But leave the wise to wrangle, and with me
the quarrel of the universe let be;
and, in some corner of the hubbub couched,
make game of that which makes as much of thee.
Related material: Harvard Treasure, Favicon, and Crimson Tide.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
For the Class of ’11
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Thursday, May 5, 2011
Beyond Forgetfulness
From this journal on July 23, 2007—
| It is not enough to cover the rock with leaves. We must be cured of it by a cure of the ground Or a cure of ourselves, that is equal to a cure Of the ground, a cure beyond forgetfulness. And if we ate the incipient colorings – Wallace Stevens, “The Rock” |
This quotation from Stevens (Harvard class of 1901) was posted here on when Daniel Radcliffe (i.e., Harry Potter) turned 18 in July 2007.
Other material from that post suggests it is time for a review of magic at Harvard.
On September 9, 2007, President Faust of Harvard
“encouraged the incoming class to explore Harvard’s many opportunities.
‘Think of it as a treasure room of hidden objects Harry discovers at Hogwarts,’ Faust said.”
That class is now about to graduate.
It is not clear what “hidden objects” it will take from four years in the Harvard treasure room.
Perhaps the following from a book published in 1985 will help…
The March 8, 2011, Harvard Crimson illustrates a central topic of Metamagical Themas , the Rubik’s Cube—
Hofstadter in 1985 offered a similar picture—
Hofstadter asks in his Metamagical introduction, “How can both Rubik’s Cube and nuclear Armageddon be discussed at equal length in one book by one author?”
For a different approach to such a discussion, see Paradigms Lost, a post made here a few hours before the March 11, 2011, Japanese earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster—
Whether Paradigms Lost is beyond forgetfulness is open to question.
Perhaps a later post, in the lighthearted spirit of Faust, will help. See April 20th’s “Ready When You Are, C.B.“
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Friday, October 12, 2007
Friday October 12, 2007
Ceremonies marking the installation of Drew Gilpin Faust as the President of Hogwarts will begin in Hogwarts Yard at 2 PM ET today.
Faust has actually been Hogwarts’s president since July 1. Last month she welcomed the Class of 2011:
Faust “encouraged the incoming class to explore [the school’s] many opportunities. ‘Think of it as a treasure room of hidden objects Harry discovers at Hogwarts,’ Faust said.”
— The Hogwarts Crimson, Sept. 10, 2007
From Faust’s website today:
“As a historian, I am proud to lead an institution with such a rich and storied past. Hogwarts began in colonial days with a handful of students, little property and limited power and prestige, but a determined mission: ‘To advance Learning and perpetuate it to Posterity,’ as a 1643 brochure put it. That bold vision has guided Hogwarts for the past four centuries….”
The rest of the story —
From The Hogwarts Guide:
“An early brochure, published in 1643, justified the College’s existence: ‘To advance Learning and perpetuate it to Posterity; dreading to leave an illiterate Ministry to the Churches.'”
Related material:
The Crimson Passion,
Midnight Drums for Larry,
and Primitive Roots.
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Monday, September 10, 2007
Monday September 10, 2007
The Story Theory
of Truth —
of Truth —
“I’m a gun for hire,
I’m a saint, I’m a liar,
because there are no facts,
there is no truth,
just data to be manipulated.”
Data
The data in more poetic form:
Commentary:
23: See
The Prime Cut Gospel.
16: See
Happy Birthday, Benedict XVI.
Related material:
The remarks yesterday
of Harvard president
Drew G. Faust
to incoming freshmen.
Faust “encouraged
the incoming class
to explore Harvard’s
many opportunities.
‘Think of it as
a treasure room
of hidden objects
Harry discovers
at Hogwarts,’
Faust said.”
For a less Faustian approach,
see the Harvard-educated
philosopher Charles Hartshorne
at The Harvard Square Library
and the words of another
Harvard-educated Hartshorne:
“Whenever one
approaches a subject from
two different directions,
there is bound to be
an interesting theorem
expressing their relation.”
— Robin Hartshorne
Saturday, January 11, 2003
Saturday January 11, 2003
METROPOLITAN ART WARS:
The First Days of Disco
Some cultural milestones, in the order I encountered them today:
From Dr. Mac’s Cultural Calendar:
- “On this day in 1963, Whiskey-A-Go-Go—believed to be the first discotheque in the world—opened on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles with extraordinary hype and fanfare.”
From websites on Whit Stillman’s film, “The Last Days of Disco”:
Scene: Manhattan in the very early 1980’s.
Alice and her friend Charlotte are regulars at a fashionable disco.
“Charlotte is forever giving poor Alice advice about what to say and how to behave; she says guys like it when a girl uses the word ‘sexy,’ and a few nights later, when a guy tells Alice he collects first editions of Scrooge McDuck comic books, she…”
“… looks deep into his eyes and purrs ‘I think Scrooge McDuck is sexy!’ It is a laugh-out-loud funny line and a shrewd parody, but is also an honest statement.”
(Actually, to be honest, I encountered Thomson first and Ebert later, but the narrative sequence demands that they be rearranged.)
The combination of these cultural landmarks suggested that I find out what Scrooge McDuck was doing during the first days of disco, in January 1963. Some research revealed that in issue #40 of “Uncle Scrooge,” with a publication date of January 1963, was a tale titled “Oddball Odyssey.” Plot summary: “A whisper of treasure draws Scrooge to Circe.”
Further research produced an illustration:
Desiring more literary depth, I sought more information on the story of Scrooge and Circe. It turns out that this was only one of a series of encounters between Scrooge and a character called Magica de Spell. The following is from a website titled
“Magica’s first appearance is in ‘The Midas Touch’ (US 36-01). She enters the Money Bin to buy a dime from Scrooge. Donald tells Scrooge that she is a sorceress, but Scrooge sells her a dime anyway. He sells her his first dime by accident, but gets it back. The fun starts when Scrooge tells her that it is the first dime he earned. She is going to make an amulet….”
with it. Her pursuit of the dime apparently lasts through a number of Scrooge episodes.
“…in Oddball Odyssey (US 40-02). Magica discovers Circe’s secret cave. Inside the cave is a magic wand that she uses to transform Huey, Dewey and Louie to pigs, Donald to a goat (later to a tortoise), and Scrooge to a donkey. This reminds us of the treatment Circe gave Ulysses and his men. Magica does not succeed in transforming Scrooge after stealing the Dime, and Scrooge manages to break the spell (de Spell) by smashing the magic wand.”
At this point I was reminded of the legendary (but true) appearance of Wallace Stevens’s wife on another historic dime. This was discussed by Charles Schulz in a cartoon of Sunday, May 27, 1990:
Here Sally is saying…
Who, me?… Yes, Ma’am, right here.
This is my report on dimes and pennies…
“Wallace Stevens was a famous poet…
His wife was named Elsie…”
“Most people do not know that Elsie was the model for the 1916 ‘Liberty Head’ dime.”
“Most people also don’t know that if I had a dime for every one of these stupid reports I’ve written, I’d be a rich person.”
Finally, sitting outside the principal’s office:
I never got to the part about who posed for the Lincoln penny.
I conclude this report on a note of synchronicity:
The above research was suggested in part by a New York Times article on Ovid’s Metamorphoses I read last night. After locating the Scrooge and Stevens items above, I went to the Times site this afternoon to remind myself of this article. At that point synchronicity kicked in; I encountered the following obituary of a Scrooge figure from 1963… the first days of disco:
|
The New York Times, January 12, 2003 (So dated at the website on Jan. 11) C. Douglas Dillon Dies at 93;
|
. Douglas Dillon, a versatile Wall Street financier who was named secretary of the Treasury by President Kennedy and ambassador to France under President Eisenhower, and was a longtime executive of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, died Friday [Jan. 10, 2003] at New York Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan. Mr. Dillon, who lived with his wife on Jupiter Island in Hobe Sound, Fla., was 93.
Et cetera, et cetera, and so forth.
(See yesterday’s two entries, “Something Wonderful,” and “Story.”)
Two reflections suggest themselves:
“I need a photo opportunity.
I want a shot at redemption.
Don’t want to end up a cartoon
In a cartoon graveyard.”
— Paul Simon
Ending up in a cartoon graveyard is indeed an unhappy fate; on the other hand…
It is nice to be called “sexy.”
Added at 1:50 AM Jan. 12, 2003:
Tonight’s site music, in honor of Mr. Dillon
and of Hepburn, Holden, and Bogart in “Sabrina” —
“Isn’t It Romantic?”
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