tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77592988579504021742024-03-05T03:24:36.370-05:00The Main Point... observations on culture and politics, news, photos, missives from friends ...James Scott Linvillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01369180684804071044noreply@blogger.comBlogger467125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759298857950402174.post-83464918324849899692018-04-04T03:29:00.000-04:002018-04-06T04:16:27.370-04:00Farewell Drue HeinzFarewell Drue Heinz, grand lady of letters, founding publisher of <i>Antaeus</i> Magazine and Ecco Press, former publisher of <i>The Paris Review</i>, a woman of taste. She was not just the most important patron of letters in the second half of the 20th century, she was The Real Thing. Also generous to artists and museums, and had the good sense to listen to Paul Bowles when he put her on to Daniel Halpern, the brilliant editor who had the notion in 1970 or so to found the superb magazine <i>Antaeus</i>. <br />
<br />
A friend just mentioned her venturing out to his reading last year in Edinburgh… when she was only 102. She made it to 103 and what a blessing she was to American literature… and British too.<br />
<br />
I have many memories of her from editorial meetings at Paris Review, from lunches (or “funny lunches” as George Plimpton used to call them), etc… mostly to do with her extraordinary curiosity, her energy, and her astute and (surprising this, in so cultivated a person) almost animal instincts. Here’s another one:<br />
<br />
Years ago, in Paris for the Salon du Livres, I was standing on a street corner near the Institut du Monde Arabe with Drue Heinz, the poet John Ashbery and my Paris Review colleague Daniel Kunitz. It was 7 PM on a spring night and we were at loose ends, without a reservation. Ashbery said "Well, I haven't lived here in thirty years, but there used to be this place... I wonder if it’s still around.” And so to Moissonier on Rue Fosses St Bernard. As our group hovered outside the restaurant door, Ashbery, abashed, hesitated. "Golly, we'll never get in, but I used to eat here every Tuesday night. Haven't been in thirty years…” <br />
<br />
Just inside the door, the hostess without missing a beat said, "Good evening, Mr. Ashbery, so nice to see you again. Will you be joining us this evening?” Ashbery... after he stopped blushing... had the bavette, Kunitz and I had the daube. Drue went for the pied du cochon, an enormous thing, semi-charred, with carafes of the house red. Table talk was about the French novel, the state of criticism, the French poet Pierre Martory and (as ever) the Paris-based literary power couple Philippe Sollers and Julia Kristeva. I wouldn't say she absorbed what others said but instead she listened with a discriminating intelligence... or with just a great bull-shit detector. Mid-meal Kunitz asked Drue how was her pied du cochon. "Delicious," she said, then... having seen earlier his eyes shift to her plate... she added with a fierce look, "and you're not getting any of it!"<br />
<br />
Supper finished, she said, "Where should we go next?!” I’d like to say it was the jet-lag after a trans-Atlantic flight… whereas she had only come from London… but quite simply the spring chickens couldn’t keep up with her. I was told that in the 1970s, in Tangiers, Morocco, when Paul Bowles used to take her around to meet the writers there, the storytellers, the charmers, it was just the same. She loved writers, always made time for them, hated cant, had boundless curiosity, and had those extraordinary instincts. James Scott Linvillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01369180684804071044noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759298857950402174.post-64738773066553243772017-11-30T10:17:00.000-05:002017-11-30T16:14:28.990-05:00Screams from the Sun send Greetings from Tottenham Court Road<span style="background-color: #660000;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-family: "sf optimized" , , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: -0.12px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Spotted last evening at Tottenham Court Road tube station, London. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #660000;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-family: "sf optimized" , , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: -0.12px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">It's only a cover but a darn good one, especially for a man singing behind a balaclava. So this, via Screams from the Sun, whoever they are... "Sex on Fire."</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #660000;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-family: "sf optimized" , , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: -0.12px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v8kA4El0FP4" width="560"></iframe> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #660000;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="display: inline; float: none; font-family: "sf optimized" , , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: -0.12px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Video recorded on an iPhone 6S </span></span></span>James Scott Linvillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01369180684804071044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759298857950402174.post-26069323882309590762017-09-22T08:44:00.000-04:002017-12-01T09:59:10.557-05:00The Future of BitcoinA friend asked my opinion recently about the future of bitcoin. Given that he is a banker, and my areas of expertise are literature and film, this seemed an odd request.<br />
<br />
Nevertheless, let's consider...<br />
<br />
The purpose of a currency is either as 1) a means of exchange or 2) a storehouse of wealth. <br />
<br />
Apropos 1) For now, as far as I can tell, there are not enough actors in the legitimate economic sphere using bitcoin regularly for it to be a widely-accepted conventional means of exchange. If in the future there are instances of currency restrictions on international exchange it could become useful but would presumably constitute flouting of some rule or another.<br />
<br />
Apropos 2) Given that there is nothing tangible supporting the value of bitcoin (not commodity, nor treasury, nor even a "final guarantor" such as taxpayers) bitcoin would not seem an attractive long-term storehouse of wealth.<br />
<br />
Whether it can, in purely speculative terms, be a profitable short-term play is an entirely different matter. Other than its inability to flower, how is a bitcoin different from a tulip bulb? I am sure that in the 17th century Dutch tulip mania there were some who safely stored their wealth in tulip bulbs, recognized the developing bubble, transferred their wealth into property (which many in Amsterdam at that time likely predicted would soon be literally under water) and then got out in time. This is not to knock speculation during a market rise, it's just that very few ever get out in time. And this is not to knock tulips. They're beautiful. If the Dutch treasury had figured how to modulate tulip mania and let the air out of that speculative bubble, things might have worked out okay and tulip bulbs would still be an alternative means of exchange in Northern Europe.<br />
<br />
In any case, given their intricacy, a better comparison for bitcoin might be to Native American wampum belts.<br />
<br />
How might a bitcoin bubble develop? Here's one possible scenario: China right now has a problem of too much debt, and probably too much bad debt. I believe they will work through that challenge okay, with some pain along the way. That said, this week S & P lowered China's credit rating. It could be that a crowd of Chinese investors, while enduring a market shock, grow less enamored of their currency, and also of the dollar and the pound, and see bitcoin as an alternative store of wealth. That could be a mistake. But who knows.<br />
<br />
Here's hoping for smooth sailing. <br />
<br />
More about the S&P downgrade <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-21/s-p-lowers-china-s-rating-to-a-from-aa-says-outlook-stable">HERE</a>.<br />
<br />
About tulip mania <a href="http://www.investopedia.com/features/crashes/crashes2.asp">HERE</a>.<br />
<br />
About wampum belts <a href="http://www.haudenosauneeconfederacy.com/wampum.html">HERE</a>, via the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council.<br />
<br />
<br />James Scott Linvillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01369180684804071044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759298857950402174.post-30675622685242175142017-09-21T09:35:00.001-04:002018-05-01T12:09:40.031-04:00Stansted Farm ShopThe new Stansted Farm Shop, near Rowlands Castle, Hampshire, UK, has opened and it is splendid.<br />
<br />
The shop offers locally-sourced produce, fish, beef and game. The also do a mean wood-fired pizza. TMP loves this place.<br />
<br />
Stop in for lunch or a coffee and do a shop for all your specialty items.<br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Cx9-uaQWSYg?rel=0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The Stansted Farm Shop website may be found <a href="https://stanstedfarmshop.com/">HERE</a>.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">(Photo: James Linville @ The Main Point blog)</span>James Scott Linvillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01369180684804071044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759298857950402174.post-41801637064204940672017-07-26T07:06:00.000-04:002017-07-26T12:58:07.186-04:00Hammers Down at Christie's South KenLast Wednesday saw the last auction at Christie's South Ken, London's premiere middle-market salesroom, a venue that stood for 42 years at the center of London's art and antiques scene.<br />
<br />
Nic McElhatton, CSK's chairman, knocked down the last sales. Buyers, sellers, and dealers kindly offered <i>The Main Point</i> their observations, and McElhatton made a moving farewell speech.<br />
<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />James Scott Linvillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01369180684804071044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759298857950402174.post-90131863388333638492017-03-05T04:33:00.000-05:002017-03-05T04:33:06.605-05:00A Coat, a Hat and a Gun<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo0ufZAljBtHWZTNO09_H0WBU_ub5Jnq_Q0UFEpNxRwtCxCUzxhnkJc7pxk7w5AIJEzwphBQUbIkH-2-WWQxkXRIeiJ0bzna0Da6IZSNLcg9yX621-8W36L0Koeg7tXQoHNsXUwG3o60fs/s1600/Photo%252B94.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo0ufZAljBtHWZTNO09_H0WBU_ub5Jnq_Q0UFEpNxRwtCxCUzxhnkJc7pxk7w5AIJEzwphBQUbIkH-2-WWQxkXRIeiJ0bzna0Da6IZSNLcg9yX621-8W36L0Koeg7tXQoHNsXUwG3o60fs/s1600/Photo%252B94.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
“I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a
vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat
and a gun. I put them on and went out of the room.”<br />
<br />
—<i>from</i> Farewell My Lovely by Raymond Chandler<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Still Life by James Perceval, courtesy of LP.</i></span>James Scott Linvillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01369180684804071044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759298857950402174.post-18236302620729605082017-02-24T01:54:00.001-05:002017-02-24T01:55:48.154-05:00Does a Haircut Suggest Your Destiny? As I've pointed out before... a commonplace question is: Does your name determine your destiny?<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, I frequently wonder, and do again this month, if your <i>haircut</i> determines your destiny. Let's hope not.<br />
<br />
Below right see Kim Jong Un, current leader of "The Hermit Kingdom,"
North Korea. At left, his grandfather, Kim Il Sung, communist North
Korea's first leader, who as a young man invaded South Korea and thus led
his country into a bloody war with a United Nations-approved coalition.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, from China comes a statement yesterday from China that they had NOT increased troop strength at their border with North Korea... a statement that could be read in a number of ways, including that they HAD, or that they're considering it. In any case they are concerned certainly about the recent apparent murder of Kim's half brother. Excerpt and link follow separately.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxuq58ZjfOUh0ZcKQArrC178QhrTD_4RIpzXQJ5w0KgG-w4p80tx_ktul1WHlwJr7UoO2yIlR4hSzyhvmKXevX81bz5pr40ebYWYbt5SDmDuCINm_XzwH1ihHZvKBeSBTdnOHQD4k7B7AJ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-04-12+at+12.57.08+PM.png"><img border="0" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxuq58ZjfOUh0ZcKQArrC178QhrTD_4RIpzXQJ5w0KgG-w4p80tx_ktul1WHlwJr7UoO2yIlR4hSzyhvmKXevX81bz5pr40ebYWYbt5SDmDuCINm_XzwH1ihHZvKBeSBTdnOHQD4k7B7AJ/s640/Screen+Shot+2013-04-12+at+12.57.08+PM.png" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
Reuters reports: <br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span id="article-text"><span class="article-prime">China denied on
Thursday that it had increased its troop presence on the border with
North Korea after the murder of the estranged half-brother of North
Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Malaysia.</span><span id="midArticle_0"></span></span><span id="article-text"> </span><span id="article-text"></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span id="article-text">Reports
routinely circulate at times of heightened tension on the Korean
peninsula of China sending troops to the border, which China always
denies.</span><span id="article-text"></span><span id="article-text"></span><span id="article-text"><br />
<span id="midArticle_1"></span>South Korean and U.S.
officials say the North Korean leader's half brother, Kim Jong Nam, was
assassinated by North Korean agents. North Korea has not acknowledged
his death.<br />
<span id="midArticle_2"></span></span><span id="article-text"> </span><span id="article-text"></span><span id="article-text"> </span><br />
<span id="article-text"></span><span id="article-text">Some Hong Kong media
last week reported that China had sent more soldiers to the border after
Kim was attacked at Kuala Lumpur airport on Feb. 13. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span id="article-text"></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span id="article-text">
</span><span id="article-text">"As
for the reports you mentioned of the People's Liberation Army
increasing troops on the Chinese-North Korean border, they are totally
baseless and completely fabricated," defence ministry spokesman Ren
Guoqiang told a monthly news briefing.</span><span id="article-text"><br />
He did not elaborate.</span> </blockquote>
<br />
<span id="article-text"></span>Elizabeth Wurtzel, a sometime contributor to The Main Point, earlier weighed in with this observation:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Actually,
dictators tend to have crazy hair. In Hitler's case, weird mustache.
The Kim's: insane hair, and funny glasses. Look at Qaddafi. Look at
Castro's beard. Evita's severe bun. Maggie's bouffant--though she was a
dictatress manqué. President Lincoln threw members of the opposing party
in jail, suspended Habeas Corpus, and had the US Army occupy the half
of the country that was in rebellion--sounds kind of kingly,yes?--and he
had a shock of panther-black hair. (In fact the only US President that
has been bald that I can think of got his job through a series of
amazing mishaps and was not elected at all: Gerald Ford.) And I am
without portfolio, but I have the most amazing extremely long bottled
blonde hair. Someday I will be queen of the whole wide world. <br />
<br />
And of course, there is Medusa: Need I say more? <br />
<br />
Yes: hairstyle is destiny.
</blockquote>
<br />
Read the whole Reuters story <a href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-northkorea-malaysia-kim-china-idUKKBN16210E">HERE</a>.
James Scott Linvillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01369180684804071044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759298857950402174.post-75773393145040631072016-11-28T14:56:00.000-05:002016-12-28T04:11:05.479-05:00Cuba, Che Guevara, and a Point of History Secondhand<br />
Castro’s death has renewed an open, vibrant, and sometimes heated
debate about his regime and its treatment of Cuban citizens. Twenty
years ago, in the aftermath of the Cold War, much less was known in the
U.S.—these were not things the American media dwelled upon. An incident
while working at <i>The Paris Review</i> with George Plimpton in the
early nineties opened my eyes, especially to Che Guevara’s supervision
of the detention of political prisoners at La Cabana prison in Havana.<br />
<br />
One day, at the office on East Seventy-Second Street, perusing the
catalog of Grove Press’s forthcoming books, I spotted a title about
which I’d heard nothing—<i>The Motorcycle Diaries</i>, by Che Guevara,
which had been published in Cuba in the sixties but had never appeared
in English. It seemed a long shot, but from the description of it as a
travelogue with an unusual provenance, I thought a piece from it might
be something for the <i>Review</i>.<br />
<br />
The manuscript arrived a good six months before publication. The writing was fine, somewhat conventional but well observed...<br />
<br />
<i>Continued at </i>The Paris Review Daily<i>, who have just offered to publish this item as a post. Please read the whole thing <a href="http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2016/11/28/plimpton-papa-cuba/">HERE</a>.</i>James Scott Linvillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01369180684804071044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759298857950402174.post-22849218070077064972016-06-29T10:31:00.001-04:002016-07-01T11:03:48.463-04:00Why Filmmakers Love Morocco<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUgepwWpGwK-J9XnYGCD3Xh6Vy3_8fngDgELLrOzpmAaclFuB5ZitlY3Na2cOItZVdpX6MaCr0zG4DEiX5xOXByDhCopOh9yUATeniHWoHgzdIYul5zbXNg-V5lS8WzAkmVIZiP0K99rvt/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-07-01+at+3.54.12+PM.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUgepwWpGwK-J9XnYGCD3Xh6Vy3_8fngDgELLrOzpmAaclFuB5ZitlY3Na2cOItZVdpX6MaCr0zG4DEiX5xOXByDhCopOh9yUATeniHWoHgzdIYul5zbXNg-V5lS8WzAkmVIZiP0K99rvt/s640/Screen+Shot+2016-07-01+at+3.54.12+PM.png" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
Last month I wrote a travel story for <i>The Spectator Life</i>'s summer issue about why filmmakers love Morocco, and where they like to stay when in Marrakech. Also in that article I elaborate the spark that lit my interest in film-making:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Morocco shares many of the advantages that first drew filmmakers to
California: year-round sunshine, diverse landscapes, great old
architecture and abundant available extras. Just recently Morocco and
Britain signed a treaty giving each other reciprocal tax subsidies for
film and television production. And since the UK and Morocco are in the
same time zone, they keep the same business hours.<br />
<br />
My fascination with film was kindled in the New York editorial offices of a literary magazine, the <i>Paris Review</i>.
My then boss, George Plimpton, recounted over lunch one day an
adventure he had had long before — one of his stunts in participatory
journalism — when he shipped off to Morocco to play a Bedouin extra on
the set of David Lean’s <i>Lawrence of Arabia</i>.<br />
<br />
He described Lean as a figure in the far distance, a speck at the end
of a vast gorge, standing beside a camera and orchestrating the
spectacle of a massive Bedouin army on horseback. ‘I’m on screen there
somewhere,’ George insisted, ‘though I didn’t get a horse to ride on;
mostly I stood around and ululated. Lucky that I was so far out of
camera range because beneath those Bedouin robes I was wearing my own
brown Bass Weejun loafers.’</blockquote>
<br />
<i>The Spectator </i>is the oldest continuously published magazine in the English language, and I was delighted to be included in that special issue. Read the whole thing <a href="http://life.spectator.co.uk/2016/06/lights-camera-allahu-akbar-welcome-to-hollywood-on-mahgreb/">HERE</a>.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Top image courtesy of La Mamounia Hotel. </i></span><br />
<br />James Scott Linvillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01369180684804071044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759298857950402174.post-42766614271729725622016-06-29T09:45:00.002-04:002016-07-05T09:19:18.146-04:00The Courageous Choice of a SuitPolite Notice to regular readers of TMP:<br />
<br />
Some months back I wrote for Conde Nast's "M" Magazine a survey of the Future of Men's Fashion, interviewing sundry figures, including one novelist friend who discoursed on the utility of the right T-shirt. In the end I learned what a courageous choice a suit can be:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<br />
You would think that after time away, the hardest part of visiting
New York would be braving passport control, baggage reclaim, and then
finding a taxi from JFK. Instead, I find it the dilemma of what to wear.<br />
<br />
The director Whit Stillman once advised me, regarding an upcoming
film-development meeting, “Wear a suit, a blue suit. In truth, it’s
worked out terribly for my career, with people mistakenly thinking I
might be on the business side rather than creative, but it does still
create an impression!”<br />
<br />
For writers, every day is casual Friday, and we rarely pay close attention to fashion trends. </blockquote>
<br />
Read the whole thing <a href="http://wwd.com/globe-news/fashion/m-on-safari-to-discover-the-fashion-of-tomorrow-7918288/">HERE</a>. <br />
<br />
<br />James Scott Linvillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01369180684804071044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759298857950402174.post-45170181687933361652016-06-29T09:32:00.000-04:002016-06-29T10:32:58.938-04:00The Role of the Press in a Free SocietyI've quoted this line from the legendary journalist H.L. Mencken, and it's good to see an expanded version of this quote again elsewhere: <br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I believed then, as I believe now, that <b>it is the prime function of a really first-rate newspaper to serve as a sort of permanent opposition in politics,</b> and I tried to show that the <i>Sun</i>,
because of its geographical situation, had a superb opportunity to
discharge that function effectively. Baltimore was but forty miles from
Washington — and the Washington papers were all third-rate, and seemed
doomed to remain so forever, for the overwhelming majority of their
readers were petty Federal jobholders, which is to say, half-wits. In
consequence of their badness all Washington officials in the higher
brackets had to read out-of-town papers, and not a few of them,
including Wilson, read the <i>Sun</i>, for that was in the days before airships, and the <i>Sun</i>
could get to Washington with news nearly five hours earlier than the
news in the New York morning papers…The rudiments of the New Deal were
already visible in those days, and I did not neglect to sneer at the
“utopian ideas, economical, political, and ethical” that were going
about…</blockquote>
<br />
-- <i>Thirty-five Years of Newspaper Work: A Memoir by H. L. Mencken </i>(<a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=GbkmoKLzwPwC&pg=PA100&dq=%22It+is+the+prime+function+of+a+really+first-rate+newspaper+to+serve+as+a+sort+of+permanent+opposition+in+politics.%22&client=firefox-a&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22It%20is%20the%20prime%20function%20of%20a%20really%20first-rate%20newspaper%20to%20serve%20as%20a%20sort%20of%20permanent%20opposition%20in%20politics.%22&f=false">link</a>) <br />
<br />
Hat tip the <a href="http://www.jrganymede.com/2012/09/08/h-l-mencken-on-the-modern-american-press/">Junior Ganymede</a> blog, whoever that is, and also <a href="https://pjmedia.com/eddriscoll/2012/09/08/the-password-is-trolling/">Ed Driscoll</a>. James Scott Linvillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01369180684804071044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759298857950402174.post-8444535378119878602016-06-29T08:57:00.003-04:002016-06-29T10:33:15.564-04:00Tanuja Desai, in homage to PrinceEarlier this month, June 7th, was Prince’s birthday—the Minnesota governor even declared it <a href="http://pitchfork.com/news/65950-minnesota-governor-declares-june-7-prince-day/" target="_blank">Prince Day</a>.<br />
<br />
In honor that “<a href="https://mediadiversified.org/category/the-morning-papers/" target="_blank">The Morning Papers</a>,”
a collection at Media Diversified, invited writers of color and Prince
devotees to reflect. Tanuja Desai Hidier remembers him in her poem “<a href="https://mediadiversified.org/2016/05/23/zindagi-bhar-nahin-bhoolegi-woh-purple-barsaat-ki-raat/" target="_blank">Zindagi bhar nahin bhoolegi woh Purple barsaat ki raat</a>”:<br />
<br />
<b>Dearly Beloved,</b><br />
My mama she loved U<br />
Wrote me when they found U<br />
New England—North London<br />
En route 2 our girls’ school<br />
<br />
Trans-Atlantic we mourned U<br />
WhatsApp; Gram-on-phone too…<br />
What’s funny and so true<br />
My memories of U<br />
<br />
Take me back 2 that shared roof<br />
Mom, Dad, Raj<br />
(Ur sister too)<br />
And a lifetime of U…<br />
<br />
Read the whole thing <a href="https://mediadiversified.org/2016/05/23/zindagi-bhar-nahin-bhoolegi-woh-purple-barsaat-ki-raat/">HERE</a>.<i> </i><br />
<br />
Hat-tip <a href="http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/tag/prince/">Paris Review</a>, where many moons ago Tanuja worked with this editor. James Scott Linvillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01369180684804071044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759298857950402174.post-61164828904244583442016-06-29T08:17:00.000-04:002016-06-29T08:37:57.487-04:00The Point about The Main Point<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: #660000; font-stretch: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative;">
<span style="color: #fff4ed; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18.48px;"> Blogging has been light while I've been distracted by a film project, as mentioned below, but I'll be posting here again on a more or less weekly basis. I'll take this opportunity for a look back. When I started The Main Point blog I described its purpose as a place for observations on culture and politics, news, very short stories, poems, photos, missives from friends.</span></span></h3>
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<span style="color: #fff4ed; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18.48px;"> </span></span><span style="color: #fff4ed; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18.48px;">On returning to the blog I noticed that that balance has been out of whack and that some of my very first posts were entirely consumed with current events and conflicts. As a former editor of a literary magazine, The Paris Review (which is not based in Paris, by the way, and doesn't review anything) and an active journalist covering the arts such had not been intention at the outset. It is nonetheless a reflection of the times we live in.</span></h3>
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<span style="color: #fff4ed; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18.48px;"> </span></span><span style="color: #fff4ed; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18.48px;">With the indulgence of my few followers, and since some of you reading this will be new to TMP, I'm going to point back here to a few earlier posts more in line with my original intentions... and with, um, my actual areas of expertise! So herewith a kind of greatest hits for TMP:</span></h3>
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<span style="color: #fff4ed; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18.48px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4;">The great Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa is best known for his samurai epics, but in the 1950s he was fascinated by hard-boiled crime stories and noir. In Hollywood there is now a cult fascination, led by Martin Scorcese, with Kurosawa's movie "High and Low." "The Bad Sleep Well" is worth similar reverence and has Shakespearean dimensions, but my favorite from that period is "Stray Dog," thoughts on which </span><a href="http://themainpoint.blogspot.com/2009/05/akira-kurosawas-stray-dog.html" style="color: #979797; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none;">HERE</a><span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4;">.</span></h3>
<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-8781330498623750171" itemprop="description articleBody" style="background-color: #660000; color: #fff4ed; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 630px;">
<br />
Andres Velasco, until recently the Chilean economics minister, spoke with me in an interview for Monocle magazine, about the proper role of stimulus spending and his notion of counter-cyclical fiscal policies,<a href="http://themainpoint.blogspot.com/2007/10/andres-velasco-interview.html" style="color: #979797; text-decoration: none;">HERE</a>.<br />
<br />
A short story? A very short story... Ernest Hemingway wrote the saddest, and it can be read <a href="http://themainpoint.blogspot.com/2007/04/shortest-stories.html" style="color: #979797; text-decoration: none;">HERE</a>.<br />
<br />
TMP received a missive from the eminent psychoanalyst and business consultant Michael Maccoby on his mentor Erich Fromm, <a href="http://themainpoint.blogspot.com/2007/03/memories-of-erich-fromm-by-michael.html" style="color: #979797; text-decoration: none;">HERE</a>.<br />
<br />
Extraordinary times? This month I'm reminded of 1848. Usually though I think back to <a href="http://themainpoint.blogspot.com/2008/05/1958.html" style="color: #979797; text-decoration: none;">1958</a> and what that must have been like.<br />
<br />
Tony Curtis died this winter. Years ago I interviewed Billy Wilder for The Paris Review and he recounted directing Curtis in "Some Like It Hot," as recounted <a href="http://themainpoint.blogspot.com/2010/10/billy-wilder-on-writing-directing-some.html" style="color: #979797; text-decoration: none;">HERE</a>.<br />
<br />
A collection of memories about my old boss George Plimpton <a href="http://themainpoint.blogspot.com/search/label/George%20Plimpton" style="color: #979797; text-decoration: none;">HERE</a>.<br />
<br />
My favorite wine critic Jay McInerney remembered a then-recent bottle <a href="http://themainpoint.blogspot.com/2008/06/jay-mcinerney-and-wine-he-drank-this.html" style="color: #979797; text-decoration: none;">HERE</a>.<br />
<br />
A number of fascinating missives from novelist and military historian Caleb Carr <a href="http://themainpoint.blogspot.com/search/label/Caleb%20Carr" style="color: #979797; text-decoration: none;">HERE</a>. Particularly of interest... Carr's speculation on Gunter Grass's life in the 10th SS Panzer division during WWII.<br />
<br />
An archive of contributed poetry <a href="http://themainpoint.blogspot.com/search/label/Poem" style="color: #979797; text-decoration: none;">HERE</a>, including work by Charles Wright, Pierre Martory, and the heroic<a href="http://themainpoint.blogspot.com/2008/04/poem-by-heroic-jeannie-vanasco.html" style="color: #979797; text-decoration: none;">Jeannie Vanasco</a>.</div>
James Scott Linvillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01369180684804071044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759298857950402174.post-61646726184682131052016-02-06T09:59:00.002-05:002016-02-16T02:08:16.851-05:00Gone Fishing...I've been posting infrequently here recently, as I've been researching a Morocco project, but will be back soon.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, please consider becoming a Follower by hitting the gadget to the right.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheOFmUIxmmBd9FPvjWoOM_H7ZDuUKJEvX6PBDIWSC3Ps-aYOCTyzRW2QWWqtXr-yqjkSQ_6-muXlIge001Zyh5_YzlYY1ZdmBXKAUarC49PgsZxzt3MePu3kwuR6q6faZLijtXmj6Xonk7/s1600/Courtyard%252C+Azna+Ksar+copy.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheOFmUIxmmBd9FPvjWoOM_H7ZDuUKJEvX6PBDIWSC3Ps-aYOCTyzRW2QWWqtXr-yqjkSQ_6-muXlIge001Zyh5_YzlYY1ZdmBXKAUarC49PgsZxzt3MePu3kwuR6q6faZLijtXmj6Xonk7/s640/Courtyard%252C+Azna+Ksar+copy.png" width="640" /></a> James Scott Linvillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01369180684804071044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759298857950402174.post-5588534602954290632015-07-19T07:21:00.002-04:002021-04-26T07:01:28.813-04:00Summer, Beaches, James Salter and Irwin ShawIt's deep summer now, a season that reminds me when I'm far from home, as I am now, of American beaches, especially those in New Jersey and on eastern Long Island.<br />
<br />
And thinking about beaches on Long Island, the lunch picnics, and the evening barbecues, often reminds me of a favorite writer who spent his summers there, the short story writer James Salter, a poet of such things who died last month. Once at a dinner he and I spoke about another writer, Irwin Shaw. Readers of this blog may have read Shaw's much-anthologized "Girls in Their Summer
Dresses," but likely little else.<br />
<br />
Shaw is largely forgotten now, his literary achievements
oddly overshadowed by the enormous commercial success of his late
novels, and yet his short stories not only hold up but are superb. In Salter's gorgeous if pointillistic memoir, "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Burning-Days-Recollection-James-Salter/dp/0394759486/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1301784297&sr=8-1">Burning the Days</a>," he offers a remembrance of Shaw. This morning, again, I took his memoir down from the shelf and read:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
Time with its broad thumb has blurred nothing. He was forty-eight that
year and already late for a dinner he was going to on Avenue Foch. He
gave me the address—come afterwards for coffee, he said. A few minutes
later, paying the bill, he left. Thus I discovered that Paris. There
were worlds above, I learned, but there are also worlds below. I found
Avenue Foch—the name itself has only a faint resonance now, the century
is ending and into its crypt all such things will vanish, marshals of
France as well as unknown poilus—and I also found the Île Ste.-Louis,
rue de Grenelle, Place St.-Sulpice, and apartments and restaurants as
well as other towns and regions, not always in France, because of him.
He was my unknowing Virgil, brief in his descriptions, irrefutable, fond
of drink. Years later I heard him give some advice: never be in awe of
anyone. He was not in awe of Europe. He tossed his coat on her couch.</blockquote>
<br />
As I've written before here, there may be, as well, a shadow-like depiction of Shaw in "Via
Negative," a short story in Salter's first collection, "Dusk." From that
story, I suspected that Shaw, for Salter, was not so much a mentor as a
representative figure of a writer, one to compare himself against,
admire, and whose example and aims he would in some measure turn away
from. Or perhaps he took Shaw's advice to heart, never to be in awe of
anyone. <br />
<br />
The Paris Review, who originally published another of Salter's stark
classic stories, has made available on-line "Am Strande von Tanger."
It shows well how in turning away from the example of Shaw, in taking
another route, he become such a fascinating writer. There's also a beach in summertime depicted. The story begins thus:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
Barcelona at dawn. The hotels are dark. All the great avenues are pointing to the sea.<br />
<br />
The city is empty. Nico is asleep. She is bound by twisted sheets, by
her long hair, by a naked arm which falls from beneath her pillow. She
lies still, she does not even breathe.<br />
<br />
In a cage outlined beneath a square of silk that is indigo blue and
black, her bird sleeps, Kalil. The cage is in an empty fireplace which
has been scrubbed clean. There are flowers beside it and a bowl of
fruit. Kalil is asleep, his head beneath the softness of a wing.<br />
<br />
Malcolm is asleep. His steel-rimmed glasses which he does not need—there
is no prescription in them—lie open on the table. He sleeps on his back
and his nose rides the dream world like a keel. This nose, his mother’s
nose or at least a replica of his mother’s, is like a theatrical
device, a strange decoration that has been pasted on his face. It is the
first thing one notices about him. It is the first thing one likes. The
nose in a sense is a mark of commitment to life. It is a large nose
which cannot be hidden. In addition, his teeth are bad.<br />
<br />
At the very top of the four stone spires which Gaudi left unfinished the
light has just begun to bring forth gold inscriptions too pale yet to
read. There is no sun. There is only a white silence. Sunday morning.
The early mornings of Spain. A mist covers all of the hills which
surround the city. The stores are closed.<br />
<br />
Nico has come out on the terrace after her bath. The towel is wrapped around her, water still glistens on her skin.<br />
<br />
“It’s cloudy,” she says. “It’s not a good day for the sea.”<br />
<br />
Malcolm looks up.<br />
<br />
“It may clear,” he says.<br />
<br />
Morning. Villa-Lobos is playing on the phonograph. The cage is on a
stool in the doorway. Malcolm lies in a canvas chair eating an orange.
He is in love with the city. He has a deep attachment to it based in
part on a story by Paul Morand and also on an incident which occurred in
Barcelona years before: one evening in the twilight Antonio Gaudi,
mysterious, fragile, even saintlike, the city’s great architect, was hit
by a streetcar as he walked to church. He was very old, white beard,
white hair, dressed in the simplest of clothes. No one recognized him.
He lay in the street without even a cab to drive him to the hospital.
Finally he was taken to the charity ward. He died the day Malcolm was
born.</blockquote>
<br />
Against all advice, I'm in awe. Read the whole thing <a href="http://www.theparisreview.org/fiction/4246/am-strande-von-tanger-james-salter">here</a>.<br />
<br />
Read Ulin on happy changes in the weather, and Irwin Shaw <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2011/04/the-reading-life-the-girls-in-their-summer-dresses.html">here</a> (hat-tip Jane Ciabattari and Anna March).<br />
<br />
Shaw's story "The Girls in Their Summer Dresses" may be read <a href="http://www.amlit.com/Shaw/SS/TheGirlsinTheirSummerDresses.html">here</a>.
James Scott Linvillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01369180684804071044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759298857950402174.post-62620196006291145862015-01-25T16:46:00.002-05:002015-01-25T16:46:51.834-05:00 Economic Indicators <h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></h3>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="post-header">
</div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">Nathan
Rothschild famously quipped, "Buy when there is blood in the streets," but he never said anything about what to do when firebombs are thrown at Greek riot police, and there's a
trillion dollar easing of the money supply.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><br />
</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>h/t to Andy Kessler</i></span></span></span>James Scott Linvillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01369180684804071044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759298857950402174.post-12798672061431876402014-09-01T13:00:00.003-04:002023-10-18T04:33:48.258-04:00Lebanon Notebook: Two Visits with A Warlord and KingmakerFunny thing. You travel the wide world and you find sometimes that people in far off corners have some of the same ideas as those back home.<br />
<br />
I’ve been in Lebanon this month, working on a documentary. While there, I interviewed the remarkable Walid Jumblatt, the rare person who can be simultaneously mercurial (working a dozen angles) and also phlegmatic (feeling the profound weight of the world. He is also is both a tribal leader (of the Druze) and a former war lord while leading, as well, a Progressive Socialist Party. <br />
<br />
The last time I interviewed Jumblatt I was traveling with a pack of writers that included journalists Christopher Hitchens, as well as travel writer-turned-novelist Lawrence Osborne. That day, the great man, receiving us at his castle in the Chouf mountains an hour and a half above Beirut, served a wonderful lunch of Lebanese meze and roast lamb, with wine from his own vineyard. <br />
<br />
After lunch, he gave our group a tour of his office. I was particularly taken by his reading material, and his choice of paperweight (see picture below).<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJGUUaq-ShdplI7GmSiV997eZ3TnZXYc34f11o_ieRs1RdQ9i4umm8cuFhEMUGDdT45HULGgIgwQhwuUZd7bj6kVo9oM9cLSAoY9C4PIftWklasBkxUGPy8EbhEcYyF7VzdUn5rrPikli6/s1600/unknown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJGUUaq-ShdplI7GmSiV997eZ3TnZXYc34f11o_ieRs1RdQ9i4umm8cuFhEMUGDdT45HULGgIgwQhwuUZd7bj6kVo9oM9cLSAoY9C4PIftWklasBkxUGPy8EbhEcYyF7VzdUn5rrPikli6/s1600/unknown.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />
On return to our hotels we found that Jumblatt had sent us Jeroboams of his Kefraya wine. Sometime during that weekend Osborne, wine-fueled, was inspired to recount for us the story that in time he elaborated to create his acclaimed novel “The Forgiven.” Meanwhile, later in the day after that lunch Hitchens and cohorts ventured out on Hamra Street, a perambulation that lead to a confrontation with some local political thugs who delivered a beat-down culminating in their stomping on the Hitch’s writing (and smoking and drinking) hand. In mock-epic style, that episode became nicknamed by pundits “The Battle of Beirut,” and Hitchens himself recounted it in great style, with erudite historical and cultural asides, in Vanity Fair. (That story can be found among the links below.)<br />
<br />
On the occasion of my recent visit, just last week, Jumblatt received my producing partner, myself, and our crew at his palace in the Hamra distract of East Beirut… not far from the location of “The Battle.” Jumblatt was preceded into the receiving hall by his faithful Shar Pei named Oscar, who gave everyone a good and friendly sniff (presumably Oscar does double duty as both attention magnet and back-up security screener).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX914wUzghJ570xnNG0fV0bJJwFjIcWiPQDOsZOICBocoooMM57LkV0YFOWeuQ4ynBV67J9xrf_XQQct86nh8aSgVm0YM-5Jh46HFYY_l9RXiaV98XXYkAc8nS5a4VS6uLfmT5KMNdlhGO/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-08-25+at+5.17.54+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX914wUzghJ570xnNG0fV0bJJwFjIcWiPQDOsZOICBocoooMM57LkV0YFOWeuQ4ynBV67J9xrf_XQQct86nh8aSgVm0YM-5Jh46HFYY_l9RXiaV98XXYkAc8nS5a4VS6uLfmT5KMNdlhGO/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-08-25+at+5.17.54+PM.png" height="640" width="512" /></a></div>
<br />
On camera and under the lights, Jumblatt immediately turned serious, offering not the hospitable mien of our earlier encounter. Instead, ever the canny politician and ever aware aware of our film’s western audience, while glowering at this interviewer positioned (or hiding) behind the camera, Jumblatt proceeded with a blistering attack on the Obama administration’s Syria policy. <br />
<br />
More surprising… our interview was in a sense a twenty minute elaboration similar to what Hillary Clinton had said just two weeks earlier. In short, Jumblatt attributed the rise of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, and the long chaos in that country, directly to Western (and especially American) disengagement from the Middle East.<br />
<br />
Needless to say, Jumblatt sent us no Jeroboams of wine that evening. <br />
<br />
One should be careful about attributing too much authority on matters of American policy to a foreign politician, even regarding matters in their own backyard. Besides, what I said to those friends in Lebanon who complained about this administration’s foreign policy was that if you don’t like its direction today, just wait six months and it will be completely different. <br />
<br />
Jumblatt himself, nicknamed “The Weather Vane,” has been prone to similar seemingly capricious shifts. As a leader representing a small constituency (Druze make up just 5% of Lebanon’s voters) he has periodically shifted between the March 14th coalition (who benefit from Saudi support) and the March 8th coalition (of which Iran-backed Hezbollah is a leading member). As the swing vote, he has been able for some two decades to play “king-maker.”<br />
<br />
In the meantime, things are afoot in the region, and there are hints that a tectonic and profound redrawing of alliances is under way. <br />
<br />
Among other signs, at the beginning of this week, Iranian tanks entered in Kurdish Iraq. That’s right, the US has stood by while Iranian tanks formally entered Iraq, and those tanks are fighting on the same side as their some-time enemy, the Kurds. What’s more, US, Syrian and Iranian planes flew sorties against the so-called Islamic State. <br />
<br />
Looked at one way, the Sunni/Shiite cold war we've seen the last few years… or rather decades or even centuries… has in the Arab heartland turned hot and become surprisingly triangular.<br />
<br />
Read Hillary Clinton’s critique of the Obama administration’s Syria policy <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/08/hillary-clinton-failure-to-help-syrian-rebels-led-to-the-rise-of-isis/375832/">HERE</a>. <br />
<br />
Keep in mind of course, that HRC was herself part of that administration, and indeed the Secretary of State as the so-called Arab Spring, and then the Syria crisis, began.<br />
<br />
Read Christopher Hitchens’s account of the “Battle of Beirut,” in Vanity Fair <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/05/christopher-hitchens200905">HERE</a>. <br />
<br />
And keep in mind that despite the mock epic nickname for that incident, he and his cohorts were in real danger, both then and for the remainder of their stay.<br />
<br />
Read about Iran’s entry into Kurdish Iraq <a href="http://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2014/08/25/iran_sends_tanks_to_iraq_to_fight_isis_107389.html">HERE</a>.<br />
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Read Walid Jumblatt’s own account for Now Lebanon of a recent and much more cordial recent encounter when he and Oscar received another group of foreign visitors, <a href="https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/lebanon/561030-lucky-oscar">HERE</a>.<br />
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<br />James Scott Linvillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01369180684804071044noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759298857950402174.post-757282726603893762014-08-22T08:09:00.001-04:002014-08-23T04:20:36.428-04:00On Mackerel, Fish in General, and the Wonder that is HarissaI was in Lebanon last week and spent a happy afternoon killing two hours before sunset on the rooftop of The Albergo Hotel, consuming an enormous bottle of San Pellegrino water, an Almasa beer, and some of the best roast almonds and pistachios, both dusted with sea salt.<br />
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When back home, I mentioned this, a favorite moment from the trip, to a friend trapped at his writing desk in upstate New York and he emailed to say this made him hungry for pistachios, which he loved.</div>
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I do too, whether plain, in baklava, or used in a main. I commented that I once had roast grouper encrusted with pistachios. </div>
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My novelist friend said I shouldn't eat grouper, not sustainable, almost all gone.</div>
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I have no idea whether this is true, and suspect he just wanted to deny me the pleasant memory, but I protested that it had been years ago, there were plenty around at the time.</div>
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In any case, that afternoon, at the fish monger in North London I asked for some mackerel, four filets. They were fat fish and their eyes were clear so I knew they were fresh. They were also cheap, six quid for four servings. We should all eat more mackerel, an underrated fish. They're plentiful, and cheap, and have all those good oils that make your brain grow. </div>
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I made my mackerel for dinner with harissa, a spicey pepper paste from Tunisia that is sometimes served alongside couscous. I'm using harissa in lots of things now, putting it on salmon and chicken. I suppose you could roast nuts with some harissa to sharpen them.<br />
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In any case, this was my dinner on return.</div>
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<b>Spicy Mackerel with Bread-crumbs</b></div>
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Mackerel - four fillets</div>
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Harissa - a big dollop</div>
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Breadcrumbs - 100 g?</div>
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Olive oil</div>
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A lemon</div>
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Rinse the mackerel and pat it dry. Spread the harissa, a thin covering, on the flesh side, then roll the fillets in bread crumbs. Over a medium heat, place skin side down in a frying pan coated with olive oil. Cook for two or three minutes, then flip them and cook for another one or two.</div>
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Serve with a wedge of lemon. </div>
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We served them with steamed green beens and a salad. They'd also go well with spinach. </div>
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With that, we drank a full-bodied Spanish red from near Valencia, on special offer at the wine store just down the street. I'd have been happy also with shiraz or even a rose.</div>
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James Scott Linvillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01369180684804071044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759298857950402174.post-22412546870264599372014-08-21T16:28:00.000-04:002014-08-22T04:34:42.830-04:00On Simin Behbahani, an Unacknowledged Legislator of IranA fine tribute this week by Sohrab Ahmari on the poet Simin Behbahani, dubbed the Lioness of Tehran. She was 82, nearly blind, but the regime still felt compelled to slap a travel ban upon her.<br>
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For a lesson in the power of artists to shake despots, consider the Iranian poet Simin Behbahani. The Islamic Republic four years ago imposed a travel ban on her in retaliation for poems she'd written denouncing Tehran's crackdown on the 2009 Green uprising.<br>
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She was 82 and nearly blind, yet she was barred from boarding a France-bound plane and interrogated through the night in March 2010. Behbahani died Tuesday from respiratory illness.<br>
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Behbahani's poems are routinely memorized and quoted in Iran. "In more than a thousand years of Iranian literature, it is unprecedented for a woman to have reached this level of national recognition during her lifetime," notes her English translator, Farzaneh Milani, in an essay on Behbahani's work. She was popularly dubbed the "Lioness of Iran."<br>
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Born in 1927 in Tehran, at the dawn of the Pahlavi dynasty, she published her first poem at age 14. Persian poetry was at the time undergoing a revolution of sorts, and Behbahani eventually came to lead its vanguard, alongside the likes of Nima Yooshij, Sohrab Sepehri and Forough Farrokhzad.<br>
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In their work, idyllic wineries and star-crossed lovers were replaced by serious social and psychological themes and portraits of everyday life. [...]</blockquote>
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Behbahani's most-beloved ghazal, widely anthologized in the West, was published soon after the 1979 Islamic revolution.<br>
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"My Country, I Will Build You Again" expressed the fragile optimism of a nation still convinced that it had just staged a democratic revolt—not one to usher in a new Islamist dark age. Its opening couplet:<br>
<i><br>My country, I will build you again,<br><br>If need be, with bricks made from my life.</i></blockquote>
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A tip of the hat then to Simin Behbahani, another "Unacknowledged Legislator."<br>
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Read the whole fine article by Ahmari "in" the Wall Street Journal <a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/simin-behbahani-the-lioness-of-iran-1408489873">HERE</a>.James Scott Linvillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01369180684804071044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759298857950402174.post-67774377149483798912014-08-18T11:28:00.000-04:002014-08-21T16:51:23.134-04:00In the Age of Obama... Where is the Love?I remember back in 2008 the musical artist Will.i.am produced a viral and powerful campaign video on behalf of then-Senator Barack Obama's presidential bid.<br />
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That makes it all the more surprising that Will.i.am has now released a song by his group The Black Eyed Peas that is in its way a powerful critique of our time in this, the era of President Obama.<br />
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The song is entitled "Where is the Love?" and it seems already immensely and immediately popular, with more than eighty million Youtube plays. <br />
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Both abroad and at home our nation now feels farther away from the promise of peace and unity we looked forward to back in 2008. This Black Eyed Peas' song, then, couldn't be more timely. Below are some of that song's lyrics, along with my brief commentary. Mid-way in this post comes the video, which I encourage all Main Point readers to watch carefully while reading these lyrics.<br />
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<i>What’s wrong with the world, mama?<br />People livin’ like they ain’t got no mamas.<br />I think the whole world addicted to the drama,<br />Only attracted to things that’ll bring you trauma</i></blockquote>
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How true. <br />
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<i>Overseas, yeah, we try to stop terrorism<br />But we still got terrorists here livin’<br />In the USA, the big CIA,<br />The Bloods and the Crips and the KKK.</i></blockquote>
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<i>But if you only have love for your own race<br />Then you only leave space to discriminate.<br />And to discriminate only generates hate<br />And when you have hate then you’re bound to get irate.</i></blockquote>
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Seems a possible reference to events in Ferguson, Missouri, but is really a general and timeless truth.<br />
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<i>Madness is what you demonstrate,<br />And that’s exactly how anger works and operates.<br />Man, you gotta have love just to set it straight<br /><br />People killin’, people dyin’<br />Children hurt and you hear them cryin’<br />Can you practice what you preach <br />And would you turn the other cheek?</i></blockquote>
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<i>Father, Father, Father help us <br />Send some guidance from above<br />‘Cause people got me questionin’<br />Where is the love?<br /><br />It just ain’t the same, always unchanged.<br />New days are strange, is the world insane?<br /><br />Nations droppin’ bombs<br />Chemical gasses fill in’ lungs of little ones.</i></blockquote>
Presumably a reference here to one of the conflicts in Middle East in the last year, with red lines drawn, crossed, ignored, etc... <br />
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<i>A war is goin’ on but the reasons undercover<br />The truth is kept secret, it’s swept under the rug<br />If you never know truth then you never know love<br /><br />Where’s the love, y’all?</i></blockquote>
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<i>(I don’t know)<br />Where’s the truth, y’all?</i><br />
<i>(I don’t know)<br /><br />Wrong information always shown by the media<br />Negative images is the main criteria<br />Infecting the young minds faster than bacteria.</i><br />
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<i>A point that always bears repeating.<br /><br />Kids wanna act like what they see in the cinema.<br />Whatever happened to the values of humanity?<br />Whatever happened to the fairness and equality?<br /><br />Instead of spreading love we’re spreading animosity<br />Lack of understanding, leading lives away from unity.<br /><br />Sing with me y’all:<br />One, one world.<br />Something’s wrong with it<br />Something’s wrong with the world.</i><br />
<i><br />We only got <br />(One world, one world)<br />That’s all we got<br />(One world, one world).</i></blockquote>
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The ending of the video provides a beautiful moment, so I'll hope you all will watch to the end.<br />
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UPDATE: A friend has pointed out that the song "Where Is The Love?" was released in 2003. Well, yes, I suppose that's true, but it's more fun to think of it as released this month.<br />
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<br />James Scott Linvillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01369180684804071044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759298857950402174.post-59473147884153449172014-08-18T09:44:00.000-04:002014-08-18T09:44:20.781-04:00The Beatles... and StyleOver at top style blog <i>A Continuous Lean</i>, Jake Gallagher opines on the style of John, Paul, George and Ringo after the break up of The Beatles.<br />
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The post is smart, with great photo research, but the clothes the fab four are depicted wearing are awful.<br />
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I much prefer their style from a few years before the break-up, during the era of their albums "Revolver" and "Rubber Soul." As below... <br />
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Commenting on the ACL post, Anthony Teasdale, the Editor of <i>Umbrella</i> magazine, says the epitome of their style for that era can be seen in the video for the song "Rain." As below...<br />
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Do go visit the post ACL post <a href="http://www.acontinuouslean.com/2014/08/15/beatles-post-break-up/">HERE</a>.<br />
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And look in on Teasale's <i>Umbrella</i> <a href="http://www.umbrellamagazine.co.uk/#">HERE</a>.James Scott Linvillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01369180684804071044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759298857950402174.post-44703055188968913892013-10-22T10:47:00.001-04:002013-10-22T10:47:22.946-04:00A Free, and Free-Thinking, Press... via George OrwellIn his essay "The Freedom of the Press" George Orwell warned about a press too wed to the prevailing orthodoxies and interests. <br />
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Unpopular ideas can be silenced, and inconvenient facts kept dark, without the need for any official ban. Anyone who has lived long in a foreign country will know of instances of sensational items of news -- things which on their own merits would get the big headlines -- being kept right out of the British press, not because the Government intervened but because of a general tacit agreement that "it wouldn't do" to mention that particular fact. So far as the daily newspapers go, this is easy to understand. The British press is extremely centralized, and most of it is owned by wealthy men who have every motive to be dishonest on certain important topics. But the same kind of veiled censorship also operates in books and periodicals, as well as in plays, films and radio. At any given moment there is an orthodoxy, a body of ideas which it is assumed that all right-thinking people will accept without question. It is not exactly forbidden to say this, that or the other, but it is "not done" to say it, just as in mid-Victorian times it was "not done" to mention trousers in the presence of a lady. Anyone who challenges the prevailing orthodoxy finds himself silenced with surprising effectiveness. A genuinely unfashionable opinion is almost never given a fair hearing, either in the popular press or in the highbrow periodicals.</blockquote>
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True still today.<br />
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Hat-tip <a href="http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/08/16/the-freedom-of-the-press-george-orwell/">Brain Pickings</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/brainpicker">Maria Popova</a>.James Scott Linvillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01369180684804071044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759298857950402174.post-66383087976299334212013-07-21T12:29:00.000-04:002013-07-21T12:29:07.441-04:00Chapel, Hospital of St. Cross, Winchester<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Hospital of St. Cross in Winchester is Britain's oldest charitable institution, founded in 1133 by Henry de Blois, Bishop of Winchester and grandson of William the Conqueror. Pictured here is its chapel.James Scott Linvillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01369180684804071044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759298857950402174.post-43778884959063125492013-07-19T12:57:00.003-04:002014-02-16T05:39:24.643-05:00Random Notes on the North London Pub Quiz Scene<br />
On a Tuesday evening last month, in a corner of North London, the high street was festooned with unusually expensive automobiles. On one block was a Rolls, a Jaguar, and a Porsche. What's more, one pub in the center of that neighborhood was rammed. It turned out that the all-Britain Pub Quiz League was on hiatus, and some of the top players in the nation had turned out for the competition. <br />
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But those cars... they made me wonder whether pub quiz players the new footballers.<br />
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Well one might ask. Then comes this in a recent Evening Standard's Londoner's Diary:<br />
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Spotted in North London... taking a kind of busman’s holiday... Shaun Wallace, a barrister and the “Dark Destroyer” on ITV’s Quiz Show “The Chase,” slipped in last night to the Prince of Wales to keep his instrument keen. The pub’s quiz night has been deemed by the Telegraph Britain’s “most respected,” and is even the subject of a 2006 book. To general dismay, Wallace was however pipped to the post by a local team led by Observer writer, and former Review Editor, Tim Adams. Given that Adams’s team had never before placed higher than seventh a scoring recount was demanded but the results stood.</blockquote>
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When next in Los Angeles I may speak with a cable television exec about bidding for live coverage of these events. But which channel? ESPN, or Bravo?<br />
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In any case, in another corner of London, on local quiz night there was a general predominance of heels. At the local bistro restaurant, tables of small groups of women on their own. Apparently, the Wives & Girlfriends of the pub quiz players... or playas as they sometimes styles themselves... had arrived.James Scott Linvillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01369180684804071044noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759298857950402174.post-10824649211506631852013-07-18T07:17:00.004-04:002013-07-18T07:22:27.032-04:00A Visit with Andres Velasco, Economist and (now) PoliticianIt is a truism often alluded to that voters should be wary of politicians bearing big ideas. When in 2006 Chile’s Andres Velasco left a professorship at Harvard’s Kennedy School to become Finance Minister in the administration of Michelle Bachelet he came with many ideas, principally that the cause of political instability in Latin America was due to poor administration of economic booms.<br />
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As Finance Minister, then, of a major copper-producing country during a boom in the price of that commodity, his first act was to institute a mechanism inspired by that observation. A projected mean price was to be set, with excess revenues to be directed to a sovereign wealth fund. In essence, he intentionally cooled the economy and became, in effect, the wet blanket at the party. <br />
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As a result, Chile became the first country to emerge from that world-wide recession, and Velasco, for his foresight, became in his country an enormously popular figure. <br />
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I met Velasco in March not long after he announced his campaign for the presidency. (Shortly our meeting, Michelle Bachelet stepped down from her position at the UN, returned to Santiago, announced her own candidacy. She has since won the primary for leadership of the Concertacion Coalition and is contesting the presidency in the general election in the fall.)<br />
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But in the spring, when all seemed possible, Velasco kindly answered a few questions...<br />
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<i>LINVILLE: How would you do things different? </i><br />
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VELASCO: Chile is in the midst of a political legitimacy crisis. Citizens do not trust congress, the judiciary, or the political parties. <br />
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Much of this is related to the presence of a political class that has been in power for over a generation. People here often say: “For thirty years now I read the paper in the morning, I turn on the TV, it’s the same people, the same faces, on the right, on the left, and in the parties.”<br />
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One of the big issues that caused many citizens to be indignant is the allocation of government jobs to party friends. On a television programme last year I said that a very senior senator from the coalition I belonged to had pressured me to hire a dozen of his party associates and he had threatened to boycott our legislative agenda if I didn’t give in. Well I didn’t give in. Dozens have since told me they had the same experience.<br />
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<i>LINVILLE: Hugo Chavez died recently. How will this change the political landscape of Latin America?</i><br />
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VELASCO: Over the last decade or so, two kinds of left governments, and left political parties, have coexisted in Latin America: first, modern, liberal, outward-orientated left-leaning governments, in countries like Chile and Brazil; and then populist governments with a tendency towards demagoguery in Venezuela and elsewhere. I would have hoped in recent years for a more energetic leadership on the part of the modernizers, particularly in Brazil. Brazil missed an opportunity. At this moment the need is greater than ever to consolidate a modern kind of social democracy for those in Latin America who want their countries to be open, outward-orientated and to use economic development to improve the lot of the people in those nations. James Scott Linvillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01369180684804071044noreply@blogger.com0