I have a personal theory about Jane Austen, which is that they should immediately stop teaching her to high school students, and perhaps even college students. Jane Austen can only properly be appreciated when you’re old enough to have really messed something up, when you know that sick-in-the-pit-of-your-stomach feeling that comes from a truly missed opportunity, when you understand that you can, indeed, really mess up your own life. Then Jane Austen’s books open up, and become magnificent. That she’s considered a rom-com writer makes me apoplectic. I’ve never been that obsessed with biographical detail, but I thought this article…
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Writers and typewriters: Barnes, Lively, Holroyd and Moggach | Books | The Guardian. My favorite quote: Michael Holroyd I kept my typewriter after getting a laptop. My first draft was written with a pen, the second on my old friend the typwriter, and finally I used the computer. But something then went wrong. I could not find new ribbons for my old machine. So now I still keep the typewriter conspicuously on my desk and (hiding my laptop) use it to fool burglars who come looking for state-of-the-art technology.
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No Country for Old Typewriters – A Well-Used One Heads to Auction – NYTimes.com. Christie’s, which plans to auction the machine on Friday, estimated that it would fetch between $15,000 and $20,000. Mr. McCarthy wrote an authentication letter — typed on the Olivetti, of course — that states: “It has never been serviced or cleaned other than blowing out the dust with a service station hose. … I have typed on this typewriter every book I have written including three not published. Including all drafts and correspondence I would put this at about five million words over a period of…
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Forest Kindergarten at Waldorf School in Saratoga Springs – NYTimes.com. Schools around the country have been planting gardens and planning ever more elaborate field trips in hopes of reconnecting children with nature. The forest kindergarten at the Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs is one of a handful in the United States that are taking that concept to another level: its 23 pupils, ages 3 ½ to 6, spend three hours each day outside regardless of the weather. This in a place where winter is marked by snowdrifts and temperatures that regularly dip below freezing. What a fabulous idea. Frankly, it…
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“The only person I ever heard call Mr. Wright Frank, was Carl Sandburg …”
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Adam Gopnik’s essay on the nature of cookbooks caught my eye in this week’s New Yorker. He covers a range of topics, but the division between cookbooks which are essentially grammatical (Ratio, How to Cook Everything) and cookbooks which are encyclopedic (Mastering the Art of French Cooking) is one that is dear to my heart. What cookbooks are for, and how we use them, or don’t use them — whether we cook from them or simply read them for pleasure is one of the subjects around which I keep circling. Here’s a quote: “However we take cookbooks— grammatically or encyclopedically,…
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Interesting piece in this morning’s Billings Gazette about Hutterite Turkeys. The “Hoots” as they’re colloquially known, cut back on turkey production this year fearing that their premium birds wouldn’t sell in the recession, but they’re finding the opposite is true, and now there’s a run on Hutterite birds: “Foodies have driven up the demand for the fresh birds, which can cost more — $1.70 a pound versus $1.29 a pound for a pre-sale frozen turkey. It doesn’t hurt that the birds have a back story, raised in rural Montana by pacifists observing 16th-century Anabaptist principles while operating some of the…
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Cormac McCarthy, who is famously reticent was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal last week. It’s a terrific interview. Here’s one of my favorite parts: “WSJ: What does your brother Dennis do? Is he a scientist? CM: He is. He has a doctorate in biology and he’s also a lawyer and a thoughtful guy and a good friend. WSJ: Brotherly conversation just turns to the apocalypse? CM: More often than we can justify.”
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Hi everyone — I’m on a bit of a blogging break still. There are changes afoot here at LivingSmall, and I’ll be back, but for now, I need a little time to rethink the blog, my schedule, etc … You can keep up with me on Facebook (just sent me a Friend invite) or on Twitter at #cmf406.
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Check out my new piece at Ethicurean.com. Pets vs. Livestock: Cracking Open the Myths about Backyard Chickens. “Last spring I decided that this was the year I was going to finally get some chickens. On a snowy Saturday in March I brought home six tiny cheepers that I bought at my local ranch store in Livingston, Montana. Two of them died right off, which didn’t entirely surprise me: those fluffballs didn’t look like they’d really committed to life on the planet. … “ Keep reading by clicking here.