpected phone call from Joseph Stalin; that was, in part, a response to a letter, one of several, that Bulgakov had written to the Soviet government and to Joseph Stalin, plus a few other specific people.
Mikhail Bulgakov's wife, Elena, possibly made a hand written transcript of their seemingly cordial conversation, and, among other things, Joseph Stalin said that he and Bulgakov must definitely find some time to get together and talk things over. Although Mikhail Bulgakov seemed in earnest agreement, their meeting in person apparently never took place.
During the 1930s and to the end of his life in 1940 Mikhail Bulgakov was allowed to work in the theater. He wrote plays based on the classics "Dead Souls" and "War and Peace", and he helped put them on stage, but, with only one other brief exception, it seems he was never allowed to stage or publish his own works from his imagination. Joseph Stalin had announced that because of the critical times no satirical works of any kind could be permitted.
This short novel, or novella, of about 142 pages, which was published in the Soviet Union along with other of Bulgakov's works in 1966, is all about Bulgakov's life and great interest in Russian drama and theater. Without the many additional pages of commentary in this volume, "Notes of a Deceased" seems, at least half largely tedious, pointless, and incomplete to the "outsider" today.
However, the commentary reveals that 40 of the characters in this book, but not the main character, Maksudov, or his confidant, Bombardov, come from "prototypes"; that is, living people in Russian drama and theater that Bulgakov probably knew, and a few contemporary literary people. Most of the many episodes also come from real events and issues probably experienced by Bulgakov. However, virtually all of these people and issues are completely unknown to outsiders today.
Unlike the well known "Master and Margarita", Mikhail Bulgakov's "fantastical" writing is all but completely absent in "Notes of a Deceased". It might be there, along with Bulgakov's other "literary talents", but they are quite obscured. There are a couple of episodes that involve cats, and there is a "devil image", and a few other "odd images" as well.
Besides working as a doctor in World War I, Mikhail Bulgakov apparently was "conscripted", at different times, to serve as a doctor during the Russian Civil War by both sides; both the "Red Bolsheviks" and the "White anti-Bolsheviks". It might be that he never actually "fought" for either side.
Mikhail Bulgakov's greatest endeavor was to write plays and have them put on stage, and by the middle of the 1920s he was a well known and usually increasingly popular dramatist in the new USSR. However, by 1930 he had been completely excluded from any such work by the Bolshevik regime. In that same year Bulgakov received a completely unexpected phone call from Joseph Stalin; that was, in part, a response to a letter, one of several, that Bulgakov had written to the Soviet government and to Joseph Stalin, plus a few other specific people.
Mikhail Bulgakov's wife, Elena, possibly made a hand written transcript of their seemingly cordial conversation, and, among other things, Joseph Stalin said that he and Bulgakov must definitely find some time to get together and talk things over. Although Mikhail Bulgakov seemed in earnest agreement, their meeting in person apparently never took place.
During the 1930s and to the end of his life in 1940 Mikhail Bulgakov was allowed to work in the theater. He wrote plays based on the classics "Dead Souls" and "War and Peace", and he helped put them on stage, but, with only one other brief exception, it seems he was never allowed to stage or publish his own works from his imagination. Joseph Stalin had announced that because of the critical times no satirical works of any kind could be permitted.
This short novel, or novella, of about 142 pages, which was published in the Soviet Union along with other of Bulgakov's works in 1966, is all about Bulgakov's life and great interest in Russian drama and theater. Without the many additional pages of commentary in this volume, "Notes of a Deceased" seems, at least half largely tedious, pointless, and incomplete to the "outsider" today.
However, the commentary reveals that 40 of the characters in this book, but not the main character, Maksudov, or his confidant, Bombardov, come from "prototypes"; that is, living people in Russian drama and theater that Bulgakov probably knew, and a few contemporary literary people. Most of the many episodes also come from real events and issues probably experienced by Bulgakov. However, virtually all of these people and issues are completely unknown to outsiders today.
Unlike the well known "Master and Margarita", Mikhail Bulgakov's "fantastical" writing is all but completely absent in "Notes of a Deceased". It might be there, along with Bulgakov's other "literary talents", but they are quite obscured. There are a couple of episodes that involve cats, and there is a "devil image", and a few other "odd images" as well.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Experimental Blog #81
Comments on "Neodnazhdy v Amerike" by Svetlana Bukina
The author of this book, Svetlana Bukina, has been described as the most popular blogger in the Russian language in America.
The last word of the title is obvious to anybody, but the first word is not found in the Russian-English language dictionary. Maybe the title could very loosely be translated as something like, "Events, People, and Topics of American Life", and, actually, a lot more. Anyway, the book consists of a minor portion of the author's many blogs, and perhaps a few other additions.
Svetlana Bukina, who says that she is "pureblood Jewish", came to America from Moscow in December of 1990, and is now an American citizen. However, she "blogs" in Russian and apparently has a large audience in Russia; and this book was, in fact, published and printed there.
Among many other things, Svetlana Bukina writes very originally and provocatively about society and politics. For instance, she very broadly defines democracy as "predictiveness{or dependability} of the political process combined with the relative unpredictiveness{or undependability} of the outcome." In another piece she remembers that 25 or 30 years ago Valentin Zorin {who was either the Soviet ambassador or UN represetative} explained that both the American Democratic and Republican political parties are capitalist parties, so are basically not different from each other. Svetlana says that both parties represent various combinations, or coalitions of "leftists, rightists, libertarians{she says most Russian speaking immigrants are more or less libertarian, besides being Jewish}, statists, and centrists."
A few pages farther on she says that means that America is politically stable, that is, although both Democrats and Republicans are capitalist parties, we have only one regime; so "Zorin was not so far from the truth, thank God"{actually, she writes "slava bogu"}.
The author of this book, Svetlana Bukina, has been described as the most popular blogger in the Russian language in America.
The last word of the title is obvious to anybody, but the first word is not found in the Russian-English language dictionary. Maybe the title could very loosely be translated as something like, "Events, People, and Topics of American Life", and, actually, a lot more. Anyway, the book consists of a minor portion of the author's many blogs, and perhaps a few other additions.
Svetlana Bukina, who says that she is "pureblood Jewish", came to America from Moscow in December of 1990, and is now an American citizen. However, she "blogs" in Russian and apparently has a large audience in Russia; and this book was, in fact, published and printed there.
Among many other things, Svetlana Bukina writes very originally and provocatively about society and politics. For instance, she very broadly defines democracy as "predictiveness{or dependability} of the political process combined with the relative unpredictiveness{or undependability} of the outcome." In another piece she remembers that 25 or 30 years ago Valentin Zorin {who was either the Soviet ambassador or UN represetative} explained that both the American Democratic and Republican political parties are capitalist parties, so are basically not different from each other. Svetlana says that both parties represent various combinations, or coalitions of "leftists, rightists, libertarians{she says most Russian speaking immigrants are more or less libertarian, besides being Jewish}, statists, and centrists."
A few pages farther on she says that means that America is politically stable, that is, although both Democrats and Republicans are capitalist parties, we have only one regime; so "Zorin was not so far from the truth, thank God"{actually, she writes "slava bogu"}.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Experimental Blog #80
Comments on "Master and Margarita" by Mikhail Bulgakov
To an American outsider in the early 21st century this book seems to be bristling with jabs at communist party programs in the 1920s and 1930s in the Soviet Union, stereotypical communist party personalities, and Joseph Stalin in particular.
It also seems that Mikhail Bulgakov actually fought against the communists in the Russian civil war, and, subsequently, his work was so severely attacked by Bulgakov's communist literay contemporaries that his output must have been significantly curtailed.
Mikhail Bulgakov's Moscow apartment was searched several times by the secret police, and they must have known about his unpublished manuscripts, but he was never arrested. Perhaps it was because this book, at least, was too fantastical and bizarre and, maybe, too obscure.
Joseph Stalin, who was not Bulgakov's severest critic, actually telephoned Mikhail Bulgakov at least twice, in 1930 and 1937; and the first time he helped him to find work.
"Master and Margarita" ends in a time of such a violent approaching storm, this seems to have been written around 1940 when Mikhail Bulgakov died, that the book seems very prophetic.
To an American outsider in the early 21st century this book seems to be bristling with jabs at communist party programs in the 1920s and 1930s in the Soviet Union, stereotypical communist party personalities, and Joseph Stalin in particular.
It also seems that Mikhail Bulgakov actually fought against the communists in the Russian civil war, and, subsequently, his work was so severely attacked by Bulgakov's communist literay contemporaries that his output must have been significantly curtailed.
Mikhail Bulgakov's Moscow apartment was searched several times by the secret police, and they must have known about his unpublished manuscripts, but he was never arrested. Perhaps it was because this book, at least, was too fantastical and bizarre and, maybe, too obscure.
Joseph Stalin, who was not Bulgakov's severest critic, actually telephoned Mikhail Bulgakov at least twice, in 1930 and 1937; and the first time he helped him to find work.
"Master and Margarita" ends in a time of such a violent approaching storm, this seems to have been written around 1940 when Mikhail Bulgakov died, that the book seems very prophetic.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Experimental Blog #79
Comments on "Here on Earth" - A Natural History of the Planet by Tim Flannery
"Training in economics" according to Tim Flannery, who is "credited with discovering more species than Charles Darwin and "is one of the world's most influential scientists", makes people less cooperative and "neoclassical economists", in particular, seem likely to become selfish and hardened to the needs of their society.
In an earlier chapter Tim Flannery writes that "there is more genetic diversity in a random sample of about fifty chimpanzees from west Africa than in all seven billion of us." And on the next page he states, "There's as much diversity of thought, mannerism and emotion in a small New Guinean village as there is in the entire world, and in this commonality lies the foundations of our < > hopes for a future."
Speaking of hope and the future; if it is true that people in the past were the same, organically, as people in the future will be, and the world was the same, organically, as it will be in the future; and, also, that all people confirm their own histories, and that everybody together confirms world history; then what real, that is undeluded, hope people think there is for the future depends on what they think of their history and world history in general.
And what about China? The world's oldest continuous civilization, 4000 years at least, and, arguably, the world's most amazing country at the beginning of the 21st century? Don't they seem undaunted by history?
"Training in economics" according to Tim Flannery, who is "credited with discovering more species than Charles Darwin and "is one of the world's most influential scientists", makes people less cooperative and "neoclassical economists", in particular, seem likely to become selfish and hardened to the needs of their society.
In an earlier chapter Tim Flannery writes that "there is more genetic diversity in a random sample of about fifty chimpanzees from west Africa than in all seven billion of us." And on the next page he states, "There's as much diversity of thought, mannerism and emotion in a small New Guinean village as there is in the entire world, and in this commonality lies the foundations of our < > hopes for a future."
Speaking of hope and the future; if it is true that people in the past were the same, organically, as people in the future will be, and the world was the same, organically, as it will be in the future; and, also, that all people confirm their own histories, and that everybody together confirms world history; then what real, that is undeluded, hope people think there is for the future depends on what they think of their history and world history in general.
And what about China? The world's oldest continuous civilization, 4000 years at least, and, arguably, the world's most amazing country at the beginning of the 21st century? Don't they seem undaunted by history?
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Experimental Blog #78
Comments on "The Discovery of Jeanne Baret" - A Story of Science, the High Seas, and the First Woman to Circumnavigate the Globe by Glynis Ridley
The subject of this book, Jeanne Baret, left France with the Louis-Antoine de Bougainville expedition on February 1, 1767. This expedition became France's first successful circumnavigation of the world when it returned to France on March 15, 1769.
France became the third country in the world to achieve this distinction, but Jeanne Baret, who had been disguised as a man for at least 15 or 17 months, had been left at French possessions in the Indian Ocean and did not return to France until late in 1774 or early 1775.
Jeanne Baret did not write a journal or book or, it seems, even letters of any kind in her entire life. It is recorded that she had two children; the first child before the voyage and the other child before the voyage was completed. The author, Glynis Ridley, concludes from a careful study of the 4 accounts that were written about the voyage by participants, including the account written by Bougainville, that Jeanne Baret was "gang raped" not very long after it was finally revealed that she was a female; and using her extremely vivid imagination she tells the story of the life and voyage of Jeanne Baret, along with a great deal of interesting 18th century history and natural history.
Thanks to Glynis Ridley, despite all the resistance of male denial and rationalizing, the world now has a very fine unlikely-likely account of Jeanne Baret, a very strong and hard-working, but, it seems, not very articulate or educated lower class French woman from the 18th century.
The subject of this book, Jeanne Baret, left France with the Louis-Antoine de Bougainville expedition on February 1, 1767. This expedition became France's first successful circumnavigation of the world when it returned to France on March 15, 1769.
France became the third country in the world to achieve this distinction, but Jeanne Baret, who had been disguised as a man for at least 15 or 17 months, had been left at French possessions in the Indian Ocean and did not return to France until late in 1774 or early 1775.
Jeanne Baret did not write a journal or book or, it seems, even letters of any kind in her entire life. It is recorded that she had two children; the first child before the voyage and the other child before the voyage was completed. The author, Glynis Ridley, concludes from a careful study of the 4 accounts that were written about the voyage by participants, including the account written by Bougainville, that Jeanne Baret was "gang raped" not very long after it was finally revealed that she was a female; and using her extremely vivid imagination she tells the story of the life and voyage of Jeanne Baret, along with a great deal of interesting 18th century history and natural history.
Thanks to Glynis Ridley, despite all the resistance of male denial and rationalizing, the world now has a very fine unlikely-likely account of Jeanne Baret, a very strong and hard-working, but, it seems, not very articulate or educated lower class French woman from the 18th century.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Experimental Blog #77
Comments on 2 books
"Epigenetics - The Ultimate Mystery of Inheritance" by Richard C Francis
"The term epigenetic refers to long term alterations of DNA that don't involve changes in the DNA sequence itself". These changes are produced from the environment: from the food that we eat, from pollutants, and even from social interactions, and can last a lifetime.
This epigenetic process, or gene regulation, can even be "transgenerational"; either directly, as an "epigenetic mark" that is passed from parent to offspring as part of the original chromosome in the egg or sperm, although this does not commonly happen in mammals; or indirectly, by what is called "genomic imprinting", in successive generations.
"How Many Friends Does One Person Need?" - Dunbar's Number and Other Evolutionary Quirks by Robin Dunbar
This book contains many educational and enlightening "Darwinian" and other current scientific explantions and "stories".
The answere to the question of the title is 150, which the author, Robin Dunbar, says is now called "Dunbar's Number"; and he refers to it 4 times in this book.
"Epigenetics - The Ultimate Mystery of Inheritance" by Richard C Francis
"The term epigenetic refers to long term alterations of DNA that don't involve changes in the DNA sequence itself". These changes are produced from the environment: from the food that we eat, from pollutants, and even from social interactions, and can last a lifetime.
This epigenetic process, or gene regulation, can even be "transgenerational"; either directly, as an "epigenetic mark" that is passed from parent to offspring as part of the original chromosome in the egg or sperm, although this does not commonly happen in mammals; or indirectly, by what is called "genomic imprinting", in successive generations.
"How Many Friends Does One Person Need?" - Dunbar's Number and Other Evolutionary Quirks by Robin Dunbar
This book contains many educational and enlightening "Darwinian" and other current scientific explantions and "stories".
The answere to the question of the title is 150, which the author, Robin Dunbar, says is now called "Dunbar's Number"; and he refers to it 4 times in this book.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Experimental Blog #76
Comments on "The Googlization of Everything - {And Why We Should Worry}" by Siva Vaidhyanathan and "The Net Delusion" - The Dark Side of Internet Freedom by Evgeny Morozov
Not surprisingly, the first book, by Siva Vaidhyanathan, is all about the American giant internet corporation "Google". Although not so important in Russia and China, and for some good reasons, "Google" provides amazing virtually magical information services in many realms: news, maps, books, and, it seems, almost everything else; in America, Europe, and throughout the world. Although, most people probably have other things to "worry" about, they should know more about the implications and consequences of this vast private enterprise network.
In the index to the 2nd book, by Evgeny Morozov, the American Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, is referred to on 27 pages of this approximately 330 page book. The rather distant 2nd and 3rd place people are referred to only on 8 and 7 pages. In other words, the author is quite critical of the liberal views that he characterizes as "internet-centric" and "cyber-utopian". Instead, he promotes his own views, very thoroughly and persuasively, that he calls "cyber-realistic".
Essentially, however, even someone who knows very little about the extremely complicated subject can understand that the "Internet" can be said to do 2 elementary things: it connects people and it provides information and/or entertainment. The author uses very different words, of course, but, in how many ways, and for what many different purposes, can the "connectable people" of the world's over 6 and one half billion people be connected? And besides "true facts", whatever that might mean, the internet is used to spread all kinds of opinions, propaganda, gossip, slander, deliberate lies, and whatever else anybody can think of.
For these and other reasons, we might say that the author wants us to think that the internet-cyber-future of the "global village", which is a term he apparently scorns, is not all that "rosy", as far as anybody can really imagine.
Not surprisingly, the first book, by Siva Vaidhyanathan, is all about the American giant internet corporation "Google". Although not so important in Russia and China, and for some good reasons, "Google" provides amazing virtually magical information services in many realms: news, maps, books, and, it seems, almost everything else; in America, Europe, and throughout the world. Although, most people probably have other things to "worry" about, they should know more about the implications and consequences of this vast private enterprise network.
In the index to the 2nd book, by Evgeny Morozov, the American Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, is referred to on 27 pages of this approximately 330 page book. The rather distant 2nd and 3rd place people are referred to only on 8 and 7 pages. In other words, the author is quite critical of the liberal views that he characterizes as "internet-centric" and "cyber-utopian". Instead, he promotes his own views, very thoroughly and persuasively, that he calls "cyber-realistic".
Essentially, however, even someone who knows very little about the extremely complicated subject can understand that the "Internet" can be said to do 2 elementary things: it connects people and it provides information and/or entertainment. The author uses very different words, of course, but, in how many ways, and for what many different purposes, can the "connectable people" of the world's over 6 and one half billion people be connected? And besides "true facts", whatever that might mean, the internet is used to spread all kinds of opinions, propaganda, gossip, slander, deliberate lies, and whatever else anybody can think of.
For these and other reasons, we might say that the author wants us to think that the internet-cyber-future of the "global village", which is a term he apparently scorns, is not all that "rosy", as far as anybody can really imagine.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Experimental Blog #75
Comments on "You Are What You Speak" - Grammar Grouches, Language Laws, and the Politics of Identity by Robert Lane Greene
Prescriptivism is a point of view that emphasizes "rules" of "correct" language: either spoken or written. There have been numerous attempts in both England and America to, as if, codify such rules of writing, speaking, grammar, and punctuation.
Descriptivism, sometimes called a part of linguistics, is about the inevitable historical evolution of all languages. The author describes the "muddy continuums" of all of Medieval Europe's Romance, Germanic, and Slavic languages; when every village had its own dialect.
Diglossia is tne natural tendency for all languages to develope 2 forms: a "high" form and a "low" form, or a formal and an informal, or, sometimes, a written and a spoken form.
Whorfianism is a once once respected view that " a person's access to reality is conditioned by the language he speaks", but is now mostly rejected except in "weaker versions of the idea"; now language might "incline" people, but not completely "restrict" or "define what they can or can't think."
Of the roughly 6000 spoken languages in the world today, only several hundred have a written form.
The author himself speaks 9 languages, and his grammar and punctuation seem perfect. He uses colons much more often than semicolins. His rule seems to be that, however you use colins, semicolins, and commas, you should be consistent.
Prescriptivism is a point of view that emphasizes "rules" of "correct" language: either spoken or written. There have been numerous attempts in both England and America to, as if, codify such rules of writing, speaking, grammar, and punctuation.
Descriptivism, sometimes called a part of linguistics, is about the inevitable historical evolution of all languages. The author describes the "muddy continuums" of all of Medieval Europe's Romance, Germanic, and Slavic languages; when every village had its own dialect.
Diglossia is tne natural tendency for all languages to develope 2 forms: a "high" form and a "low" form, or a formal and an informal, or, sometimes, a written and a spoken form.
Whorfianism is a once once respected view that " a person's access to reality is conditioned by the language he speaks", but is now mostly rejected except in "weaker versions of the idea"; now language might "incline" people, but not completely "restrict" or "define what they can or can't think."
Of the roughly 6000 spoken languages in the world today, only several hundred have a written form.
The author himself speaks 9 languages, and his grammar and punctuation seem perfect. He uses colons much more often than semicolins. His rule seems to be that, however you use colins, semicolins, and commas, you should be consistent.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Experimental Blog #74
Comments on 3 books
"The Possessed" - Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them by Elif Batuman
It takes a very imposing and formidable person to write a literary travel memoir such as this book. Although the author, Elif Batuman, is American by birth, she is Turkish by very recent immigrant ancestry. Besides knowing English and Turkish, she is a Russian language scholar who also very extensively studied Uzbek. She also uses a few words of French, German, Polish, Italian, and Yiddish in her book.
Being at least 6 feet tall, she says, perhaps also helps her to be naturally self-confident.
"Songbird Journeys - Four Seasons in the Lives of Migratory Birds" by Miyoko Chu and "Superdove" - How the Pigeon Took Manhattan ... and the World by Courtney Humphries
Although Miyoko Chu's statistics or arithmetic seem somewhat questionable in places, it is truly amazing what recent scientific studies have revealed about the highly precise migratory movements and memories of even the smallest of many songbirds.
The second book, by Courtney Humphries, is supposedly about one bird, now called the Rock Pigeon. Its scientific name is Columba livia. However, the implications of the lives of these once wild, then domesticated, and now "feral" birds are very general and profound. They might even be applied to people and society in a variety of ways.
"The Possessed" - Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them by Elif Batuman
It takes a very imposing and formidable person to write a literary travel memoir such as this book. Although the author, Elif Batuman, is American by birth, she is Turkish by very recent immigrant ancestry. Besides knowing English and Turkish, she is a Russian language scholar who also very extensively studied Uzbek. She also uses a few words of French, German, Polish, Italian, and Yiddish in her book.
Being at least 6 feet tall, she says, perhaps also helps her to be naturally self-confident.
"Songbird Journeys - Four Seasons in the Lives of Migratory Birds" by Miyoko Chu and "Superdove" - How the Pigeon Took Manhattan ... and the World by Courtney Humphries
Although Miyoko Chu's statistics or arithmetic seem somewhat questionable in places, it is truly amazing what recent scientific studies have revealed about the highly precise migratory movements and memories of even the smallest of many songbirds.
The second book, by Courtney Humphries, is supposedly about one bird, now called the Rock Pigeon. Its scientific name is Columba livia. However, the implications of the lives of these once wild, then domesticated, and now "feral" birds are very general and profound. They might even be applied to people and society in a variety of ways.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Experimental Blog #73
Comments on "Millard Fillmore" by Paul Finkelman
As little as five years ago most people probably thought that the idea of an American President named Barack Obama to be quite absurd.
But where are the books on the American Presidents William Henry Harrison, William Howard Taft, and John F. Kennedy? And how can this series leave out a book on Ronald Reagan?
As little as five years ago most people probably thought that the idea of an American President named Barack Obama to be quite absurd.
But where are the books on the American Presidents William Henry Harrison, William Howard Taft, and John F. Kennedy? And how can this series leave out a book on Ronald Reagan?
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Experimental Blog #72
Comments on "The Adventure of English" - The Biography of a Language by Melvyn Bragg
Although this author writes that, "In the 1890's over ninety percent of African Americans lived in the rural south; sixty years later, ninety-five{!!??} percent had moved to the urban north", and at other places his description of the American West sounds a little bit too fabulous; hopefully, the rest of his book is more factually reliable.
In the 5th century, the 400's, the British Isles were invaded, the author says that the invaders were invited by the people who remained from the Roman occupation, by as many as 12 German tribes, but mostly Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. There were, perhaps, 150,000 of them altogether, and they all spoke different, but mutually intelligible, dialects of what is called West German.
These dialects eventually joined together in about 300 years, and with the addition of only about 2 dozen words from the native Celtic language, and only about 200 words from the Roman Latin language, they formed what is sometimes called "Old English".
In the 8th century the Viking invasions began, but terrible as they were, English eventually only accepted about 150 new words into its vocabulary of about 25,000 words. However, the grammer began to change with the use of prepositions and word order taking the place of different word endings, or inflections, on nouns and their adjectives to indicate different sentence cases of words.
However, everything changed after 1066 AD, when England was conquered by the Norman French. The English language was replaced by Norman French at virtually all the higher levels of society, and did not completely return as the dominant language again for over 300 years.
And by this time there were over 10,000 new French words incorporated into English.
During the English Renaisance, in 30 to 40 years around 1600, thousands more Latin and some fewer Greek words were added to the English language by scholars and other influential people.
The year 1604 saw the appearance of the first English language dictionary, but it only had 2,543 words considered to be uncommonly difficult. This date compares to the appearance of the first Sanskrit language dictionary in India sometime after 600 AD, and the first Arabic language dictionary around 800 AD. Samuel Johnson's historic and rather eccentric and controversial dictionary of around 43,000 words came out in 1755.
Although this author writes that, "In the 1890's over ninety percent of African Americans lived in the rural south; sixty years later, ninety-five{!!??} percent had moved to the urban north", and at other places his description of the American West sounds a little bit too fabulous; hopefully, the rest of his book is more factually reliable.
In the 5th century, the 400's, the British Isles were invaded, the author says that the invaders were invited by the people who remained from the Roman occupation, by as many as 12 German tribes, but mostly Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. There were, perhaps, 150,000 of them altogether, and they all spoke different, but mutually intelligible, dialects of what is called West German.
These dialects eventually joined together in about 300 years, and with the addition of only about 2 dozen words from the native Celtic language, and only about 200 words from the Roman Latin language, they formed what is sometimes called "Old English".
In the 8th century the Viking invasions began, but terrible as they were, English eventually only accepted about 150 new words into its vocabulary of about 25,000 words. However, the grammer began to change with the use of prepositions and word order taking the place of different word endings, or inflections, on nouns and their adjectives to indicate different sentence cases of words.
However, everything changed after 1066 AD, when England was conquered by the Norman French. The English language was replaced by Norman French at virtually all the higher levels of society, and did not completely return as the dominant language again for over 300 years.
And by this time there were over 10,000 new French words incorporated into English.
During the English Renaisance, in 30 to 40 years around 1600, thousands more Latin and some fewer Greek words were added to the English language by scholars and other influential people.
The year 1604 saw the appearance of the first English language dictionary, but it only had 2,543 words considered to be uncommonly difficult. This date compares to the appearance of the first Sanskrit language dictionary in India sometime after 600 AD, and the first Arabic language dictionary around 800 AD. Samuel Johnson's historic and rather eccentric and controversial dictionary of around 43,000 words came out in 1755.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Experimental Blog #71
Comments on "Ancient Greece" - A History in Eleven Cities by Paul Cartledge
This book is a very convenient account of the long history of Ancient Greece, with a chapter on each of 11 cities. Actually, there were about 700 cities and communities on "mainland" Greece and about 300 more scattered all around the Greek World of the Mediterranean and Black Seas.
The first city is Cnossos on the island of Crete, that was founded about 3000 BCE, that means, Before the Common Era. In other words, this means about 5000 years ago. At Cnossos have been found clay tablets from about 1400 BCE in the "Linear B" script, which was deciphered in 1952, of this usually called "Minoan Civilization", a "Late Bronze Age" civilization. The author says that the as yet undeciphered "Linear A" script, perhaps considered to be earlier, is probably not early Greek, but, perhaps, a Semetic language.
The "Early Iron Age" begins from 1100 to 700 BCE, and involves the spread of settlements of both Greek Dorian and Ionion dialects and cultures to settlements in Asia Minor and the western Mediteranean. The Olympic games were started at Olympia! in 776 BCE, and the Greek alphabet was invented at Thebes, which is near Athens, in 750 BCE by an immigrant named Cadmus from Tyre, Phoenicia, where he apparently got the idea.
The well known "Classical Age" is dated from about 500 to 330 BCE, which is around the time of Alexander the Great, who lived from 356 to 323 BCE, and his empire. The "Hellenistic Age" begins about this time, but eventually the Romans came. First, Sicily was made a Roman province in 241 BCE, and, almost one hundred years later, Macedonia became the first eastern Roman province in 147 BCE. The "Byzantine Age" begins in 325 AD, with the refoundation of Byzantion as Constantinople.
This book is a very convenient account of the long history of Ancient Greece, with a chapter on each of 11 cities. Actually, there were about 700 cities and communities on "mainland" Greece and about 300 more scattered all around the Greek World of the Mediterranean and Black Seas.
The first city is Cnossos on the island of Crete, that was founded about 3000 BCE, that means, Before the Common Era. In other words, this means about 5000 years ago. At Cnossos have been found clay tablets from about 1400 BCE in the "Linear B" script, which was deciphered in 1952, of this usually called "Minoan Civilization", a "Late Bronze Age" civilization. The author says that the as yet undeciphered "Linear A" script, perhaps considered to be earlier, is probably not early Greek, but, perhaps, a Semetic language.
The "Early Iron Age" begins from 1100 to 700 BCE, and involves the spread of settlements of both Greek Dorian and Ionion dialects and cultures to settlements in Asia Minor and the western Mediteranean. The Olympic games were started at Olympia! in 776 BCE, and the Greek alphabet was invented at Thebes, which is near Athens, in 750 BCE by an immigrant named Cadmus from Tyre, Phoenicia, where he apparently got the idea.
The well known "Classical Age" is dated from about 500 to 330 BCE, which is around the time of Alexander the Great, who lived from 356 to 323 BCE, and his empire. The "Hellenistic Age" begins about this time, but eventually the Romans came. First, Sicily was made a Roman province in 241 BCE, and, almost one hundred years later, Macedonia became the first eastern Roman province in 147 BCE. The "Byzantine Age" begins in 325 AD, with the refoundation of Byzantion as Constantinople.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Experimental Blog #70
Comments on the book "American Entrepreneur" - The Fascinating Stories of the People Who Defined Business in the United States by Larry Schweikart and Lynne Pierson Doti
The 1000s of historical facts and business anecdotes related in this book tell a surprisingly interesting and very persuasive history of America from the very beginning, and from a distinctly "conservative" point of view. That is, it seems that the government is rarely not the enemy, "they always mess things up in the long run", and the people who really matter and who made, and continue to make America, are the very small percentage of America's "entrepreneurs". In modern times the book especially emphasizes the entertainment industries.
However, as far as one very small fact is concerned; they mention that Nikita Khrushchev was one of the 50 million people who had "passed through Sleeping Beauty's Castle" at "Disneyland" in Anaheim, California. Evidently, both of the authors of this book are too young to remember the actual event. The very public episode was noteworthy because, although Nikita Khrushchev wanted to go to "Disneyland" when he visited America in the 1950s as a private citizen, he was not allowed to do so, and he was publicly very upset about it.
Most reports say that Nikita Khrushchev was denied a visit to "Disneyland" because they could not provide sufficient "security" for him, but at least one report has stated that Walt Disney himself, who happened to have an apartment at his park, would not give his permission for a visit to "Disneyland" by the communist dictator.
The 1000s of historical facts and business anecdotes related in this book tell a surprisingly interesting and very persuasive history of America from the very beginning, and from a distinctly "conservative" point of view. That is, it seems that the government is rarely not the enemy, "they always mess things up in the long run", and the people who really matter and who made, and continue to make America, are the very small percentage of America's "entrepreneurs". In modern times the book especially emphasizes the entertainment industries.
However, as far as one very small fact is concerned; they mention that Nikita Khrushchev was one of the 50 million people who had "passed through Sleeping Beauty's Castle" at "Disneyland" in Anaheim, California. Evidently, both of the authors of this book are too young to remember the actual event. The very public episode was noteworthy because, although Nikita Khrushchev wanted to go to "Disneyland" when he visited America in the 1950s as a private citizen, he was not allowed to do so, and he was publicly very upset about it.
Most reports say that Nikita Khrushchev was denied a visit to "Disneyland" because they could not provide sufficient "security" for him, but at least one report has stated that Walt Disney himself, who happened to have an apartment at his park, would not give his permission for a visit to "Disneyland" by the communist dictator.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Experimental Blog #69
Comments on "Bats Sing, Mice Giggle" - The Surprising Science of Animals' Inner Lives by Karen Shanor and Jagmeet Kanwal
This book is a summary of many recent scientific researches into, among other things, the mental capacities and social behaviors of many forms of animal life. Some plant alert systems are also mentioned. A great many of these mental capacities and social behaviors are much more developed and, perhaps, conscious in some way, than was formerly believed by scientists. Perhaps as little as 30 years ago much of this book might have been considered to be nonsense.
This book is a summary of many recent scientific researches into, among other things, the mental capacities and social behaviors of many forms of animal life. Some plant alert systems are also mentioned. A great many of these mental capacities and social behaviors are much more developed and, perhaps, conscious in some way, than was formerly believed by scientists. Perhaps as little as 30 years ago much of this book might have been considered to be nonsense.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Experimental Blog #68
Comments on "The Calculus Diaries - How Math Can Help You Lose Weight, Win In Vegas, and Survive a Zombie Apocalypse" by Jennifer Ouellette
Successfully studying mathematics requires a mood to be continuously involved with abstract thinking. The thinking is all about the visual mathematical symbols of some kind or other, and applying the already established definitions and rules to manipulate those symbols for certain purposes.
The appendixes to this book are the most mathematical and explanatory part, but it seems there is something quite wrong with the 4th f[x] graph in the first appendix.
Successfully studying mathematics requires a mood to be continuously involved with abstract thinking. The thinking is all about the visual mathematical symbols of some kind or other, and applying the already established definitions and rules to manipulate those symbols for certain purposes.
The appendixes to this book are the most mathematical and explanatory part, but it seems there is something quite wrong with the 4th f[x] graph in the first appendix.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Experimental Blog #67
Comments on "Harmony - A New Way of Looking at Our World" by "HRH The Prince of Wales" with Tony Juniper and Ian Skelly
Throughout this surprising and very educational book the principal author is referred to only as the "Prince of Wales", but on the title page he is "HRH The Prince Of Wales". Presumably, HRH means "His Royal Highness". Only the call number on the spine of this book, 577 CHA, reveals, what everybody knows, that his first name is Charles. These titles and the fact that he seems to have no last name might cause some perplexity for Americans, and, perhaps others as well.
There is an Acknowledgements page, with many acknowledgements of course, and the "Prince of Wales'" fellow authors, Tony Juniper and Ian Skelly, want to thank their wives and children, but the "Prince of Wales" does not do such a "common" thing.
Although there are other monarchies in Europe, is the 'most visible' monarchy of Britain the "last man standing"? Does this distinction between aristocracy, or at least the Royal Family, and "commoners" mean that Britain, and not America, for instance, still leads the world as the model and teacher for the "Global Village" that everybody now lives in, whether they know it or want to or not?
However, that the "Prince of Wales" could write such a comprehensive, well organized and organizing book seems to inspire that there might be some hope for the world in the 21st century after all.
Throughout this surprising and very educational book the principal author is referred to only as the "Prince of Wales", but on the title page he is "HRH The Prince Of Wales". Presumably, HRH means "His Royal Highness". Only the call number on the spine of this book, 577 CHA, reveals, what everybody knows, that his first name is Charles. These titles and the fact that he seems to have no last name might cause some perplexity for Americans, and, perhaps others as well.
There is an Acknowledgements page, with many acknowledgements of course, and the "Prince of Wales'" fellow authors, Tony Juniper and Ian Skelly, want to thank their wives and children, but the "Prince of Wales" does not do such a "common" thing.
Although there are other monarchies in Europe, is the 'most visible' monarchy of Britain the "last man standing"? Does this distinction between aristocracy, or at least the Royal Family, and "commoners" mean that Britain, and not America, for instance, still leads the world as the model and teacher for the "Global Village" that everybody now lives in, whether they know it or want to or not?
However, that the "Prince of Wales" could write such a comprehensive, well organized and organizing book seems to inspire that there might be some hope for the world in the 21st century after all.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Experimental Blog #66
Comments on "Tide Players" - The Movers and Shakers of a Rising China by Jianying Zha
In the "Epilogue" to her book Jianying Zha, who was born in 1960, quotes from an earlier book that she wrote in 1995, "Tiananmen may represent the tragic last gasp of the radical, revolutionary approach to changing China. The currant path requires its own human toll and a good deal of compromise and deferment. Yet many believe that, in the long run, this way of change will bring more substantial gains at a lower cost of human sacrifice."
She also writes about books by other authors with titles such as, "Farewell, Revolution" and "Farewell, Mao Zedong". In this book Jianying Zha also writes, "Gradual, incremental adjustment rather than drastic change is the wiser and probably fairer way to go". {Actually, she was refering to the world wide financial crises in 2008.}
In the "Epilogue" to her book Jianying Zha, who was born in 1960, quotes from an earlier book that she wrote in 1995, "Tiananmen may represent the tragic last gasp of the radical, revolutionary approach to changing China. The currant path requires its own human toll and a good deal of compromise and deferment. Yet many believe that, in the long run, this way of change will bring more substantial gains at a lower cost of human sacrifice."
She also writes about books by other authors with titles such as, "Farewell, Revolution" and "Farewell, Mao Zedong". In this book Jianying Zha also writes, "Gradual, incremental adjustment rather than drastic change is the wiser and probably fairer way to go". {Actually, she was refering to the world wide financial crises in 2008.}
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Experimental Blog #65
Comments on "The Story of Britain" - From the Romans to the Present: A Narrative History by Rebecca Fraser
Rebecca Fraser begins her almost 800 page book on over 2000 years of the history of Britain with the Romans, and Julius Caesar, in particular. However, she goes on to say, not quite clearly or consistently, that Neolithic people had already arrived in Britain around 3000 BC, and that Bronze Age people arrived around 1900 BC; and either one or the other built "Stonehenge." Around 1000 BC came the Iron Age Celtic people. After the extensive Roman settlement, which lasted in excess of 400 years, came the Anglo-Saxon invasions; and then the Viking raids and invasions.
The Norman invasion was the last invasion of Britain and after the victory at the "Battle of Hastings" in 1066 AD William I became the first Norman and Angevin king of Britain. The last of these 7 kings was King John, who, in 1215, was forced by his nobles to accept the "Magna Carta", that somewhat limited the absolute rule of the King. However, the "Magna Carta" was frequently ignored by at least several subsequent monarchs. The 5 Plantagenet kings reigned from 1216 to 1399. Geoffrey Chaucer lived during this dynasty.
The Plantagenet dynasty, or House, was replaced by the Houses of Lancaster and York whose 6 kings reigned until 1485. The "Wars of the Roses" occurred between these 2 "Houses" in the last 30 years of this period. Then came the "House of Tudor" with 3 kings, including the Protestant Reformation king Henry VIII and his mostly tragic 6 wives, and 2 queens, ending with one of Britain's most famous monarchs, Queen Elizabeth I. William Shakespeare lived 10 years beyond the "House of Tudor" into the "House of Stuart".
The "House of Stuart" lasted from 1603 to 1714 with an 18 year interruption of the Civil War and Puritan Commonwealth and Protectorate, whose most remembered, but not only, historical figure was Oliver Cromwell. Samuel Pepys lived during this time and described the Great Plague, the London Fire, and the Restoration of Charles II in his diaries. The period of the "House of Stuart" also produced large numbers of people moving across the Atlantic Ocean to establish colonies in America. There were 5 kings and 2 queens in the "House of Stuart."
The "House of Hanover" had 5 kings, including 4 Georges, and 1 queen, and lasted from 1714 to 1901. This was a very revolutionary epoch in British and European history. Parliament became more and more powerful, and the dominating political party with its Prime Minister and other ministers took over more and more control of the government. At the end of the 19th century there seemed to be an almost overwhelming belief in social progress.
In the 20th century a great many things happened, of course, including, it seems, the apparent influence of sympathizers, imitators, and outright spies for fascists and Nazis on one side, and communists on the other side. Britain established the "welfare state", or "English Socialism," with its "cradle to grave security." However, in the 1980s along came Margaret Thatcher, who was a radically conservative Tory, but very popular nonetheless. As Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher embarked on a furious campaign to root out from Britain all of this "English Socialism", Marxism, Leninism, Trotskyism. And she was remarkably successful, in spite of herself. For instance, she was known to say something like, "there is no society." Perhaps society sounded too much like socialism to her. However, Margaret Thatcher has since been replaced, and life continues to go on in its usual way, more or less, in Britain.
Rebecca Fraser begins her almost 800 page book on over 2000 years of the history of Britain with the Romans, and Julius Caesar, in particular. However, she goes on to say, not quite clearly or consistently, that Neolithic people had already arrived in Britain around 3000 BC, and that Bronze Age people arrived around 1900 BC; and either one or the other built "Stonehenge." Around 1000 BC came the Iron Age Celtic people. After the extensive Roman settlement, which lasted in excess of 400 years, came the Anglo-Saxon invasions; and then the Viking raids and invasions.
The Norman invasion was the last invasion of Britain and after the victory at the "Battle of Hastings" in 1066 AD William I became the first Norman and Angevin king of Britain. The last of these 7 kings was King John, who, in 1215, was forced by his nobles to accept the "Magna Carta", that somewhat limited the absolute rule of the King. However, the "Magna Carta" was frequently ignored by at least several subsequent monarchs. The 5 Plantagenet kings reigned from 1216 to 1399. Geoffrey Chaucer lived during this dynasty.
The Plantagenet dynasty, or House, was replaced by the Houses of Lancaster and York whose 6 kings reigned until 1485. The "Wars of the Roses" occurred between these 2 "Houses" in the last 30 years of this period. Then came the "House of Tudor" with 3 kings, including the Protestant Reformation king Henry VIII and his mostly tragic 6 wives, and 2 queens, ending with one of Britain's most famous monarchs, Queen Elizabeth I. William Shakespeare lived 10 years beyond the "House of Tudor" into the "House of Stuart".
The "House of Stuart" lasted from 1603 to 1714 with an 18 year interruption of the Civil War and Puritan Commonwealth and Protectorate, whose most remembered, but not only, historical figure was Oliver Cromwell. Samuel Pepys lived during this time and described the Great Plague, the London Fire, and the Restoration of Charles II in his diaries. The period of the "House of Stuart" also produced large numbers of people moving across the Atlantic Ocean to establish colonies in America. There were 5 kings and 2 queens in the "House of Stuart."
The "House of Hanover" had 5 kings, including 4 Georges, and 1 queen, and lasted from 1714 to 1901. This was a very revolutionary epoch in British and European history. Parliament became more and more powerful, and the dominating political party with its Prime Minister and other ministers took over more and more control of the government. At the end of the 19th century there seemed to be an almost overwhelming belief in social progress.
In the 20th century a great many things happened, of course, including, it seems, the apparent influence of sympathizers, imitators, and outright spies for fascists and Nazis on one side, and communists on the other side. Britain established the "welfare state", or "English Socialism," with its "cradle to grave security." However, in the 1980s along came Margaret Thatcher, who was a radically conservative Tory, but very popular nonetheless. As Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher embarked on a furious campaign to root out from Britain all of this "English Socialism", Marxism, Leninism, Trotskyism. And she was remarkably successful, in spite of herself. For instance, she was known to say something like, "there is no society." Perhaps society sounded too much like socialism to her. However, Margaret Thatcher has since been replaced, and life continues to go on in its usual way, more or less, in Britain.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Experimental Blog #64
Comments on the books "Liberty's Exiles" - American Loyalists in the Revolutionary World and
"Edge of Empire" - Lives, Culture, and Conquest in the East by Maya Jasanoff
Benedict Arnold returned to North America, Saint John, New Brunswick, to pursue "what he hoped would be a profitable commercial career." Apparently, before he did that he remarried, and he and his wife, Margaret Shippen, had 3 children, named Edward, Sophia, and George. All three of their children eventually went to India, and a Benedict Arnold's "half-Indian granddaughter", named Louisa Harriet Arnold, some years later went to Ireland and eventually "married a British architect in 1845."
This book, "Liberty's Exiles," also describes the ambiguous and early turbulent history of the founding and early developement of Freetown in Sierra Leone in 1792 by British sponsors for, and by, former American slaves, mostly from Birchtown and other places in Nova Scotia.
The scope of what is actually Maya Jasanoff's first book, "Edge of Empire", is quite vast and covers many very interesting histories of English and French imperial expansion, competition, and conflict in India, Egypt, and other places, mostly in the "East." Many of these many people and events, in spite of their great impact on the world, might be little, or even completely unknown to most Americans.
"Edge of Empire" - Lives, Culture, and Conquest in the East by Maya Jasanoff
Benedict Arnold returned to North America, Saint John, New Brunswick, to pursue "what he hoped would be a profitable commercial career." Apparently, before he did that he remarried, and he and his wife, Margaret Shippen, had 3 children, named Edward, Sophia, and George. All three of their children eventually went to India, and a Benedict Arnold's "half-Indian granddaughter", named Louisa Harriet Arnold, some years later went to Ireland and eventually "married a British architect in 1845."
This book, "Liberty's Exiles," also describes the ambiguous and early turbulent history of the founding and early developement of Freetown in Sierra Leone in 1792 by British sponsors for, and by, former American slaves, mostly from Birchtown and other places in Nova Scotia.
The scope of what is actually Maya Jasanoff's first book, "Edge of Empire", is quite vast and covers many very interesting histories of English and French imperial expansion, competition, and conflict in India, Egypt, and other places, mostly in the "East." Many of these many people and events, in spite of their great impact on the world, might be little, or even completely unknown to most Americans.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Experimental Blog #63
Comments on "The Tell-Tale Brain - A Neuroscientist's Quest for What Makes Us Human"
by V S Ramachandran
This author, and others, say that our human brains are "made up" of about 100 billion nerve cells, and he goes on to say that the "number of permutations" of the connections, or synapes, between the nerve cells leads to a "possible number of brain states" that "easily exceeds the number of elementary particles in the known universe." So, doesn't it seem that no matter how much we learn about our brains, we will not very likely understand them?
However, a large part of V S Ramachandran's book is based on many elaborations of the significance of what are called "mirror neurons."
The author also writes some of his most interesting paragraphs in his book explaining the roughly 1000 year old Hindoo sculptures that he says have been unjustly criticized and underappreciated by "Westerners."
In contrast perhaps, more than once Ramachandran mentions "sightings" of Elvis Presley and Richard Nixon's nose and bushy eyebrows. Some scientifically questionable remarks, this is supposed to be a scientific book, include; "folie a deux, in which two people, such as Bush and Cheney, share each other's madness," and "An autistic child may be...still..capable of other abstract distinctions {such as "What's the difference between a Democrat and a Republican, other than IQ?"}.
The only respect or appreciation for religion, or religious ideas, that the author expresses seem to be for Hinduism, although he never uses the words Hindoo or Hinduism.
V S Ramachandran only once refers to Temple Grandin, as "the famous high-functioning autist and writer.." He does not say what she is famous for, but besides designing better and very widely used slaughterhouses, Temple Grandin is well known for her very exceptional writing about animals and some aspects of psychiatry, such as the long term consequences of chemotherapy.
It was a little bit alarming to read that V S Ramachandran hopes that "someday" he will meet a patient with a certain kind of brain damage that is caused by a stroke in a certain part of their brain, so that he can test one of his hypotheses.
by V S Ramachandran
This author, and others, say that our human brains are "made up" of about 100 billion nerve cells, and he goes on to say that the "number of permutations" of the connections, or synapes, between the nerve cells leads to a "possible number of brain states" that "easily exceeds the number of elementary particles in the known universe." So, doesn't it seem that no matter how much we learn about our brains, we will not very likely understand them?
However, a large part of V S Ramachandran's book is based on many elaborations of the significance of what are called "mirror neurons."
The author also writes some of his most interesting paragraphs in his book explaining the roughly 1000 year old Hindoo sculptures that he says have been unjustly criticized and underappreciated by "Westerners."
In contrast perhaps, more than once Ramachandran mentions "sightings" of Elvis Presley and Richard Nixon's nose and bushy eyebrows. Some scientifically questionable remarks, this is supposed to be a scientific book, include; "folie a deux, in which two people, such as Bush and Cheney, share each other's madness," and "An autistic child may be...still..capable of other abstract distinctions {such as "What's the difference between a Democrat and a Republican, other than IQ?"}.
The only respect or appreciation for religion, or religious ideas, that the author expresses seem to be for Hinduism, although he never uses the words Hindoo or Hinduism.
V S Ramachandran only once refers to Temple Grandin, as "the famous high-functioning autist and writer.." He does not say what she is famous for, but besides designing better and very widely used slaughterhouses, Temple Grandin is well known for her very exceptional writing about animals and some aspects of psychiatry, such as the long term consequences of chemotherapy.
It was a little bit alarming to read that V S Ramachandran hopes that "someday" he will meet a patient with a certain kind of brain damage that is caused by a stroke in a certain part of their brain, so that he can test one of his hypotheses.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Experimental Blog #62
Comments on "The Philosophical Breakfast Club" - Four Remarkable Friends Who Transformed Science and Changed the World by Laura J Snyder
The author of this book, Laura J Snyder, a professor of philosophy, seems to have a complete understanding of all the scientific developements that occurred during the very scientifically revolutionary 19th century.
In her book Laura Snyder concentrates on the four principal English natural philosophers, later called scientists, William Whewell, John Herschel, Charles Babbage, and Richard Jones. However, the author is very familiar with all the other previous principal natural philosophers; most importantly, Isaac Newton and Francis Bacon, who is credited with redefining scientific study from its ancient Aristotelian origins into modern empirical forms.
Laura Snyder also gives very thorough, synthesizing, and instructive accounts of the works and influences of Charles Darwin, Michael Faraday, Charles Lyell, Thomas Robert Malthus, David Ricardo, and James Clerk Maxwell; to name only a few of the many others.
The author of this book, Laura J Snyder, a professor of philosophy, seems to have a complete understanding of all the scientific developements that occurred during the very scientifically revolutionary 19th century.
In her book Laura Snyder concentrates on the four principal English natural philosophers, later called scientists, William Whewell, John Herschel, Charles Babbage, and Richard Jones. However, the author is very familiar with all the other previous principal natural philosophers; most importantly, Isaac Newton and Francis Bacon, who is credited with redefining scientific study from its ancient Aristotelian origins into modern empirical forms.
Laura Snyder also gives very thorough, synthesizing, and instructive accounts of the works and influences of Charles Darwin, Michael Faraday, Charles Lyell, Thomas Robert Malthus, David Ricardo, and James Clerk Maxwell; to name only a few of the many others.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Experimental Blog #61
Comments on "Odessa - Genius and Death in a City of Dreams" by Charles King
They say that history should not be forgotten; so, the city of Odessa in today's Ukraine was founded during the reign of Catherine the Great in 1794, about 3 years after Washington, D.C. However, there was already a Tartar village at that site, which was named Khadjibey, whose origins are obscure, but the village of Khadjibey first appears in written sources in the early 1400s. The Tartar and Cossack inhabitants of Khadjibey became Ottoman subjects in the early 1500s.
By the beginning of the First World War the population of Odessa was around 650 thousand people, who were classified as about 39% Russian, 36% Jewish, and 17% Ukrainian, in spite of viscious pogroms and considerable emmigration of Jews in the earlier years of the century.
During the Second World War the "Responsibility for the Holocaust in Odessa and Transnistria rested squarely with Romania, the only country ... besides Nazi Germany to administer a major Soviet city. By the end of the war the Romanians had largely emptied Odessa of what remained of its Jewish population. One of Europe's greatest centers of Jewish life and culture had become, in the language of the Nazis, almost wholly judenrein."
In writing about the high numbers of collaborators the author further says that, "An urban population practised in unmasking class traitors, exposing the wreckers of socialism, and rooting out enemies of the people easily transferred those techniques to uncovering secret Jews."
Nonetheless, "Odessa was one of the first four Soviet cities ... to be awarded the title Gorod-Geroi, or "hero city."
They say that history should not be forgotten; so, the city of Odessa in today's Ukraine was founded during the reign of Catherine the Great in 1794, about 3 years after Washington, D.C. However, there was already a Tartar village at that site, which was named Khadjibey, whose origins are obscure, but the village of Khadjibey first appears in written sources in the early 1400s. The Tartar and Cossack inhabitants of Khadjibey became Ottoman subjects in the early 1500s.
By the beginning of the First World War the population of Odessa was around 650 thousand people, who were classified as about 39% Russian, 36% Jewish, and 17% Ukrainian, in spite of viscious pogroms and considerable emmigration of Jews in the earlier years of the century.
During the Second World War the "Responsibility for the Holocaust in Odessa and Transnistria rested squarely with Romania, the only country ... besides Nazi Germany to administer a major Soviet city. By the end of the war the Romanians had largely emptied Odessa of what remained of its Jewish population. One of Europe's greatest centers of Jewish life and culture had become, in the language of the Nazis, almost wholly judenrein."
In writing about the high numbers of collaborators the author further says that, "An urban population practised in unmasking class traitors, exposing the wreckers of socialism, and rooting out enemies of the people easily transferred those techniques to uncovering secret Jews."
Nonetheless, "Odessa was one of the first four Soviet cities ... to be awarded the title Gorod-Geroi, or "hero city."
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Experimental Blog #60
Comments on 2 books
"The Last Speakers" - The Quest to Save the World's Most Endangered Languages by K. David Harrison
In spite of the author's tendency to harangue, especially in the last chapters of this National Geographic book, "The Last Speakers" is very interesting and informative.
The author says that there are about 7000 languages being used in the world today, but isn't it true that over 90% of all the people in the world speak less than 100 languages?
Many people sooner or later realize that it is very worthwhile for various reasons to know more than one language, maybe even 3 or 4, and even knowing 3 or 4 languages is not extremely rare. How many "literary languages" are there in the world? Two dozen? Two hundred? Five hundred? People will always study those languages.
For the remaining 6500 languages, the best way to preserve many of them, probably, is for someone to write an interesting book in that language, such as "The History and/or Culture of These People" or, perhaps an autobiography.
Why be so gloomy and talk about a language, or even 1000s of languages being "doomed" to extinction? Won't people continue to do what they have always done? That is, won't they continue to make of their human speech, or their language, whatever they need or want to do?
"Andrew Johnson" by Annette Gordon-Reed
Although this author, Annette Gordon-Reed, takes a very standard liberal political view, her book on Andrew Johnson is certainly one of the more interesting books in this somewhat controversial series of political histories of American presidents.
Political history is almost by definition abstract. All the actually living people become "players", as if on the "stage of history." They lose their "human sides" and tend to become "black and white" "stick" or "cardboard figures."
None the less, maybe something like the still popular "Civil War" reenactments for some people, reading about and seeming to observe or witness these political "players" can be both enjoyable and thought provoking.
Andrew Johnson himself may have been a very "spellbinding" extemporaneous speaker; which is not always such a good thing, but he left very little original writing, and the author, and other historians say, nothing of high quality. That seems to be the main reason why he is rated so low by most historians and almost overlooked altogether. He also seems to have inconsistently "talked out of both sides of his mouth", the author says, or changed sides too many times. Or is this a "too unkind evaluation"?
"The Last Speakers" - The Quest to Save the World's Most Endangered Languages by K. David Harrison
In spite of the author's tendency to harangue, especially in the last chapters of this National Geographic book, "The Last Speakers" is very interesting and informative.
The author says that there are about 7000 languages being used in the world today, but isn't it true that over 90% of all the people in the world speak less than 100 languages?
Many people sooner or later realize that it is very worthwhile for various reasons to know more than one language, maybe even 3 or 4, and even knowing 3 or 4 languages is not extremely rare. How many "literary languages" are there in the world? Two dozen? Two hundred? Five hundred? People will always study those languages.
For the remaining 6500 languages, the best way to preserve many of them, probably, is for someone to write an interesting book in that language, such as "The History and/or Culture of These People" or, perhaps an autobiography.
Why be so gloomy and talk about a language, or even 1000s of languages being "doomed" to extinction? Won't people continue to do what they have always done? That is, won't they continue to make of their human speech, or their language, whatever they need or want to do?
"Andrew Johnson" by Annette Gordon-Reed
Although this author, Annette Gordon-Reed, takes a very standard liberal political view, her book on Andrew Johnson is certainly one of the more interesting books in this somewhat controversial series of political histories of American presidents.
Political history is almost by definition abstract. All the actually living people become "players", as if on the "stage of history." They lose their "human sides" and tend to become "black and white" "stick" or "cardboard figures."
None the less, maybe something like the still popular "Civil War" reenactments for some people, reading about and seeming to observe or witness these political "players" can be both enjoyable and thought provoking.
Andrew Johnson himself may have been a very "spellbinding" extemporaneous speaker; which is not always such a good thing, but he left very little original writing, and the author, and other historians say, nothing of high quality. That seems to be the main reason why he is rated so low by most historians and almost overlooked altogether. He also seems to have inconsistently "talked out of both sides of his mouth", the author says, or changed sides too many times. Or is this a "too unkind evaluation"?
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Experimental Blog #59
Comments on "Tearing the Silence" - On Being German in America by Ursula Hegi
These 16 stories of 9 German women and 7 men who were born from 1939 to 1949, and who immigrated to America from 2 to 35 years of age, from 1947 to 1984, are very revealing and thought provoking.
The author, Ursula Hegi, emphasizes what can happen when a people become so self-righteous that they feel completely different from other people.
Perhaps this particular period of history might begin when the uncompromising French and English presented the hypocritical, vengeful, and very stupid Treaty of Versailles to Germany in 1919 at the end of World War I. And the Germans, not being any smarter or more imaginative, absurdly accepted it.
The result was the discrediting of any and all moderation and the extreme destabilizing of German society, politics, and government. When Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party came to power only 14 years later, it can be said that the French and English had created, or, at least stimulated, precisely what they had so dishonestly tried to prevent.
"And so the war came..."
Winston Churchill , a staunch promoter of the British Empire, is often considered to be the dominating allied world leader during that war, World War II, and he seemed to be equally concerned not only with defeating Germany, again, but, also, with keeping Russia out of Eastern Europe.
For that reason he stubbornly refused to allow an invasion of Nazi occupied Europe from the west, but kept promoting an invasion from the Balkan Peninsula, no matter the "mountainous" obstacles. Perhaps he hoped that the Germans would eventually stall and stop the advance of the Red Army, but that did not happen. He only agreed to the Normandy Invasion, which finally took place at least a whole year later, it is said, than when Franklin Roosevelt felt that America was ready and the invasion should occur, when it became clear that the Red Army would take Berlin, and even possibly threaten to go all the way to the Atlantic.
Of course, there is a case for such a view. After all, the communist Soviet Union was the declared uncompromising enemy of all "capitalists, kings, and landowners," and would likely have shot all of them if they could. But it turned out that by trying to force his will on the world around him, Winston Churchill helped accomplish what he was trying so hard to prevent, that is, Russian domination of all of Eastern Europe. And he might be considered one of the chief architects of Cold War Europe, that lasted for about 44 years, with its "Iron Curtain," Churchill's term, right across the continent.
Of course, all of the opinions expressed here have the advantage of what is sometimes called "20/20 hindsight."
Are Germans the only people who are "clean, orderly, obedient, thorough, conscientious, and punctual?" Ursula Hegi frequently mentions these stereotypes.
These 16 stories of 9 German women and 7 men who were born from 1939 to 1949, and who immigrated to America from 2 to 35 years of age, from 1947 to 1984, are very revealing and thought provoking.
The author, Ursula Hegi, emphasizes what can happen when a people become so self-righteous that they feel completely different from other people.
Perhaps this particular period of history might begin when the uncompromising French and English presented the hypocritical, vengeful, and very stupid Treaty of Versailles to Germany in 1919 at the end of World War I. And the Germans, not being any smarter or more imaginative, absurdly accepted it.
The result was the discrediting of any and all moderation and the extreme destabilizing of German society, politics, and government. When Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party came to power only 14 years later, it can be said that the French and English had created, or, at least stimulated, precisely what they had so dishonestly tried to prevent.
"And so the war came..."
Winston Churchill , a staunch promoter of the British Empire, is often considered to be the dominating allied world leader during that war, World War II, and he seemed to be equally concerned not only with defeating Germany, again, but, also, with keeping Russia out of Eastern Europe.
For that reason he stubbornly refused to allow an invasion of Nazi occupied Europe from the west, but kept promoting an invasion from the Balkan Peninsula, no matter the "mountainous" obstacles. Perhaps he hoped that the Germans would eventually stall and stop the advance of the Red Army, but that did not happen. He only agreed to the Normandy Invasion, which finally took place at least a whole year later, it is said, than when Franklin Roosevelt felt that America was ready and the invasion should occur, when it became clear that the Red Army would take Berlin, and even possibly threaten to go all the way to the Atlantic.
Of course, there is a case for such a view. After all, the communist Soviet Union was the declared uncompromising enemy of all "capitalists, kings, and landowners," and would likely have shot all of them if they could. But it turned out that by trying to force his will on the world around him, Winston Churchill helped accomplish what he was trying so hard to prevent, that is, Russian domination of all of Eastern Europe. And he might be considered one of the chief architects of Cold War Europe, that lasted for about 44 years, with its "Iron Curtain," Churchill's term, right across the continent.
Of course, all of the opinions expressed here have the advantage of what is sometimes called "20/20 hindsight."
Are Germans the only people who are "clean, orderly, obedient, thorough, conscientious, and punctual?" Ursula Hegi frequently mentions these stereotypes.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Experimental Blog #58
Comments on "Molotov's Magic Lantern - Travels in Russian History" by Rachel Polonsky
Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov, who, in 1937 and 1938, signed execution lists, along with Joseph Stalin and others, that included the names of 43,569 people; party members, sometimes their wives, and others considered "wreckers"; and who also approved along with the rest of the Politburo, the massacre of the entire Polish officer corps, about 22,000 men, in the Katyn forest in March of 1940, was expelled from the central committee of the USSR Comunist Party in 1957. Nonetheless, he continued to live in a fine appartment in Moscow for another 29 years until 1986.
Molotov's real family name was Skryabin, a well known musical family, and, elsewhere, it says that he had some kind of degree in Fine Arts.
Molotov seems to have been largely overlooked in America, but this author, Rachel Polonsky, reveals the importance of his long life, he was born in 1890, and, perhaps, the importance of his intellectual interests as well. Rachel Polonsky thinks that he had a personal library of as many as 10,000 books before he was thrown out of the party leadership.
Between 1969 and 1986, Molotov was interviewed by the "Stalinist poet", Felix Chuev, who published these " 140 conversations" in 1991.
Molotov also has a grandson, Vyacheslav Nikonov, who, besides being a specialist in American history, is writing a multi-volume biography of his grandfather.
The "riddles, mysteries, and enigmas" of this vastly complicated country, Russia, and its communist history are very much illuminated and explained by this book.
Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov, who, in 1937 and 1938, signed execution lists, along with Joseph Stalin and others, that included the names of 43,569 people; party members, sometimes their wives, and others considered "wreckers"; and who also approved along with the rest of the Politburo, the massacre of the entire Polish officer corps, about 22,000 men, in the Katyn forest in March of 1940, was expelled from the central committee of the USSR Comunist Party in 1957. Nonetheless, he continued to live in a fine appartment in Moscow for another 29 years until 1986.
Molotov's real family name was Skryabin, a well known musical family, and, elsewhere, it says that he had some kind of degree in Fine Arts.
Molotov seems to have been largely overlooked in America, but this author, Rachel Polonsky, reveals the importance of his long life, he was born in 1890, and, perhaps, the importance of his intellectual interests as well. Rachel Polonsky thinks that he had a personal library of as many as 10,000 books before he was thrown out of the party leadership.
Between 1969 and 1986, Molotov was interviewed by the "Stalinist poet", Felix Chuev, who published these " 140 conversations" in 1991.
Molotov also has a grandson, Vyacheslav Nikonov, who, besides being a specialist in American history, is writing a multi-volume biography of his grandfather.
The "riddles, mysteries, and enigmas" of this vastly complicated country, Russia, and its communist history are very much illuminated and explained by this book.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Experimental Blog #57
Comments on 2 books
"Biting the Wax Tadpole" - Confessions of a Language Fanatic by Elizabeth Little
This book is filled with remarkable and intriguing language facts. Such as.
#1 Although to know 15 to 20 languages seems to be considered a very impressive number by some "authorities," the author relates that a German man named Francis Sommer was reputed to be "fluent" in 94! languages when he died in 1978.
#2 It was most interesting to learn that our verb "to be" and the words "been" and the imperative "be!" come from some kind of "official infinitive" "beon." And our words "was" and "were" come from the word "wesan," while "am" and "is" come from a Latin root word "esser." She doesn't say where "are" comes from.
#3 It is unknown why, she says, that the words for the number 9 and the word for "new" are very similar in 6 Germanic languages, 5 Latin languages, 2 Celtic languages, plus Sanskrit and Persian, but not, apparently, in any Slavic languages.
Elizabeth Little also seems to imply that whether you think that, "Ich bin ein Berliner" means "I am from Berlin," or, "I am a jelly doughnut" depends mostly on your political sympathies.
"It's All Greek to Me - From Homer to the Hippocratic Oath, How Ancient Greece Has Shaped Our World" by Charlotte Higgins
The author of this book also succeeds very well in communicating her enthusiasm for her subject, the cultural history of Ancient Greece and its impact on us. Although the chronology of her narritive is sometimes a little bit unclear, her book covers the period of time from about 776 BC, the founding of the Olympic Games, or perhaps more importantly, from about 750 BC, the beginning of the Greek alphabet, to not in much detail beyond 399 BC, the death of Socrates, or, about 335 BC, the founding of Aristotle's Lyceum in Athens. This time span is somewhat less than 450 years.
Charlotte Higgins' account of the life and death of Socrates is very provoking. He never wrote anything, but he certainly must have been quite literate, and could have done so. Her comments on Plato, "arguably the most important philosopher the West has produced," and his "Republic", "bloated, uneven, chilling, funny, exasperating, beautiful, inspiring, deadly, and confusing," are also very provoking.
When did the "Golden Age of Greece" come to an end? As early as 404 BC with the final defeat of Athens by Sparta? Or more than a century later, when all of Greece was defeated and conquered by the expanding Roman Empire?
"Biting the Wax Tadpole" - Confessions of a Language Fanatic by Elizabeth Little
This book is filled with remarkable and intriguing language facts. Such as.
#1 Although to know 15 to 20 languages seems to be considered a very impressive number by some "authorities," the author relates that a German man named Francis Sommer was reputed to be "fluent" in 94! languages when he died in 1978.
#2 It was most interesting to learn that our verb "to be" and the words "been" and the imperative "be!" come from some kind of "official infinitive" "beon." And our words "was" and "were" come from the word "wesan," while "am" and "is" come from a Latin root word "esser." She doesn't say where "are" comes from.
#3 It is unknown why, she says, that the words for the number 9 and the word for "new" are very similar in 6 Germanic languages, 5 Latin languages, 2 Celtic languages, plus Sanskrit and Persian, but not, apparently, in any Slavic languages.
Elizabeth Little also seems to imply that whether you think that, "Ich bin ein Berliner" means "I am from Berlin," or, "I am a jelly doughnut" depends mostly on your political sympathies.
"It's All Greek to Me - From Homer to the Hippocratic Oath, How Ancient Greece Has Shaped Our World" by Charlotte Higgins
The author of this book also succeeds very well in communicating her enthusiasm for her subject, the cultural history of Ancient Greece and its impact on us. Although the chronology of her narritive is sometimes a little bit unclear, her book covers the period of time from about 776 BC, the founding of the Olympic Games, or perhaps more importantly, from about 750 BC, the beginning of the Greek alphabet, to not in much detail beyond 399 BC, the death of Socrates, or, about 335 BC, the founding of Aristotle's Lyceum in Athens. This time span is somewhat less than 450 years.
Charlotte Higgins' account of the life and death of Socrates is very provoking. He never wrote anything, but he certainly must have been quite literate, and could have done so. Her comments on Plato, "arguably the most important philosopher the West has produced," and his "Republic", "bloated, uneven, chilling, funny, exasperating, beautiful, inspiring, deadly, and confusing," are also very provoking.
When did the "Golden Age of Greece" come to an end? As early as 404 BC with the final defeat of Athens by Sparta? Or more than a century later, when all of Greece was defeated and conquered by the expanding Roman Empire?
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Experimental Blog #56
Comments on "Naming Infinity" - A True Story of Religious Mysticism and Mathematical Creativity by Loren Graham and Jean-Michel Kantor
For someone whose mathematical understanding is limited this small book is not very easy to describe. Nonetheless, the story of these late 19th and early 20th century mostly French and Russian mathematicians is quite illuminating. Although the first modern mathematician who "discovered", or "invented", the mathematical theory of sets was a German, the French soon took over its further developement and elaboration.
The authors say, however, that since the French mathematicians were limited by Rene' Descartes' rationalism and Auguste Comte's positivism, they eventually came to an "intellectual abyss."
On the other hand, there existed in Russia centuries of tradition of "mysticism", that, although sometimes condemned as heretical "Name Worshipping," did not prevent the Russian mathematicians from mixing mathematics and religion.
How do these mathematical ideas exist? Are they imagined? Or are they real? Have they always been there to be discovered? Or do they become real, or come into existence, only after they are named?
The usually religious and sometimes even "Name Worshipping" Russian mathematicians naturally came under fierce attack and persecution by the materialist Marxists who eventually came into power everywhere in Russia. Many, maybe most, were imprisoned. Some were executed, or died violently, and others "converted" and promoted the aggressive, intolerant, and totalitarian ideas of the new Soviet Union.
However, in spite of these events, the Moscow School of Mathematics grew and became world famous.
For someone whose mathematical understanding is limited this small book is not very easy to describe. Nonetheless, the story of these late 19th and early 20th century mostly French and Russian mathematicians is quite illuminating. Although the first modern mathematician who "discovered", or "invented", the mathematical theory of sets was a German, the French soon took over its further developement and elaboration.
The authors say, however, that since the French mathematicians were limited by Rene' Descartes' rationalism and Auguste Comte's positivism, they eventually came to an "intellectual abyss."
On the other hand, there existed in Russia centuries of tradition of "mysticism", that, although sometimes condemned as heretical "Name Worshipping," did not prevent the Russian mathematicians from mixing mathematics and religion.
How do these mathematical ideas exist? Are they imagined? Or are they real? Have they always been there to be discovered? Or do they become real, or come into existence, only after they are named?
The usually religious and sometimes even "Name Worshipping" Russian mathematicians naturally came under fierce attack and persecution by the materialist Marxists who eventually came into power everywhere in Russia. Many, maybe most, were imprisoned. Some were executed, or died violently, and others "converted" and promoted the aggressive, intolerant, and totalitarian ideas of the new Soviet Union.
However, in spite of these events, the Moscow School of Mathematics grew and became world famous.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Experimental Blog #55
Comments on "The Tenth Parallel" - Dispatches from the Fault Line between Christianity and Islam by Eliza Griswold
The achievements and the many products of today's science and technology continue to flood and dazzle the entire contemporary world. But, in spite of all of this production, it continues to be glaringly obvious that science and technology do not, and can not, give any meaning and purpose to human life, either individually or to a society of any size.
However, anybody can experience, or learn about, the many thousands of works and monuments of religious creativity around the world; going back thousands of years in architecture, art, sculpture, music, literature, and other works.
The awful and horrible destructiveness of people in the name of their religions is also a part of thousands of years of human history and the news and events of today anywhere in the world.
Sooner or later, somehow or other, something like a new universal worldwide religion will develope because of its necessity. Then people will find more harmonious religious meaning and purpose to their lives, and they will create new works and monuments of all kinds for worship and other religious purposes and expressions.
The achievements and the many products of today's science and technology continue to flood and dazzle the entire contemporary world. But, in spite of all of this production, it continues to be glaringly obvious that science and technology do not, and can not, give any meaning and purpose to human life, either individually or to a society of any size.
However, anybody can experience, or learn about, the many thousands of works and monuments of religious creativity around the world; going back thousands of years in architecture, art, sculpture, music, literature, and other works.
The awful and horrible destructiveness of people in the name of their religions is also a part of thousands of years of human history and the news and events of today anywhere in the world.
Sooner or later, somehow or other, something like a new universal worldwide religion will develope because of its necessity. Then people will find more harmonious religious meaning and purpose to their lives, and they will create new works and monuments of all kinds for worship and other religious purposes and expressions.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Experimental Blog #54
Comments on "Lost and Found in Russia" - Lives in a Post-Soviet Landscape by Susan Richards
The English lady who is the author of this book seems so fluent in Russian that she never seems to miss anything. Her ability to share her long travels in the new Russia and her Russian friends and acquaintances can hardly be described. This book is Susan Richards' 2nd book of Russian travels, and is a remarkable sequel to it.
The first book, "Epics of Everyday Life," was very much praised and was very tranquil by comparison. It was written just months before the communist Soviet Union began to fall apart, and nobody seemed to be aware of this outcome, including the author.
The English lady who is the author of this book seems so fluent in Russian that she never seems to miss anything. Her ability to share her long travels in the new Russia and her Russian friends and acquaintances can hardly be described. This book is Susan Richards' 2nd book of Russian travels, and is a remarkable sequel to it.
The first book, "Epics of Everyday Life," was very much praised and was very tranquil by comparison. It was written just months before the communist Soviet Union began to fall apart, and nobody seemed to be aware of this outcome, including the author.
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