Notes on Lolita (2)

Posted on by under Art/Literature

Girl on Film: Kubrick’s Lolita versus Lyne’s

This is the second in my ongoing series of posts on Nabokov’s Lolita, which I’m “teaching” over a twelve-week “class” that started yesterday. The first installment in the series is here.

There’s a lot to be learned about a novel from seeing it in media other than the accustomed one, for instance, reading it in translation or watching a movie adaptation. A novel by design leaves a great deal to the imagination, and it’s always interesting to see how someone else has imagined it, particularly when that someone has to imagine it down to the details.

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Salad Days with Sean Wilentz

Posted on by under princeton, Princeton University, slices of life

I’d just walked out the door of Alfalfa after enjoying a nice salad there when I unexpectedly confronted a pair of “piercing blue eyes.” It was Sean Wilentz, the subject of a recent post here. He gave me what seemed a look of disdain, then hustled down Nassau, too swift to catch except at the risk of my coming across as a stalker.

So many questions. “How come you never acknowledged my post, Professor Wilentz? And what do you think about salads? Tacos are one thing, but can we live on salads?”

ICE-Free Princeton Redux

Posted on by under activism, migrant defense, princeton

The Missing Piece of the Story
I was happy to see some modest coverage of Princeton’s having passed an ICE-Free resolution: the story was covered by The Daily Princetonian and Princeton Patch. But I have a bone to pick with both of these articles. In both cases, the passage of the resolution is described as though the initiative for it began with the Council. That’s not true. It began because I privately raised the issue back in June; the Mayor and Council agreed to pursue it, and kept me apprised of their progress. I then raised it publicly in August, and the resolution passed near the end of September.

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Democracy in America

Posted on by under Electoral Ethics and Politics, West Orange

A friend calls to tell me that he “helped” his elderly mother vote in the West Orange election—meaning, they filled the ballot out “together,” whatever that means. Knowing none of the candidates and nothing about the election, he called me at 9:30 pm last night asking for advice, but alas, I failed to answer (some would call it “bad faith”; I call it “commuting”). Left to their own devices, “they” ended up voting randomly for “a bearded man” (Krakoviak) and “a woman” (Bennett). 😂

Where is Tocqueville when you need him?

Micaela Bennett on Justin Goldsman

Posted on by under activism, Electoral Ethics and Politics, West Orange

In a post I wrote here on September 24, I posed a question for all seven mayoral candidates and five of the six candidates for Town Council in West Orange, New Jersey. Would they regard it as disqualifying for a candidate for office to say, “We are humans, not Jews”? (Council candidate Justin Goldsman had actually said, “We are human not Muslim,” but I re-phrased the question for present purposes.) I requested a yes/no answer, on the record, before Election Day. Two candidates for Town Council gave answers, then withdrew them.

A third, Micaela Bennett, answered last night (the 28th). I posted her response on the evening of the 29th, but now (the 30th), in a private email to me, Bennett objects to the title of the post, which she finds “misleading,” and follows with other accusations of “bad faith,” blah blah blah.

OK. Fine by me. I’ve deleted her response. I didn’t think it answered my question anyway. Next?

Princeton Is an ICE-Free Zone

Posted on by under activism, migrant defense, princeton

I’d intended to read a statement at Princeton Municipal Council tonight, underscoring the urgency of the need for an ICE-Free Zone in Princeton, but it turned out to be unnecessary. (An ICE-Free Zone is one which restricts the federal government’s use of municipal property for purposes of immigration enforcement when ICE lacks a judicial warrant; it’s not literally a zone that ICE can never enter.) Around 9 am, I got a voicemail from Councilwoman Mia Sacks telling me that a resolution was on the agenda, and up for vote. Resolution R-26-299 passed unanimously around 9 pm tonight. I’m grateful to the Mayor and Council for their efforts.

Rev Erich Kussman of St Bartholomew’s Lutheran Church, Trenton, leading the Peoples’ Prayer Vigil at Delaney Hall, Newark, June 2026

Jackie Hendy on Justin Goldsman

Posted on by under activism, cancel culture, Electoral Ethics and Politics, West Orange

I previously had posted a response from Jackie Hendy responding to my earlier question about Justin Goldsman. I had asked the candidates whether they would regard it disqualifying for a candidate for office to say “We are humans, not Jews.” I explicitly asked for a response on the record. She’s now asked me to remove her comment. I’ve done so, but I regard her request as an act of cowardice, and accede to it only because the request itself negates the earlier statement.

Ms Hendy regards herself (as conveyed through a third party) as “coerced” into a “type of politics that she (and we) have no desire to engage in.” No one has “coerced” her. The “type of politics” involved requires a certain degree of integrity. I don’t dispute that she has no desire to engage in it. She’s made that abundantly clear.

Matt Dvorin on Justin Goldsman

Posted on by under activism, cancel culture, Electoral Ethics and Politics, West Orange

I previously had posted a response from Matt Dvorin responding to my earlier question about Justin Goldsman. I asked the candidates whether they would regard it disqualifying for a candidate for office to say “We are humans, not Jews.” I explicitly asked for a response on the record. He’s now asked me to remove his comment. I’ve done so, but I regard his request as an act of cowardice, and accede to it only because the request itself negates the earlier statement.

Why We’re Surrounded by Assholes

Posted on by under activism, princeton, Princeton University, West Orange, Electoral Ethics and Politics

What Dale Caldwell Has in Common with Justin Goldsman and Mikie Sherrill
West Orange Patch has a headline this morning, “Around West Orange: Political Scandal.” The headline suggests that a scandal has taken place in West Orange. Has it? No, the scandal Patch has in mind is the recent resignation from office of New Jersey Lieutenant Governor Dale Caldwell. Caldwell lives and works in New Brunswick. He answered to Governor Mikie Sherrill, who lives in Princeton and works in Trenton. It’s not clear exactly where the malfeasances alleged against him took place, but it’s clear that none took place in West Orange.

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ICE-Free Zone for Princeton (2)

Posted on by under activism, migrant defense, princeton

Statement to Princeton Municipal Council
400 Witherspoon St
September 28, 2026, 7 pm

As I know you’re aware, over the summer I made the case to the Mayor and Council for an ICE-Free Zone for Princeton, meaning a resolution or ordinance restricting the use of township property by federal immigration authorities. I appreciate the receptivity of the Mayor and Council to that proposal, and the work they’ve already put into it. But I wanted to highlight the urgency of the issue. 

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