What a, er, bizarre idea, harking back to the Pentagon's most wanted Iraqi trading cards. See the site here. Click on the cards icon to see the cards, then click on a card, then use the "flip" icon to see the text on the back. My, my, what humans will do in their spare time...
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| Title | Sacred Hearts: A Novel |
| Author | Sarah Dunant |
| Rating |   |
| Tags | nuns, convents, ferrara, italy, sixteenth century, medicine |
| This is one of the most unique books I've ever read. Have never read anything like this and don't expect I ever will again. It is set in the convent of Santa Caterina in Ferrara, Italy in the year 1570.The main character is Suara Zuana, the nun in charge of the dispensary and the infirmary. She became a nun after her father died, the father who had taught her medicine. There was no place else for her to go, and she entered with some rebelliousness in her heart. In the seventeen years since, she has become resigned and even grateful. Yet when a novice enters who is hysterical with her grief at being parted from her love, and rebellious, she is sympathetic. What follows upends the convent.The author in a note reveals that at the time, in Italy, dowries had gotten so high that noble families married as few of their daughters as possible. The rest were forced into nunneries.Dunant shows us this world, where there are almost no contact with men, where some women immersed themselves in the piety, that included services throughout the day so there was always a shortage of sleep, and others found some way to reconcile them with the life they were forced into. The special few become mystics.It is an odd book in that we are so used books and visual media where non-stop action has become the default. It makes it hard to adjust to the pacing of this book. However, once one adjusts to it, one is immersed in a world long past and far removed from today's life. It won't be to all tastes, but it is a powerful book that I am happy to have read. | |
| Publication | Random House (2009), Hardcover, 432 pages |
| Publication date | 2009 |
| ISBN | 1400063825 / 9781400063826 |
This post by Glenn Greenwald is one of the most powerful statements I have seen on what journalism is, and the reasons why it must be held accountable in ways that we should hold politicians accountable.
"Establishment journalists have a very significant impact on the world. They enthusiastically believe that to be true when it comes time to building their egos and establishing their own importance, but they instantly and emphatically deny it when it comes time to holding them accountable for what they do (don't you have anything better to do than criticize the media?). Their influence, thankfully, has eroded and continues to erode by the minute, but it's still substantial. That's why entire industries exist, and vast resources are expended by the powerful and wealthy, to manage, manipulate and control what they say.
What they do and how they think matters. They're the filters through which the citizenry hears about and understands the actions of the government. They can illuminate or deceive, disrupt or enable wrongdoing by the powerful, refute or amplify propaganda, expand or narrow the scope of accepted ideas. They play a major role in whether we start wars, torture people, live under lawless leaders, maintain massive wealth disparities, allow a tiny group of corporations to own and control government. They constantly go on TV. Their claims are aired to millions. They're given access to the most powerful people. They're the public face and voice of the largest and most powerful corporations in the world. They're paid a lot of money.
It's every bit as legitimate -- and as vital -- to hold them accountable as it is political officials themselves."
This post illustrates well why I love Ed Brayton and his blog Dispatches from the Culture Wars. He takes bad arguments and explains WHY they are bad. Here he explains about Obama's "czars" and how Glenn Beck's claims about their scary secret powers are just absurd. Like Jon Stewart, Brayton is a great voice for accountability in media. And, yes, he is likely to call a left-leaning journalist on bad arguments as well as right-wing.
Here's the New Yorker article that has the in-depth story on the Willingham case I mentioned in an earlier post, about a man executed for a crime who was apparently innocent.
Interesting video done by Jerry Levitan, who at age 14 in 1969, recorded a 40-minute interview with John Lennon. The video is a little over 5 minutes.
