Michael Blowhard writes

Dear Blowhards --

* AgendaBender recently got off a good line (meaning that I agree with it): "Ted Turner may be a sunken-faced philistine, but his Turner Classic Movies is more important to the culture than the last ninety-seven thousand NEA grant recipients combined."

* Again and again, the web reminds me that I should have chosen another line of work.

* Steve Sailer's writing has been even more heroic than usual, if that's possible. Check out his blog (the right hand column of his main page) for eyeopening stuff about sports, Iraq, Neocon-gate and more. Congrats are due to Steve as well; his piece about cousin marriage in the Near East has been chosen to be included in the prestigious anthology Best American Science and Nature Writing 2004. Quite an honor -- but that was quite an essay.

* Meeow! Brit-journalist Lynn Barber writes a barbed profile of her "friend," rival Brit-journalist Julie Burchill.

* Yet more proof that karaoke is the most significant art form of the 21st century. Not for slow connections.

* My very favorite philosopher is a little-known -- to Americans at least -- Brit who died in 1990, Michael Oakeshott. I find his work perverse, enlightening, poetic, and deep. A characteristic Oakeshott quote: "I'm a conservative in politics because I'm a radical in everything else." Imagine my surprise and delight on learning that new Blowhard Francis Morrone is a Michael Oakeshott fan too. Party time! Luckily, thanks to the Web, newbies can get up to speed fast. Here's the Michael Oakeshott Association. Here's the Oakeshott book to start with. And here's a Telegraph review of a recent book about Oakeshott.

Best,

Michael

AgendaBENDER, Michael.
But I like your version, too.

Posted by: Tatyana on September 11, 2004 6:50 PM

Oops, thanks, corrected. Though you're right: what difference does it make? They're both pretty kicky.

Posted by: Michael Blowhard on September 12, 2004 12:28 AM

I think this might turn off the underline.

Or maybe not.

Anyway, the great Carl-Dreyer-palooza is still going on.

Tonight:
Day of Wrath (1948)
The Parson's Widow (1920)
Mikael (1924)

Next Sunday:
Ordet (1950)
Leaves From Satan's Book (1919)

The Sunday after that:
Gertrud (1964)
Master of the House (1925)
The documentary My Metier (2002)

AND this Friday is Edgar G. Ulmer day! (I think you or Friedrich wrote about his cheapie-noir classic Detour a while back.) Celebrate his hundredth birthday with seventeen shorts and features.

To misquote Walt Disney: I love TCM more than any woman I have ever known.

Posted by: Brian on September 12, 2004 6:15 AM

Thanks for the tips. I've got a lot of catching-up to do where Edgar Ulmer's concerned.

Posted by: Michael Blowhard on September 12, 2004 11:54 PM

Michael,
For those of us at work if you can please give us a head's up when you link to something like the Rheim photos from art-forum.org.

Posted by: grandcosmo on September 14, 2004 8:41 PM

Oops, good point, will do. Here's hoping no one got fired.

Posted by: Michael Blowhard on September 14, 2004 11:02 PM






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