Why? Why did only a few Asian countries learn the right lessons from SARS and MERS? While populist leaders certainly performed poorly in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, Niall Ferguson argues that more profound pathologies were at work - pathologies already visible in our responses to earlier disasters. Yet in 2020 the responses of many developed countries, including the United States, to a new virus from China were badly bungled. But when disaster strikes, we ought to be better prepared than the Romans were when Vesuvius erupted, or medieval Italians when the Black Death struck. and wars, are not normally distributed there is no cycle of history to help us anticipate the next catastrophe. Pandemics, like earthquakes, wildfires, financial crises. Setting the annus horribilis of 2020 in historical perspective, Niall Ferguson explains why we are getting worse, not better, at handling disasters.ĭisasters are inherently hard to predict. "All disasters are in some sense man-made."
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Lope had seen the writing on the wall: soon enough Góngora's imitators were legion, and in his final dramatic work, La Dorotea (1632), Lope himself imitates "the new poetry" in such poems as "A mis soledades voy" and "¡Pobre barquilla mía…!" Contrary to this longstanding crisis in the historiography of Spanish literature, Felipe Valencia's erudite and provocative The Melancholy Void: Lyric and Masculinity in the Age of Góngora tells another story that places Góngora not at the height of stylistic or poetic achievement, but at the crux of a quarrelsome literary competition between prestigious epic and lyric poetry, for which "melancholy is central" (19). Criticizing the style of poetry popularized by Luis de Góngora's Soledades (1613–17), Lope ridiculed it in one of the most extended and extraordinary contemplations on poetry in the early modern period. Lope de Vega (1562–1635), dramatic innovator, prolific poet, author of multiple epics, began a great controversy toward the end of his phenomenally productive career. This novel quickly captured my attention and I breezed through it in a single day. Parts of the tale, had a disturbing ring of truth to them. The world-building and story are fascinating. Starters is the debut novel of Lissa Price and the exciting start of a new series. I have a real love for dystopias and post-apocalyptic novels. When I saw the cover and read the synopsis I was immediately intrigued by Starters. It feels almost like a fairy tale, until Callie discovers that her renter intends to do more than party-and that Prime Destinations' plans are more evil than Callie could ever have imagined. But the neurochip they place in Callie's head malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her renter, living in her mansion, driving her cars, and going out with a senator's grandson. Callie, desperate for the money that will keep her, Tyler, and Michael alive, agrees to be a donor. He hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders-seniors who want to be young again. Callie's only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the Old Man. She and her little brother, Tyler, go on the run, living as squatters with their friend Michael and fighting off renegades who would kill them for a cookie. Callie lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. “It’s worse than wrong,” growled the outraged old bookseller, slapping the book down and extinguishing the game with a ruthless crack of his queen. “Why not?” asked the undergraduate, momentarily distracted from his doom. “It’s a great novel,” said the undergraduate, still studying the board in stubborn hope. In due course, the board was a bomb site, the undergraduate was facing what would likely be the only guaranteed mating of his life, and the old emeritus was so upset that his self-possession was slipping just a bit. He kept the game going – the defenestration proceeded apace – but, in the kind of fillip of humiliation in which senior academics once specialized, he also kept turning the pages. That crusty emeritus spotted the title – Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse – snatched it up and began reading. These were invariably college undergraduates, and one of these unfortunates, prior to his defenestration, set his battered paperback on the side of the board. Once upon a time, in the ratty, bustling, pre-Bank of America days of Harvard Square, a wonderfully reserved old Harvard emeritus and former Bonn bookseller used to spend some of his afternoons holding down a public chessboard against all comers. “The song is a little fake it till you make it,” she said, “which I’m a big fan of. The saddest song, like, ‘Sure, I can be my own lover, but you’re so much better.’” Cyrus added that the final lyrics weren’t reflective of how she was feeling, but it’s what she wanted to tell herself. “The chorus was originally: ‘I can buy myself flowers, write my name in the sand, but I can’t love me better than you can.’ It used to be more, like, 1950s. Guides the reader through The Song of the Lark with short, well-chosen quotations and unifying. “I wrote it in a really different way,” she said. In Critical Essays on Willa Cather, edited by John J. “It will set itself on fire all by itself.” She continued to tell the story of “Flowers,” detailing how she flipped the chorus on its head and changed its message entirely. “I never need to be a master at the craft of tricking an audience,” she said. In the interview, Cyrus casually waved off questions about the song’s many conspiracy theories involving her ex-husband Liam Hemsworth. In an interview with British Vogue published on May 18, Miley Cyrus revealed some of the original lyrics of “Flowers,” explaining that she rewrote the chorus because it was originally “the saddest song.” Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks thanks in part to its catchy self-empowerment mantras - but the song initially didn’t start off that way. Both were retired military men, and both were chosen in part to help reform the Pentagon, which Kennedy believed to be outdated in its organization and methods. Kennedy, having won a narrow victory over Richard Nixon in 1960, chose Robert McNamara to be Secretary of Defense and Dean Rusk as Secretary of State. McMaster begins his analysis by noting that John F. The book is an expansion of ideas that McMaster first presented in his Ph.D. The book argues that the Vietnam War was mishandled by President Lyndon Johnson and his primarily civilian advisors, as well as the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and that the conflict could have been resolved to the United States’ advantage using clear and effective strategies. He would later rise to the rank of Lieutenant General, and subsequently serve as National Security Advisor. McMaster was at the time a major in the United States Army. Dereliction of Duty is a 1997 book by H.R. Shaw Friedman, attorney for the conservancy district, asserted that no deals have been struck and talks won’t resume until the district receives the information it’s asking from the city. (La Porte, IN) - A local official says annexation of the 39 North Conservancy District by the City of La Porte is NOT a done deal. The suspects, Danny Torres and Rolando Pages Romero, are both from Louisville, Kentucky, and are currently being held in the La Porte County Jail to await court proceedings in the case. Officers from the area stopped the vehicle, finding a duffel bag inside the truck containing cologne and over a half-dozen power washers. The material obtained from the camera also showed the man placing merchandise in a duffel bag and leaving in a pickup truck described as a Dodge Ram.įlock cameras indicated the vehicle was heading toward Interstate 94.Ībout 90 minutes later, flock cameras detected the vehicle on Interstate 65 in Lafayette, approaching Indianapolis an hour and a half after that. There, they found survailence footage of a man getting out of a pick-up truck at 5:30 AM and kicking in a glass window before then going inside the store. Last week, officers responded to a burglar alarm at Dunes Plaza on U.S. (Michigan City, IN) - License plate readers led to the arrests of suspects in a recent Michigan City store burglary. In this third DC Icons book, Selina is playing a desperate game of cat and mouse, forming unexpected friendships and entangling herself with Batwing by night and her devilishly handsome neighbor Luke Fox by day. This Catwoman is clever–she may be Batwing’s undoing. This Catwoman is clevershe may be Batwings undoing. He targets a new thief on the prowl who has teamed up with Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn. Meanwhile, Luke Fox wants to prove that as Batwing he has what it takes to help people. She quickly discovers that with Batman off on a vital mission, Gotham City looks ripe for the taking. Maas’ take on Selina is in character while the changes she makes to her origins. Two years after escaping Gotham City’s slums, Selina Kyle returns as the mysterious and wealthy Holly Vanderhees. Catwoman: Soulstealer is a fun and appealing book that delves into Catwoman’s character and what makes her tick. It’s time to see how many lives this cat really has. MAAS delivers a coming-of-age Selina Kyle who will steal readers’ hearts in a new, highly anticipated YA blockbuster: CATWOMAN! It is the third novel in the DC Icons series, following Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo and Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu. Sizzling with action and suspense, #1 New York Times bestselling author SARAH J. Catwoman: Soulstealer is a 2018 young adult coming of age novel by Sarah J. Following a traumatic event in her late teens, the aggressive and prurient Asughara takes over from We as protector of Ada’s fragile heart. It’s on this foundation that Akwaeke Emezi’s autobiographical debut novel rests.Īda walks the razor’s edge between life and the afterlife, swayed by the whims of her spirits. Regarded as half-human, half-spirit, they’re cut at death to prevent their return, and those who do bear the scars. In Igbo cosmology, ogbanje are children prone to die young only to come back again, and invariably plague their family with grief. Meanwhile, Ada resorts to cutting herself to appease them since gods generally demand a blood sacrifice. “We did not mean to hurt the Ada but we had an oath and our brothersisters were pulling at us, shouting at us to come back,” they explain. “We” feature prominently in the early phases of her life, driving Ada to bursts of anger while restlessly awaiting their return to the other side. The story is narrated by three spirits (multiple personalities?), with minimal input from their human host. It takes neat, impressive dips into the spiritual, exploring the inner workings of Ada, an ogbanje. Freshwater is interesting in unusual ways. Sarchie described the person as looking like a trapped animal who was scared but still very much a volatile predator attempting an escape. Of the many exorcisms he has participated in and assisted with, Sarchie - who became an independent part-time paranormal investigator while working with the NYPD - said the most terrifying thing he has seen occurred when he placed a crucifix next to a supposedly possessed individual's head. Watch Sarchie discuss his uncommon career below ( caution: disturbing themes and images): There's a good portion of society that just cannot stomach Jesus Christ and when I see that, I have to wonder where that hatred comes from." "As society pushes God out, no one can deny that that's happening. I hate to say it," Sarchie said in an interview. Sarchie, a self-described demonologist who was once a cop for the 46th police precinct in New York City - and the inspiration for the new Hollywood film " Deliver Us From Evil" - told TheBlaze that he believes possessions and infestations are on the rise. Despite always believing in the existence of good, evil and God, ex-New York Police Department sergeant Ralph Sarchie didn't consider himself a particularly religious guy - that is, until he began battling what he says are dangerous, supernatural forces. |