Dear Readers,
The July session will be held on July 20th, not the 27th, because Rifuan is closed on 27th.
I look forward to seeing you there.
June session: June 29th
Posted in Announcement on 06/21/2011 08:30 pm by Marc SheffnerJune session will be June 29th.
I look forward to seeing you Readers there.
Free English books
Posted in Announcement on 06/04/2011 11:29 pm by Marc SheffnerDear Readers,
I’m getting rid of some of my books. You can see a list on Google Docs here. You should be able to see the document, even if you are not logged into Google, but let me know if you cannot.
More books are on my photo album here (click the photo below to visit). I have not yet written descriptions of these books, but you can see the titles and what kind of condition the book is in just from the photos.
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| Books To Go |
May session: May 25th
Posted in Announcement on 05/21/2011 10:28 am by Marc SheffnerDear Readers,
Our next session will be next Wednesday, May 25th, starting at 3:15.
Update: What shall we read after “Wind, Sand and Stars”? One member requested something by Bernard Malamud, and I mentioned “The Natural”, the only story by Malamud that I know. However, I don’t think I officially announced this. In the meantime, that member recommended a short story by Malamud called “Rembrandt’s Hat”. I will bring copies of this to our next session. I hope not everyone has already bought “The Natural”.
We will discuss the last 3 sections of St. Exupery’s “Wind, Sand and Stars”:
- Chapter IX, pages 174-189 – the Spanish Civil War
- Chapter IX, section VI pages 215-224.
- Chapter X – conclusion.
A request:
I had to re-install my computer’s OS last weekend (what fun!) and I have lost all my email addreses. Could I trouble you to send me an email? Thank you in advance.
Through the Sapphire Sky: Alike in composition, unlike in meaning
Posted in Announcement, philosophy / theory of art on 05/20/2011 07:54 am by Marc SheffnerA long time ago now (it seems), in our Reading group we discussed dragons as possibly universal archetypes and their different meanings in Western and Eastern cultures/literatures. Well English Lady Blogger Through the Sapphire Sky has written a very interesting and colourful post on this very subject. Please consider, “Alike in composition, unlike in meaning”:
When I saw this beautiful painting by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696–1770) on Aputsiaq ‘s blog, I doubted if the lady riding or standing on the dragon was really the Virgin Mary. I at first thought that She can’t have ridden such a creature by any means, for as far as I know, dragons have always been considered evil beings in the West. However, because of the title of the painting, The Immaculate Conception, I reconsidered and I came to believe that the lady must be Mary.
I could not understand why she rode or stood on the dragon for a long time. The painting remained a mystery for months. Recently, I realized that I had been completely mistaken by reading some articles about Marian Art and some Biblical passages and I finally figured out what this piece means. She is not riding or just standing on the dragon but instead she is stamping it down and triumphing over the creature, which is a metaphor for the devil.
via Through the Sapphire Sky: Alike in composition, unlike in meaning.
April 27th session report
Posted in children's literature, English fiction on 05/07/2011 03:06 pm by Marc Sheffner
Rifuan, April 6th, 2011
We are still working our way through an English translation of St Exupery’s “Wind Sand and Stars”. In today’s session, we read through and discussed sections 4-6. Our next session will be May 25th.
uillaumet lost in the Andes – chapter II, section II, page 30-40 (end of chapter II)Chapter IV (pages 48-62) – the cycloneChapter V, section II, pages 68-74 (end of chapter V) – night in the SaharaChapter VI, pages 76-82 (end of chapter VI) – the snakes under the tableChapter VII, section I (pages 85-90) – the gazelle in the SaharaChapter VII, section V pages 106-119 – Bark the slave- Chapter IX, pages 174-189 – the Spanish Civil War
- Chapter IX, section VI pages 215-224.
- Chapter X – conclusion.
Billions of yen in relief donations come through Internet sites – The Mainichi Daily News
Posted in Announcement on 03/28/2011 06:14 pm by Marc SheffnerBillions of yen in donations for the victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake have come through a variety of donation websites taking advantage of the Internet to organize people’s humanitarian efforts.
Depending on the website, donations as small as 50 yen can be made, either via mobile phones or computers, through easy-to-use electronic transfer services. Many sites display the total amount and number of donations received and have exceeded 100 million yen in donations. One site had gathered more than 1.2 billion yen. The collected funds are sent to groups like the Japanese Red Cross Society.
via Billions of yen in relief donations come through Internet sites – The Mainichi Daily News.
Not all foreigners are leaving Tokyo
Posted in Uncategorized on 03/20/2011 09:33 pm by Marc SheffnerOver the last week there have been many newspaper articles saying “Thousands flee Tokyo”. (See one example in the Financial Times and another one in the British Daily Mail.)
Well, not all foreigners are fleeing Tokyo or Japan. Here is one report by Alex Bieber who is not afraid to stay and who is rather ashamed of people who have left. (If you have a Facebook account, you can read the Japanese version here. If you do not have a Facebook account, you can download the PDF here.)
Another foreigner, an American, who lives in Tokyo and who is not leaving is Mike Rogers. He is also angry at many non-Japanese who have left Tokyo or Japan. He has written many blog posts on this subject, but here is one example. He has also provided lots of facts and links to such useful sources of information as Radiation levels in Shinjuku, radiation levels in Tsukuba, comments by phone from the UK’s Chief Scientific Advisor, Sir John Beddington.
What is needed is factual knowledge which allows you to interpret the information from the TV and newspapers. This has finally been provided by some TV programs, and I wrote about them here and here.
Here is a very interesting chart which shows how much radiation you get from different activities, starting with the very lowest dose – sleeping next to someone!
The situation at Fukushima remains critical, but it looks as if it is stabilizing. And as Sir John Beddington said,
this is very problematic for the area and the immediate vicinity and one has to have concerns for the people working there. Beyond that 20-30km, it’s really not an issue for health.
How to donate to Japan earthquake charity efforts
Posted in Announcement on 03/19/2011 01:01 pm by Marc SheffnerIn Japan:
セカンドハーベスト・ジャパンは、生活に困っている人々と彼らの支援団体を食を通じてサポートしている特定非営利活動法人（NPO）です。
English: http://www.2hj.org/index.php/news/send_us_food_and_supplies/日本語：http://www.2hj.org/index.php/news_j/disasterrelieffooddonations/
Outside Japan:
Donate to Japan Disaster Relief here:
For more information: http://www.google.com/intl/en/crisisresponse/japanquake2011.html
Below is a comment left on an article about American airline flight attendants being concerned about flying into Tokyo.
My wife was Purser on a flight descending into Narita, Tokyo’s International Airport, when the earthquake struck. Her flight eventually ended in Osaka. When the crews were returned to Narita they visited shelters and left what food they could find as well as their own jackets, scarves and gloves.
Upon returning home, two days later than scheduled, she put out a call for warm jackets and cold weather gear. She and other crew members also purchased, out of their own pockets, as much preserved milk and flashlights as they could carry.
Yesterday the crew returned to Narita with more than 20 large bags of jackets, blankets, gloves and the milk and flashlights. Our entry way is still stacked to the ceiling with more jackets and clothing that will be going in every day with the flight attendants.
Were they nervous about it? Of course. How could one not be worried with the legions of science illiterate reporters spreading hysteria? Still they went to work and are doing far more than their jobs require.
March 16 session report
Posted in Announcement on 03/18/2011 09:32 am by Marc SheffnerThank you to all of you who attended today. We managed to have a very interesting session, as usual, despite the sadness in our hearts.
(Click the image above to visit the Japan Red Cross donation site.)
Today, we discussed the first 3 items on the list of sections from St Exupery’s “Wind, Sand and Stars” (see the previous blog entry to read the entire list)
- Guillaumet lost in the Andes – chapter II, section II, page 30-40 (end of chapter II)
- Chapter IV (pages 48-62) – the cyclone
- Chapter V, section II, pages 68-74 (end of chapter V) – night in the Sahara
We had some difficulty understanding section 3.
Update: After reading section 3 again, the key seems to be the last paragraph on page 71. He is remembering a house he lived in when he was a child. For some strange reason, the memory of this house becomes very strong to him while he is lying on the sand of the Sahara night. He realizes that his existence, his meaning, is not just the present (Sahara), but also his past. When he was a child, he liked to tease his old nurse (“Mademoiselle”): she was so domestic and domesticated, while he enjoyed being a rough, wild boy. But now he realizes that it was not only his wild rough, boyish adventures that created his personality, his character: it was also the house and the quiet, solid, domestic routines that formed his character and are still a vital part of him, perhaps even more solid and important than his present Saharan adventure.
I think this is what he means by “But that night in the Sahara, naked between the sand and the stars, I did her justice.” In other words, he finally discovered a reason to respect that domestic and tame Mademoiselle.
What do you think? Any other, different interpretations?
The next session will be on Wednesday April 27th. If this is inconvenient, please let me know. I plan to continue reading “Wind, Sand and Stars”, continuing down the list of sections.