Saturday Links

Origin of dumbbells.

Aqua vitae

Bruce Lee = DFW. Because yes. We all knew it. DFW's stentorian "This is Water" address? 

Cf. (supposedly) Bruce Lee: "You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water my friend." Thanks GoodReads.

Granted, this is pretty standard Taoist fare. But still. DFW = Bruce Lee = awesomesauce. Read the Tao Te Ching earlier this summer. Must needs blog more.

Mot du jour

Psychorigide - (used in Laurent Binet's HHhH). New favorite personality word after Remarque's Büronapoleon.

Beyond the Infinitude + Apple

Inspired by a Dissolve article, decided to combine Radiohead's Motion Picture Soundtrack with the David Bowman/"beyond the infinitude" sequence in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Behold: Beyond the Infinitude.

Also, Psycho/Scream Apple produced over lunch break:

Punic Cinema Conspiracy

Reading thru a volume of the Cambridge Ancient History, discover that the Fandango paperbag puppet things are the last vestiges of a Carthaginian world-conspiracy. Observe:

Comsplutterment: Sam Watkin's "Company Aytch: or, a Side Show of the Big Show"

"Comsplutterment" neatly encapsulates most of the qualities of Sam Watkin's memoir-cum-proto-creative-nonfiction Company Aytch: or, A Side Show of the Big Show. Watkins uses the word to describe the effect of "minnie balls" on a line of Federal troops at Rocky Face Ridge.  "Comsplutterment," of course, perfectly conveys the notion, but lends it a creepily humorous, light-hearted tone that makes the reader stop short and cringe at his own chuckle. This is the entire book (at least up to page 118 where I currently am) in an nutshell.