1. Dog doesn't let disability slow him down: “The cart doesn't work on the stairs at Paula's apartment and Poly Wog will never run and fetch like other dogs. But, Paula says he's happy, he's not in pain and he's only enriched her life by being in it.”

2. Neumann, Gerhard, Ideenparadiese. Untersuchungen zur Aphoristik von Lichtenberg, Novalis, Friedrich Schlegel und Goethe. München: Wilhelm Fink, 1976.—All I can say is wow! This is an amazing volume about the use of aphorism in the works of the authors mentioned in the title. My interest in the book deals primarily with Lichtenberg, but also with Herder, who is not in the title but who does play a role in the development of a theory of aphorism by Neumann.

I first got into aphorism last month when I came across a book on Lichtenberg (Stern, J.P., Lichtenberg: A Doctrine of Scattered Occasions. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1959) and found a passage or two about the role of simile and analogy in Lichtenberg's aphorisms (often called experiments) In Lichtenberg's aphorisms, the specific simile is not merely an example, and it cannot be changed or switched out without destroying the meaning of the aphorism as a whole. This matter of irreducibility is a matter of concern for Lichtenberg, Herder, and, to an extent, even F. Bacon. Along with Nietzsche and Morgenstern, Lichtenberg is, for most readers, the most famous German author of such texts.

3. As a relatively recent convert to the joy of comic books, I must say that I am also a fan of NBC's new series, Heroes. Wednesday evening will bring another episode of Lost, which pleases me, though I'll have to wait until Friday for BSG—I have a much more positive view of season 3 (so far) than many other HuSites, it seems. I'll also have to agree with theantix's wise commentary regarding cam's critique ... no reason to link to it, since you can find it in the Hole.

Before going to the library this afternoon I turned the TV on and saw an old episode of Little House on the Prairie (Mary at the school for the blind with Adam)—whenever I see an episode of that show, I know exactly what it's about ... I'm sure I've seen them all, even if not for decades. When I was back home, so to speak, in August, I ended up viewing a number of M*A*S*H reruns ... still funny. Regarding the former, however, it's interesting as well as amusing to see how ideal and idealized that family was ... who wouldn't want a father like Pa?

4. I need to get around to making my own apple fritters ... Fair Trade's fritters are tasty things ... and their iced coffee isn't too shabby, either ... nice and strong.

5.

• Which came first—the fashion or the egg? “Women dress to impress when they are at their most fertile, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday in a study they say shows that signs of human ovulation may not be as mysterious as some scientists believe.”
• Eye-Catching Images of Nature, Made With a Common Machine: a few nifty nature photographs, and, even better, nature-color-photocopies!
• Schiller in English from Project Gutenberg for those who are interested.
• Speaking of books, NOVA showed The Viking Deception this evening on my local PBS station. The tracing of the text—perhaps—to Spain reminds one, of course, of Arturo Perez-Reverte's enjoyable page-turner, The Club Dumas.
• This weekend on PBS I saw a nifty show on Building Green.
• Stupid bitch. Some days I almost want to rethink my anti-death-penalty stance.

6. Ooh, Wisconsin politics ... let's see, Mark Green, the Republican candidate for governor is a racist and nativist (as far as I'm concerned, nativists are racists. Period). The sad thing is that I am not a fan of the slimy Democratic governor, Jim Doyle, who ran years ago on a pro-education and pro-educator platform but who deserted TAs during our contract dispute a few years back, but as long as state Republicans continue to nominate far-right (anti-abortion, anti-birth-control, anti-science, anti-immigrant, etc.) candidates, they're not going to get the votes of those of us who are not great fans of Doyle. Even better, though, Wisconsin is home to one of the anti-gay-marriage amendments ... it would outlaw civil unions, too. Fucktards. The fact that, in the polls, it is close just indicates how many bigoted fucks there are in this state ... after all, this is not just the state of Fighting Bob La Follette ... but also Joe McCarthy.

Okay, now I'm depressed ... time for a late-night drink.