tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2709321900557973879.comments2020-04-16T09:14:08.741-04:00The Thoreau You Don't Know by Robert SullivanRobert Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17459806143037573928noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2709321900557973879.post-34719121411842937392012-01-05T11:20:36.218-05:002012-01-05T11:20:36.218-05:00Several writers have confirmed that TYDK achieves ...Several writers have confirmed that TYDK achieves the goal implied by its title of outlining a more accessible, humorous, and human Thoreau for contemporary readers. I agree. The book also develops significant points in re-interpreting Thoreau and his writing, such as the nature-urban connection and T as a social and sociable activist, not exclusively an eccentric hermit. The success is due to Sullivan doing two things other writers on Thoreau have not done, or not done so well. The first is that Sullivan is widely read in historic popular culture and uses several fields of the knowledge to place Thoreau in the context of his times. The range of topics includes: the economic panics and crashes in the US especially New England during T's lifetime, the building of railroads and related immigration and household servitude, the shift from craftsmanship to factory work, the rise of organized labor, and land use and re-forestation around Concord before the Civil War. In addition Sullivan presents T as a fellow free-lance writer, when such an occupation didn't quite exist. This insight particularly gives the book a perceptive look at T, and lends authority to Sullivan's speculations about T's several life choices. In addition the book is written in an informative, entertaining style with supported speculation and personal experience well-woven together.dave_solheimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01622576748357228571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2709321900557973879.post-72598549108416249472011-10-07T10:35:01.530-04:002011-10-07T10:35:01.530-04:00You looked great Bob, and you smelled great too!You looked great Bob, and you smelled great too!Jeremy Dinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03758537319862045243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2709321900557973879.post-68041483923368217802011-09-10T23:39:36.460-04:002011-09-10T23:39:36.460-04:00My interpretation of that article is that even in ...My interpretation of that article is that even in light of all of us doing our own part to save the resources left to us, the environmental problem has been framed in such a way that leaves the big dudes off the hook. It's sort of like what Leona Helmsley famously said-I can see the guys at Monsanto or ADM or wherever, saying, " We don't save the environment, the little people save the environment." I already do what I can conventionally do, but I have no belief that if I choose not to dump 2-4 G on my lawn, Ortho is going to notice.<br />If I choose paper over plastic, or bring my own damn shopping bag, I will probably feel better, and it may eventually make a infinitely tiny difference in the situation, but I'm afraid I don't think the problem can be solved without some massive-scale heavy-lifting elsewhere. I already use mass transit, try to eat local, have taken no part in increasing world population, take short showers, use no a/c, avoid plastics, etc. Does anyone think a single member of our lobbied-up congress really gives a hoot? Sorry for such a pitiful world view, but the kind of improvements needed now require more than just us little people being good.tcghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10245118778328592750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2709321900557973879.post-952155247991422062011-09-08T21:07:13.433-04:002011-09-08T21:07:13.433-04:00This one has also been making the rounds lately:
...This one has also been making the rounds lately: <br /><br />http://www.theonion.com/articles/we-need-to-do-more-when-it-comes-to-having-brief-p,21295/C Nealhttp://www.vigorousnorth.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2709321900557973879.post-64604477044759430802009-09-30T15:27:29.861-04:002009-09-30T15:27:29.861-04:00Nice article. You should check out what's bee...Nice article. You should check out what's been done on Vancouver's Burrard Bridge, where a lane and a sidewalk have been re-allocated from autos to bicycles.<br /><br />http://vancouver.ca/projects/burrard/index.htmUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11795441669631155056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2709321900557973879.post-40064424349359326982009-07-19T17:13:42.757-04:002009-07-19T17:13:42.757-04:00I was at a Feelies/Yo La Tengo show at Maxwell'...I was at a Feelies/Yo La Tengo show at Maxwell's in the 80's, and Thoreau was wasted! Good times.Jeremy Dinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03758537319862045243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2709321900557973879.post-19152984737972406342009-06-24T09:12:22.478-04:002009-06-24T09:12:22.478-04:00I am stranded at Logan and picked up the book and ...I am stranded at Logan and picked up the book and it is great company amid the din and frustration. Mr. Sullivan's thesis reminds me of an essay I wrote for TrafficEast a while ago about how Thoreau has changed for me as I became a parent and a grown up. Here's the link<br />http://trafficeast.com/archives/issue-six/bewilderness-remembering-thoreau-and-becoming-an-adult/Keith Fromehttp://parentspirit.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2709321900557973879.post-22835311366385880472009-06-15T18:58:44.031-04:002009-06-15T18:58:44.031-04:00Yes, in this affluent world, for most, there are a...Yes, in this affluent world, for most, there are always casualties.In a true democracy everyone would have equal rights to income and housing.Isn't a roof over our heads a basic human right?Vonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17421069895155350144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2709321900557973879.post-81171556796969588552009-05-26T22:40:28.613-04:002009-05-26T22:40:28.613-04:00I just finished your book, which was lovely, and c...I just finished your book, which was lovely, and convinced me to give Walden another chance after my shallow and partial high-school-era reading.<br /><br />My previous conception of Thoreau was most influenced by the memoir of essayist John Gould, "Maine's Golden Road," in which Gould both compares himself to Thoreau a lot and also makes fun of him mercilessly. It's very funny - you should check it out. Gould's daughter was my 10th-grade English teacher, speaking of high school readings. <br /><br />I was especially fond of your efforts to break down the perceived barrier between the human and the wild worlds - in this book as well as in your others. I write a blog on some of the same topics, with the overarching goal of helping more people see the wildness in our cities and in our economy. I think you would dig it, and I'd be tickled if you gave it a look: http://vigorousnorth.blogspot.com<br /><br />Please get in touch if you're ever in Portland, Maine. Since I borrowed the book from the library, I feel as though I owe you a beer in lieu of the royalties you deserve.C Nealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07865122912479524567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2709321900557973879.post-61758801160139077792009-05-22T07:55:22.905-04:002009-05-22T07:55:22.905-04:00Not only does the link here take you to a short pi...Not only does the link here take you to a short piece that draws some elegant Thoreau pencil facts from Robert Sullivan's beautiful and impassioned book, but you also then get, on the Paper Cuts site, links to, for example, a moving eulogy for a 41-yr-old poet who died exploring a volcanic island and some funny and insightful lines from this poet about the consolations of spicy food and incubus possession, lines you can't help thinking Thoreau would really have appreciated because they commend a reader's attention to the resounding importance of minutia. The whole enterprise of blogging and the mish-mosh of people you inevitably encounter if you wander a good blog's links and its links' links is also the kind of thing Sullivan's book has taught me non-technophobe Thoreau would likely have enjoyed, thoroughly.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2709321900557973879.post-76885753893099157622009-05-20T09:43:46.478-04:002009-05-20T09:43:46.478-04:00FROM THE BIBLIOGRAPHY of TTYDK: "A good recording ...FROM THE BIBLIOGRAPHY of TTYDK: "A good recording of “Highland Laddie” is by Ned Pearson, an English<br />fiddler, on Ranting and Reeling: Dance Music of North England, part of an anthology called Music of the People."Robert Sullivanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17459806143037573928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2709321900557973879.post-33631470665465665912009-05-18T14:44:00.000-04:002009-05-18T14:44:00.000-04:00love your books! and forgot to write down the name...love your books! and forgot to write down the name of the recording which you recommended in TTYDK. (i think you said it was the best recording of a particular song which thoreau would have listened to or sung.) ring a bell? i scanned the book and footnotes several times and couldn't come up with it. did i dream it? keep up the great work.<br />lisa (dunsethl@hotmail.com)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2709321900557973879.post-27533592657123436292009-04-16T15:41:00.000-04:002009-04-16T15:41:00.000-04:00How about staying off the sidewalk?
I bike most pl...How about staying off the sidewalk?<br />I bike most places I go. <br />I never have that problem. I stay out in the street where bikes belong.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02833866676254642109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2709321900557973879.post-62068961855513441852009-04-16T14:13:00.000-04:002009-04-16T14:13:00.000-04:00Bat for Lashes' "What's a Girl to Do?" is a vastly...Bat for Lashes' "What's a Girl to Do?" is a vastly superior bike music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1wnOUH2jk8willhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16082186430695228922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2709321900557973879.post-77363455193942575482009-03-27T16:45:00.000-04:002009-03-27T16:45:00.000-04:00Is that Banning Pass? My family used to drive thro...Is that Banning Pass? My family used to drive through there all the time when I was a kid, it was totally captivating...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2709321900557973879.post-74178848181915621602009-03-21T21:30:00.000-04:002009-03-21T21:30:00.000-04:00wow! For a cellphone that is amazing!wow! For a cellphone that is amazing!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2709321900557973879.post-27177786282269744072009-03-19T03:04:00.000-04:002009-03-19T03:04:00.000-04:00how fast can you go, then switch to Schluffing? 20...how fast can you go, then switch to Schluffing? 20mph?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2709321900557973879.post-8057221601894527662009-03-18T22:05:00.000-04:002009-03-18T22:05:00.000-04:00Stop saying bikers. It's cyclists. Get it right ...Stop saying bikers. It's cyclists. Get it right if you're going to criticize.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2709321900557973879.post-34789641701468038682009-03-18T12:56:00.000-04:002009-03-18T12:56:00.000-04:00please stop writing about cycling in nyc, you are ...please stop writing about cycling in nyc, you are doing us more harm than good. this is just idiotic, i guess if i give running a red light a cutesy name it will be ok.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2709321900557973879.post-76601106070356345142009-03-16T09:55:00.000-04:002009-03-16T09:55:00.000-04:00More people in NYC are killed each year by cars _o...More people in NYC are killed each year by cars _on the sidewalk_ (about a dozen) than by bikes (less than one).Steve O.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13905833445106549609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2709321900557973879.post-87417297848322015322009-03-12T10:50:00.000-04:002009-03-12T10:50:00.000-04:00nice work on the radio!nice work on the radio!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2709321900557973879.post-39280734134886580622009-03-08T16:30:00.000-04:002009-03-08T16:30:00.000-04:00Robert,If you have any interest in adding Madison,...Robert,<BR/><BR/>If you have any interest in adding Madison, WI to your list of readings, you'd be welcome I'm sure. I'm no longer in Madison, but the contact at this site<BR/><BR/>http://www.urbanthoreau.com/<BR/><BR/>might be able to assist in setting something up. (And I would suspect your publisher has Madison bookstore contacts as well.)<BR/><BR/>Great article!<BR/><BR/>Dan SebaldAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2709321900557973879.post-89859033817214361962009-03-08T11:09:00.000-04:002009-03-08T11:09:00.000-04:00Hi Robert, just saw you on NY1 and read the Wild B...Hi Robert, just saw you on NY1 and read the Wild Bunch.<BR/><BR/>I noticed that you didn't make a distinction between commercial and non-commercial bikers. The guys (and I mean guys, it's never a woman) I'm scared of are the bike messengers in Manhattan and the delivery guys here in Queens. <BR/><BR/>The delivery guys almost always ride on the sidewalks and never use a bell. They just zoom down the sidewalk silently and clip you -- or come damn close to it -- on their way to delivering a pizza. The messengers sometimes ride on the sidewalk, never obey traffic lights and I am sure they try to clip you, especially if you're female. <BR/><BR/>I think commercial bikers need to indicate what company or restaurant they're working for and their business should be accountable. Maybe commercial bikers should be licensed, I don't know but some sort of training should be mandatory and companies that don't comply should be fined. <BR/><BR/>In your article you indicate that more people have been killed by cars than bikes, but it seems to me that you could be seriously injured by a bike, too. I live at the bottom of a hill and I'm sure a guy on a bike zooming down the sidewalk could do some serious damage to my 105-pound frame or to a kid.<BR/><BR/>I appreciate your good intentions, but nothing will change until you get the commercial bikers in line.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2709321900557973879.post-661220035100885142009-03-07T12:32:00.000-05:002009-03-07T12:32:00.000-05:00Nice, but there is an alternative that affords jus...Nice, but there is an alternative that affords just as much control while actually taking up less space on the sidewalk. You can keep atop the bike with thigh and butt on the top tube while striding with one foot on the the ground and the other on the pedal. This technique presents a narrower profile; you and the bike are in a single file, not two abreast. Being off the saddle and on the top tube presents a respectful posture towards pedestrians by conceding that your not actually riding. Then again, try telling that to a cop. Maybe schluffing looks more legal. <BR/><BR/>- BrodyNYSEAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00910464695733729626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2709321900557973879.post-87683666616317359272009-03-06T11:48:00.000-05:002009-03-06T11:48:00.000-05:00I have a wind-up Baby Ben clock I got at a yard sa...I have a wind-up Baby Ben clock I got at a yard sale. Does that count? Or will there be no Time in the future?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com