The author David Foster Wallace, best known for his novel “Infinite Jest,” “a vast investigation into America as the land of addictions: to television, to drugs, to loneliness,” committed suicide on September 12, 2008 at the age of 46. Wallace, who suffered from depression for more than twenty years, struggled for more than a decade with his [...]
Archive for March 1st, 2009
Beyond “Infinite Jest”: David Foster Wallace’s Unfinished Third Novel
Posted in Books, Literature, Writers & Writing on March 1, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Brooklyn “Chizuk”: Hasidic Jews Confront Child Sexual Abuse
Posted in Brooklyn, Crimes & Misdemeanors, Jewish Life, New York City, Religion, Sex & Gender on March 1, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
“A month after allegations of child sexual abuse surfaced in the mainstream press, the Hasidic community in Brooklyn, N.Y., is taking cautious steps to confront the scandal. Meanwhile, outsiders are tackling the issue head on. “On Sunday, state Assemblyman Dov Hikind plans to host a community-wide ‘morning of chizuk’ (support) for the alleged victims of abuse. Hikind, an Orthodox [...]
Back in the U.S.S.A., or: The Right’s New Bogey-meme
Posted in Congress, Current Events, Economy, Obama, Politics on March 1, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
“Conservatives might be seeking a spiritual leader, organizing principle and fresh identity, but they at least seem to have settled on a favorite rhetorical ogre: socialism. “As in, Democrats are intent on forcing socialism on the ‘U.S.S.A.’ (as the bumper sticker says, under the words ‘Comrade Obama’). “It seems that ‘socialist’ has supplanted ‘liberal’ as [...]
Not Gone Gently: The Internet-Led “Poetry Boom”
Posted in Books, Literature, Poets & Poetry, World Wide Web, Writers & Writing on March 1, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
“Rather than killing it off, modern technologies like email, social networking sites such as Facebook and online media players are helping poets reach new audiences.” Signs of growth, by the numbers: The number of entries for the Foyle Young Poets Award more than doubling from 2003 to 2008 to almost 12,000. The number of pamphlets [...]
Vulcan Mind Meld: Obama Channels His Inner Spock
Posted in Bush, Current Events, Economy, International Affairs, Middle East, Obama, Politics, Popular Culture, Television on March 1, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Maureen Dowd on President Obama’s Mr. Spock-like cool: “Mr. Obama has a bit of Mr. Spock in him (and not just the funny ears). He has a Vulcan-like logic and detachment. Any mere mortal who had to tell liberals that our obligations in Iraq and Afghanistan are far from over and tell Republicans that he [...]
