SHOULD I READ IRIS MURDOCH? Specifically, should I read The Black Prince? Any opinions are welcome. Read more

LOOTING. I don’t have a lot to say about this. Have tried to think whether I have anything to say, but ultimately, no. The only thing I really want to say is, Don’t be too sure. It’s been strange to see people so sure of the reasons behind a rough, destructive course of events, when I am so unsure. Some people think the looting is just untidy (no–my apartment is untidy, it ain’t quite the same thing). Some people think... Read more

SHE PUT A SPELL ON US. Nina Simone passes away at age 70. Read more

“RICHARD III” AT SHAKESPEARE THEATRE: Something else I saw last week. Not an especially coherent production. I’m not sure what it was trying to do that would distinguish it from the other RIII productions one might have seen (most notably the excellent Ian McKellen movie–although why does he always make the same gesture–hitting his knee with his fist–in practically every movie where he appears??). This production used the same modern/fascist setting as the McKellen movie, which is starting to get... Read more

“JEZEBEL”: THE GLAMOUR OF EVIL: Last week I saw “Jezebel,” which, rumor has it, is the film Bette Davis was given as a compensation prize for not being picked to play Scarlett O’Hara. (Quick DC note: I saw it at the newly-opened AFI Silver theater in Silver Spring, which was super-convenient for Metro riders, and not the world’s most wonderfully-designed movie palace but still quite good.) When I first left the theater I was underimpressed with the movie, but it... Read more

IN THE DAYS WHEN YOU WERE HOPELESSLY POOR/I JUST LIKED YOU MORE. Have spun Cat Power’s new record, “You Are Free,” several times (uh, but only twice all the way through, for reasons I will explain pronto), and can’t recommend it. I’m glad I have it because I am a huge, colossal Cat Power fan. But if you are not already fanatical about the howlin’ chanteuse, DO NOT buy the new record. Instead, PLEASE, go get yourself her amazing first... Read more

THE PRESIDENTIAL BIOETHICS COUNCIL has a super-interesting “bookshelf” website with suggested readings on different topics and sample study-guide-type questions. Really fascinating stuff, from Homer through contemporary short-story writers (good choices). And the selections + questions seem to me to highlight both the strong and weak points of Virginia Postrel-type biotech-enthusiasts, Leon Kass-type bio-skeptics, and all between. I’ve added a couple of their picks to my reading lists. (Via Oxblog.) Read more

THE VERTIGO TOUR OF SAN FRANCISCO: Via Rick McGinnis, who comments: “It’s amazing to see how little the city has changed in some views, like the Brocklebank Apartments, or the intersection of Post and Stockton, where there’s still a flower stand on the same spot after forty-five years. Sometimes the change is due to something as simple as trees maturing, as in the approach to Lincoln Park, but in other spots it’s drastic, such as the former location of the... Read more

LINKS RE IRANIAN BLOGGER ARREST: Thomas Nephew has a host of email addresses. Relapsed Catholic has advice. Oxblog has a letter. Read more

LOTS OF GOOD STUFF AT AMY WELBORN’S PLACE. Read more