-
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
- hnbjr on Evergreen
- dcma on Evergreen
- hnbjr on Evergreen
- hnbjr on Some Jon Cook Music
- RB on Some Jon Cook Music
Archives
- March 2023
- July 2019
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- January 2018
- November 2017
- April 2017
- September 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- January 2016
- October 2015
- September 2015
- September 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- July 2013
- June 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- August 2012
- April 2012
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
Meta
Category Archives: america
O King
On the occasion of the 89th birthday of Martin Luther King this coming Monday, the second movement of Berio’s Sinfonia. Recent headlines, some from my own hometown, remind us America has a long way to go to realize Dr King’s … Continue reading
An excerpt from Octavio Paz’s “Mexico and the United States”
‘Today, the United States faces very powerful enemies, but the mortal danger comes from within: not from Moscow but from that mixture of arrogance and opportunism, blindness and short-term Machiavellianism, volubility and stubbornness which has characterized its foreign policies during … Continue reading
Happy (belated) birthday, Hunter Thompson
Hunter S. Thompson, who was from Louisville, would have turned 79 this week. With the Republican National Convention in full swing and on the cusp of a truly ludicrous election, we need him now more than ever. The Paris Review’s … Continue reading
Posted in america, humor, journalism, kentucky
Tagged hunter s thompson, louisville, RNC
Leave a comment
You All Want a Pepsi-Coke?
I’ve always enjoyed dialects, and I’ve had the good fortune to live in a few places with strong dialect areas, from Torlak to Veneto to Cantonese. But what about American dialects? Are we too young of a nation to really … Continue reading
Sorry, Charlie: Deep Parables of Consumer Capitalism
There’s no age quite as awkward as the semi-pubescent 11-14 age range which corresponds to what we now know as the middle school years. My own awkwardness at that age can probably best be encapsulated by a rundown of my lunchtime eating … Continue reading
Posted in america, food, literature
3 Comments
Review of Peter Hessler’s River Town
Peter Hessler was a Peace Corps volunteer in Sichuan in 1996-1998 and his book chronicling his life there, River Town, is an excellent Peace Corps memoir. Even though I can’t think of a place more different from Macedonia, where I served, … Continue reading
Posted in america, Balkans, Chinese, education, international development, macedonia
Leave a comment
On the Unremarkable Processes of Life
I had a relatively minor surgery last week and thus had more than the usual amount of time to sit around reading, especially about healthcare, medicine, and most of all its incredible rising cost. From Craig Bowron’s most recent article … Continue reading
Posted in america, literature
Leave a comment
il Kentucky
We’re often curious as to how others see us. To that end, today’s offering is composed of translations from an Italian guidebook to the USA on my home state and city. Factually, it’s largely accurate, with a couple of exceptions … Continue reading
Posted in america, italy, kentucky
Tagged bluegrass, coast-to-coast, country music, derby, falls of the ohio, italians in the USA, kentucky, louisville, louisville slugger, moonshine, roadtrips, whiskey
1 Comment
Thoughts on Militarism on Italy’s Day of the Republic
Italy rarely has national holidays that anyone cares about. Milan My building is pleasantly empty at the moment, with most denizens having gone away for a long weekend. Militarism is rarely on display for secular holidays here, although this year … Continue reading
Posted in afghanistan, america, Balkans, the italian right, the right in europe, war
Tagged alpini, balkan wars, italy, militarism, milosevic, osama, SEALs, turin, unification
Leave a comment
Body Language and symbolism, part 2
In the era of the image, media and spin presentation is ever-important. Avid followers of Premesso will recall a post offering interpretations of an old photo of Berlusconi with a sidearm a few weeks back. This time we turn our … Continue reading