what does a novel do?

----------------------------- [excerpt from Aspects Of The Novel, by E.M. Forster - Copyright 1927, Harcourt] ----------------------- We shall all agree that the fundamental aspect of the novel is its story-telling aspect, but we shall voice our assent in different tones, and it is on the precise tone of voice we employ now that our subsequent conclusions will depend.

        ...If you ask one type of man, "What does a novel do?" he will reply placidly:  "Well - I don't know - it seems a funny sort of question to ask - a novel's a novel - well, I don't know - I suppose it kind of tells a story, so to speak."  

He is quite good-tempered and vague, and probably driving a motor-bus at the same time and paying no more attention to literature than it merits.  

Another man, whom I visualize as on a golf-course, will be aggressive and brisk.  He will reply:  "What does a novel do?  Why, tell a story of course, and I've no use for it if it didn't.  I like a story.  Very bad taste on my part, no doubt, but I like a story.  

You can take your art, you can take your literature, you can take your music, but give me a good story.  And I like a story to be a story, mind, and my wife's the same."

Rook's Nest House - childhood home of E.M. Forster

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Texas 1993

A movie called Nobody Dumps My Daughter is on Netflix.

It's good.

Very good acting.

        The one character in it:  like, "Portrait of a Psycho" could be an alternative title!...

It's based on a true story that happened in the early 1990s.

At the beginning of the movie, it says on the screen, "McAllen, Texas."

But in real life the situation occurred in Brownsville.

"Elizabeth Street in Brownsville, Texas"

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"the details are not the details"

Thinking about interior decorating - or "space design" as some of the professionals call it - I looked for pictures.  The photo just above is film director Martin Scorsese (Taxi Driver; The Last Waltz) as a child, with his parents.  That home they're in is either in Flushing, Queens, or the Little Italy neighborhood in Manhattan, one or the other.

That top picture I found says, "8 Interior Design Rules."

        Rules.

        Rules - ?

        ...

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knowledge; equanimity

 On yesterday's subject of requiring college degrees for people to get hired for police forces:  I have one suggestion and then a question.

Suggestion:  instead of a two-year associate's degree, it should be four years for a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science, in a real subject:  English, History, Math, Science, Theater, or Art.

Question:  In that article, it says Wisconsin and Minnesota are requiring some college, as well as Chicago and NYC.  Well - Chicago and New York City are cities; Minnesota and Wisconsin are states.  

        So who makes these laws, setting these standards? - cities, or states? ... Apparently this varies.  No consistent standard.

Should we be so casual, and lax, and haphazard with our standards for who can become a policeman and carry - hello??! - a gun...???

        I mean, can people go out and get a one-year associate's degree in Garbage-Collecting and then say they are a doctor and start doing surgery...?  Can you earn a certificate for completing tap-dancing class and then say you are a lawyer and start prosecuting and defending, willy nilly...?  I mean, come on....

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the "SOD defense"

 A retired policeman, speaking in a video on You Tube, told his listeners what the "SOD defense" is - sod stands for "some other dude."  Some other dude did it, not the defendant.

I never heard of that, before.

------------------------------------------------

news article

Massachusetts

Should Mass. police officers need a college degree?  Proposal would up requirement

By Eli Rosenberg

Published May 28, 2026

There's a push in the Commonwealth to increase the bar for what it takes to become a police officer.

"We desperately need to elevate policing," said Dennis Galvin, a retired state police officer and president of the Massachusetts Association for Professional Law Enforcement (MAPLE).

MAPLE is pushing a law that would require anyone wanting to be a police officer here to complete 60 college semester credits - the equivalent of an associate's degree.

As it stands now, recruits must have a GED or high school diploma.

MAPLE doesn't think this new requirement will hurt recruiting.

"There is a lot of concern that we are not recruiting or we can't find candidates, well, if you go and take a two-year degree at a junior college which costs you nothing you should be eligible for employment," Galvin said.

The idea is gaining steam.  Wisconsin has a college credit requirement for police recruits, as does Minnesota.  Same with the Chicago Police Department.  And the NYPD in New York City requires 24 hours of college semester credits.

Experts who study this say there are definitely some advantages.

"I like the idea, I know it sounds a little self serving having an academic say that, but I think it is a good idea," said Chris Harris, a professor at UMass Lowell.

In recent years, Massachusetts has dealt with several high profile police issues, including the Karen Read trial.

"There is some research, although not a lot, that seems to suggest that college-educated officers seem to perform better, they tend to get fewer citizen complaints, they tend to use less force," Harris said.

MAPLE says it has heard mixed reactions so far.  Right now, this is a Senate bill, so there's a lot to track as it makes its way through Beacon Hill.

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always busy

 I was looking for more information about Sol Saks, because the Wikipedia entry was pretty skimpy.

        The Los Angeles Times article that came out when he died in 2011 had more background and interesting details.

        Sol Saks wrote the pilot script for the TV series Bewitched (1964 - 1972).

        Born in New York City.

        Died in Sherman Oaks, California at the age of 100.

--------------------- [excerpt from L.A. Times article] ------------ Saks was a long time member of Theatre West, the nonprofit arts organization in Hollywood.

"Sol was the elder statesman of the group, an amazing man," said Stu Berg, who directed several of Saks' plays at the theater, including "A Dream of Butterflies," in 2003.

        "One of the interesting things about him was the incredible amount of energy he had and how sharp he was well into his 90s," said Berg.  "He was working on new things and sharpening up some things he had previously worked on.  He was always busy.  He was kind of an inspiration to all of us."

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"...don't come back up here"

         At the end of that Deliverance scene from yesterday, the tourist who was playing the song with the local kid, Drew, is kind of high with delight over the spontaneous musical collaboration they just did - he's so happy in the moment, he says, "I could play all day with that guy!" - And he holds out his right hand, enthusiastically, to shake hands with the boy - who keeps both his hands on the instrument and swiftly turns his face away - looks off to the side.

It isn't as dramatic or horrifying as some other scenes in the movie, but to me it's a significant, mystifying, predictive moment.

        Critics say the movie is about ecology and the environment - the need to preserve and protect the environment instead of wrecking it.

        1973 Academy Awards:  this movie had three nominations, Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Film Editing.  It did not win.

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