Thursday, July 18, 2013

Fearful in the Disguise of Self-Assurance



The first guy I gave a POTUS vote to. On the previous. The drone that killed his grandchild. Today in motherfucking Obama. The decline in honesty. Vandalism, assault, blocking traffic, equally bad in the eyes of the law. OK, I've been trolled: idiots who think a Rolling Stone magazine cover will create more homegrown terrorists than the actions of the empire, idiots who defend capitalism bemoaning Rolling Stone for trolling for more readers. UPDATE! on the previous. Forensic topology via Greyhoos. I've never seen Game of Thrones, have neither inclination nor objection to perhaps seeing it one day, link posted solely because I was told yesterday that Emma Peel is in the show. You'll see more of the young Emma here on Saturday, a high holy day. Bicycles a proxy in culture wars? Seven ways utensils change the taste of food. Towne Crest! Check out digg.com, excellent so far. Original plagiarism. Eleven Stephen Dixon eBooks. I confess he's never worked for me, about to make my umpteenth every other year attempt. Knausgaard, for those of you who do. Niedecker, for those of you who do. Dogs and vision. The rise of the fragmented novel? Return of the silly season. The Milosz I sent a friend came back as undeliverable, I've her new address, will send soon, but first, for a few days, more Milosz typed out here. Prunella says stuff then provides a Sunny Day Real Estate cascade. You'll never beat dogs. Holyfuck, film production of Xenakis' Mycenes. Yes, I know I'm always posting Xenakis.






INITIATION

Czeslaw Milosz

Vanity and gluttony were always her sins
And I fell in love with her in the phase of life
When our scornful reason is the judge of others.

Then I went through a sudden initiation.
Not only did our skins like each other, tenderly,
And our genitals fit once and for all,
But her sleep at arm's length exerted its power
And her childhood in a city she visited dreaming.

Whatever was naive and shy in her
Or fearful in the disguise of self-assurance
Moved me, so that - we were so alike -
In an instant, not judging anymore,
I saw two sins of mine: vanity, gluttony.



10 comments:

  1. What's funny about the "bike wars" and this is probably due to where I live, is that most of the animus I see in the urban areas comes from the bike people who get really obnoxious and smug about their preferred mode of transportation and have a hissy fit any time you say something negative about one of their own.

    Like suggesting that maybe riding your bike on a main road while listening to your headphones is stupid, or that critical mass isn't a good way to express sharing the road because you're making life hard for a lot of other people to make a point. That's a flame war waiting to happen with OH MY GOD WE'RE SO DISENFRANCHISED whining going on.

    Also, almost none of these people have kids, and complain about neighborhoods with too many families and kids because there's not enough hipsters around.

    Bloomberg's also a hero according to these folks I know, because evidently bike lanes are SO awesome that it doesn't matter if brown people are getting stopped and frisked and spied on. Oh, and because Obama "loves cities," it's totally not as big a deal that we're droning the hell out of the rest of the world. I've literally had these conversations verbatim and it makes my head explode.

    So sometimes it seems like they're cool with fascism as long as there are bike lanes, so I guess that's where the wingnuts extrapolate from?

    Does this make me sound like a crank? It bums me out because I like bike riding (it's how I got around for years before getting my license at 23), but I've had some near misses too and ended up on someone's windshield once, and it's very hard as a skinny single lady in a town with mediocre public transit to get anywhere without a car and still have a social life.

    and I hate that's become something so politicized. And I hate when these goofballs call me to be their designated driver while complaining about how awful cars and people who own them are. I guess I do have animus, not towards people who ride as a way to get around, but the people who've turned it into a cult?

    (end rant)

    ReplyDelete
  2. "Equally bad in the eyes of the law"? Where the fuck does that math come from? It's a fucking PI tweet asking people to protest peacefully. The acts aren't equal in the eyes of the law, they're equal in the context of a peaceful protest. Not to defend the LAPD that brought us Rodney King, that gang squad bullshit, and uncountable other embarrassments, but WTF? You want the protests to be ugly? You're fifteen and fuck the pigs, man? Does your thought process intercede between your creative spark and your fingers, beloved?

    Prunella: who cares if you sound like a crank? I say sound like a crank proudly.

    As to the meat, like many flipside cranks, I have a problem with cyclists who don't follow traffic laws. Dart in and out of lanes, pass me illegally while I'm stopped (and that's the ONE time I've actually had an incident--a cyclist misjudged theh amount of space between me and a construction fence on Pennsylvania Avenue, and did a double Knievel flip from my rear quarter all the way over my hood, while I was stopped--fortunately, she was okay), blow a stop sign or light? You're mine. Follow the rules, and all is harmony at the Festival.

    OTOH, an acquaintance's cycling wife got pancaked by a garbage truck under unclear circumstances some time back. That's not right by any lights.

    That said...you speak well. Those who don't follow the rules are likely either bike messengers or people who've turned it into a cult. Or maybe I'm a crank and damned proud of it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yes, Diana Rigg plays an absolutely wonderful character in GoT. First time she came on (Season 3, I believe) she stole the scene and, in fact, the whole show. Now, what's even better, in the show she has a grand-daughter who is currently slated to be Queen. The g-d and Rigg are schemers and clearly have some mischief in mind. The g-d, and this is the best part, is pretty much a dead ringer for the young Rigg; the casting director picked a fabulously beautiful girl to play the g-d and to look at her you'd think you're looking at Emma Peel in, of course, sword and sorcery garb. Name of Natalie Dormer. Google her. You'll agree.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, she sorta does. Emma was my first crush and will always be my favorite crush. Those black-and-white episodes especially.

      I see GoT is on HBO which explains in part why I'd never seen it. We don't subscribe to HBO or Showtime or any other paid extra except for Fox Soccer and BeIn soccer. I expect it's available elsewhere by now. I'll either see it someday or not.

      Delete
  4. Did I mention I'm a big fan (fool) of GoT? My kids could talk about nothing else at family gatherings. Felt I'd better catch up if I wanted to, you know, 'relate'. Favorite family hour of the week, now, when it's on. Texts flying thoughout and at least the next day.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Speaking of gluttony? Can I please have the Pynchon too when you send the Milosz again if it's not spoken for...? Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alas, already shipped elsewhere.....

      Have fun in Alaska!

      Delete
    2. That's cool. Spread the BDR love.

      Yeah, should be a fun trip. Here's my travel guide: http://larvalsubjects.wordpress.com/2009/09/21/promiscuous-ontology/

      Delete
  6. What was the Knausgaard link supposed to be?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fuck, sorry, a review of Book 2. I'll look for it tonight, I think it was somebody in one of the three blogrolls on left side most likely to have it. Been a while since I did that.

      Delete