SubscribeThe Book of Psalms
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The Book of Psalms: A Translation With Commentary
trans. Robert Alter - Publisher: W.W. Norton
- Year: 2007/2009
- Pages: 560
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- What is 52 Books in 52 Weeks?
- №58
Any time one deals with a book which has been translated, you’re opening up a whole new can of worms above and beyond the quality of the book itself. I noted this with some hesitancy when I reviewed Orhan Pamuk’s Snow—or, more accurately, a translation of Orhan Pamuk’s Snow.
Biblical translation is even tougher: the politics it involves go beyond mere word choice and touch things which people hold as sacrosanct. Maybe you think I’m exaggerating, but consider as an example the movement of Christians who believe that the only correct version of the Bible is the King James Version. Mess with canon at your own peril.
Idiot America
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Idiot America
by Charles Pierce - Publisher: Doubleday
- Year: 2009
- Pages: 304
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- №31
Charles Pierce is a frequent guest on NPR’s “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” though I didn’t know this until after I read this book (go figure).
Despite the inflammatory title, Idiot America isn’t a criticism of the country, but rather a condemnation of the way in which idiocy or nescience has become something to be proud of; it’s a sort of extension of Thomas Frank’s question of authenticity. And it troubles Charles Pierce to no end.
And the Ass Saw the Angel
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And the Ass Saw the Angel
by Nick Cave - Publisher: 2.13.61
- Year: 1989/2003
- Pages: 320
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- What is 52 Books in 52 Weeks?
- №28
Nick Cave is much better known as a musician than as a writer; few even realize that he wrote the screenplay for the fabulous movie The Proposition, especially since so much attention is payed to his equally-wonderful work on its soundtrack.
But long, long ago (OK, only 1989), Cave penned his debut novel, And the Ass Saw the Angel, whose content will not surprise you if you are familiar with Cave’s lyrics.
The Book of Job
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The Book of Job
trans. Stephen Mitchell - Publisher: Vintage
- Year: 1992
- Pages: 176
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- What is 52 Books in 52 Weeks?
- №17
The Book of Job continues a recent trend of books I’ve read that I received as gifts—specifically from my brother, who has similar taste.
The Catholic Church still doesn’t get it
Pope Benedict XVI, who is making his first papal visit to Africa, has said that handing out condoms is not the answer in the fight against HIV/Aids.
[...]
HIV/Aids was, he argued, “a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which can even increase the problem”.
The solution lay, he said, in a “spiritual and human awakening” and “friendship for those who suffer”.
In a nation with an enormous HIV/AIDS infection rate, hampered by silly superstitions and generally awful conditions, one of the most effective ways to reduce STDs is to encourage the use of cheap, readily-available contraceptives like condoms. Then you get the Catholic Church involved, who tells everybody that condoms make AIDS worse. And all because they can’t stand it when people don’t subscribe to their ridiculous “protected sex qua sin” idea.
The pope can go take a long walk off a short pier.
hat tip: PZ Myers
Wednesday’s Word LVII
- cherub
- n. A winged creature represented over 90 times in the Bible as attending on God, later seen as the second highest order of angels, ranked above thrones and below seraphim.
Cherub as an English word first came about during the 14th century, borrowed directly from the Latin cherub, itself from the Greek cheroub, with its roots ultimately with the Hebrew כרוב (kerubh). According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, this Hebrew word might be related to the Akkadian karubu (“gracious, one who blesses”), which was used to describe the “bull-colossus.”
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