Dr. Weaire holds flower.

Courtesy | Gavin Weaire

 

Song:  “Lascia ch’io pianga” by George Frideric Handel (1711) 

I’ve noticed that this is the designated category for faculty to show that they’re not just into high art. Sod that. Go listen to a good recording of Handel’s “Lascia ch’io pianga.” (Or “Lascia la spina.”)” Oh, alright. You can also listen to Sisterix’s “The Family.” 

Movie: “Blue Velvet” (1986) 

David Lynch just died, so it’s pretty much obligatory that I say “Blue Velvet,” isn’t it? It was more or less the perfect film for a teenager in the mid-’80s. Did it give me unfair expectations that there would be freakish dark horrors lurking beneath the surface of Hillsdale? Possibly.

Book: “Imperial China: 900-1800” by Frederick Mote (1999)

No doubt a Sinologist would tell me that it’s now very dated and point out all sorts of other problems with Mote’s interpretations. But it is one of the best general histories of a topic of major importance that I’ve ever read. It’s particularly good at resisting the foreshortening that afflicts so many general histories. I tire of reading “complete” histories where you’re already in the 20th century by the time you’re halfway through the book.