Sunday's Notes
XLII, an early modern edition of the festival, is up at Early Modern Notes. Enjoy them both!Deborah Collcutt,"Why does the weasel go pop? - the secret meaning of our best-loved nursery rhymes," Daily Mail, 17 August, adapts explanations of the historical origins of selected nursery rhymes from Albert Jack's Pop Goes The Weasel: The Secret Meanings Of Nursery Rhymes. Jack may say more about why these events -- and not others -- found hidden reference in nursery rhymes and why that form was an attractive means of remembering the events. Count me a bit skeptical. Thanks to Manan Ahmed for the tip.
David Vandermast,"Blighted Hopes," American Scientist, July/August, reviews Susan Freinkel's American Chestnut: The Life, Death, and Rebirth of a Perfect Tree. Hat tip.
The 1954 CIA-financed Halas and Batchelor animated production of George Orwell's Animal Farm is available on YouTube in eight parts. It begins here. You can access the other seven parts by clicking on"More info". Hat tip.
Harvey Mansfield,"Man of Courage," Weekly Standard, 25 August, pays tribute to Alexander Solzhenitsyn.