Virtual reality
Halleluyah! You know how meticulous I am in reproducing the time and place of my novel: Paris, 1870-71. I’m constructing it with the same mind-set as Daguerre when he designed the dioramas that made him rich, before his factory burned down and he decided to invent photography. Those dioramas were sound-and-light shows that so confused … read more »
A sardonic view of a bitter struggle
La vie parisienne pendant le Siège et sous la Commune by Henri D’Almeras My rating: 3 of 5 stars Hostile to the Paris Commune of 1871, which he considers “une tyrannie aussi stupide qu’odieuse”, Alméras is nevertheless respectful and even admiring of those few communards who not only remained sober (the alcoholism of some of … read more »
A Perfect Day
We just saw this movie at home last night, and were blown away. The picture of those dogged aid workers in the midst of the civil massacres in Bosnia, covering their revulsion at horrible atrocities and their deep anger and fear and their desperate need for solidarity with one another by joking and repression awoke … read more »
Silly season
Not just in New Hampshire, but here in Spain too we’re living through carnival—gross exaggerations, outrageous gestures, obscenities and raucous foolishness. In Spain this happens not just at election time but every year during Lent, and has been happening ever since the middle ages, when dances and parodies and all manner of offensive behaviors from … read more »
Where I’m going and why: progress report
Here is an update since my New Year’s “Shazam!” lightning bolt. My proximate aims are to complete my novel on the Paris Commune of 1871 and to produce more essays on the multiple crises of our time. In fact these are all parts of the same project, because my novel is intended to help me, … read more »