tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63211202011-04-21T16:35:26.021-07:00A blog about assundried matters critical, poetic, theoretical, musical, political and whimsicalRobCrowenoreply@blogger.comBlogger361100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1161042660387296922006-10-16T16:47:00.000-07:002006-10-16T16:51:00.396-07:00

Tony Judt's comments on the current insanity and their "useful idiots."Calling oneself as "tough-minded" is an easy way to show you are pushover.

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1160411651316956392006-10-09T09:29:00.000-07:002006-10-09T09:34:11.833-07:00

My Test MarketLet’s fly off to Finland, farfrom the long arm of Olestra. Therein bog, arctic fen, and sandare others who may understandour epic innocence. Oh, how manynames for snow! and nonewith growing market share. Whereare the snows that make no senseso early in the morning, when the snowis blue and blowing on the steppes?Where is the qanisqineq,the ’snow floating on water’?We may ask Vigdís

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1156895803849200062006-08-29T16:53:00.000-07:002006-09-19T09:42:04.003-07:00

A virtual amuse-bouche, that I put up here rather than snark at a pseudo-literary website: something that is rarely edifying for the reader and bad for my blood pressure.Haiku2 for picturingkant that a certain classof phenomena resultsfrom intelligent @ aboutmylife.netblogger.comblogs.gnome.orgblogspot.comdeadjournal.comgreatestjournal.comlivejournal.commyspace.comspaces.msn.comCreated by Grahame

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1154391069636453922006-07-31T17:01:00.000-07:002006-07-31T17:11:09.646-07:00

ZEROby Robert Creeley for Mark PetersNot just nothing,Not there's no answer,Not it's nowhere orNothing to show for it -It's like There's no past likethe present. It'sall over with us.There are no doors...Oh my god! LikeI wish I had a dog.Oh my god!I had a dog but he's gone.His name was Zero,something for nothing!You like dog biscuits?Fill in the blank.Pub. March 2000by way DRC

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1153417915561406202006-07-20T10:51:00.000-07:002006-07-21T15:37:35.476-07:00

The Creative Class is not a fan of basketball, however beloved, quirky, and hopeful the franchise. Odd, since tickets are priced with them in mind, as list those at the top of the heap.

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1140049914551971062006-02-15T16:27:00.000-08:002006-02-21T16:05:43.526-08:00

This sort of intellectual food fight is just so 2003, but since I am susceptible to this sort of radical-baiting, I had to write into the Stranger Slog about it. One of the knee-jerk responses I got for calling "islamofascism" racist, among other things, was the idea that I am some granola-eating hippie on Capitol Hill. (We have one in Seattle, dear readers.)Leaving aside where one would find

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1101775132087286012006-01-31T16:38:00.000-08:002006-01-30T16:55:38.760-08:00

The reverence in which Edmund Burke is held is most quarters where politics and writing mingle always registers as odd to an English major, or at least this one. Burke is a multitude, for sure, and there is no gainsaying either his capacity as a rhetorician, nor his courage in taking a stand. But as a thinker, he is several steps below his contemporaries, particularly in how ready he was for

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1128013720724332782006-01-30T12:08:00.000-08:002006-02-21T16:15:58.006-08:00

"If experience has shown that a certain class of phenomena results from intelligent causes and then we encounter something new but similar, we conclude its origin also to be from an intelligent cause." (Of Pandas and People, page ix)If it walks like a duck and if it quacks like a duck, ipso facto ... you have a duck. There may be some term in logic for this sort of argument--perhaps Leibnitz's

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1117048325458768192005-12-30T11:47:00.000-08:002006-01-30T17:13:24.800-08:00

for my friends in the SRII came across a sentiment that has come to ground my thinking on politics in Norman Rush's Mating some years ago. The argument was, how can one not be a liberal: at the bottom, whatever the rhetoric of radicals and progressives, when it comes down to brass tacks, most of us are liberals, in favor of the free exchange of ideas, commodities and travel, and the necessary

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1124751359048649892005-08-22T15:28:00.000-07:002005-08-22T17:18:40.343-07:00

I understand the impulse to be contrary: scholarship is often motivated as much by the desire to overturn received wisdom as anything. And the overturning impulse is a close to a rock-star pose as the scholar gets; it's certainly one of the most attention-getting. But it can also be supported by the flimsiest of reasons, as this quote from a NYT article on intelligent design shows:"When someone

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1120769275881234422005-07-07T13:47:00.000-07:002006-01-30T16:42:50.740-08:00

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1119656995340530122005-07-06T12:00:00.000-07:002006-01-30T16:47:01.520-08:00

Read, if you will, the most recent Smoking Gun about the current administration's perfidity. I come not to praise or blame it, but rather to observe this: the frustrating fact is that the scandals of the current administration is that they are not secrets. Their position on invading Iraq clearly proceeded not only invading Afghanistan, but also 9-11. By the same token, the fact that someone in

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1105400747363343642005-03-02T15:45:00.000-08:002006-01-30T16:45:08.913-08:00

Update on My DemographicThose of you who are fit though few--you know who you are, as it is sign of being fit that you know who you are--shall remember this post. It is not unrelated to these series of posts on the plight of bitter white guys in the us. And it has something to do with a recent story on Rammstein in the New York Times, though that writer should have mentioned Laibach who sang

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1101775061408993672004-11-29T16:34:00.000-08:002006-01-30T16:48:45.286-08:00

Apocalypse because most of us, blue or red, can now imagine the end of the American experiment. Banality because hasn't life always been this way.

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1098144166533160592004-10-30T16:30:00.000-07:002006-01-30T16:49:10.670-08:00

Today was more apocalyptic than usual, thanks to scary commentary by people speculating on what a second term for the current administration might look like. But I am not going to comment on that, since my basic sense is that government plans never work out as bad or good as you think they might.Rather, I want to put in my plug for John Kerry and John Edwards, especially since any number of my

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1092183010585437132004-09-10T17:02:00.000-07:002006-01-30T16:50:00.706-08:00

Louis Menand has an excellent piece about the "objectivity" and the documentary in relation to Fahrenheit 9-11.I am surprised there has been less criticism of Moore on two fronts. First, by concentrating on the Saudi-Bush connection, he leaves out a much lengthier association between the armanent and contracting industry and the Bush-Walker clan--as well as many sainted Democrats. The Saudis make

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1091829302008869702004-08-06T14:27:00.000-07:002004-08-06T14:55:02.006-07:00

My Political Unconscious A friend stayed in my apartment last Christmas and left, as a present I suppose, a copy of Boy Genius, about Karl Rove's career as Bush's Machiavelli. I have very little respect for political operatives, since there function increasingly isn't unlike the goofy but big guy on the basketball team who's only role is to put a hurt on more agile and athletic players.

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1089411889914969262004-07-20T14:54:00.000-07:002004-08-10T17:13:15.870-07:00

David Brooks Still Needs to Get out of the House David Brooks, in an attempt to brand himself as something other than "the liberal's favorite conservative" (myself, I still prefer William Safire, who knows that a column is about having a schtick and few choice facts), has been writing on the political polarization of this country. This is appropriate since Brooks himself is a beneficiary of this

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1083024667640115952004-06-30T17:05:00.000-07:002004-08-10T17:31:55.310-07:00

Affirming Actions Arguments against affirmative action are odd coming from people (conservatives mainly) who seem to very much believe in old-fashioned "affirmative action," either by knowing the right people or coming from the "right family." It's clear that this sort of affirmative action can land you with fairly awful leadership, as countries which have had inherited monarchies know as well

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1086890381975797782004-06-10T10:59:00.000-07:002004-06-17T14:27:42.430-07:00

True Colors of Libertarianism I finally took Virginia Postrel's blog off my favorites list on IE because of this sanctimonious eulogy eulogy about the Gipper. I've never had much confidence in the intellectual integrity of libertarians, in part because it is a movement mostly outside academia, but also because it is fairly closely linked to a political party. And I have criticized Postrel's

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1086286384844348562004-06-03T11:04:00.000-07:002004-06-03T11:13:04.843-07:00

Mmm, Chocolate and Zucchini Here is an adorable and brilliant idea for a blog: a food blog. We bloggers tend to be a sententious, more opinion-based than fact-oriented, contentious rather than enlightening. As a tribe, we provide more heat than light. So, what better way to counteract the natural tendency of blog (and all internet writing) than to write recipes. Recipes are usefu in two

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1085760242775888242004-05-28T08:53:00.000-07:002004-05-28T09:04:02.776-07:00

Into the Woods of Criticism James Wood anatomizes the final volume of the Oxford English Literary History. His comments have the ring of truth. I have read such "anatomies" of literary history and they do tend to be sparing of actual criticism. But there is a reason for this: they are scholarship, not criticism. The purpose of such works is basically to give an overview. Of course, it's

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1084814163042278852004-05-17T10:15:00.000-07:002004-06-17T14:28:35.126-07:00

Father's Day Nicholas Lemann on Tim Russert's Dad. I have recently gotten in the habit of watching the political food fights and finding Russert to be one of the more substantial (naturally because he quotes politicians words back at them). This deconstruction demonstrates there is no free lunch with them. Anyway, the McLaughlin Group strangely is still best of the breed, although he continues

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1080771699947752282004-03-31T14:20:00.000-08:002004-04-29T10:30:44.780-07:00

David Brooks: Even at Home, He is A Tourist This article proves that David Brooks snide pseudo-sociologism about red & blue states and attitudes is as superficial as it seems. Do you know how to attend, David?

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1079556909917869952004-03-17T12:42:00.000-08:002004-03-17T16:01:41.466-08:00

I'm Not Reviewing (Yet) The New New York Times Book ReviewEditor The following article in the New York Observer (the choicest place on the web for news of the publishing world) profiles the new editor of the NYTBR, Sam Tannehaus. I'm not reviewing this choice since one should always give people in new positions time to show themselves. But I am not optimistic, particularly for the fate of

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1078172881574520222004-03-15T12:23:00.000-08:002004-03-15T14:05:06.653-08:00

Multicultural Bowling Does diversity necessarily result in fragmented neighborhoods, which inevitability leads to anti-social behavior? This research doesn't prove anything nearly so metaphysical about human nature. What it does suggest is that in any liberal society increasing access to state services is a value that will compete with opening borders. I became aware of this ten years ago

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1077836655352125152004-03-05T14:59:00.000-08:002004-03-08T13:23:23.093-08:00

One Hit Wonders My girlfriend and I, both under weather in different ways, wanted to divert ourselves from our aches and pains the other night by watching a movie. She suggested Stone Reader, since it looked nicely soporific. But only 15 minutes in we both had a violent reaction to it and decided to go with a random Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode instead. The premise of the movie looked

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1077214020428086812004-02-19T10:05:00.000-08:002004-02-19T11:11:15.810-08:00

Another Blogger Laments http://stevenshoemakerlovestoblog.blogspot.com/ It was funny the first time.

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1077213600197233762004-02-19T09:44:00.000-08:002004-02-19T10:08:24.310-08:00

Yes, the Blog is On So this space dropped off my radar screen for about a month, in part because I had an addition to my "portfolio" at work, but also because I insist on writing finished pieces here, rather simply things off the top of my head. Actually, all I want is no grammar mistakes and no obvious misspellings, but even that takes time these days. So for the time being, I'm writing (

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1075254040972095332004-01-27T17:37:00.000-08:002004-01-27T17:45:13.216-08:00

Bad Art There is Good Art, so it logically follows that there is is Bad Art. There is even art that is bad for you, although both "art" and "bad" are contingent upon who "you" are. If art moves us, then it can move us badly. There is, however, no "evil" art. Only Nazis and fundamentalists think otherwise. And there is no such thing as "high" or "low" art, a distinction generated by the mass

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1074621089174867542004-01-20T09:31:00.000-08:002004-01-27T13:52:37.310-08:00

No Distinction, No Difference An argument for the relative harmlessness of popular culture. I am all for more rational discussions of popular culture and its effects on consumers. It simply is not true that "low" culture lowers us, and claims to that effect are elitist in some precise sense, not to mention ahistorical. Shakespeare was certainly a popular artist; indeed, the notion of the

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1074114872910738062004-01-14T13:11:00.000-08:002004-01-14T13:16:24.750-08:00

The Foundation Is Unlikely To Fund Art Supplies That about sums up the place of art in the world of social research funding.

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1074031063290598682004-01-13T13:24:00.000-08:002004-01-16T12:23:07.530-08:00

The Unknown Friedrich Here is an intriguing review of a recent biography of Friedrich Hayek, indisputably the intellectual exponent of the small government good is good thesis. Postrel points out that Hayek was not, as he is sometimes caricatured as, simply a advocate of Darwinism in economics and society in general, but rather strongly concerned with a problem that besets any system in which

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1073955075648581502004-01-12T15:54:00.000-08:002004-01-14T10:10:10.746-08:00

My Demographic I am embarking on a small project to create a series of social research surveys about the differences between Generation X and Generation Why; roughly the culture of late teens-20s and the culture of 30 - 40 year olds. I am doing this because of the discipline it will require. I'll have to come up with questions that generate interesting responses. Finally, I 'll "product test"

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1073950777970820432004-01-12T15:35:00.000-08:002004-01-12T15:41:04.013-08:00

I've gone and done one of those silly quizzes on the web. I did the quiz mostly because "Robert" is one of the characters in this cartoon. However, I am pleased that I have been told that I am part of an "America Hating Minority." It's about time that intellectuals were recognized as the minority we are. And we do require affirmative action, or at least decent stipends. Doesn't anyone in the

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321120.post-1073950392880680132004-01-12T15:30:00.000-08:002004-01-12T15:33:33.880-08:00

The new year begins with a new blog. My old blog is now inaccessible even to me, as I killed the account under which it was started. And, to be honest, I wanted to start on a new footing. There were far too many mispellings for me to be happy with "Post Theory," but the tone was also worrying. Some people may think I am pulling a Kathleen Wilson: writing about the same things in a new space

RobCrowenoreply@blogger.com0