Diary, Must Know

Talk is cheap but surprisingly effective

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Sometimes one piece of writing changes one mind. Until today I thought that talk therapy was utterly discredited. But there appears to be strong evidence that a skilled therapist can help the brain to change its relationship to the world. Depression       From The Economist print edition (Apr 14th 2005) FOR almost a century [Read More]
Diary

Welcome to the Afterlife of Saul Bellow

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Saul Bellow had to die before I would pay any attention to him. I read today’s obituary in the New York Times (click on “more” button) and immediately realized that I should put some of his novels on my summer reading list. I just ordered myself a copy of The Adventures of Augie image [Read More]
Diary

Peter Pan

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I started reading Bibliomania.com/0/0/323/2396/frameset.html">Peter Pan. The last time that I came into contact with the characters of the story was in the movie Hook, which invented a sequel to the original Peter Pan. I have not heard about the plot of the original story since childhood and had almost completely forgotten it. Reading the image [Read More]
Astute Observations, Diary

Why It Often Rains in the Movies

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A few days ago, I read this wonderful short piece by Lawrence Raab in a book entitled “The Paris Review Book for Planes, Trains, Elevators, and Waiting Rooms” (p. 260). Because so much consequential thinking happens in the rain. A steady mist to recall departures, a bitter downpour for betrayal. As if the first thing a man wants to [Read More]
Diary

Million Dollar Baby

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There is an iron-law of film-making that every director should recognize: When the script is poor, it is impossible to create a good film. Million Dollar Baby has noble intentions. It wants to be deep. Towards the end, it surprisingly gains gravitas and you want to forget that three quarters of the movie were slow image image [Read More]