Mental multivitamin: 10.03

10.31.2003

The recommended daily allowance

"We cannot expect... to make a mythological allusion anymore, or use a foreign phrase, or refer to a famous historical event or literary character, and still be understood by more than a tiny handful of people. (Try this in virtually any group setting, and note the reaction. This is an excellent wake-up call as to what this culture is about, and how totally alien to it you are.)"

Oooh, and this gem:

"Our entire consciousness, our intellectual mental life, is being Starbuckized, condensed into a prefabricated designer look in a way that is reminiscent of that brilliant, terrible film, The Invasion of the Body Snatchers (a great metaphor for our time.)"

Interested?

Check out Morris Berman's The Twilight of American Culture. Like Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death and Daniel Boorstein's The Image, Twilight is a book that inspires copious note-taking and several runs to the library to find the many texts to which he refers in making his impassioned argument for a monastic approach to preserving what is best about our culture.

Yes, his argument is flawed in places. But I am not as concerned with Berman's missteps because his abiding conviction that we must quietly, monastically pursue the preservation of what is best about our culture — our history, our literature and music, our scientific knowledge, our ability to critically reason — resonates with me.

In short, Berman urges you to eschew McWorld. Be not afraid when you allude to Shakespeare, the bible, or Dickens and your audience looks at you askance. Be an alien in our culture's "hardening phase," when its form is preserved but its content is lost. Be like a lonely monk, gathering scraps of what is best about about us for the civilizations that follow after our dark age.

It's like a muscle: Use it or lose it.

Yeah, that's a bit trite, but so true: If you don't use your brain, it's going to fail you — first, in small ways, of the "Honey, where are my keys?" variety, but later in scary-big ways, of the "Do I know you, Honey?" variety. And so, fear of ending up like Costello's Veronica motivates my unflagging commitment to autodidacticism (i.e., brain exercise for loners).

According to an Associated Press piece at Health Education Alliance for Life and Longevity, "'There are some things that, if you know you have a family history (of Alzheimer's) and you're just 20 to 30 years old, you can start doing to increase your protective factors,' said Dr. Amir Soas of Case Western Reserve University Medical School in Cleveland.

"It's also good advice for the average baby boomer hoping to stay sharp, or the mom priming her child for a lifelong healthy brain.

"Most important: 'Read, read, read,' Soas said. Do crossword puzzles. Pull out the chessboard or Scrabble. Learn a foreign language or a new hobby. 'Anything that stimulates the brain to think,' he said."

Ayup. That makes a lot of sense. Of course, Soas wants folks to avoid television like the plague, but then cardiologists want us to forget about chocolate, too. As I've mentioned before, zealots make my stomach hurt. A little L&O isn't going to make me senile, any more than a couple of M&Ms is going to give me a grabber. So, I read, read, read, and then I watch an old movie or an episode of L&O — preferably with a bag of plain M&Ms nearby.

Anyway...

Speaking of autodidacticism, In "Thoughts on Autodidacticism," John W. Osborne, professor emeritus of history at Rutgers University, writes, "[S]elf‑educated people—autodidacts—react to their reading in a manner that is personal and unpredictable. The result may be extreme individualism and disdain for common tastes."

YES! That's it.

So if my observations about books I've read (or movies I've seen or artwork I've appreciated or people I've watched) seems somehow "off," ascribe it to middle-aged-onset autodidacticism and allow me my quirks.

Hey, and use your brains, folks. We only get one each.

10.30.2003

The recommended daily allowance

"As it is, in BAD conversation, anger and envy are always on the verge of bursting out. There seems to be a constant agitation toward something powerful but not expressed, some frustration --- perhaps of American dreams and implicit promises cruelly broken. Is the cause a persisting disappointment in the way life has turned out?"

Interested?

Check out Paul Fussell's BAD, or The Dumbing of America. Better still, check out Class: A Guide through the American Status System. The contents of your living room say more about you than you could possibly guess.

Too much TV?

Apparently, kids, especially little ones, are watching too much television.

One question: This is news?!?

Why, nearly sixty years ago (1948), Jack Gould wrote in the New York Times, "Children's hours on television admittedly are an insidious narcotic for the parent."

I guess every time a new study comes out, we must be reminded that we could get burned by the so-called "great American campfire." Hence, the recent story.

Hey, don't get me wrong. I love to warm myself by the glow of the flickering lantern a couple of times a week; I'm no "toss the television" evangelist. (In fact, zealots of any kind upset my stomach.) And I am grateful for the occasional dose of PBS Kids; it buys me twenty or so minutes of down-time on a less-than-perfect afternoon and/or a particularly long day.

But when I read "Too Much TV"-type news, I can't help but be reminded of the prescience of The Plug-In Drug. Author Marie Winn picked up where Gould left off, reflecting, "Surely there can be no more insidious a drug than one that you must administer to others in order to achieve an effect for yourself."

Maybe she's right. After all, if one needs two hours of "effect," one had better be down with a rare flu, right?

Then, again, maybe not. Is two hours of screen time so bad when, for example, a family reads (together and apart) as much or more than they watch? You would think that time spent with books would mitigate any ill effects of extended television viewing, right?

Nope, says Paul Fussell, because "[a]lthough now and then it tries to cover its shame and put on airs, television is a grossly proletarian medium, efficient at merchandising denture cleansers and incontinence diapers, beer, laxatives, cars, and laundry supplies, but death to books, ideas, the sense of history, and the complexities, subtleties, and ironies of civilized."

Well, hmph.

I guess one must decide for himself just how much TV is too much. Perhaps we're all a little like Goldilocks' friends --- too much; too little; ah, just right.

10.02.2003

One hundred words a high school student (and his parents!) should know

abjure
1 a : to renounce upon oath b : to reject solemnly
2 : to abstain from : AVOID
- ab•jur•er noun

abrogate
1 : to abolish by authoritative action : ANNUL
2 : to treat as nonexistent
synonym see NULLIFY

abstemious
: marked by restraint especially in the consumption of food or alcohol; also : reflecting such restraint

acumen
: keenness and depth of perception, discernment, or discrimination especially in practical matters
synonym see DISCERNMENT

antebellum
: existing before a war; especially : existing before the Civil War

auspicious
1 : affording a favorable auspice : PROPITIOUS
2 : attended by good auspices : PROSPEROUS
synonym see FAVORABLE

belie
1 a : to give a false impression of b : to present an appearance not in agreement with
2 a : to show (something) to be false or wrong b : to run counter to : CONTRADICT
3 : DISGUISE 3

bellicose
: favoring or inclined to start quarrels or wars
synonym see BELLIGERENT

bowdlerize
1 : to expurgate (as a book) by omitting or modifying parts considered vulgar
2 : to modify by abridging, simplifying, or distorting in style or content

chicanery
1 : deception by artful subterfuge or sophistry : TRICKERY
2 : a piece of sharp practice (as at law) : TRICK

chromosome
: one of the linear or sometimes circular DNA-containing bodies of viruses, prokaryotic organisms, and the cell nucleus of eukaryotic organisms that contain most or all of the genes of the individual -- compare CHROMATIN

churlish
1 : of, resembling, or characteristic of a churl : VULGAR
2 : marked by a lack of civility or graciousness : SURLY
3 : difficult to work with or deal with : INTRACTABLE

circumlocution
1 : the use of an unnecessarily large number of words to express an idea
2 : evasion in speech

circumnavigate
: to go completely around (as the earth) especially by water; also : to go around instead of through : BYPASS

deciduous
1 : falling off or shed seasonally or at a certain stage of development in the life cycle
2 a : having deciduous parts b : having the dominant plants deciduous
3 : EPHEMERAL

deleterious
: harmful often in a subtle or unexpected way
synonym see PERNICIOUS

diffident
1 : hesitant in acting or speaking through lack of self-confidence
2 archaic : DISTRUSTFUL
3 : RESERVED, UNASSERTIVE
synonym see SHY

enervate
: lacking physical, mental, or moral vigor : ENERVATED

enfranchise
1 : to set free (as from slavery)
2 : to endow with a franchise: as a : to admit to the privileges of a citizen and especially to the right of suffrage b : to admit (a municipality) to political privileges or rights

epiphany
1 capitalized : January 6 observed as a church festival in commemoration of the coming of the Magi as the first manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles or in the Eastern Church in commemoration of the baptism of Christ
2 : an appearance or manifestation especially of a divine being
3 a (1) : a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something (2) : an intuitive grasp of reality through something (as an event) usually simple and striking (3) : an illuminating discovery b : a revealing scene or moment

equinox
1 : either of the two points on the celestial sphere where the celestial equator intersects the ecliptic
2 : either of the two times each year (as about March 21 and September 23) when the sun crosses the equator and day and night are everywhere of equal length

euro
: the basic monetary unit shared by countries of the European Union since 1999

evanescent
: tending to vanish like vapor
synonym see TRANSIENT

expurgate
: to cleanse of something morally harmful, offensive, or erroneous; especially : to expunge objectionable parts from before publication or presentation

facetious
1 : joking or jesting often inappropriately : WAGGISH
2 : meant to be humorous or funny : not serious
synonym see WITTY

fatuous
: complacently or inanely foolish : SILLY
synonym see SIMPLE

feckless
1 : WEAK, INEFFECTIVE
2 : WORTHLESS, IRRESPONSIBLE

fiduciary
: of, relating to, or involving a confidence or trust: as a : held or founded in trust or confidence b : holding in trust c : depending on public confidence for value or currency

filibuster
1 : an irregular military adventurer; specifically : an American engaged in fomenting insurrections in Latin America in the mid-19th century
2 [2filibuster] a : the use of extreme dilatory tactics in an attempt to delay or prevent action especially in a legislative assembly b : an instance of this practice

gamete
: a mature male or female germ cell usually possessing a haploid chromosome set and capable of initiating formation of a new diploid individual by fusion with a gamete of the opposite sex

gauche
1 a : lacking social experience or grace; also : not tactful : CRUDE b : crudely made or done
2 : not planar
synonym see AWKWARD

gerrymander
1 : to divide (a territorial unit) into election districts to give one political party an electoral majority in a large number of districts while concentrating the voting strength of the opposition in as few districts as possible
2 : to divide (an area) into political units to give special advantages to one group

hegemony
: preponderant influence or authority over others : DOMINATION

hemoglobin
1 : an iron-containing respiratory pigment of vertebrate red blood cells that consists of a globin composed of four subunits each of which is linked to a heme molecule, that functions in oxygen transport to the tissues after conversion to oxygenated form in the gills or lungs, and that assists in carbon dioxide transport back to the gills or lungs after surrender of its oxygen
2 : any of numerous iron-containing respiratory pigments of invertebrates and some plants (as yeasts)

homogeneous
1 : of the same or a similar kind or nature
2 : of uniform structure or composition throughout
3 : having the property that if each variable is replaced by a constant times that variable the constant can be factored out : having each term of the same degree if all variables are considered

hubris
: exaggerated pride or self-confidence

hypotenuse
1 : the side of a right-angled triangle that is opposite the right angle
2 : the length of a hypotenuse

impeach
1 a : to bring an accusation against b : to charge with a crime or misdemeanor; specifically : to charge (a public official) before a competent tribunal with misconduct in office
2 : to cast doubt on; especially : to challenge the credibility or validity of
3 : to remove from office especially for misconduct

incognito
: with one's identity concealed

incontrovertible
: not open to question : INDISPUTABLE

inculcate
to teach and impress by frequent repetitions or admonitions
synonym see IMPLANT

infrastructure
1 : the underlying foundation or basic framework (as of a system or organization)
2 : the permanent installations required for military purposes
3 : the system of public works of a country, state, or region; also : the resources (as personnel, buildings, or equipment) required for an activity

interpolate
1 a : to alter or corrupt (as a text) by inserting new or foreign matter b : to insert (words) into a text or into a conversation
2 : to insert between other things or parts : INTERCALATE
3 : to estimate values of (a function) between two known values
intransitive senses : to make insertions (as of estimated values)
synonym see INTRODUCE

irony
1 : a pretense of ignorance and of willingness to learn from another assumed in order to make the other's false conceptions conspicuous by adroit questioning -- called also Socratic irony
2 a : the use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning b : a usually humorous or sardonic literary style or form characterized by irony c : an ironic expression or utterance
3 a (1) : incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result (2) : an event or result marked by such incongruity b : incongruity between a situation developed in a drama and the accompanying words or actions that is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play -- called also dramatic irony, tragic irony
synonym see WIT

jejune
1 : lacking nutritive value
2 : devoid of significance or interest : DULL
3 : JUVENILE, PUERILE
synonym see INSIPID

kinetic
1 : of or relating to the motion of material bodies and the forces and energy associated therewith
2 a : ACTIVE, LIVELY b : DYNAMIC, ENERGIZING
3 : of or relating to kinetic art

kowtow
1 : to show obsequious deference : FAWN
2 : to kneel and touch the forehead to the ground in token of homage, worship, or deep respect

laissez faire
1 : a doctrine opposing governmental interference in economic affairs beyond the minimum necessary for the maintenance of peace and property rights
2 : a philosophy or practice characterized by a usually deliberate abstention from direction or interference especially with individual freedom of choice and action

lexicon
1 : a book containing an alphabetical arrangement of the words in a language and their definitions : DICTIONARY
2 a : the vocabulary of a language, an individual speaker or group of speakers, or a subject b : the total stock of morphemes in a language
3 : REPERTOIRE, INVENTORY

loquacious
1 : full of excessive talk : WORDY
2 : given to fluent or excessive talk : GARRULOUS
synonym see TALKATIVE

lugubrious
1 : MOURNFUL; especially : exaggeratedly or affectedly mournful
2 : DISMAL

metamorphosis
1 a : change of physical form, structure, or substance especially by supernatural means b : a striking alteration in appearance, character, or circumstances
2 : a marked and more or less abrupt developmental change in the form or structure of an animal (as a butterfly or a frog) occurring subsequent to birth or hatching

mitosis
1 : a process that takes place in the nucleus of a dividing cell, involves typically a series of steps consisting of prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase, and results in the formation of two new nuclei each having the same number of chromosomes as the parent nucleus -- compare MEIOSIS
2 : cell division in which mitosis occurs

moiety
1 a : one of two equal parts : HALF b : one of two approximately equal parts
2 : one of the portions into which something is divided : COMPONENT, PART
3 : one of two basic complementary tribal subdivisions

nanotechnology
: the art of manipulating materials on an atomic or molecular scale especially to build microscopic devices (as robots)

nihilism
1 a : a viewpoint that traditional values and beliefs are unfounded and that existence is senseless and useless b : a doctrine that denies any objective ground of truth and especially of moral truths
2 a (1) : a doctrine or belief that conditions in the social organization are so bad as to make destruction desirable for its own sake independent of any constructive program or possibility (2) capitalized : the program of a 19th century Russian party advocating revolutionary reform and using terrorism and assassination b : TERRORISM

nomenclature
: NAME, DESIGNATION
2 : the act or process or an instance of naming
3 a : a system or set of terms or symbols especially in a particular science, discipline, or art b : an international system of standardized New Latin names used in biology for kinds and groups of kinds of animals and plants

nonsectarian
not having a sectarian character : not affiliated with or restricted to a particular religious group

notarize
to acknowledge or attest as a notary public

obsequious
marked by or exhibiting a fawning attentiveness
synonym see SUBSERVIENT

oligarchy
1 : government by the few
2 : a government in which a small group exercises control especially for corrupt and selfish purposes; also : a group exercising such control
3 : an organization under oligarchic control

omnipotent
1 often capitalized : ALMIGHTY 1
2 : having virtually unlimited authority or influence
3 obsolete : ARRANT

orthography
1 a : the art of writing words with the proper letters according to standard usage b : the representation of the sounds of a language by written or printed symbols
2 : a part of language study that deals with letters and spelling

oxidize
1 : to combine with oxygen
2 : to dehydrogenate especially by the action of oxygen
3 : to change (a compound) by increasing the proportion of the electronegative part or change (an element or ion) from a lower to a higher positive valence : remove one or more electrons from (an atom, ion, or molecule)

parabola
1 : a plane curve generated by a point moving so that its distance from a fixed point is equal to its distance from a fixed line : the intersection of a right circular cone with a plane parallel to an element of the cone
2 : something bowl-shaped (as an antenna or microphone reflector)

paradigm
1 : EXAMPLE, PATTERN; especially : an outstandingly clear or typical example or archetype
2 : an example of a conjugation or declension showing a word in all its inflectional forms
3 : a philosophical and theoretical framework of a scientific school or discipline within which theories, laws, and generalizations and the experiments performed in support of them are formulated; broadly : a philosophical or theoretical framework of any kind

parameter
1 a : an arbitrary constant whose value characterizes a member of a system (as a family of curves); also : a quantity (as a mean or variance) that describes a statistical population b : an independent variable used to express the coordinates of a variable point and functions of them -- compare PARAMETRIC EQUATION
2 : any of a set of physical properties whose values determine the characteristics or behavior of something
3 : something represented by a parameter : a characteristic element; broadly : CHARACTERISTIC, ELEMENT, FACTOR
4 : LIMIT, BOUNDARY -- usually used in plural

pecuniary
1 : consisting of or measured in money
2 : of or relating to money

photosynthesis
: synthesis of chemical compounds with the aid of radiant energy and especially light; especially : formation of carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and a source of hydrogen (as water) in the chlorophyll-containing tissues of plants exposed to light

plagiarize
transitive senses : to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own : use (another's production) without crediting the source
intransitive senses : to commit literary theft : present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source

plasma
1 : a green faintly translucent quartz
2 [New Latin, from Late Latin] a : the fluid part of blood, lymph, or milk as distinguished from suspended material b : the juice that can be expressed from muscle
3 : PROTOPLASM
4 : a collection of charged particles (as in the atmospheres of stars or in a metal) containing about equal numbers of positive ions and electrons and exhibiting some properties of a gas but differing from a gas in being a good conductor of electricity and in being affected by a magnetic field

polymer
: a chemical compound or mixture of compounds formed by polymerization and consisting essentially of repeating structural units
polymerization
1 : a chemical reaction in which two or more molecules combine to form larger molecules that contain repeating structural units -- compare ASSOCIATION 5
2 : reduplication of parts in an organism

precipitous
1 : PRECIPITATE 2
2 a : very steep, perpendicular, or overhanging in rise or fall b : having precipitous sides c : having a very steep ascent
synonym see STEEP

quasar
: any of a class of celestial objects that resemble stars but whose large redshift and apparent brightness imply extreme distance and huge energy output

quotidian
1 : occurring every day
2 a : belonging to each day : EVERYDAY b : COMMONPLACE, ORDINARY

recapitulate
transitive senses : to repeat the principal points or stages of : SUMMARIZE
intransitive senses : SUM UP

reciprocal
1 a : inversely related : OPPOSITE b : of, constituting, or resulting from paired crosses in which the kind that supplies the male parent of the first cross supplies the female parent of the second cross and vice versa
2 : shared, felt, or shown by both sides
3 : serving to reciprocate : consisting of or functioning as a return in kind
4 a : mutually corresponding b : marked by or based on reciprocity

reparation
1 a : a repairing or keeping in repair b plural : REPAIRS
2 a : the act of making amends, offering expiation, or giving satisfaction for a wrong or injury b : something done or given as amends or satisfaction
3 : the payment of damages : INDEMNIFICATION; specifically : compensation in money or materials payable by a defeated nation for damages to or expenditures sustained by another nation as a result of hostilities with the defeated nation -- usually used in plural

respiration
1 a : the placing of air or dissolved gases in intimate contact with the circulating medium of a multicellular organism (as by breathing) b : a single complete act of breathing
2 : the physical and chemical processes by which an organism supplies its cells and tissues with the oxygen needed for metabolism and relieves them of the carbon dioxide formed in energy-producing reactions
3 : any of various energy-yielding oxidative reactions in living matter

sanguine
1 : BLOODRED
2 a : consisting of or relating to blood b : BLOODTHIRSTY, SANGUINARY c of the complexion : RUDDY
3 : having blood as the predominating bodily humor; also : having the bodily conformation and temperament held characteristic of such predominance and marked by sturdiness, high color, and cheerfulness
4 : CONFIDENT, OPTIMISTIC

soliloquy
1 : the act of talking to oneself
2 : a dramatic monologue that gives the illusion of being a series of unspoken reflections

subjugate
1 : to bring under control and governance as a subject : CONQUER
2 : to make submissive : SUBDUE

suffragist
: one who advocates extension of suffrage especially to women

supercilious
: coolly and patronizingly haughty

tautology
1 a : needless repetition of an idea, statement, or word b : an instance of tautology
2 : a tautologous statement

taxonomy
1 : the study of the general principles of scientific classification : SYSTEMATICS
2 : CLASSIFICATION; especially : orderly classification of plants and animals according to their presumed natural relationships

tectonic
1 : geological structural features as a whole
2 a : a branch of geology concerned with the structure of the crust of a planet (as earth) or moon and especially with the formation of folds and faults in it b : DIASTROPHISM

tempestuous
: of, relating to, or resembling a tempest : TURBULENT, STORMY

thermodynamics
1 : physics that deals with the mechanical action or relations of heat
2 : thermodynamic processes and phenomena

totalitarian
1 a : of or relating to centralized control by an autocratic leader or hierarchy : AUTHORITARIAN, DICTATORIAL; especially : DESPOTIC b : of or relating to a political regime based on subordination of the individual to the state and strict control of all aspects of the life and productive capacity of the nation especially by coercive measures (as censorship and terrorism)
2 a : advocating or characteristic of totalitarianism b : completely regulated by the state especially as an aid to national mobilization in an emergency c : exercising autocratic powers : tending toward monopoly

unctuous
1 a : FATTY, OILY b : smooth and greasy in texture or appearance
2 : PLASTIC
3 : full of unction; especially : revealing or marked by a smug, ingratiating, and false earnestness or spirituality

usurp
1 a : to seize and hold (as office, place, or powers) in possession by force or without right b : to take or make use of without right
2 : to take the place of by or as if by force : SUPPLANT
intransitive senses : to seize or exercise authority or possession wrongfully

vacuous
1 : emptied of or lacking content
2 : marked by lack of ideas or intelligence : STUPID, INANE
3 : devoid of serious occupation : IDLE
synonym see EMPTY

vehement
: marked by forceful energy : POWERFUL : as a : intensely emotional : IMPASSIONED, FERVID b (1) : deeply felt (2) : forcibly expressed c : bitterly antagonistic

vortex
1 a : a mass of fluid (as a liquid) with a whirling or circular motion that tends to form a cavity or vacuum in the center of the circle and to draw toward this cavity or vacuum bodies subject to its action; especially : WHIRLPOOL, EDDY b : a region within a body of fluid in which the fluid elements have an angular velocity
2 : something that resembles a whirlpool

winnow
1 a (1) : to remove (as chaff) by a current of air (2) : to get rid of (something undesirable or unwanted) : REMOVE -- often used with out b (1) : SEPARATE, SIFT (2) : SELECT
2 a : to treat (as grain) by exposure to a current of air so that waste matter is eliminated b : to free of unwanted or inferior elements : PARE
3 : to blow on : FAN
intransitive senses
1 : to separate chaff from grain by fanning
2 : to separate desirable and undesirable elements

wrought
1 : worked into shape by artistry or effort
2 : elaborately embellished : ORNAMENTED
3 : processed for use : MANUFACTURED
4 : beaten into shape by tools : HAMMERED -- used of metals
5 : deeply stirred : EXCITED -- often used with up

xenophobe
: one unduly fearful of what is foreign and especially of people of foreign origin

yeoman
1 a : an attendant or officer in a royal or noble household b : a person attending or assisting another : RETAINER c : YEOMAN OF THE GUARD d : a naval petty officer who performs clerical duties
2 a : a person who owns and cultivates a small farm; specifically : one belonging to a class of English freeholders below the gentry b : a person of the social rank of yeoman
3 : one that performs great and loyal service

ziggurat
: an ancient Mesopotamian temple tower consisting of a lofty pyramidal structure built in successive stages with outside staircases and a shrine at the top

10.01.2003

Fine Art Friday archive

11.06.2009 (Portraits)
10.02.2009 (Homer)
8.21.2009 (Continuing pursuit, watercolor)
8.14.2009 (Pursuit, watercolor)
4.03.2009 (Blume)
3.27.2009 (Klinger)
3.20.2009 (Munch again)
2.27.2009 (Munch)
1.09.2009 (Van Gogh... again)
12.19.2008 (Sheeler)
12.12.2008 (Simpson)
11.14.2008 (Eggleston)
11.07.2008 (Martin)
9.26.2008 (Pursuit, sketching)
9.19.2008 (Godie)
8.29.2008 (Bosch)
8.22.2008 (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
8.15.2008 (Degas)
5.23.2008 (Olmstead)
4.04.2008 (Witherspoon)
3.28.2008 (de Kooning)
3.22.2008 (bad art)
3.07.2008 (Van Gogh and... bagels)
2.29.2008 (Rataczak)
2.23.2008 (Rodchenko)
2.15.2008 (Hopper)
2.01.2008 (Gould)
1.25.2008 (Picabia)
1.11.2008 (Miró)
12.28.2007 (Spitzweg)
12.07.2007 (not-so-fine art)
11.30.2007 (From the archives: Schiele)
11.16.2007 (da Vinci)
11.09.2007 (Dürer)
10.26.2007 (Hayez)
10.19.2007 (Kandinsky)
10.12.2007 (Gallen-Kallela)
10.5.2007 (Ruscha)
9.28.2007 (Matisse)
9.21.2007 (Farthing)
9.14.2007 (Barnet)
9.07.2007 (O'Keeffe)
8.26.2007 (Snelling, Picasso, Pollock (late edition))
8.10.2007 (O'Keeffe)
8.03.2007 (Cole)
7.06.2007 (Audubon)
6.29.2007 (Hopper)
6.15.2007 (statue of James Joyce)
6.08.2007 (Rockwell)
6.01.2007 (Audubon, Sibley)
5.25.2007 (Van Allsburg)
5.18.2007 (Hockney)
5.11.2007 (Northwest Coast Indians)
4.13.2007 (Skoglund)
4.06.2007 (Nolde)
3.30.2007 (Deihl)
3.23.2007 (Munch)
3.16.2007 (Watts)
3.9.2007 (Klimt)
3.2.2007 (Escher)
2.23.2007 (Miss M-mv(ii)!)
2.16.2007 (Picasso)
2.9.2007 (Sendak)
2.2.2007 (Botero)
1.26.2007 (Bochner)
1.19.2007 (Monet)
1.12.2007 (South Netherlandish)
1.05.2007 (Van Gogh)
12.29.2006 (Brancusi)
12.22.2006 (Aunt M-mv!)
12.15.2006 (Pissarro)
12.08.2006 (Sohlberg)
12.01.2006 (Chinese street art)
11.24.2006 (Noguchi)
11.17.2006 (Munch)
11.10.2006 (Renoir)
11.03.2006 (Picasso)
10.27.2006 (Vuillard)
10.19.2006 (Ancient China)
10.13.2006 (Fritsch)
10.06.2006 (Morse)
9.29.2006 (Renoir)
9.22.2006 (Lachaise)
9.15.2006 (Albright)
9.08.2006 (Dogon peoples, Mali)
9.01.2006 (Wyeth)
8.25.2006 (Chagall)
8.18.2006 (Schiele)
8.10.2006 (Magritte)
8.04.2006 (Klee)
7.27.2006 (Pollack)
7.14.2006 (Hopper)

Bardolatry

Bardolatry, the worship of Shakespeare, ought to be even more a secular religion than it already is. The plays remain the outward limit of human achievement: aesthetically, cognitively, in certain ways morally, even spiritually. They abide beyond the end of the mind's reach; we cannot catch up to them. Shakespeare will go on explaining us, in part because he invented us....

7.08.2008 (Bardolatry for all ages and grades)

3.08.2008 and 2.26.2008 ("Slings & Arrows")

3.17.2008 (Shakespeare on my MP3 player)

12.09.2007 (The Shakespeare-d brain)

11.04.2007 (Shakespeare and Pat Conroy)

9.29.2007 (Steinberg on Shakespeare's naughty bits)

6.24.2007 (Shakespeare... and Poppets?)

3.16.2007 (Fine Art Friday entry on "Ophelia," c. 1864 (George Frederick Watts))

3.02.2007 (An article on the playwright of the g/Globe)

1.29.2007 (Chapbook entry on The Taming of the Shrew and related commentaries, as well as a hearty recommendation of CST's Short Shakespeare! production)

1.26.2007 (Shrew(d) recommendations)

10.19.2006 (Horatio and the Terry Hands-directed Hamlet at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater)

9.30.2006 (Teaching/learning Shakespeare; includes film and audio recommendations, selected bibliography, tips, and more)

9.04.2006 (Hamlet or Lear?)

8.30.2006 (The Shakespeare "debate")

7.30.2006 (A civilizing influence)

5.15.2006 ("When I read Shakespeare...")

4.17.2006 (Macbeth at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater)

3.15.2006 ("He reads much.")

1.04.2006 (Improbable fiction: Twelfth Night)

12.07.2005 ("Shakespeare was, of course, conversant with Galen’s theory of humors.")

12.06.2005 (Profound and pedestrian)

11.10.2005 (The Tempest)

10.28.2005 (Harold Bloom)

9.01.2005 (Lit-crit: Shakespeare is in there.)

7.28.2005 ("Was there anything so real as words?" Shakespeare is in there.)

7.14.2005 (The Comedy of Errors at CST)

7.06.2005 (Recommended reading)

5.11.2005 (Again with the bard)

5.06.2005 ("[A]wed all over again by the magnitude of the mind that hatched plays as diverse as Henry V, Twelfth Night, Hamlet and The Tempest")

3.08.2005 (The Gem Shakespeare Library)

1.21.2005 (A man not without his reasons: The Merchant of Venice)

1.17.2005 (Hurl a Shakespearean insult!)

1.08.2005 (Books on tape)

11.30.2004 (Ed Paschke's portrait of Shakespeare)

10.22.2004 ("We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.")
10.25.2005 (A repost of the above)

10.22.2004 (The Shakespeare Project of Chicago)

10.19.2004 (Richard II)

10.12.2004 (An "On the nightstand" entry with particular focus on Henry IV and Falstaff)

9.14.2004 (Will in the world)

5.03.2004 (Shakespeare alive!)

4.23.2004 (Brush up on your Shakespeare)

4.23.2004 (Book recommendations)

4.07.2004 (An M-mv reader rhapsodizes on the theme of Shakespeare)

4.05.2004 (For the kids)

4.04.2004 (The first appearance of this popular post.)
4.24.2005 (And the second)
4.25.2006 (And the third)

3.31.2004 (A Midsummer Night's Dream at CST)

3.25.2004 (Hell to pay at Agincourt)

3.25.2004 (Recommended reading)

3.21.2004 (Shakespeare redux)

3.14.2004 (Poniards!)

3.12.2004 (The Two Gentlemen of Verona in an "On the nightstand" entry)

3.10.2004 (To read or not to read Shakespeare: links)

2.18.2004 (The Atlantic's Shakespeare contest)

2.15.2004 ("This above all: to thine own self be true.")
6.29.2006 (A repeat of this popular (much-linked) post)

1.12.2004 (The Shakespeare Sessions)

11.10.2003 (The invention of the human)

Technorati tags: Shakespeare, bardolatry

The "On the nightstand" archive

11.06.2009
10.12.2009
9.21.2009
9.20.2009
8.12.2009
7.13.2009
6.28.2009
6.06.2009
5.10.2009
4.24.2009
4.12.2009
3.26.2009
3.16.2009
2.28.2009
1.31.2009
2008 book list (related entry here)
12.13.2008
10.10.2008
8.26.2008
8.06.2008
6.21.2008
5.30.2008
4.04.2008
3.17.2008
2.07.2008
1.28.2008
12.13.2007
11.01.2007
9.30.2007
9.16.2007
7.18.2007
6.24.2007
6.19.2007
5.26.2007
5.13.2007
4.08.2007
3.17.2007
2.24.2007
1.23.2007
11.28.2006
10.27.2006
10.08.2006
9.22.2006
9.16.2006
9.06.2006
8.26.2006
8.09.2006
7.27.2006
6.19.2006
5.26.2006
4.23.2006
4.5.2006
4.1.2006
3.7.2006
1.14.2006
12.19.2005
11.11.2005
10.21.2005
9.26.2005
8.25.2005
8.5.2005
7.6.2005
5.28.2005
4.18.2005
3.20.2005
2.14.2005
1.14.2005
12.21.2004
11.21.2004
10.12.2004
9.13.2004
8.24.2004
7.19.2004
6.12.2004
5.19.2004
4.22.2004
3.12.2004
2.15.2004
1.26.2004
12.31.2003

Books completed in 2008

About Mental multivitamin

Scroll to the bottom of this entry for this site's disclosure statement.

This site's feed.

Cool links.

Mental multivitamin was established in October 2003 for readers, thinkers, and autodidacts. It is an attempt to write across the "curriculum" of this reader-thinker-autodidact (and unabashed generalist); to synthesize what I am learning about astronomy and history and ornithology and current events and literature and technology and art and, yes, about myself, my family, and the world.

I write to learn, to know.

The recommended daily allowance
M-mv often includes "The recommended daily allowance" -- descriptions, synopses, and /or quotes from books, films, and occasionally cds, software, and artwork that can have the same effect on gray matter as juicing can have on the rest of a getting-older-and-wiser body.

On the nightstand
At least once a month, I cobble together "On the nightstand (under the pillow, in the knapsack, etc.)," a snapshot of the books that have recently become a part of the geography of Family M-mv's imagination. You can find those entries archived here.

Fine Art Friday
Although I have yet to achieve weekly status, this is a regular -- and worthwhile -- feature. You will find the archive here.

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Awards

Best Book or Literary Blog Runner-Up (2nd Place)

2004 Best Literary/Book Blog Finalist

Disclosure statement
In keeping with the Federal Trade Commission’s Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials, I offer the following disclosure statement, prepared 11.06.2009.

Amazon
Since late autumn 2003, I have been an Amazon associate. Purchases made through Amazon affiliate links on this site yield a small referral fee.

ARCs, review copies, promotional copies
As regular Mental multivitamin readers know, I have been accepting advance reading copies (ARCs), review copies, and promotional copies from publishers and publicists since September 2006. Regular readers also know that in any entry listing such books, I clearly identify the book as an ARC, review, and/or promotional copy. Apart from the books themselves and the results of one contest (see next paragraph), I have received no compensation from publishers or publicists.

Please note that during the fall of 2006, I promoted a publisher’s contest for one novel. The enthusiastic response of this blog’s readership to said contest resulted in a win, for which I received an autographed copy of the novel, a box of books, and two American Express gift cards from the publisher.

Content clarification
Regular Mental multivitamin readers already realize that I don’t really offer reviews; rather, I provide responses and, yes, when appropriate, recommendations. But, to be absolutely clear: I am not paid to respond to or recommend any of the books, films, cookies, or other products mentioned on this site.

Going forward, my plan is to refer readers to this disclosure regularly, although my fervent hope is that after six years and nearly three thousand entries you already know what you’re getting here.