Beachcombing:
Fraternity
May 2011/Second Week
¶ Junot Diaz’s essay, in the Boston Review, on Haïti’s apocalypse — a social, not a natural disaster — is this week’s legendum. In an anaphoral passage that is powerfully reminiscent of our Declaration of Independence, Diaz encapsulates the sins that have been visited on the country’s body since the time of the French. The worst of it is that Haïti’s abyssal social inequality looks more and more like everyone else’s future. (via The Morning News) ¶ Historian Richard Evans writes about looting through the ages, and about emerging guidelines for restitution. The idea that works of cultural significance are to be treated differently from other property can be traced explicitly to Union Army policy in the American Civil War. (The National Interest; via Brainiac) ¶ Josh Jacobs, who lost a brother on 9/11, is troubled by the “mercifulness” of his Facebook friends in the wake of the bin Laden take-out. Clarity is not the object of this essay; never have we seen the thickness of grief presented so masterfully. (The Awl)
¶ Gary Antonacci writes about “the world’s first index fund.” We were tickled to death. (Optimal Momentum; via The Reformed Broker) ¶ David Cain’s No-Procrastination policy is so fierce that we can tell just how big and bad the problem of putting things off has become for him. We’re glad that “disorganization” heads his list of pitfalls. (Raptitude) ¶ Frédéric Filloux haruspexates the tweeting that preceded the announcement of Osama bin Laden’s death, and argues that it spells the end of such media concepts as “edition” and “deadline.” (Monday Note) ¶ The wisdom of Felix Salmon: “The more that both publishers and advertisers concentrate on the creative side of things, and the less they worry about the distractions of granular economics, the more successful both are likely to be.” Down with the the Math State!
¶ Mary Snydor, a descendant of Eng Bunker (the Siamese twin of Chang), visits Philadelphia’s Mütter Museum, where her progenitor’s liver is on display. Yes, it’s awkward. (The Smart Set)
The guide became excited. He asked me if I had told any of the museum staff and I mentioned that I had the last time I came, but no one seemed to be too interested. For a few moments, he quietly contemplated the display with me, but then things started to get awkward. Outside the museum, people couldn’t be more fascinated about my heritage; inside, no one ever knows quite what to say. It’s hard to be impressed with my tie to Chang and Eng when you’re staring at the their grimacing faces and preserved liver.
¶ Richard Crary reminds us (sorry! we’re late) that last Thursday was International Midwife Day. (The Existence Machine) ¶ Mr Wrong diets on CLIF bars — tacitly raising the question, when are they going to invent an energy bar for people who sit at desks all day and who don’t need the energy so much as something to fill you up? (The Awl) ¶ Mother’s Day with lots of mommies. (Philly Post; thanks Philip!) ¶ Meet James Priest, the English ex-pat gardener who’s about to take over at Giverny. (Telegraph; via Arts Journal)
¶ Josh Kurp does some virtual spelunking and unearths what information there is about the lost DuMont television network, which came to an end in 1956. We remember it!But we didn’t know that it was the same Dr DuMont who invented radar.  (Splitsider) ¶ Kevin Nguyen discovers that the only way to read Harper’s on an iPad is to subscribe to the print edition. (Zinio sucks, apparently.) The good news is that Kevin thinks that it’s worth it. (The Bygone Bureau) ¶ At The Neglected Books Page, a few words about Theodor Fontane, whose Irretrievable has just been published in a fresh translation by NYRB. ¶ Francine Prose talks to The Paris Review about one of our favorite books, her new novel, My New American Life. “[N]othing has ever happened to me. I had to go to Albania; I couldn’t make it up.” (Thanks, Ms NOLA!)
New: ¶ College fraternities: “notorious sites of anti-intellectualism, alcohol abuse, and sexual assault,” in the words of Historiann. Why do good schools tolerate them? (via MetaFilter)
Have a Look: ¶ “I Want to Support My Local Bookshop,” @ The Age of Uncertainty. ¶ The Final Edition. (via The Morning News) ¶ “Transformer Apartment” @ Joe.My.God.
Noted: ¶ “My Two Days As a Russian Tabloid Sensation,” from Michael Idov’s “forthcoming” book about Russia. WDKWTLOC. (The Awl) ¶ Superman renounces American citizenship, @ Naked Capitalism.