Guitar Chords, Stereolab

Pop Quiz



Bmaj7  C#         F#maj7

Ways of doing and work

Definition of truth, 

sexual regulations

Language allowed, forbidden

With enthusiasm 

dying for your country

The imaginary 

is bounding reality.

Ways of doing and work

Definition of truth, 

sexual regulations

Language allowed, forbidden,

Individuality, 

apart from society

Is a big fallacy.

Bmaj7    C#      F#maj7  C#m7 

There is no need to pretend

Bmaj7    C#      F#maj7  C#m7 

But we don't know when we do know

Bmaj7  C#         F#maj7  C#m7

(There's no need to pretend,

we don't know when we do)



The Extension Trip



Emaj7  Bm7  Amaj7  Bm7

constitution biologique

a la fois rigide et plastique

dont la souplesse laisse place

a la faculte critique

dont la souplesse laisse place

une bien plus grande optique



How to Pay Your internal Organs Overnight



C#  F#/C#  A/C#  C#



The Brush Descends the Length



Eb   	       Bmaj7  E

In the wait of the final crisis

Is it close at hand and auspicious

Links

Telegraph: Prime Minister Blair ready to convert, says Catholic priest. Update: Blair denies the rumor.

Guardian: Dutch scientists prove wine healthier than "alcopops."

Wow...who knew George Lucas read my blog? After pointing out last year that Whale Rider's Keisha Castle-Hughes looked, in her Maori face-paint, like Natalie Portman qua Queen of Naboo, now I find out that she is cast as the new Queen of Naboo in Episode 3. Just slap a "CSA" after my name.

NYT: Philip Roth's Newark." When I read `Portnoy's Complaint,' everything was familiar to me," Judge Kirsten said. "I gave it to my mother, and she said, `I can't understand why such a nice Jewish boy would write such a dirty book.' Philip wrote a letter to her and told her that his bark is worse than his bite.

Book Reviews

Greaves, Richard L. Glimpses of Glory: John Bunyan and English Dissent. Stanford.

American Historical Review: “Greaves has devoted a lifetime to the study of English Puritans and nonconformity, and this ambitious book represents a triumphant culmination and achievement. This is a fine biography that will stand the test of time.” Anglican Theological Review: “Connects Bunyan’s life very effectively with the political and religious history of the age. A solid, judicious, and reliable work built on a thoroughly stunning array of primary and secondary resources.” Utopian Studies: “Overall, I believe that the author falls somewhat short of success in this ambitious project. Greaves masterfully captures the milieu in which Bunyan lived, but fails to clarify the importance of his central figure to the overall path of English dissent in this era. Greaves has a magisterial knowledge of Bunyan’s works, but this very same attention to detail has the effect of overwhelming the reader, seriously slowing down the flow of the narrative. Perhaps the best parts of this book are those dealing with Bunyan’s personal religious struggles and beliefs. The author indulges in too much speculation for this reviewer’s taste. Readers with an intense interest in both the life of John Bunyan and the religious controversies of Post-Restoration England will have their time and effort rewarded with a vast store of information and much learned analysis.” Choice: “Outstanding title. A monumental study. The book could have been shorter. Greaves overdoes his diagnosis of Bunyan’s clinical depression and catalogs more images of light/darkness than necessary. Quibbles aside, every library that owns the multivolume Miscellaneous Works should have this volume.” Catholic Historical Quarterly: “’Magisterial’ is an overworked adjective among reviewers [no kidding!], but in this case it seems justified.” Christianity and Literature: “A virtual encyclopedia of Bunyaniana.”

Tersities

Taking jazz guitar lessons. Working on modes and "Ruby My Dear."

Got out of jury duty by being too opinionated. Life imprisonment for armed robbery???

Recovering from head cold. Exercise regimen disrupted.

Read: Portnoy's Complaint, a sort of cross between Confederacy of Dunces and Woody Allen. Funny.

Seen: Night of Shooting Stars, Baran, Kung Pow: Enter the Fist, Fifth Element, Birth of a Nation.

Liens

It'd be nice to live in a country that takes movies so seriously: "French Minister of Industry Patrick Devedjian signed into law a provision allowing cinema and theatre owners to install cell-phone jammers to prevent their customers from making or receiving calls during performances." Great!

Observer interview with Michael Palin. People assume that because you've eaten bull's penis or grasshoppers, they must be the worst things you've ever eaten - but more disgusting were those huge plates of food they give you in America. Totally tasteless.

Scrooge McDuck stolen from Oslo library

According to a study conducted by Kentucky University, men's loss of inhibition is more than three times as great as that of women with the same concentration of alcohol in the blood.

Consumption of alcohol was associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation or flutter in men.

Anheuser-Busch develops sweet, caffeinated beer. I would call this blasphemy but for the fact that ordinary Busch beer is a sacrilege to begin with.

NYT review of Dylan's Memoirs, vol. 1.

Groening plans to pull the plug on The Simpsons in 2008, but promises to make a full-length movie. (The latter article, though, has Groening saying that the show could continue into the foreseeable future.)

Simpsons season 5 DVDs to be released December 21.

New Book: Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Defined a Generation. Publishers Weekly says "Turner's fannish enthusiasm and tsunami of trivia will appeal mainly to devotees."

A Russian Orthodox church erected in Pyongyang.

Anti-Bush harassment.

New version of Vivisimo search engine.