Anyone interested in coming to Berlin?  I'm leaving for the States on August 29 for three months, possibly longer, will be subletting my...

argh

A new edition of The Last Samurai arrived on the doorstep this morning via FedEx.  I flip through the book with the sense of foreboding whic...

MR had a post on the Khan Academy , had a look at what Salman Khan is doing; this is extraordinary. But no Ancient Greek, I see.  (Arabic, H...

A writer is not for Christmas

Employees say they stress how much work it is to own a dog. They say they would rather lose a sale than send a puppy into an unsafe home....

Back in 2007, in the early days of this blog, Yvain Dewaele sent me a terrific account of Serbian writers he admired.  I then expected to be...

elegance in bribery

Lovely post at (where else?) MR on bribery in China. The First Scenario: The corrupted official can sell a fake painting at any rigged gall...

Triple Canopy

Triple Canopy is running a Kickstarter campaign (now in its final week) to raise funds for 155 Freeman.  I quote: About 155 Freeman and the...