It is the peculiar genius of the French to express their philosophical thought in aphorisms, sayings hard and tight as diamonds, each one the crystal centre of a whole constellation of ideas. Thus, the entire scheme of seventeenth century intellectual rationalism may be said to branch out from that single, pregnant saying of Descartes, ‘Cogito ergo ( Read more... )

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Does the fact that Philip Larkin lost his virginity in 1945 enrich our understanding of his assertion that sexual intercourse began in nineteen sixty-three? or does it make his poetry less intimately connected with his life? And if Larkin found his immortality in the fear of death, does its deathless expression leave any doubt that he would have ( Read more... )

Random Reflections of a Second-Rate MindDining at a fashionable restaurant on New York’s chic Upper East Side, I noticed a Holocaust survivor at the next table. A man of sixty or so was showing his companions a number tattooed on his arm while I overheard him say he had gotten it at Auschwitz. He was graying and distinguished-looking with a sad, ( Read more... )

P.J. O’Rourke: Foreigners Around the World ( Read more... )

At the end of Patrice Leconte’s sublime film Ridicule, the marquis de Bellegarde, the refined and humane physician played by Jean Rochefort, discovers the villainy that underlies the “bel esprit” committed to the art of brilliant repartee that determines and defines the pecking order at the royal court. Revolution sweeps away the French aristocracy ( Read more... )

The secret of acting is sincerity - and if you can fake that, you’ve got it made.
Usually attributed to [George] Burns - as, for example, in Michael York, Travelling Player (1991). Fred Metcalf in The Penguin Dictionary of Modern Humorous Quotations (1987) has Burns saying, rather: ‘Acting is about honesty. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made ( Read more... )

A LITTLE BOOK IN C MAJOR

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How to Write Good

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                    The Whore of Mensa

One thing about being a private investigator, you’ve got to learn to go with your hunches. ( Read more... )