Chesterton praised Samuel Johnson in these words, through the character of Father Brown, speaking of a fictional crank named Raggley: ‘But Raggley did matter. He was one of a great… Read more A Sketch of the Character of Samuel Johnson, Through Excerpts from his Biography by James Boswell →
From The Saturday Evening Post, Volume 188, comes a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, entitled, The Aunt and the Sluggard. This is 1925. The rise of fascism is occurring in real time, a muddled mush of aspiration, intellectual irresponsibility, and dark intent. Related is the “Life is real, life is earnest,” school of thought regarding the purpose of art. (No offense to Longfellow.) All gentle things are eschewed. Everything is meant to be “fine,” and “splendid” and “severe” and “strong.” It seems a sort of code for, “Fascism and… Read more Wodehouse Makes Fun of Fashionable Poets →
We are trying to get at G. K. Chesterton’s characteristic approach to what we call stereotype and what he called a vulgar joke or an established theme. But before we get into Chesterton, a word from our friendly neigborhood etymological dictionary. stereotype (n.) 1798, “method of printing from a plate,” from French stéréotype (adj.) “printed by means of a solid plate of type,” from Greek stereos “solid” + French type “type.” Meaning “a stereotype plate” is from 1817. Meaning “image perpetuated without change” is first recorded 1850, from the verb in this sense. Meaning “preconceived and oversimplified… Read more Chesterton on Dickens →
Since we’re talking about the possibility of speaking in poetry…
Well, it’s obvious that this blog in its present format has been more or less squeezed out of my life. I’ve become actually busy, something I thought would never happen to someone like me. Normally what would happen at this point is that I’d shut the blog down and then months from now when I became especially excercised about some new issue or felt that I’d moved on to a new stage in my life I would open a new blog. I think I’m done with that pattern. Nearly twenty-seven… Read more A New Blog in an Old Space; Also, Washing Dishes Like A True Heroine →
Ever try making up fake book titles? They can be more interesting than titles of books actually written. Ironic. Romance (Comedy, Historical) AND TO THINK YOU WERE ALWAYS BEAUTIFUL BARKING MAD FOR JESSE HOUNDER COME DIVINE WILLIAM DITCH THE DUD, SWEETHEART EGGS, BACON, AND SONGS ABOUT MARY FIBBING FRANK GETS HURT GORGEOUS AND LOVING IT HE WAS THE ONE, YOU FOOL! I THINK MY DOG’S A FAIRY PRINCE JUST THE MAN FOR MAN-EATING KELLY KITES SHAPED LIKE HEARTS LOVING QUARTERBACK PHYLLIS MAYBE-THIS-TIME HANK (MEETS SOMEONE LIKE MOM) NO MEN LEFT FOR ETHEL BRINKER… Read more Book Title Giveaway →
One of the informative and sometimes hilarious aspects of writing on WordPress is that you get to see how people stumbled on your blog. I get a lot of search-engine hits from people (no clue who they are) looking for tips on how to get their toddlers to eat well – apparently my veggie post is racking up some hits. I also get quite a few on learning to write, although I’m sad to see that not all of them are looking for what I have said. Too bad I couldn’t… Read more Google Searches that Brought Me Readers – Mean Poems to say to Enemies →
Do wrong so that we can have the pleasure of fixing the wrong we’ve done? Johnny votes ‘Yes!’ Our CD Tower is this lovely wooden piano-themed fixture. It undulates rather than rising straight up, and its sides are covered in carved, painted, and polished piano keys, almost lifesize. It’s one of my favorite pieces, and like most of them it came from my Crazy Aunt No. 2. It is a source of fascination to Johnny as it was to his Uncle Chaz before him (Chaz used to come down to my… Read more Shall We Sin That Grace May Abound? →
Slow Literature 