Friday, April 30, 2004


TV Bliss
Dear Friedrich -- Thanks to my DVR (a hard drive in my cable box that acts like a Tivo), here's... posted by Michael at April 30, 2004 | perma-link | (15) comments

More Elsewhere
Dear Friedrich -- * I just learned that this year is the centennial of the birth of the roguish and... posted by Michael at April 30, 2004 | perma-link | (12) comments

Elsewhere
Dear Friedrich -- * I assume that almost everyone has enjoyed reading this excerpt from the new Jonathan Margolis book... posted by Michael at April 30, 2004 | perma-link | (5) comments

Blog Outage
The blog has been vanishing and re-appearing this morning. Apologies to all for inconveniences and confusions. I'm sure it's something... posted by Michael at April 30, 2004 | perma-link | (3) comments

Thursday, April 29, 2004


Social Pyramids
Dear Friedrich -- Gene Expression brainiac Razib wonders about something I've wondered about too. It goes roughly this way: once... posted by Michael at April 29, 2004 | perma-link | (32) comments

My One Opera Tip
Dear Friedrich -- I spent years as baffled by opera as most hetero-male clods are. Hard not to marvel at... posted by Michael at April 29, 2004 | perma-link | (5) comments

Elsewhere
Dear Friedrich -- * Richard Grant's encounter with the comedian and filmmaker Christopher ("Spinal Tap," "A Mighty Wind") Guest is,... posted by Michael at April 29, 2004 | perma-link | (6) comments

Wednesday, April 28, 2004


Salingaros on Tschumi 8
This is the final section of a new Nikos Salingaros essay. You can read part one here, part two here,... posted by Michael at April 28, 2004 | perma-link | (3) comments

What's Appropriate?
Dear Friedrich -- The scene: my Bikram yoga class -- a 90-minute sweat-a-thon held in a room heated to over... posted by Michael at April 28, 2004 | perma-link | (28) comments

I thought so
Michael: Surfing Marginal Revolution the other day, I came across a posting by Tyler Cowen, Is the welfare state good... posted by Friedrich at April 28, 2004 | perma-link | (9) comments

Monday, April 26, 2004


Salingaros on Tschumi 7
This is part seven (of eight) of a new Nikos Salingaros essay. You can read part one here, part two... posted by Michael at April 26, 2004 | perma-link | (3) comments

Saturday, April 24, 2004


Women’s Magazines Are Bad for Your Mental Health
Michael: I couldn’t help but pick up this copy of Glamour magazine at my local 7-11 the other day. As... posted by Friedrich at April 24, 2004 | perma-link | (18) comments

Salingaros on Tschumi 6
This is part six (of eight) of a new Nikos Salingaros essay. You can read part one here, part two... posted by Michael at April 24, 2004 | perma-link | (0) comments

Friday, April 23, 2004


Britney Fans
Dear Friedrich -- So shoot me: I enjoy Britney Spears. Not her music -- heaven forbid -- but Britney the... posted by Michael at April 23, 2004 | perma-link | (18) comments

Elsewhere
Dear Friedrich -- * Chip McGrath, the former editor of the New York Times Book Review section, is now covering... posted by Michael at April 23, 2004 | perma-link | (3) comments

Thursday, April 22, 2004


Salingaros on Tschumi 5
This is part five (of eight) of a new Nikos Salingaros essay. You can read part one here, part two... posted by Michael at April 22, 2004 | perma-link | (2) comments

Rewind -- Lit Writers vs. Genre Writers
Back in early blogging days, we Blowhards had next to no visitors -- this place was one very lonely Internet... posted by Michael at April 22, 2004 | perma-link | (11) comments

Wednesday, April 21, 2004


Timothy Taylor on Immigration
Dear Friedrich -- I may get a little annoyed when my side in a debate loses, but I'm driven absolutely... posted by Michael at April 21, 2004 | perma-link | (27) comments

Better? Or Just Older?
Dear Friedrich -- I don't know about you, but my tastes have changed over the years. Or maybe not my... posted by Michael at April 21, 2004 | perma-link | (16) comments

Is this the Reason Men Vote Republican?
Michael: As I mentioned, I’ve been reading Spencer Wells’ book, “The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey.” (You can... posted by Friedrich at April 21, 2004 | perma-link | (15) comments

Salingaros on Tschumi 4
This is part four (of eight) of a new Nikos Salingaros essay. You can read part one here, part two... posted by Michael at April 21, 2004 | perma-link | (1) comments

Tuesday, April 20, 2004


Genesis Updated
Michael: I’ve been reading an interesting book, “The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey” by Spencer Wells. (This can... posted by Friedrich at April 20, 2004 | perma-link | (13) comments

Monday, April 19, 2004


TV Alert
Dear Friedrich -- I notice that the Ovation network is re-running a couple of arts documentaries that are well worth... posted by Michael at April 19, 2004 | perma-link | (0) comments

Roots of Ornamentation
Michael: I spotted an interesting story in the Los Angeles Times on April 16. Written by Robert Lee Holtz,... posted by Friedrich at April 19, 2004 | perma-link | (18) comments

Salingaros on Tschumi 3
This is part three (of eight) of a new Nikos Salingaros essay. You can read part one here, and part... posted by Michael at April 19, 2004 | perma-link | (0) comments

Saturday, April 17, 2004


The Importance of Genre
Dear Friedrich -- Wired magazine interviewed LOTR's director Peter Jackson. Here's a fun exchange: Wired: Your early work features some... posted by Michael at April 17, 2004 | perma-link | (3) comments

Salingaros on Tschumi 2
This is part two (of eight) of a new Nikos Salingaros essay. You can read part one here. Architectural Theory... posted by Michael at April 17, 2004 | perma-link | (9) comments

Friday, April 16, 2004


Elsewhere
Dear Friedrich -- * A good taxonomy makes my brain feel like a closet that's just been cleaned and ordered;... posted by Michael at April 16, 2004 | perma-link | (2) comments

The Structure of Aesthetic Revolutions II
Michael: This is the second of my two-part posting on the 'culture-quake' that occurred in America after the Civil... posted by Friedrich at April 16, 2004 | perma-link | (13) comments

Women, Men, Exercise Classes
Dear Friedrich -- Have you ever seen a plausible explanation for why so many women prefer to do their exercising... posted by Michael at April 16, 2004 | perma-link | (17) comments

Thursday, April 15, 2004


Salingaros on Tschumi 1
The architectural theorist Nikos Salingaros is, as some visitors know, a 2Blowhards favorite. We've been thrilled to publish a long... posted by Michael at April 15, 2004 | perma-link | (0) comments

Wednesday, April 14, 2004


The Structure of Aesthetic Revolutions, Part I
W. S. Haseltine, The Rocks at Nahant, 1864 Michael: A few weeks ago I was leafing through one of... posted by Friedrich at April 14, 2004 | perma-link | (7) comments

Shorter Art?
Dear Friedrich -- Do you find yourself craving shorter art experiences? I do. Over the last few years I've found... posted by Michael at April 14, 2004 | perma-link | (14) comments

Elsewhere
Dear Friedrich -- * Here's a fabuloso Timothy Egan piece for the NYTimes about a pork-grab by the Republican Alaskan... posted by Michael at April 14, 2004 | perma-link | (4) comments

Kimmelman on Libeskind
Dear Friedrich -- Wow: a hard-hitting, to-the-point piece by the New York Times art critic Michael Kimmelman about Daniel Libeskind's... posted by Michael at April 14, 2004 | perma-link | (2) comments

Tuesday, April 13, 2004


Bulk
Dear Friedrich -- The Timothy Taylor economic history of the US in the 20th century that I've recently finished is,... posted by Michael at April 13, 2004 | perma-link | (11) comments

Monday, April 12, 2004


An Age of Orange-xiety
Michael: I don’t know how you feel about this, but it seems to me that at some point in the... posted by Friedrich at April 12, 2004 | perma-link | (23) comments

Saturday, April 10, 2004


American Religious History--Who Knew?
Michael: I’ve been working on a posting about the art history of the Gilded Age. In doing so, however, I... posted by Friedrich at April 10, 2004 | perma-link | (19) comments

Women and Jobs
Dear Friedrich -- As long as I'm in thinking-over-past-decades mode ... Were you as taken aback by the vehemence and... posted by Michael at April 10, 2004 | perma-link | (33) comments

Boomers and the '70s
Dear Friedrich -- Technically speaking, you and I are Boomers. Yet have you ever really felt like a Boomer? I... posted by Michael at April 10, 2004 | perma-link | (18) comments

Friday, April 9, 2004


TV Alert
Dear Friedrich -- As you may remember from our college film-buddy days, I've got only the tiniest of appetites for... posted by Michael at April 9, 2004 | perma-link | (5) comments

Thursday, April 8, 2004


Book Publishing
Dear Friedrich -- When it comes to the views about books and book publishing that I've presented at the blog,... posted by Michael at April 8, 2004 | perma-link | (11) comments

Happiness? Evolution Don't Need No Stinkin' Happiness
Michael: What’s the deal with happiness, anyway? ‘Happiness’ science seems to keep popping up wherever I go these days. I... posted by Friedrich at April 8, 2004 | perma-link | (21) comments

Book Sales/Audiobook Sales
Dear Friedrich -- Audiobooks, whose virtues and pleasures I've been touting on this blog for a while, continue to gain.... posted by Michael at April 8, 2004 | perma-link | (14) comments

Elizabeth George
Dear Friedrich -- Have you ever run across the crime novelist Elizabeth George? To my shame, I've only read one... posted by Michael at April 8, 2004 | perma-link | (11) comments

Wednesday, April 7, 2004


Architects and Glass
Dear Friedrich -- It's important (IMHO, of course) to learn to defend ourselves against architects, many of whom share a... posted by Michael at April 7, 2004 | perma-link | (10) comments

Elsewhere
Dear Friedrich -- * I've been enjoying catching up with the newish blog Beatus Est, here, written by Eric. He's... posted by Michael at April 7, 2004 | perma-link | (6) comments

The Future of the Past
Michael: I spent last weekend in what we Angelenos call ‘the Desert’ with my in-laws celebrating Passover. At breakfast one... posted by Friedrich at April 7, 2004 | perma-link | (4) comments

Tuesday, April 6, 2004


From Gina to Kate
Dear Friedrich -- 1. I rent Borderline at the DVD store partly because I sometimes enjoy checking out thrillers that... posted by Michael at April 6, 2004 | perma-link | (8) comments

Monday, April 5, 2004


"Standing in the Shadows of Motown"
Dear Friedrich -- I just finished watching the DVD of the documentary "Standing in the Shadows of Motown." Have you... posted by Michael at April 5, 2004 | perma-link | (21) comments

Saturday, April 3, 2004


Timothy Taylor Redux—Not Everything Changes
Michael: I was intrigued by your posting on Timothy Taylor, especially by the list of how much things had changed... posted by Friedrich at April 3, 2004 | perma-link | (16) comments

Friday, April 2, 2004


Three Questions
Dear Friedrich – The Wife and I are on vacation in Sedona, Arizona. Do you know the town? An amazingly... posted by Michael at April 2, 2004 | perma-link | (30) comments

Thursday, April 1, 2004


The Elvgren Mystery Continues
Michael: A couple months ago I broke the remarkable story of Gil Elvgren's astonishing burst of painting in a 1938... posted by Friedrich at April 1, 2004 | perma-link | (9) comments

If Reality is a Head of Hair, Is Language a Comb?
Dear Friedrich -- The first time I ran across linguistic relativism -- the doctrine that language determines thought -- I... posted by Michael at April 1, 2004 | perma-link | (31) comments