Yuri Slezkine’s monumental new study, The House of Government, situates the Russian Revolution within a much larger drama, but one that resists the modernization narrative and instead places the Bolsheviks among ancient Zoroastrians and Israelites, early Christians and Muslims, Calvinists, Anabaptists, Puritans, Old Believers, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Rastafarians, and other millenarian sects. As sworn enemies of religion, the Bolsheviks would have hated this casting decision and demanded to be put in a different play, preferably with Jacobins, Saint-Simonians, Marxists, and Communards in supporting roles. Slezkine, however, has claimed these groups for his story as well, insisting that underneath their secular costumes they too dreamed of hastening the apocalypse and building the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. The Bolsheviks, it seems, were condemned to repeat history—a history driven not by class struggle, as they thought, but by theology.
Author: signordal
Virgil Revisited
David Ferry’s previous outings with Virgil, in his matchless Eclogues and Georgics, had already convinced me that he has some sort of uncanny connection to the great poet. Especially when reading the Eclogues, one hears a new-old voice, as if Virgil had miraculously learned English and decided it might do as well as Latin. This kind of translation almost needs a new name, to distinguish it from all the other worthy efforts to bring the ancient poets to life: it is an iteration, another version, but also—perhaps, almost—the thing itself.
The goal of meditation…
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The B&N Podcast: Lawrence O’Donnell
Every author has a story beyond the one that they put down on paper. The Barnes & Noble Podcast goes between the lines with today’s most interesting writers, exploring what inspires them, what confounds them, and what they were thinking when they wrote the books we’re talking about.
If you’re one of those people who thinks of 2016 as a uniquely tumultuous and unpredictable year in American politics, the writer and MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell would like to draw your attention to a presidential contest not quite half a century ago. His new book Playing with Fire: The 1968 Election and the Transformation of American Politics takes a dramatist’s approach to history, revisiting the year in which President Johnson declined to run again, assassins cut down two of the most iconic leaders of the moment, and fight for one party’s nomination pitted protestors against the police in an American metropolis. The result, says the author, permanently altered the state of American politics. In this episode, Lawrence O’Donnell talks with Bill Tipper about how he melded memoir and history to render a portrait of a year that he believes is still shaping our society.
The 1968 U.S. Presidential election was the young Lawrence O’Donnell’s political awakening, and in the decades since it has remained one of his abiding fascinations. For years he has deployed one of America’s shrewdest political minds to understanding its dynamics, not just because it is fascinating in itself, but because in it is contained the essence of what makes America different, and how we got to where we are now. Playing With Fire represents O’Donnell’s master class in American electioneering, embedded in the epic human drama of a system, and a country, coming apart at the seams in real time.
Nothing went according to the script. LBJ was confident he’d dispatch with Nixon, the GOP frontrunner; Johnson’s greatest fear and real nemesis was RFK. But Kennedy and his team, despite their loathing of the president, weren’t prepared to challenge their own party’s incumbent. Then, out of nowhere, Eugene McCarthy shocked everyone with his disloyalty and threw his hat in the ring to run against the president and the Vietnam War. A revolution seemed to be taking place, and LBJ, humiliated and bitter, began to look mortal. Then RFK leapt in, LBJ dropped out, and all hell broke loose. Two assassinations and a week of bloody riots in Chicago around the Democratic Convention later, and the old Democratic Party was a smoldering ruin, and, in the last triumph of old machine politics, Hubert Humphrey stood alone in the wreckage.
Suddenly Nixon was the frontrunner, having masterfully maintained a smooth façade behind which he feverishly held his party’s right and left wings in the fold, through a succession of ruthless maneuvers to see off George Romney, Nelson Rockefeller, Ronald Reagan, and the great outside threat to his new Southern Strategy, the arch-segregationist George Wallace. But then, amazingly, Humphrey began to close, and so, in late October, Nixon pulled off one of the greatest dirty tricks in American political history, an act that may well meet the statutory definition of treason. The tone was set for Watergate and all else that was to follow, all the way through to today.
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Year One: It’s Up to Us
In a weak democracy, an authoritarian leader like Trump could do widespread and lasting damage. Such leaders often control the legislature, are immune from court oversight, and suppress civil society institutions. But our hallowed traditions of judicial independence, civil liberties, and a robust political culture have—thus far, at least—held Trump in check to an important degree. The courts cannot stand up to President Trump alone, however, and it would be a great mistake to think they could. In the end, the most important guardian of liberty is an engaged citizenry.
Watch as 200 Years of Varnish Is Wiped Away From a 17th Century Oil Painting
Art dealer, author, and BBC presenter Philip Mould makes the painstaking process of art restoration look easy with his hypnotic set of Twitter videos documenting the restoration of a 17th-century painting. Working with quick precision, it’s magical to watch as he wipes away centuries of dirt and grime, revealing the gleaming oil paint beneath the yellowed surface.
We don’t know much about the painting itself, other than it’s from 1618 and that the mysterious “lady in red” was 36-years-old at the time of the portrait. In the video clips, Mould is stripping the protective varnish that is applied to shield paintings from wear, but that often yellows over time. This particular painting’s varnish dates back 200 years. And while it’s not uncommon for restorers to strip and reseal paintings to return them to their original colors, one only need to remember the botched restoration of a painting in Spain—which turned a portrait of Jesus into a monkey—to realize that this work takes skill.
It’s unclear what chemicals Mould uses in his videos, though turpentine is often used along with other solvents to ensure the agent doesn’t eat through the painting. Adept restorers are a mix of art historians and chemists, examining a painting closely to determine the type of varnish and what agent will work best to dissolve it. Using test patches, they will see which chemicals work best to melt the yellowed layers of varnish, releasing the clear, brilliant colors below.
While we anxiously await the final results of Mould’s work, take a look at the painting prior to restoration and more clips of his brilliant work as he brings the 17th-century artwork back to life.
BBC presenter Philip Mould is capturing the remarkable transformation of a 17th-century painting as it undergoes restoration to remove its yellowed varnish.
A remarkable Jacobean re-emergence after 200 years of yellowing varnish 1/2 http://pic.twitter.com/yBGNGDcNd7
— Philip Mould (@philipmould) November 6, 2017
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After his first video was a hit, Mould has continued to document the painting’s transformation via Twitter.
2/2 ….still a way to go, but what a transformation! http://pic.twitter.com/nyGx3qdhOZ
— Philip Mould (@philipmould) November 6, 2017
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A last smear from the chin removed. I will post an image of the completed picture as soon as it is ready. http://pic.twitter.com/K7TSl2XdqE
— Philip Mould (@philipmould) November 6, 2017
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Brilliant colors and hidden details that could be used to help identify the “lady in red” continue to emerge—like these small details on her dress—as the painting restoration moves forward.
Small area of her astonishingly elaborate dress revealed. We dont know identity yet but certain iconographic clues are staring to emerge…. http://pic.twitter.com/2p1VqN79na
— Philip Mould (@philipmould) November 6, 2017
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A look at the painting prior to cleaning shows just how muddied the colors looked under the 200-year-old varnish.
In response to those wanting sight of the uncleaned image of the #womaninred. All we know is she is 36 and it was painted 1618 (inscription) http://pic.twitter.com/3k8GYxvyJK
— Philip Mould (@philipmould) November 7, 2017
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Philip Mould: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
h/t: [Sploid]
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The post Watch as 200 Years of Varnish Is Wiped Away From a 17th Century Oil Painting appeared first on My Modern Met.
5-Year-Old with Heart Condition “Marries” Preschool Sweetheart in Adorable Photo Shoot
Photo: Sassy Mouth Photo
Five-year-old Sophia Chiappalone has gone through more medical procedures than many adults. Born with a heart defect, the preschooler has, so far, endured three open-heart surgeries with another one scheduled for mid-November. But before that procedure takes place, she had made a wish to her mom, Kristy Somerset-Chiappalone—the little girl wanted to marry her childhood sweetheart, 6-year-old Hunter Laferriere.
Kristy didn’t keep this dream a secret. She told Hunter’s mom, Tracy, who then told her son, who accepted the girl’s roundabout proposal. “He’d do anything to make her happy,” Tracy explained. “She always agrees to play Mario with him, so I think he’d happily marry her. They have a chemistry that’s magnetic, it’s adorable to watch.”
Photo: Sassy Mouth Photo
To make Sophia’s dream a reality, Tracy got her best friend and photographer, Marisa Balletti-Lavoie of Sassy Mouth Photography, to capture the special event. The mock nuptial has all the trappings of a grown-up wedding photo shoot; Sophia is wearing a beautiful gown and carrying a bouquet of fresh flowers, and the kids pose together like a couple in love, exchanging kisses on the cheek. But, Marisa didn’t forget their age and also shows them playing on a playground and throwing leaves at one another.
Sophia has had to fight for her life from the day she was born. She has a genetic defect where there’s no connection between her heart and pulmonary arteries, which ensures that blood flows to the lungs. Just one day after she was born, she had open-heart surgery; the procedure is something she’ll have to have throughout her life.
The photo shoot was bittersweet for Sophia’s mom. “I teared up watching her get all dressed up,” Kristy recalled. “I was terrified once again, like so many other milestones and events, that this may be the only time I see my baby in a wedding dress, that her miracles and time would run out before that day.”
Sophia’s family is currently raising money for her past and future treatments via GoFundMe.
Five-year-old Sophia Chiappalone was born with a heart condition, and she’s already gone through three open-heart surgeries.
Photo: Sassy Mouth Photo
Before her upcoming fourth surgery, she had one wish: marry six-year-old Hunter Laferriere…
Photo: Sassy Mouth Photo
Photo: Sassy Mouth Photo
… and they did it! (Sort of.) Marisa Balletti-Lavoie of Sassy Mouth Photography staged a mock wedding shoot for the childhood sweethearts.
Photo: Sassy Mouth Photo
Photo: Sassy Mouth Photo
Sophia dressed in white and carried a bouquet of flowers…
Photo: Sassy Mouth Photo
Photo: Sassy Mouth Photo
… but there was still plenty of time to play in the leaves…
Photo: Sassy Mouth Photo
Photo: Sassy Mouth Photo
Photo: Sassy Mouth Photo
… and even the playground!
Photo: Sassy Mouth Photo
Photo: Sassy Mouth Photo
Photo: Sassy Mouth Photo
Photo: Sassy Mouth Photo
Sassy Mouth Photography: Website | Facebook | Instagram
My Modern Met granted permission to use photos by Sassy Mouth Photography.
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The post 5-Year-Old with Heart Condition “Marries” Preschool Sweetheart in Adorable Photo Shoot appeared first on My Modern Met.
Over 1.25 million years ago, a massive volcanic eruption created…
Over 1.25 million years ago, a massive volcanic eruption created a 13-mile wide dimple in northern New Mexico. Hot springs, fumaroles and Redondo Peak, a 11,00-foot tall lava dome, reveal the caldera’s geologic past. Most of the area is now part of Valles Caldera National Preserve. Native Americans in the area used volcanic obsidian for arrowheads and spear points, starting a hunting tradition that lives on in the park today. Photo by Andrew Gordon (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl).
If someone doesn’t appreciate you presence…
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Is There Going To Be A Student Loan Apocalypse?
One of the scariest things that can happen is a robocall alerting you to the fact that student loan forgiveness program is on thin ice. It’s such a predictable tale of terror – people were promised a decade ago that if they made payments based on their incomes, the remainder of their debt would be wiped out in a decade.
It seems that the program is on the chopping block and people are in a panic. They entered into these agreements in good faith, executed their end of the bargain over the past decade only to see their balances increase, thanks to unfettered interest rates.
Now, they have no recourse and many will have to start the cycle all over again. Is it time to talk about student loan forgiveness?
Student Loan Forgiveness Horror Stories
Clerical errors that aren’t even your fault can keep you in debt for life if your debt is in the student loan category. The New York Times recently reported a story about an Oregon man named Jed Shafer who discovered- after eight years of his 10-year payment plan- that his loan servicing firm failed to enroll him in the program he asked to be enrolled in.
The $70,000 he’d paid in that time period had not put a dent in his loan principal balance. And he’s not the only one who spent the last decade spinning his wheels.
Even the folks in the correct repayment programs are worrying that they might not be out of the woods yet after announcements of their programs’ probable cancellation.
How Many People Are Affected By Student Loans?
The short answer is almost everyone. Even if you don’t carry a student loan balance, chances are you know someone who does.
But even if you don’t know a single person who carries a student loan balance, student loans are an invisible drag on economic recovery. Black Friday is just around the corner. It’s called Black Friday because that’s when retailers get their ledgers into the black after being in the red all year long.
But people who have a student loan debt, a debt category that is second only to mortgage debt in America, spend far less money during the Holidays than everyone else. These are people in their supposed prime earning years who should be otherwise contributing to the economy.
- 61% say they spend less on gifts
- 39% say they spend less on travel
- 28% say they spend less on charitable donations
- 28% say they spend less on Holiday gatherings
An Ounce Of Prevention Is Worth A Pound Of Cure
The bottom line is this:
The only way to survive student loan debt is to not get into it in the first place. Sure, there are people who dutifully made maximum payments and got out of their student loan debts by living in their parents’ basements and working two jobs.
But, for many people, especially those who find that making a living wage isn’t as easy as you were led to believe at college orientation, the payments are too big and the paychecks are too small. It may be too late for Millennials. However, younger generations should heed their warnings: no amount of student loan debt is safe.
What Needs To Be Done?
If you already have student loans, don’t count on forgiveness programs to bail you out. You could end up like countless others paying minimum payments while your balance continues to grow. Pay as much as you can each month, including additional principal payments.
The key is to reduce the balance, not to wait around for someone else to do it for you. Take a second job if you have to or find an employer who will pay a portion of your student loan debt as part of your compensation package. Your future depends on it.
See Also: What Can Employers Do About The Student Loan Crisis?
If you are a student looking at schools, stop. Go to a state school or a community college. Apply for work-study programs. Do not go to a private or for-profit college or university. You don’t need it. Consider becoming an entrepreneur to fund your school expenses so that you can work your schedule around school.
The problem with student loan forgiveness is that it is a tremendous economic burden. All that debt has to go somewhere and it’s starting to look like Congress has declared a collective “not it!”. Time will tell if anything meaningful will be done about the student loan crisis. Until then, learn more about the case for student loan forgiveness from this infographic.
Source: refinancesstudentloans.net
The post Is There Going To Be A Student Loan Apocalypse? appeared first on Dumb Little Man.
Sig Nordal 