“Francis said he did not want the crowd to see him as a smiling ‘cordial manager of the Church who comes here and says to you “have courage.”‘ He added: ‘I don’t want this. I want this courage to come from inside me and push me to do everything I can as a pastor and a man.'” (ALJAZEERA) “Francis […] ended his improvised speech with a prayer asking God to ‘give us work and teach us to fight for work.’

*

(On the assumption that you view standing armies as needed, and perhaps even if not, I think the Swiss Defense Minister here has it right about the draft –everyone should be in some way involved in the defense of the nation of which they are part– though it is probably more important to the social fabric of that nation than to the nation’s defense or to the individual’s development; and though, in the case of the United States, there’s been a disruption between the idea of The Military and the idea of mere Defense –would Iraq have happened if there had been a draft? That is, maybe universal membership in the army creates more peace than do pacifists):

“Abolishing military service would break the genuine link uniting the people and the army,” Defense Minister Ueli Maurer warned ahead of the vote, referring to the unifying force of compulsory military service in a country divided by language and widely varying incomes” (LA TIMES)

Fresh from looking into ‘beautiful’ in The Golden Bowl the word remained in mind while I read The Ambassadors, where I found some interesting usages of it –and sometimes similarly paired with ‘wonderful’– though by no means so profuse as I had found in the former volume.

A similarity I did note between the two books was how each hung on a somewhat strained plot device, a very unlikely event; in each book James seems well aware himself of how strained the plot point he employs must seem, though he doesn’t apologize; in each case it is somewhat ambiguous if James leans on this device out of necessity, or design. (In The Golden Bowl, it is Maggie happening into the same curiosities shop as the Prince and Charlotte, and the store owner happening to recall the Prince and Charlotte; in The Ambassadors, it is how Strether chances upon the same country inn that Chad and Marie are staying at.)

*
well, actually more of ‘beautiful’ here than I thought, as I now see searching via computer the Gutenberg version

Formica laminate was invented in 1912 by Daniel J. O’Conor and Herbert A. Faber, while working at Westinghouse. They filed for a patent on it on 1 February 1913.[1][2] They originally conceived it as a substitute for mica used as electrical insulation, made of wrapped woven fabric coated with Bakelite thermosetting resin, then slit lengthwise, flattened, and cured in a press.….Formica(etym.)

evulsion; hoyden ; Edward Dickinson Baker ; korban ; “white telephones” ; Homer Rodeheaver ; baldric ; Coenties Slip; Mountain pine beetle; Battle of Bosworth Field

the entire earth one unbroken machined de-mountained dis-rivered expanse of concrete paving protuberanceless by tree or bush or house or anything which might constitute a corner or a threat to visibility (Faulkner, A Fable, quoted)

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D............R r..........n
A..........I t............o
L............C i.................
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…………“Though both TNT and dynamite are high explosives,
…………there is little similarity between them…”
………….dynamite/ TNT

……………….

……….“The word authority in authority control derives from its
……….initial use in identifying authors, and does not have the
……….usual meaning of authority as a power relationship, al-
………..though both senses of the word authority are related
………. etymologically”
………….authority control

……………….

Frank O’Hara, “The State of Washington”:

“Still across the floor/ of the continent dead souls are blown, souls/ of Indians in dire nomadic hootings: they fell/ to earth and did not grow and could not rest/ in the cactus heimat.”

Wiki:

Heimat is a specifically German concept to which people are bound by their birth, their childhood, their language and their earliest experiences. Heimat found strength in an increasingly alienating world as Germany’s population made a massive exodus from rural areas into more urbanised communities around the country’s major cities. Heimat was a reaction to the onset of modernity, loss of individuality and intimate community.

Also, heimatfilm.

“Gentle his shift, I decussate & command,/ stoic diety. For a while here we possessed/ an unusual man.” Dream Song 37, decussate. Bedsit.

…………………albert york ;
………………… Sperrgebiet ;
………………… strigil; aporia
………………… Fort Breendonk;
……………………. ideogramme;

………………………………..*

Operation Pacific (x) Oddly, the Patricia Neal character alludes to the “winnowing fan” story of the Odyssey at one point… if I remember from the Odyssey correctly, Teresias foretells to Odysseus that he must travel with an oar (a “winnowing fan”) on his shoulder to a land where people don’t recognize what it is; then he will finally propitiate Poseidon (who’s held a grudge against him). In Operation Pacific, it is one of Neal’s love interests –a combatant of the pacific theater– who, she says, plans on walking to Kansas with an oar on his shoulder until nobody can recognize it; that’s how much he dislikes the water, according to Neal. (Interesting to reflect: is hating water the modern equivalent of being hated by Poseidon, the god of water? Maybe Greek gods are to modern mortals as the passive to the active voice –if that makes sense– which it may not)

Wikipedia: Winnowing Oar / winnowing fan

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………..sebu
……….ngab
………un
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……

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p……….…….//////… A
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s……Mexico ………r
Menudo is time.iv
………..
………..

.ria. sessility. Mary Nolan.

I’d held off watching Orson Welles’ version of The Trial for a time, having a vague recollection that Milan Kundera spoke ill of it — for being unfaithful to the idea of the original– in his Testaments Betrayed.

I now wish I had Testaments Betrayed on hand still, because I recently watched the Welles version and it seemed to me quite a good attempt at retelling the story and not glaringly unfaithful to the spirit of the book.

In any event, one idea that occurred to me while watching the Welles movie was that the most faithful movie version of a Kafka novel might be an attempt at a montage or conglomeration of the three of them, with some of the short stories included. (Maybe Fellini’s “director’s notes” would be a model to follow). Not an attempt to tell any of their plots, mind you, but an attempt to give an overall account, a complete account, of the identity or character of K. A movie of the distilled Complete Works of Kafka (for example, opening like the Castle then closing like the Metamorphosis or Hunger Artist then having some Trial and Penal Colony and Diary and Castle in between, with appearances from the Oklahoma Theater troupe.) (Maybe –no, on second thought this would entirely spoil the conceit– it would be put on by the Oklahoma Theater troupe.)