book – Field Grass

Field Grass

events, ideas, and images, thru cultures and history

Umberto Ecco Irreverent Guide to Writing a Thesis

toni February 20, 2016

A detailed review of “How to Write a Thesis” a book written by author and intellectual Umberto Ecco. The book was originally published in Italian in 1977, pre-internet, so some technical info is outdated. It was released in English last year, 2015. It looks to be an excellent read. I never made it to grad

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the Christ in Xmas

toni December 25, 2013

Xmas. The abbreviation has been in use since the early times of Christianity. The “-mas” part is from the Latin-derived Old English word for Mass, while the “X” comes from the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word Χριστός which comes into English as “Christ”. The practice of using contractions

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first axiom of art

toni October 4, 2013

…Art is not, like science, a logic of references but a release from reference and rendition of immediate experience; a presentation of forms, images, or ideas in such a way that they will communicate, not primarily a thought or even a feeling, but an impact. When A.E. Housman writes that ‘poetry is not the thing

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Boccardi Hebrew illuminated manuscript

toni September 10, 2013

The Jewish community of Florence flourished in the 15th-century, their position closely linked to the fortunes of the de’ Medici. Lorenzo il magnifico was their protector; he encouraged Jewish scholarship and scholars. It is, then, unsurprising that Jewish patrons of this Mahzor (Jewish holiday prayerbook) solicited an artist who worked for Lorenzo for this luxury manuscript. It

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