The Aula Point of view
2002-2004 Archives
Bloom County is back
Breaking news: Bloom County, the Ulysses of newspaper comic strips, is back! (Courtesy of one Asad N.)
Nov 21, 2003 by Husain
0 responses
In reading headlines
In reading headlines, ladies and gentlemen, you have to be astute, you have to scrutinize, read between the lines. For the intelligent observer of the great global global dialectic, this is de rigeur, an imperative, a responsibility. Paul Krugman, for instance, is an independent voice. Whether or not you agree with him, he doesn’t tow the line. Similarly, the New York Press is also an independent source. This week, Matt Taibi challenges the complicity of the media in its reportage of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Russain oil tycoon. “New York Times and…the Boston Globe along with the vast majority of Western media outlets around the world, have cast this smarmy fight over assets long ago stolen from the Russian people as a battle between the evil forces of nationalization and the good, industrious representatives (Khodorkovsky) of the people-friendly market economy.” But Khodorkovsky is a bad, bad man. “Even in the group of fantastic individuals who participated in [the] mass robbery [of privatization], he stands out. He is the Bad Bad Leroy Brown of Russia. You know that opening scene in Goodfellas where Ray Liotta says, ’All my life, I wanted to be a gangster?’ Just imagine the fleshy, bespectacled Khodorkovsky slamming that trunk shut. In a nation of mobsters, he is king, a stone-cold ruthless genius. It would take a hundred thousand pages to detail all of his schemes, but they make the work of Professor Moriarty seem like a game of Chinese checkers.” Yowzah.
Nov 05, 2003 by Husain
0 responses
Although we are not well-acqainted
Although we are not well-acqainted with his oeuvre, we at Aula salute the recipient of this year’s Nobel Prize for literature, South African writer, J.M. Coetzee. It looks like he has earned it.
Oct 02, 2003 by Husain
0 responses
“Is Thurber still being widely
“Is Thurber still being widely read and enjoyed? The nod from the Library of America was meant as a coronation, but nobody can be funny for a thousand pages, and Thurber’s writing—occasional by definition—resists so exhaustive and formal an act of exhumation and canonization.” From the New Yorker.
Sep 02, 2003 by Abbas
0 responses
“Lightman’s Reunion falls into the
“Lightman’s Reunion falls into the category of wistful musings on the sadness of life, dressed up in novel form. Another category is snarky commentary on the shallowness of modernity, dressed up in novel form: Key practitioners are David Foster Wallace, Dave Eggers, Jonathan Franzen, et al. There are other categories, but it fatigues me to list them.” Review from the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Sep 02, 2003 by Abbas
0 responses
“By daring to mention the
“By daring to mention the name of a Trinidadian street in print, V. S. Naipaul started a movement of writers from former British colonies.” From the National Post.
Sep 01, 2003 by Abbas
0 responses
More on Amis and Fischer:
More on Amis and Fischer: “Tibor Fischer’s savage attack on Martin Amis’s latest novel shocked the literary world. Stephanie Merritt asks him about his own new rival book.” From the Guardian.
Sep 01, 2003 by Abbas
0 responses
More about the furor surrounding
More about the furor surrounding the publication of Yellow Dog, Martin Amis’s new Novel. From the NY Times Book Review.
Sep 01, 2003 by Abbas
0 responses
Christopher Hitchens on the ten
Christopher Hitchens on the ten commandments. In Slate.
Sep 01, 2003 by Abbas
0 responses
“Love Me, the latest work
“Love Me, the latest work of fiction by the host of the public radio show ’A Prairie Home Companion,’ is a hilarious satire of just about everything in the early 21st century worth poking fun at, from the writing life to the president of the United States.” Review of Garrison Keillor’s novel, from the Washington Post.
Aug 22, 2003 by Abbas
0 responses
» The Aula Point of View (POV) began its life as the digest of the Aula member weblogs in 2002, edited by Abbas Raza and coeditors. The POV covers topics in literature, philosophy, politics, science, and of course gossip.
» The POV continues as 3quarksdaily.com. With original bloggers (Abbas Raza, Husain Naqvi, Marko Ahtisaari) and new faces (Robin Varghese, Morgan Meis, Azra Raza, J.M. Tyree, Ruth Kikin-Gil and others).
Browse the archives
Categories
» Art, film, music & architecture (99)