02.04.2009
My days are filled from morning to night, but never with just one thing. I am, in fact, constitutionally incapable of any kind of singular focus. My life has been lived, and what successes I’ve had, follow a shotgun methodology: I spray the woods and where the buckshot lands, I go gather the goods. I resist the sneers of those who call me dilettante and I insist my way is The Way. But secretly, as I said, I feel guilty. Now, here comes Ingrid E. Cummings telling me that not only do I have a place in the world, more people should be like me! In The Vigorous Mind, Cummings argues for “a return to a Renaissance perspective, when the ideal was to be well-rounded.” Her thesis is contained within the subtitle: “Cross-Train Your Brain to Break Through Mental, Emotional, and Professional Boundaries.”
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01.16.2009
“I shall turn 50 this year, which is not without its odd emotions and has got me thinking about being, well, old. I don’t mean decrepit, I mean not infantile, no longer so attached to things, no longer so concerned about what others think, no longer so anxious to prove myself — you may know the sort of thing I mean. It was rather a treat, therefore, to play what is– in a way– my first modern romantic lead in a film that is more romantic than comic (although it has very funny moments and is underscored with irony and subtle humour throughout) where I was not required to be stunningly attractive or in despair or in need of rescue, but simply an ordinary woman in her forties living a rather stale-looking life as best she can.”
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