Sunday, August 31, 2008

Tuscan Sun

I do not know why I like Under The Tuscan Sun. It isn't by any means extraordinary, but I feel compelled to watch it when it comes on the tele. It is even a lifetime movie for gosh sake. I can't stand Sandra Oh, it is a bit of a characterature, the acting isn't great, direction either.

Regardless of these less attractive facts, I still enjoy it. The idea of fate is nice, in some ways. Derrida always talked around this point, that we are fated...but we never know it because we never make our own decisions. Good point to some extent, difficult to, eh prove. But to the movie, the idea that one can just escape it all, that if you bury yourself, you might end up covered by the lady bugs for which you were previous looking. That is attractive, at least to me. I also liked the colours, the Felini references and the architecture/ landscape.

The message is still most striking. Life is tough we can get too drawn into it to the point we forget what we want or even worse we think we know exactly what we want. Take Vicky Cristina Barcelona as an example. Life has the ability to be finicky and at the same time beckons for a plan. How to mediate between the two? Can there be a medium, is there one? Assuming that a question presupposes its answer, then there is an answer, but I do not have it. Maybe it is hiding in plain sight.

I made the comment that the french have a unique way of taking a step back and seeing things for what they are. You see it in philosophy, poetry, literature. This is not to say it is completely a gift of the french, but rather they exemplify it. When I made the comment, a rather overweighted clemson trademark clad lad said "that what makes them so weird and backward." I not knowing what he exactly meant by the comment, prod further..."oh so you read rimbaud andBaudelaire, you find them odd...how about voltaire's wit...second to whom ayn rand? How about Maupassant and Moliere?" The response returned was "voltaire was weird." Sometimes responses are not even deserved.

But the essense of that little paragraph was to say that it isn't easy and far from common to step back, take a breath and view. Sometimes people get too worried about living---that they don't.

What kind of fuckery is this?

Funny dream about who the title refers. I was at work and doing something and went into the office and Amy Winehouse walks by me. I turn to the person next to me and say, oh my thats Amy Winehouse.

She walked back and I got my picture with her and started to talk to her. I was expecting her to be really coked out, but she wasn't. She was quite intelligible and nice.

Odd.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

The Morrissey Effect

It creates a real problem after you have taken a class taught by Dr. Morrissey. Why? Take several of his classes and find out.

Now, I will tell you why...making the assumption that you didn't take my advice.

Part of it is his style. "What'd ya think?" Perfect in the simple elegance. Everyone always jumps to pathos...why...because it is easy. I felt this, I thought that, I didn't like the tone...etc. He writes it up on the board. You soon realise how silly such comments are. You make a stupid comment, an illogical statement--he will take you down to Chinatown if you know what I mean. Every comment made must be thought out and intelligent, otherwise it get destroyed by intellect.

The cultural references, the jokes, the sly comments, the quick references. Just brilliance. He is confrontational, but above all brilliant.

Meeting with him was like two lions eying each other for the pride. Each word spoken had an academic spearhead, and each time there was a retort and counter. It was amazing. You do not often get that.

Confrontational, brilliant, multitude of references, everything meaningful, beautiful discussion, class collective experience.

The issue is when you go into another class.

The vocabulary of the amazing readings is gone (Lacan, Derrida, Milton, Foucault, Badiou, Ranciere, Zizek, etc). You can't talk about it. Most teachers aren't as smart or well read, but if they are they don't throw it at ya and exude it like Morrissey.

The students also become bothersome. Speaking on romantic poetry, reading a critical work on it actually...fun, a fellow asks what the purpose of language is. Well that isn't a huge question, is it? I toss out language games of Wittgenstien, but no one knows what I am talking about. I toss in generative grammar when a fellow asks why/ how people communicate. I also explain the Lacanian topic of the autre, how we must speak in the language of the other for understanding, how we never speak in our own language, but that is not understood. I toss out the idea of play and Derrida's ideas of multiplicity. I chastise for phonocentrism of one guy...but oh no, none of it sinks in, most sad.

Then a girl says, well we all have different opinions. Exactly..that is romanticism, I experience things differently. We embody it. It is a reading, it is the current mode of reading/ production....we value our individuality. And of course we get the obligatory religion question...bleh.

I talk to the prof after class....Hartman was discussing the Mirror Stage wasn't he? Why yes, why didn't you bring that up in class. I got the feeling no one would have no what I was talking about. Hmm, yeah you're right, well some how bring it up next class. If man is full of infinite possibilities then it will take him enterity to fully know himself. That was the idea. The separation of the self...the self conscious and the subconscious...hmmm. No one reads freud or lacan anymore it seems.

What can you do?

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

continued

understanding terror networks---a m ust read for anyone who thinks they know anything about terrorist...they are smart, middle class, educated people who found Islam (their version) later in life...except for the maghreb...strong family connections, strong friend networks, families....very interesting. They also don't seem to be delusional...creates a very interesting dilemma to say the least...it isnt the disenfranchised shia in Lebanon anymore....

Steve Coll gets some of his facts wrong

I think Zizek said that the issue with physcoanalysist or the modern society is that we use our terms on ourselves...the skinheads talk about built up latent hostility, the fluxuating social class positions..etc...all this self diagnosis...they tern the terms against the people who invented and use them...so the same goes with Al Quaeda...it is fascinating that bin laden and zawahirii can talk about america becoming too greedy and the government closing down on free speech and such....