Daniel Silliman

Reading material

Current:
Oblivion,
by David Foster Wallace

For the year:
1. Prophecy & Apocalypticism,
by Stephen L. Cook
2. The Salmon of Doubt,
by Douglas Adams
3. Absalom, Absalom!
by William Faulkner
4. Farewell, My Lovely,
by Raymond Chandler
5. Ham on Rye,
by Charles Bukowski
6. The Inner Circle,
by T.C. Boyle
7. Breakfast at Tiffany's,
by Truman Capote
8. The Crying of Lot 49,
by Thomas Pynchon
9. The Poet,
by Michael Conely
10. As I Lay Dying,
by William Faulkner
11. Slumdog Millionaire,
by Vikas Swarup
12. 2666,
by Roberto Bolaño
13. Teaching a Stone to Talk,
by Annie Dillard
14. The Most Beautiful Woman in Town,
by Charles Bukowski
15. White Butterfly,
by Walter Mosely
16. The End of the Affair,
by Graham Greene
17. Fathers and Sons,
by Ernest Hemmingway
18. Into The Wild,
by Jon Krakauer
19. Close Range,
by Annie Proulx
20. Brief Interviews with Hideous Men,
by David Foster Wallace
21. By Night in Chile,
by Roberto Bolaño
22. Killshot,
by Elmore Leonard
23. This is Water,
by David Foster Wallace
24. Public Enemies,
by Bryan Burrough
25. Breath,
by Tim Winton
26. The Savage Detectives,
by Roberto Bolaño
27. Loving Che,
by Ana Menedez
28. Ender's Game,
by Orson Scott Card
29. The Short Stories,
by Ernest Hemingway
30. Cities on the Plain,
by Cormac McCarthy
31. Charlotte's Web,
by E.B. White
32. The Selfish Gene,
by Richard Dawkins
33. Good Omen,
by Terry Pratchet & Neil Gaiman
34. Where I'm Calling From,
by Raymond Carver
35. The Armies of the Night,
by Norman Mailer
36. The Street Lawyer,
by John Grisham

Daniel Silliman

27.4.02

I, Leech
Because of this story on a frat fight that turned personal and violent, the dean of men has called me a leach.

It was a story that needed to be written and I believe I did the best I could under the circumstances of few sources and tight deadlines.

I guess if Socrates was a gadfly then I can be a leech.

by Daniel Silliman @ 6:29 PM. : Comments 0

Greek Imbiciles
I’m getting more and more annoyed with the Greeks on this campus. Right now some of them are in the street screaming and blocking traffic. The cars are lined up for a block and about half of them are honking and the Greeks are screaming and I wish we didn’t have a Greek system and these imbeciles would go to a state school.

by Daniel Silliman @ 2:43 AM. : Comments 0

25.4.02

Francis Schaeffer online
Notice the additional links I've added, thanks to a piece run by Razor Mouth.

I especially want to direct you towards the Schaeffer site. The late Francis Scaeffer is probably the man I most respect and hope to emulate. I am currently working my way throuhg his complete works.

This site reproduces a lot of his shorter work in a highly professional, attractive and modern way. A job well done and, I believe, an invaluable resource.

by Daniel Silliman @ 8:17 AM. : Comments 0

The Poets
I'm reading some of the poets in the Modernism section of my Norton's Anthology of Wold Masterpieces (seventh edition), mostly reading T.S. Elliot's The Wasteland for the first time. I am quite impressed. Elliot and his poetry are certainly the mother of Dylan Thomas and Ginsberg or Duncan, poets that I have read and particularly enjoyed.

I understand only a slight sliver of what is being said--it would probably take week to unravel some of these passages--but the imagery and the form of this poetry is awesome.

"A woman drew her long black hair out tight
And fiddled whisper music on those strings
And bats with baby faces in the violet light
Whistled, and beat their wings
And crawled head downward down a blackened wall
Tolling reminiscent bells, that kept the hours
And voices singing out of empty cisterns and exhausted wells."

Elliot is awesome and I don't even know what he is saying.

Reading one piece by Yeats. I'd looked at The Second Coming before--a professor pointed it out when I was writing a paper on the mixture of paganism and Christianity in Dylan Thomas' poetry--but I loved it again when I read it tonight.

The images are certainly easier to grasp and I delight in the closing imagery of the beast stalking the child:

"but now I know
The twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches toward Bethleham to be born?"

I think I am going to attempt to read Pound's Cantos on the bus ride home.

by Daniel Silliman @ 5:45 AM. : Comments 0

24.4.02

The pathos of life and the glories of New Journalism
I was sitting in a small-town, Midwest courtroom wearing a red tie at 8:35 a.m., Wednesday. I’m not used to wearing a tie on weekdays—I just don’t have to—I’m not used to being somewhere at this time of day, and it’s been nine months since I’ve been in a courtroom.

Continue ...

by Daniel Silliman @ 11:34 PM. : Comments 0

23.4.02

Before the Blog
We've been reading Tom Wolfe's Radical Chic and Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers for journalism class, and talking about his New Journalism. Going over it this morning, I wondered what connections could be drawn between his style--personal, outrageous, etc.--and the blogging style.

A paper is due in that class tomorrow, maybe I'll pull something together on the subject.

by Daniel Silliman @ 5:04 PM. : Comments 0

The Eternal Root Cause
Surprise.

A woman started the fight that broke out between two fraternity members—a Sigma Chi and an ATO—that has led to an assault and battery charge. Apparently the woman is being dated by the ATO and the Sigma Chi used to be interested in her.

A rude comment, hurt pride, a women—real original stuff.

Story in progress.

by Daniel Silliman @ 5:00 AM. : Comments 0

Free Market Brings Sweet Justice
Sometimes the market brings justice so appropriate, so perfect, where laws failed. The Palistinian Liberation Orginization can't find a building in Washington D.C. to rent because they are terrorists, because terrorism has driven up insurance costs, because they have
a history of not ulfilling their obligations to landlords (I'm not talking about Israel here, but that too) and because they aren't wanted in rental neighborhoods.

How sweet. Read the story here.

by Daniel Silliman @ 4:25 AM. : Comments 0

22.4.02

Blogging redux
Another interesting article on Blogging, with previews of some of the popular blogs.

Also we have some interesting developments in blogdom. A book is in the works compiling the best of blogging about the September 11 terrorism. The idea is interesting, though I think the change in format will drastically change the impact, significance of the writing.

If you scroll down the above link their is an informative post about definitions--mostly the definitional differences between normal blogs and warblogs.

by Daniel Silliman @ 8:05 PM. : Comments 0

The Books of the Ages
Turns out reading classic literature is good for business. Who'd a thunk it.

Thanks to Anne Wilson for the link.

by Daniel Silliman @ 3:53 AM. : Comments 0

21.4.02

Frat Violence
A Sigma Chi member was apparently assaulted by a ATO member. I am going to be covering the story for the paper and am not sure what I will find. The Sigma Chi is apparently pressing charges.

I was told of the affair by a Sigma Chi who works for the newspaper. I'm looking into it Monday and plan to interview both parties, police, the dean of men, Frat advisores, etc. We'll see who else turns up and who else I can talk to.

I may get negative reactions from both fraternities, people in favor of the Greek system, and administrators who don’t want bad press. The story is at least an important crime story and could possibly have a greater significance.

Let’s see what I find.

by Daniel Silliman @ 11:00 PM. : Comments 0

Sticking with the Grand Old Party
I'm not working too much in political parties anymore, having left that end of politics for journalism, but as a Christian Conservative I certainly had to deal with the question of third parties. Chalcedon just ran a good piece dealing with the foolishness--the ignorance of how American political structures are formed.

He takes some potshots, ones I think are well deserved, at Howard Phillips, the perpetual presidential candidate of the Constitution Party (formerly the US Taxpayers Party and in many states the American Heritage Party).

by Daniel Silliman @ 9:52 PM. : Comments 0