Recommendations
Books
The Wings of the Dove, Henry James
The greatest novel.
The Dance Language and Orientation of Bees, Karl von Frisch
Learn how bees navigate at noon on the equator.
Herodotus & Thucydides
Read together, along with The Republic and Leviathan.
Collected Papers, Milman Parry
The Homeric
epithets
("stouthearted Odysseus") are a function of metrical requirements, not
contextual meaning.
The Waves, Virginia Woolf
My
favorite book.
Hummus
The best hummus in the world is to be found in Princeton, New Jersey, at Olives deli. It's a decadent, creamy, intensely garlicy affair that can convert a lowly bagel into a three-star meal. Among commercial offerings, the only thing tolerable is Tribe Hummus. Originally, they were the Tribe of Two Sheiks. Sometime after 9-11 they lost a sheik or two, and changed to Tribe Hummus. Buy it now, before they're reduced to just Hummus hummus.
Important update: in the DC area, Moby Dick produces excellent hummus, though getting decent bagels remains a problem. Try the TPSS Coop in Takoma Park or Silver Spring.
Movies
Worth a try:
- The Conformist (1970)
- Tampopo (1985)
- Wings of Desire (1987) & Faraway, So Close! (1993)
- Transpotting (1996)
- Fear and Trembling (2003)
Music
Bach - The Well Tempered Clavier, especially the fugues in Book I in C minor, C-sharp minor, F minor, G-sharp minor, and, in Book II, the prelude and fugure in F minor. Also tremendous, the opening sections to the Partitas in B-flat major and E-minor. YouTube
Mariam et Amadou - Popular Malian music. YouTube
Thievery Corporation - Lounge music with an international flavor. Toujours un peu perdu dans les nuages. YouTube
Freezepop - Synthpop from Boston. Tenisu no boifurendo. YouTube
Alina Simone - America's bitterest songwriter. MySpace
Radio Paradise - Internet radio at its best.
Philosophy
Parfit, Reasons and Persons; Kagan, The Limits of Morality; Nozick, Anarchy, State and Utopia; Hume, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion; and Sextus Empiricus, Outlines of Pyrrhonism. Read them if you can!