Hannah Arendt’s excellent though deeply flawed masterwork, The Origins of Totalitarianism yesterday, correctly suggesting that it’s worth a re-read in the current context. Doc: “…it deals with verities I think we need to factor into our convesations about the War on Terrorism, whatever that is.” He’s right, it does. I studied it several years ago and even had the opportunity to have dinner with her former student and intellectual biographer Elisabeth Young-Bruehl, and I totally agree with Doc that it deserves to be read again.
Continuing with the YULBlog theme,
read this story at Mellow Kitty, especially her analysis down at the end. “This situation also highlights something that many yulbloggers have blogged about from time to time: just how small the Montreal anglo community can be and how everyone is typically separated by one–not seven or six or five–degrees.” As if to prove that – I was at Reservoir and waved at her that very night. I was not, to be clear, in the main part of the story in any way, however.
I’ve been neglecting to say something
else for ages, out of a fear that it would be misinterpreted. But today seems like the day. First off, I strongly recommend that anyone who speaks French, well or poorly, should go and visit Les coups de langue de la grande rousse. At the same time, I must admit that I find the concept implicit in Dolores’ site simultaneously funny and frustrating. The site is based on the idea that there is one correct word for everything, and a proper way to use that word in practice.
The very idea that there could be one correct English is incomprehensible to many, if not most, who are proficient in the language. And the idea of forming – and listening to – a body who would make such decisions? It could never happen.
The frustrating part is that attached to the idea that there is a single correct French is the idea that language determines culture, which is, I believe, precisely backwards.
I’ve also added
I’ve been in a state of general busy-ness
during the past few months. It’s great – buying a house, planning to get married, starting to do interesting things at work; these are all good things. But in the process I’ve missed some very nice weblogs that I intend to start to read. One in this group has to be the great dandruff by Stephanie Troeth, newly arrived to Montreal from Melbourne near as I can tell. I met Stephanie at the last YULBlog night out, but until today, I am ashamed to say, I hadn’t seen her lovely site!
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