Readers, I made a mistake. In the open to my review of Netherland, I talked of the novel’s declaring its own eulogy “in the grand tradition of Louis XIV.” The facts are right; the wording isn’t. Substitute “epitaph” for “eulogy,” understand that in both cases it was accidental, and perhaps I’ll have a shred of [...]
Archive for July, 2009
18 Jul
Assorted Thoughts on Paul McCartney at Citi Field
Older bands and musicians tend to be hit-or-miss: Witnessing The Rolling Stones’ lackluster performance in 2005 started me thinking this way. Accordingly, I came into last night’s (July 18) Paul McCartney concert (my first McCartney concert) a bit skeptical. I shouldn’t have been: The concert was excellent. You can see a traditional review and the [...]
18 Jul
A Decade Later: Jean Van de Velde and the Greatest Collapse Ever
“Excruciating!” —ESPN.com “The biggest blunder in golf history.” —CNNSI.com “Simply beyond belief.” —Time “A nightmarish practical joke.” —The New York Times
17 Jul
The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner: Why Running is Bad for You
I went running today. One and one-tenth of a mile around my neighborhood. It was mostly downhill, except for right near the end, which was one prolonged inclined plane. I didn’t time myself because, well, I’m the kind of person who prefers to ignore bad news. Thirty strides in, I was in complete, Ron Burgundy [...]
17 Jul
Religious Diversity and the Supreme Court
In the New York Times, Law Professor Ann Althouse poses an interesting hypothetical question for Sonia Sotomayor: “If a diverse array of justices is desirable, should we not be concerned that if you are confirmed, six out of the nine justices will be Roman Catholics, or is it somehow wrong to start paying attention to [...]
16 Jul
Fielding Symposium Part II: The Limitations of Statistics
Josh thinks that, thanks to the sophisticated camera technology reported by The New York Times, there is a statistical revolution coming in baseball, specifically with regard to how we evaluate fielders. It is true that this technology will lead to better statistics than the current options of fielding-percentage and zone rating, but I think he overestimates [...]
15 Jul
Plagiarism Symposium Part IV: Words Ain’t Got No Owners, Only Users
Here’s a word, Josh, that I find intrinsically cringeworthy: plagiarism, from plagium, “kidnapping.” What I detest about plagiarism is the insinuation that words and ideas can be “kidnapped,” and the succeeding one that they can be owned with some exclusivity. I, it would seem, come at this issue from an idiosyncratic angle—much of my career [...]
15 Jul
Plagiarism Symposium Part III: Which Words Are Your Own?
Josh, first of all I agree that there is a wide spectrum between unoriginality and theft; perhaps I was a little too Manichean in my wording. With that said, though, I think intent is often hard, if not impossible to determine. Take the Mencia/Lopez examples. The jokes in question are pretty standard “Mexican-culture-is-funny” jokes. I [...]
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