Over at That Young Philosopher, Damon Young posts (in response to a question during a talk he gave) on how he battles distraction. It’s wonderfully inspiring (at least to this existentialist). He writes about a goal of: freedom: not simply rights or liberties, but the capacity to craft myself; to become what I am. . [...]
One of the ‘Destinations’ over on the right is labelled (in incorrect English) as Undistraction. This is my personal quest to explore the wonderful world of philosophy unveiled by Damon Young, Melbourne philospher and author, in his book Distraction: A Philosopher’s Guide to Being Free. Check out my capsule review and the underlying motive behind this [...]
I’m reaching the age when the prospect of standing upon sticky carpet in a packed crowd, waiting for a band to come on at 11 o’clock, is decidedly unattractive. The ‘snivelling organism,’ as William Trevor (writing as Adam Hall) used to call it, wants ease not strain. But in the spirit of Damon Young’s Distraction, [...]
Also posted in Rock Music |
Mark Vernon (whose book Wellbeing I’m currently enjoying) suggests that the new Star Trek movie, jsut called Star Trek, has Spock turning into the perfect Stoic. I’m no Stoic, indeed don’t really understand it as well as I should, so I’ve been following the advice in Damon Young’s book Distraction (read about this journey), to [...]
Alain de Botton is a cottage industry unto himself, straddling something that his website call ‘the philosophy of everyday life.’ His popular books have examined love, status, art, anxiety, architecture and Proust. A couple of years ago, I read an article of his that surveyed the nature of work, and I recall being quite taken with one [...]
Also posted in Nonfiction |
Laura Miller at Salon, one of my favourite reviewers, writes on April 29, with her usual erudite brio, about a modern predicament, ‘the withering away of the ability to think about one thing for a prolonged period of time.’ Her review of Winifred Gallagher’s Rapt: Attention and the Focused Life explains that the book ‘explores [...]
Also posted in Nonfiction |
I’m especially taken by a letter extract Hilary Spurling includes (on page 337) in her biography (much recommended) ) of the first half of Matisse’s life. Thirty-seven-year-old Matisse, still poor and maligned, is writing to his artist friend Henri Manguin: A slowing down of sales or even a full stop doesn’t mean all is lost. [...]
Far more interesting than Matisse’s physical life is the unfolding of his creative life. Here is Hilary Spurling writing (on page 192 of her highly recommended first biography) about Matisse, not yet aged thirty: Matisse himself was reluctantly seduced that summer by a collection of exotic butterflies on display in the window of a postcard merchant [...]
People who seek to create are fond of describing themselves as ‘driven.’ If you’re one such, I’d recommend reading Hilary Spurling’s masterful biography (The Unknown Matisse: A Life of Henri Matisse: The Early Years, 1869-1908, which I have praised) of Matisse. I was quickly disabused of my own level of commitment compared to Matisse’s. Here [...]
You’ll see ‘Undistraction’ listed as a ‘Destination’ over on the right. I’m categorising my blogs as open-ended journeys. Some are thematic, for example Geeks Rule. Others break culture up into categories, e.g. Literary Fiction and Nonfiction. They’re all designed to pull me forward. After commending Distraction: A Philosopher’s Guide to Being Free by Damon Young, I [...]
Also posted in Nonfiction |