:: meanders ::

:: Farewell to a Lovely Lady
Farewell to a lovely lady, Great Britain's Queen Mother [ How can you not love a lady who loved horse racing as much as she did! ]

:: Devil's Derivative Dictionary
There's some pretty funny stuff in this Devil's Derivative Dictionary.

:: Oh, Jerusalem!
Television is often portrayed as a vast wasteland, and to judge by much of the programming, it is. But for every generality, the exceptions are there to disprove them. One benefit of broadband has been the creation of The History Channel, which just now is featuring the archive program Against all Odds: Six Day War and the Raid on Entebbe. The drama of the events of those days are echoed today with the terrorist events at Netanyah and Ramallah. If TV is not for you, two books I recently read give further depth to the issues: O Jerusalem, by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins, and The Fixer, by Bernard Malamud (ed: 7 Aug 2002: see note below) O Jerusalem is unfortunately out of print but likely available in libraries and second-hand bookstores. It is a non-fiction account of 1948, the year Israel became a nation state, and tells the story from three sides: the Jews, the Arabs, and the British. I have never read a book with such avid eagerness, especially in light of knowing the outcome. I could not put it down and highly recommend it; well worth the time to hunt down an edition. The Fixer is quite different. From the Penguin "20th Century Classics" edition, it is a

"fictionalized account of a notorious anti-Semitic incident, the arrest and eventual trial, following a great outcry in the West, of Mendel Beilis in pre-Revolutionary Kiev. Beilis was accused of murdering a Christian boy."

To say more tells too much. I quibble with the word anti-Semitic, as it was specifically anti-Jewish. This book is a far more difficult read, which belies its compact length. The difficulty lies in taking in the stark presentation of the utter darkness the human heart is capable of. It is no wonder The Fixer endures.

Note (7 Aug 2002): I recently received an email from the grandson of Mendel Beilis, whose comments may be read at the Mendel Beilis website.

How shall we sing the LORD'S song in a strange land? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget [her cunning]. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy. Psalm 137:4-6 O, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!" Matthew 23:37 O Jerusalem, the choice of Allah of all his lands! In it are the chosen of his servants. From it the earth was stretched forth and from it be rolled up like a scroll. The dew which descends upon Jerusalem is a remedy from every sickness because it is from the garden of Paradise. The Hadith, sayings of the Prophet Mohammed

:: The Full Chaste Moon
From the Lunabar Almanack:

Phase: Full Chaste Moon, at 10h. 26m. morning. Ascending Node is at 21� Gemini. In the 15th� of the Constellation Virgo, the Virgin; and in the 8th� of the Signe Libra, the Balance. Souths: 12:00 morn. Sets: 6:24 morn. Rises: 6:41 eve. I walk unseen, on the dry smooth-shaven green, To behold the wandering moon Riding near her highest noon, Like one that had been led astray Through the heav�n�s wide pathless way; And oft, as if her head she bow�d, Stooping through a fleecy cloud. - Milton, Il Penseroso
The Lyrids, next viewing 16-25 Apr 2002
[image]

:: Watching TV
CNBC finally has a winner. For two Friday afternoons, I have watched WSJ: Editorial Board, hosted by Stuart Varney, whose traditional delivery style I missed when he left CNN. A mature summary of the issues of the week. They are quite polite with each other, boardering on reticient, but perhaps my expectation of civility has been dulled by the far more in-your-face style of the more typical argument-culture shows. BTW, I've long been a FOX News fan, largely converted to watching them during the post-911 coverage. However, of late, I find I can hardly stomach the network. Most disappointing has been Neil Cavuto, whose post-market wrap business show was long a favorite. The show has degenerated into blather about babes, his large head, and what's going on in Hollywood, anything but business, real issues. Perhaps the peak was when Bill Gates finally deigned to an interview. It's been downhill ever since. I now mostly tune into MSNBC, whose national coverage is quite good, particularly their specials. CNN and NWI (News World International) fill in international coverage. Finally, while I still forsake a Saturday morning sleep-in to watch FOX News Saturday Morning Business Block, the reward for doing has diminished. Brenda Buttner, host of Bears and Bulls, who once pleased with her lively and inviting tone, has taken on a shrill, rah-rah, and at times sensational style that truly grates. The last hold outs of sanity in the Saturday Business Block may be Jim Michaels on the Forbes show and Terry Keenan, Cashin' In host.

:: Decorating the Digs
I've spent the past few FLAT market days decorating the cyberdigs. The imagery plays to the theme of each page:

♦ The "meanders" images are, not too surprisingly, vintage travel posters
♦ The market comments page images are from the Tsuki Hyakushi, 100 Aspects of the Moon, by Yoshitoshi; and
♦ The site splash page features spirals found in nature as well as those created by man.

Over time I hope to add further descriptive text on the more compelling images.

:: Half Truths are Whole Lies
or, A Case of [Ir]Rational Accounting, from the NY Post.

Rational's chairman, Paul Levy, and the company's chief executive officer, Michael Devlin - apparently figured that their base annual salaries of $1 million each weren't enough to get by on. So in late 1999, while tech fever was at 110 degrees and climbing, they created a company called Catapulse Co. and issued themselves roughly half its stock, then capitalized the business with $50 million from Rational Software. Then, after about a year Paul and Mikey had Rational buy back Catapulse for $445.2 million in Rational stock, of which $200 million tumbled into the gaping pockets of our two heroes. And through it all, no one except Willard [reporting for thestreet.com] seems to have batted an eye.

Capitalism at its finest? Or behavior that make Capitalism a dirty word? Whoever believes what went on at Enron is "an isolated incident" has their head in the sand.

:: Oriana Fallaci - La Rabbia e l'Orgoglio
Edit: 30 Mar 2002. I have linked a new page to the translation of "Rage and Pride". If Miss Fallaci intrigues you as much as she does me, you will enjoy reading an Unpublished Portrait of Oriana Fallaci, a generous and intimate biographical portrait. Original post, but with a new link: Admitting to hermetic tendencies myself, I am so happy that Oriana Fallaci, of whom I've never heard before today, has emerged from her own self-imposed retreat from the fray to share her Rage and Pride. Thanks to atholh for the link.

:: From the sublime to the absurd
Just reread the Rilke quote. The idea of despising our successes, to say good bye to all that, and look forward to what is beyond the bend in the road newly travelled. That is sublime. And then there is the absurd. I got some outright laughs from this Stock Message Board Bot. A pity there are only a few messages!

:: Now that much is changing...

"But now that so much is changing, is it not up to us to change ourselves? Could we not try to develop ourselves a little, and slowly take upon ourselves a share of the work in love, little by little? We have been spared all its toil, and so for us it has slipped in among the diversions, the way sometimes a piece of real lace will fall into a child's drawer and please and no longer please and finally lie there among torn and dismembered things, worse than any of them. We have been spoiled by easy enjoyment like all dilettanti and stand in the odor of mastery. But what if we were to despise our successes, what if we were to start from the very outset to learn the work of love, which has always been done for us? What if we were to go ahead and become beginners, now that much is changing?" Rainier Maria Rilke from The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigg

study of flames (and sidebar on spirals)