She's Not So Unusual

A recent post by Halley Suitt suggests that there is nothing unusual about what the Washingtonienne had to say. What was unusual was that — deliberately or not — she let herself get caught writing a sex journal from a Senate computer.

Faery Tales

Frank Kinahan's scrutinizes at length the Irish legend of Oisin and Niamh that formed the basis for William Butler Yeats' The Wanderings of Oisin. Oisin, leader of the Fenians, who have been vanquished in battle, is lured away to the realm of Faery by the faery Niamh, who has fallen in love with him. Once there, Oisin spends a hundred years hunting, a hundred years fighting, and a hundred years sleeping. Upon his return to the earth, against Niamh's wishes, the full weight of his three hundred years falls upon him when his foot touches the earth. He lives long enough to recount his story to St. Patrick. Niamh wastes away and dies.

One suspects that J.R.R. Tolkien, a professor of Medieval English literature at Oxford, had stories such as Oisin's in mind when he composed the stories of Beren and Luthien (see the ) and of Aragorn and Arwen (see ). The twist, in Tolkien, however, is that the emphasis is on the renunciation by the Elf of her immortality for the sake of love, rather than on the mortal human's renunciation of the chance for immortality.

Kinahan emphasizes that the realm of poetry is the impermanent, material world, not the unchanging (and sterile?) realm of Faery or the occult, a truth that both Yeats and Tolkien implicitly recognize.

New Interest in Arabic

Arabic Language A Tough Assignment (washingtonpost.com)

According to a survey by the Modern Language Association, the number of students at U.S. colleges enrolled in Arabic language courses nearly doubled from fall 1998 to fall 2002 -- the largest growth rate of any foreign language during that period. At Georgetown University, enrollment in Arabic courses is up by 300 percent since 2001. At George Washington, twice as many students applied as could be admitted into the new summer-long intensive Arabic program.

It is encouraging to hear of more interest in Arabic as a foreign language, discouraging to be reminded how difficult the language is and how few people study it despite renewed interest.

Butterflies

According to W.B. Yeats' Faery and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry, butterflies in Irish folklore are the souls of the dead awaiting entry into Purgatory.

Sizzling Sex Site Sinks Senate Staffer

NAMES & FACES (washingtonpost.com)

Stop the presses! Or should we say start the presses? Washingtonienne, that 26-year-old infamous former Hill staffer who grabbed everyone's attention by blogging each nitty-gritty detail of her sexual escapades with six men, not only has a six-figure book deal anchored with Hyperion Disney, but the rumor that she'll be posing for Playboy mag is true, too! (November issue, for those interested.)

The Post's Reliable Source has the background on 26-year-old Jessica Cutler, a.k.a. Washingtonienne. Her Senate boss chose a creative legal angle when he fired her; apparently she was discharged for misuse of government property because she was blogging on a Senate computer. In a way, it is odd that the Senator gave her a reason; I would have thought that a Senate staff job would be at-will, and that a Senate staffer could be fired for any reason or no reason at all.

It is remarkable not only how much attention this story has garnered, but how much anger it has generated, as evidenced by comments on the Wizbang weblog.

The Real Deal

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Moore's Public Service

Paul Krugman echoes Barbara Ehrenreich's column of a comple of days ago, in which he points out that Michael Moore — unlike the privileged George Walker Bush — comes from an ordinary background. Krugman thinks that Moore — whose tone and political conspiracy theories he does not endorse — nevetheless has performed an essential service by telling stories about the Bush administration that the mainstream media lacked the moxy to reveal. And he makes a good point when he states that Moore's critics point to Moore's alleged distortions, but they have little to say about he Commander in Chief's.

Welcome Back Diana!

Voice of Experience (washingtonpost.com)

"I was 30 years old, at the height of my career," says Hollander. "I loved my job. And, yes, I would go places and be recognized. You get spoiled a little bit. And then everything was gone. So, yes, it was a long fall."

And, it turns out, a long climb back. On June 1, Hollander returns to the studio at WGMS, and returns to her old time slot -- the 10 a.m.-3 p.m. show that she describes, with both affection and possessiveness, as "mine." For the past two years, as she has slowly gained more control over her epilepsy, Hollander has been working for WGMS out of a studio in her basement. To her, this is returning to the "big time."

Diana Hollander, one of the country's top Classical music radio announcers, has overcome six years of personal tragedy to return full-time ot the station she loves. WGMS, meanwhile, deserves a lot of credit for its leadership in accommodating Ms. Hollander's disability and proving itself to be a model employer of the disabled. The result has been a fourfold win — for Diana Hollander, for WGMS, for the Washington audience, and for Classical music.

Nutrition Data

NutritionData's Nutrition Facts Calorie Counter

An interesting site that provides access to nutrition date on line. I found it while looking up the nutrition data for olives, which are better than I thought, despite a high sodium content. This is good news since I find myself increasingly addicted. My favorites right now are Moroccan oil cured black olives, green Picholines from France, and black Nicoise. A good Kalamata, of course, is also hard to resist.

The Day the Music Died

AP CustomWire | The Janesville Gazette | Janesville, Wisconsin, USA

Charles "had this blasphemous idea of taking gospel songs and putting the devil's words to them."

His last Grammy came in 1993 for "A Song for You," but he never dropped out of the music scene. He continued to tour and long treasured time for chess. He once told the Los Angeles Times: "I'm not Spassky, but I'll make it interesting for you."

Rest in peace Ray Charles, dead of liver disease at 73. The AP notes that Charles left behind 12 children, 20 grandchildren, and five great grandchildren. He may be gone, but his music will never be forgotten. The rest is silence.

D-Day

The New York Times > Opinion > June 6, 1944

In a way, D-Day sums up for us the whole of World War II. It was the frontal clash of two ideas, a collision between the possibility of human freedom and its nullification. Even now, we are still learning what to make of it, still trying to know whether we are dwarfed by the scale of such an effort or whether what happened that day still enlarges us. It certainly enlarges the veterans of Normandy and their friends who died in every zone of that war.

The Face of War

Tillman Killed by 'Friendly Fire' (washingtonpost.com)

Pat Tillman, the former pro football player, was killed by other American troops in a "friendly fire" episode in Afghanistan last month and not by enemy bullets, according to a U.S. investigation of the incident.

The revelation that that former football player Pat Tillman was killed by friendly fire is a grotesque reminder of the of the ugliness and chaos of war. (I'm reminded of Hedda Gabler's reaction when she finds out that Eilert Lovborg has shot himself not in the heart but in the gut.) This news does not diminish the courage displayed by Tillman, but it should be an awakening to those who celebrated his death as affirmation of a romantic vision of war.

Shocked and Appalled

I am almost unable to express how shocked I am to find my worst suspicions about America confirmed over a music competition. The show may be trivial, but it is outrageous that, for a second time, the two most talented musicians — who are also the African American musicians — should be consigned to the bottom ranking, and that the person who obviously has the most talent — LaToya London — should be booted off the show. I cannot condone the poor manners of the crowd that booed when Ryan Seacrest announced that LaToya was leaving the show, but I certainly understand how they felt. Randy Jackson did not quite come out and say that the choice was racially biased, but we all felt it.

Magazines

I am trying to figure out which print magazines I actually want to read: Poetry, The New Republic, Chess Life, Washington Lawyer, Smithsonian, WorldView. I subscribe to other good magazines that I just do not have time for, such as National Geographic and various alumni magazines. And there are some open questions, such as the Middle East Journal and Better Investing. Part of the dilemma is that every minute devoted to magazines is a minute less that I can devote to books.