**spoiler alert** People often enter into sexual relationships without a clear idea of who they are as an individual and spend more energy creating a **spoiler alert** People often enter into sexual relationships without a clear idea of who they are as an individual and spend more energy creating a persona for their partner rather than allowing their partner to reveal themselves....more
An interesting thesis, no doubt. There is certainly a grande raison for the expression la petite morte, after all. The argument is emphatic and persisAn interesting thesis, no doubt. There is certainly a grande raison for the expression la petite morte, after all. The argument is emphatic and persistent and likely enough to infuriate anyone who has never had a crush or had to skip a Psych 101 due to sex.
The entire article is short enough to be read in two, maybe three, sittings; check the general page on this site for url to a free pdf. Also of interest are the biographical details of Spieltrein: she had a thing with Jung and died in the Holocaust. There were apparently at least three films with her as a character . . .
These disparate quotes resonated with me:
The closer we approach our conscious thoughts, the more differentiated our images; the deeper we penetrate the unconscious, the more universal and typical the images. The depth of our psyche knows no 'I' , but only its summation, the 'We'.
Chance determines if a predestined sexual experience is activated in the psyche or if merely the possibility of the experience persists in the psyche.
In every love, one must distinguish between two conceptual orientations: the first — how one loves; the second — how one is loved.
Naturally, the boundary is not so sharply drawn because every human is bisexual.
The procreative act per se leads to self-destruction.
The highest also contains the lowest.
In a psychological sense, both hate and turbulent love may induce equivalent actions. Hate is related to conscious opposition, to the activation of a negative love....more
Francine Prose (born in 1947 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American novelist. She graduated from Radcliffe College in 1968, and received a Guggenheim fFrancine Prose (born in 1947 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American novelist. She graduated from Radcliffe College in 1968, and received a Guggenheim fellowship in 1991....more
By Peter Hart | June 4, 2015 sw-ginsberg FacebookTwitterGoogle+Share
To hear many students and colleagues TERMINATED FOR READING AN ALLEN GINSBERG POEM?
By Peter Hart | June 4, 2015 sw-ginsberg FacebookTwitterGoogle+Share
To hear many students and colleagues tell it, David Olio is a wonderful high school English teacher.
Not anymore.
In February two students complained about an Allen Ginsberg poem that, at the request of a fellow student, was shared in Olio's AP English class at South Windsor High School in Connecticut. A media uproar followed, and Olio was essentially forced to resign.
Most of the facts do not appear to be in dispute – and are more nuanced than the 'students forced to read shocking homoerotic poem' media narrative. The overriding question is whether a celebrated teacher with nearly two decades of experience should be forced from the classroom for a single decision – even if one views that decision as a lapse in judgment.
During a class discussion of gratuitous language, a student raised questions about the Ginsberg poem, "Please Master." The piece was undoubtedly relevant to the discussion; it is also an exceptionally graphic account of a sexual encounter between two men.
So it is not shocking that the story quickly became fodder for local media. "South Windsor Teacher Reads Graphic Poem About Gay Sex to Classroom" read one headline, with the story saying students were "subjected" to the poem. A TV newscast warned viewers the piece was "too graphic to detail in almost any part," and bizarrely noted that the local police were not involved in the investigation.
School officials reacted swiftly: Olio was suspended immediately while the board started its investigation. Scores of current and former students and co-workers spoke up in his defense, but in April he bowed to pressure to resign.
It would take weeks for more thoughtful articles to appear. In Slate, Mark Joseph Stern wrote that while "Please Master" is "discomfiting and profane, an explicit account of a fantasized sexual encounter," one should bear in mind the audience, and the literary meaning of the piece:
This isn't kid stuff. But these weren't kids; they were 17- and 18-year-olds less than a year from college. And as graphic as “Please Master” is, it’s certainly not obscene or lacking in artistic merit.
He added that the poem "is not a dirty work—it is a dangerous one: Dangerous because it dares to find beauty in sodomy; dangerous because it juxtaposes tenderness with masochism; dangerous because it rapturously celebrates a vision of same-sex intimacy we are only supposed to whisper about."
A piece in the Daily Beast teased out some of the broader implications for public education, arguing that some see it as emblematic of "a changing culture around education, one in which teachers are on a hair trigger vulnerable to losing their livelihoods."
One of Olio's former colleagues, science teacher Clyde Selner – who described the poem as "a repulsive ode to sodomy" – argued that Olio "is one of the best teachers I ever worked with. He is committed to the school community and as an educator personified South Windsor High School's mission, vision and expectations statements."
Or consider the account from a parent at the school, who described the school board meeting to discuss the Olio case as watching "person after person, including present students, speak about how inspirational Mr. Olio is as a teacher."
The parent added:
I feel sorry for the future students who will miss the opportunity to be inspired by Mr. Olio. I also feel sorry for the remaining teachers who will undoubtedly feel like they need to censor themselves, even at the collegiate class level, in light of the one strike and you’re out policy we appear to have adopted.
That would appear to be the most dangerous lesson that might be learned from the Olio saga. ...more
Double narrative of Berlioz's Faust + primeval taboo love incest. Because thematic overtones are apparently sufficient for melding two half-stories toDouble narrative of Berlioz's Faust + primeval taboo love incest. Because thematic overtones are apparently sufficient for melding two half-stories together.
Some interesting comments on music (playing vs composition vs conducting vs recording) and sex (having and not having) in pretty/purple prose. The sort of book which bedevils one with boredom for a page or two and then floors the reader with an out of sight insight. Kind of like life, I guess....more
Aping the style of Bertrand Russell's History of Westerrn Philosophy, Shaffer skewers various pillars of philosophy who chose to use their own petardAping the style of Bertrand Russell's History of Westerrn Philosophy, Shaffer skewers various pillars of philosophy who chose to use their own petard to hoist the canopy of their bed. It's a fun romp across the white patriarchy that comprises "Western Thought". Noted cold fish David Hume sums it up best by noting the general male culpability: If we [human persons with the penis and testicle attachment] did not abuse our authority [over women], they would never think it worthwhile to dispute it.
Shaffer's results are at best mixed. Whatever fault that may be to his own personal efforts are forgivable on the basis of his sexy author portrait, which regrettably is restricted to his torso. Still, the alluring wave of his hair and the come hither look of his pout are satisfying.
For obvious reasons of libel, the inclusion of "contemporary" philosophers does not include the living. This may reinforce the supposition that philosophy is an endeavor solely for the dead.
The section on Ayn Rand is most amusing, and emblematic of Shaffer's ability to both celebrate and ridicule these great thinkers. Unfortunately, the philosoph ( Nathaniel Branden) with whom Rand cheated on her husband is absent from this collection although although both de Beauvoir and Sartre have their own entries.
Unfortunately, Shaffer commits the fallacy of interpretation with regard to his reading of Plato, conflating the words of the master's characters with the man himself. This reader holds forth that Plato experimented with literary form for a very good reason.
Overall, a glib little book that goes well on your one nightstand....more
Inherently subjective fun provoked from the manifolds of objective (hyper)reality.
Whether this book is a sober work of immaturity or a mature output Inherently subjective fun provoked from the manifolds of objective (hyper)reality.
Whether this book is a sober work of immaturity or a mature output of intoxication is as irrelevant as the concept of a target audience". Basilières deftly pokes fun at Canada, internet, porn, time, AI, sex, money, "free will" and other sundry topics such as CONTROL/anarchy/quantum shit. The parts that are good are great while the parts that are not are easily skimmed over.
There are footnotes. There is a confusing nested-narration thing which allows the telling to jump time, which is confusing given that this is a story about time-travel. There's this one page which lays out the relationship between Time and Motion and Gravity in a really clear, overly-simplified way that is worthwhile for the sake of Thought.
I'm not rating this in the GoodReads star system because I don't really understand how that stuff works. My copy was given to me as a courtesy by the publisher, who recognized the sheer winning luck of my entry in the FirstReads pogrom.
Overall a positive use of cognitive effort/time-expenditure though not at all something to be read All At Once as you kind of have to be In The Mood for something silly. And the cover art is rather apt to boot....more
The contours of memoir and fiction continue to overlap. It is sad to see how Waters has allowed himself to become watered down in his old age, all forThe contours of memoir and fiction continue to overlap. It is sad to see how Waters has allowed himself to become watered down in his old age, all for the sake of being bi-coastal. I pretty much stopped giving a shit about what John Waters had to say after hearing him defend the party line on 9/11. He's become the quintessential example of how the establishment co-ops the counterculture, all for the sake of commerce.
This book would have been a lot more exciting with less obscure film allusions such as "X from movie Z in scene Y" an Odorama card. And poppers—if the book came with a package of poppers personally endorsed by John Waters, than I would have paid my hard-earned dollars for it, instead of checking it out of the library.
Also, what the fuck is up with taking I-70 the whole way? ...more
If you ever meet someone who tells you that they don't understand poetry or people or New York or desire, hand them a copy of this.If you ever meet someone who tells you that they don't understand poetry or people or New York or desire, hand them a copy of this....more
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