[An artist] should copy the masters and re-copy them, and after he has given every evidence of being a good copyist, he might then reasonably be allowed to do a radish, perhaps, from Nature. – Edgar Degas

I went to see the “Inspiring Impressionism” exhibit yesterday at the Denver Art Museum and came away struck by how remarkably it addressed questions of influence and originality in art, issues that have long been central to my own thinking and writing. As a poet, I’ve long been aware of the debt I owe the masters whose genius has shaped my own work, and if my efforts pale in comparison, they’re at least less meager than they would have been had I not spent so much time in the company of Donne, Shakespeare, Yeats, Hopkins, Wright, Thomas, and perhaps most especially, Eliot. Full story »

Last month the Associated Press cast a harsh light on a dark secret of many big public industries–that workers have far too much access to personal data of customers, and misuse and abuse it accordingly

Vast computer databases give curious employees the ability to look up sensitive information on people with the click of a mouse. The WE Energies database includes credit and banking information, payment histories, Social Security numbers, addresses, phone numbers, and energy usage. In some cases, it even includes income and medical information. Experts say some companies do little to stop such abuses even though they could lead to identity theft, stalking and other privacy invasions. And companies that uncover violations can keep them quiet because in many cases it is not illegal to snoop, only to use the data for crimes. Full story »

The day after the International Atomic Energy Agency issued its latest report card on Iran’s nuclear program, the New York Times headlined its story: “Nuclear Agency Says Iran Has Used New Technology.” The IAEA, David Sanger explained, had presented Iran with evidence that it was conducting experiments in manufacturing nuclear weapons.

At the end of second paragraph, he mentions that the report also stated that “Iranian officials had finally begun to answer a number of longstanding questions about its nuclear activities.”

But the IAEA, its report itself concludes, “has been able to continue to verify” that Iran isn’t diverting nuclear material from nuclear energy to weapons research. Though it can’t give Iran a clean bill of nuclear heath “before reaching some clarity about the nature of the alleged studies.” Full story »