tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post2544758665653218991..comments2024-03-29T05:03:05.347+02:00Comments on Dispatches from Vilnius: Nobel peace prize awarded to Barack ObamaJames Fergusonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-37919584722664561332009-10-14T04:42:01.579+03:002009-10-14T04:42:01.579+03:00The unpatriotic elements in society have now reach...The unpatriotic elements in society have now reached the end of their quest to have President Obama declared unqualified for the office of the presidency. Orly Taitz, the nutcase who has been making those idiotic allegations has been hit with a $20K fine for her stupid lawsuits:<br /><br /><br />http://washingtonindependent.com/63558/orly-taitz-sanctioned-for-20000<br /><br /><br />As they say inTripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-7593988389201370932009-10-14T04:40:38.161+03:002009-10-14T04:40:38.161+03:00This comment has been removed by the author.Tripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-39506626480549726252009-10-12T09:47:44.180+03:002009-10-12T09:47:44.180+03:00No doubt there was a political edge to this choice...No doubt there was a political edge to this choice, and Maureen Dowd had a pretty funny op-ed in the NYTimes about it,<br /><br />Gandhi wuz robbed,<br /><br />http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/opinion/11dowd.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=ghandi%20wuz%20robbed&st=cseJames Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-55913963503746619372009-10-11T09:12:32.492+03:002009-10-11T09:12:32.492+03:00Obama's inauguration marked the end of the Bus...Obama's inauguration marked the end of the Bush/Cheney 8-yr. Reign of Terror. Yes, I agree that he deserves the Nobel.Martihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11341915969684349287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-83658390181871781122009-10-11T08:13:32.658+03:002009-10-11T08:13:32.658+03:00Avrds,I'm still here.I'm leaving wed morni...Avrds,I'm still here.I'm leaving wed morning for three weeks back east starting with the Wellfleet Oyster Festival next weekend.Can't wait for some nice fall weather though the weather has turned fall like in So.Cal.Trying to figure out what books to take.I did get the copy of Grey Owl's"Tales of an Empty Cabin" It turned out to be a copy from the Winnipeg public JAbelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08594625881177704355noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-57656922911087621162009-10-11T05:36:45.723+03:002009-10-11T05:36:45.723+03:00I'll speak up for Oates. I think few have done...I'll speak up for Oates. I think few have done adolescence as well, and as for the violence in her work, it's certainly not gratuitous or even graphic (at least in what I've read), but she can show how a single violent act can resonate throughout a family and community and over time.<br /><br />As for the Peace Prize, I say a big loud WOOT whether it is intended as descriptive or NYT Perduhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05799504399477460783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-88319976882449036502009-10-10T18:24:08.764+03:002009-10-10T18:24:08.764+03:00I like Gordimer's short stories, but haven'...I like Gordimer's short stories, but haven't really gotten into her books, but I agree with you that her sense of language is very impressive. I guess I've always been such a fan of Lessing that I was a little disappointed to see her passed over in favor of other southern African writers. However, all three transcended their region in their own ways.<br /><br />Speaking of Nobel James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-82269457294506861432009-10-10T17:09:30.599+03:002009-10-10T17:09:30.599+03:00Gintaras -- I think Gordimer was an excellent choi...Gintaras -- I think Gordimer was an excellent choice at the time. She does things with language that are quite impressive, and she was certainly on the right side of history. But it is also true that because many of her novels and short stories were written before the end of Apartheid they can now seem somewhat dated.<br /><br />And yet, novels like A Guest of Honor, The Late Bourgeois World, Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01343768762996537750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-68189980060608321962009-10-10T15:36:34.752+03:002009-10-10T15:36:34.752+03:00I take this award as a nod to the country as much ...I take this award as a nod to the country as much as to Obama since it appears to be symbolism as much as anything. <br /><br />The world is a more peaceful place (in theory) now that the US has rid itself of GW. <br /><br />I guess one person's compliment is another's critique.avrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-48986974078038721402009-10-10T15:29:57.696+03:002009-10-10T15:29:57.696+03:00It sounds extremely petty and mean-spirited and ju...It sounds extremely petty and mean-spirited and just plain dumb, but what can you expect from Republicans these days.James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-78568665140062326132009-10-10T15:24:37.391+03:002009-10-10T15:24:37.391+03:00Can you imagine cheering for the loss of the Olymp...Can you imagine cheering for the loss of the Olympics for the country and then booing for the Nobel Prize for the head of the country? <br /><br />It does seem a bit -- what did they always say? -- unpatriotic?avrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-47395215569240786492009-10-10T15:22:28.777+03:002009-10-10T15:22:28.777+03:00"Read him.I detest him."
I wondered if ..."Read him.I detest him."<br /><br />I wondered if you were here or not John!avrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-92184487567209401002009-10-10T12:39:16.916+03:002009-10-10T12:39:16.916+03:00It is quite amusing reading all the Republican bac...It is quite amusing reading all the Republican backlash to Obama's award. After making so much fun over his failed Olympic bid, this must be a very bitter pill for them to swallow. But, I'm glad some Republicans have tactfully found ways to congratulate Obama, like Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty,<br /><br />the "appropriate response is to say congratulations."<br /><br />httpJames Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-10339656713164219882009-10-10T10:44:50.282+03:002009-10-10T10:44:50.282+03:00They had given the Nobel to Gordimer before Coetze...They had given the Nobel to Gordimer before Coetzee, which I thought also overlooked Lessing, who is actually from Zimbabwe -- Grass is Singing. I suppose that is why Lessing didn't give the award much thought when she finally did receive it.<br /><br />Anyway, I think the Nobel prize committee was probably most impressed he was even elected president and that if he could achieve that, he James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-4367866025608047052009-10-10T08:53:26.082+03:002009-10-10T08:53:26.082+03:00Read him.I detest him.Read him.I detest him.JAbelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08594625881177704355noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-84845798144223020432009-10-10T03:34:39.238+03:002009-10-10T03:34:39.238+03:00I could never read Faulkner either.I could never read Faulkner either.avrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-21487097724604505482009-10-10T03:19:07.064+03:002009-10-10T03:19:07.064+03:00And another thing. I think we have produced poets...And another thing. I think we have produced poets who have a much better claim on the Nobel Prize for literature than our novelists, short story writers, and playwrights.Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01343768762996537750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-40985599915950948972009-10-10T03:15:25.246+03:002009-10-10T03:15:25.246+03:00She does tend to mine that vein. A frequent criti...She does tend to mine that vein. A frequent criticism of her books is that they invariably drift into melodrama. But, her supporters are quick to counter, so do the books of the most sacred of sacred American literary cows, William Faulkner.<br /><br />In my opinion, however, it's the quality of her writing that prevents her from being anything more than a very prolific writer. And I felt Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01343768762996537750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-23073183160424285262009-10-10T01:47:46.688+03:002009-10-10T01:47:46.688+03:00Yes, but isn't it all about rape and incest an...Yes, but isn't it all about rape and incest and murder and stuff? I come from a disfunctional American family but not _that_ disfunctional.avrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-40259488328334547352009-10-09T23:41:57.299+03:002009-10-09T23:41:57.299+03:00Oates has written a little bit of everything. She...Oates has written a little bit of everything. She writes mainly about the American family -- that's a generalization -- but it fits many of her novels and short stories. Her writing is sincere and might remind you of Theodore Dreiser at times, although she is seldom as clumsy as Dreiser was. There are quite a few writers working in this vein -- good writers telling good stories.Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01343768762996537750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-80761784172157546442009-10-09T20:04:20.090+03:002009-10-09T20:04:20.090+03:00Doesn't Oates basically write thrillers? I do...Doesn't Oates basically write thrillers? I don't get the cachet she seems to have.<br /><br />Going back to TR for a moment, when he won the Nobel Peace Prize (ironic that one, eh?) he donated the money to establish a committee for industrial peace. <br /><br />http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9B05E5DF143EE233A25751C2A9659C946997D6CF<br /><br />But for some reason, thisavrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-59577218076180976442009-10-09T19:50:53.306+03:002009-10-09T19:50:53.306+03:00Joyce Carol Oates is always mentioned. Go figure....Joyce Carol Oates is always mentioned. Go figure. I've never understood it. Nobel Laureate material she is not, at least in my opinion. However, some of the recent selections have been marginal at best. Coetzee, for instance, did not deserve the award for any reason, although I do like a couple of his books. The fact that he received it before Doris Lessing, no matter what you might Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01343768762996537750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-46651228045231794062009-10-09T18:41:25.891+03:002009-10-09T18:41:25.891+03:00Oates? You have to be kidding! But Müller's ...Oates? You have to be kidding! But Müller's sounds a little too dark for me as well.avrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-1006704193696802782009-10-09T18:37:25.157+03:002009-10-09T18:37:25.157+03:00And then there's Herta Meuller's Nobel in ...And then there's Herta Meuller's Nobel in literature. While I found suggestions that Joyce Carol Oates was a frontrunner -- give me a break -- Meuller? And I thought Le Clezio was an odd pick.Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01343768762996537750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-52956437172344725772009-10-09T18:35:32.963+03:002009-10-09T18:35:32.963+03:00He's a smart man and I'm pretty confident ...He's a smart man and I'm pretty confident that he understands what an occupation does in places like Afghanistan -- thus his reevaluation of the Bush wars.<br /><br />Whether or not he has the political will to pursue that kind of big picture agenda remains to be seen. Maybe this award will give him some political cover and impetus to live up to it.<br /><br />If so, I'd happily avrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.com