...it occurs to me that perhaps what I really need is an abundance of silly, non-intellectual fun.
Friday, December 15, 2006
Book List
So, it's that time of year when everyone is thinking obsessively about what to get me for Christmas. I love surprises best of all, and I don't want to stifle creativity, but I have a bunch of books I've been looking at/hearing about/writing down randomly in my notebook during class when they are mentioned, and I figured I would share. Anyway, it will be helpful to me to have them all in one place instead of scattered through various notebooks and scraps of paper. This list will probably grow, so check often. And maybe it will be a wish list, too. Would that be more fun, or just confusing? We'll see how I feel when I'm writing it two seconds from now.
1. Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness by Simon Wiesanthal. So excited about this one! It's based on the true experience of a Holocaust survivor who encountered an SS officer on his deathbed, whose dying wish was to speak to someone who had survived the Holocaust and seek forgiveness for his crimes.
2. Severance by Robert Olen Butler. Ok, this one is weird given my intense dislike of the whole decapitation thing, but it's intriguing... it's a collection of mini-stories, each with exactly however many words correspond to the number of seconds the brain apparently retains consciousness after decapitation (200 something I think), each from the POV of some decaptitated person across human history.
3. Fallen by David Maine. Family saga: Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel.
4. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. Been meaning to read this one for years, never quite do.
5. Love by Toni Morrison. See #4, also it's the only book of hers I haven't read.
6. Vested Interests: Cross-Dressing and Cultural Anxiety by Marjorie Garber. Because eventually, the library will make me return it.
7. The End of Memory: Remembering Rightly in a Violent World by Miroslav Wolf. Or Volf, my writing there is iffy.
8. On Photography and Regarding the Pain of Others by Susan Sontag. She's totally intriguing, though I understand if this is not the sort of title you look for in a Christmas present.
9. Angels in America by Tony Kushner, but what I want is the movie/miniseries, not the book. Because I just love Angels in America, and I never get to see anything but the first part over and over and over again.
There are more, I think, but this is getting dull, and I'm kind of assuming that buying me theory is not what most people have in mind. Nonetheless, it's good to have them written down some place. Perhaps I'll add later.
1. Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness by Simon Wiesanthal. So excited about this one! It's based on the true experience of a Holocaust survivor who encountered an SS officer on his deathbed, whose dying wish was to speak to someone who had survived the Holocaust and seek forgiveness for his crimes.
2. Severance by Robert Olen Butler. Ok, this one is weird given my intense dislike of the whole decapitation thing, but it's intriguing... it's a collection of mini-stories, each with exactly however many words correspond to the number of seconds the brain apparently retains consciousness after decapitation (200 something I think), each from the POV of some decaptitated person across human history.
3. Fallen by David Maine. Family saga: Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel.
4. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. Been meaning to read this one for years, never quite do.
5. Love by Toni Morrison. See #4, also it's the only book of hers I haven't read.
6. Vested Interests: Cross-Dressing and Cultural Anxiety by Marjorie Garber. Because eventually, the library will make me return it.
7. The End of Memory: Remembering Rightly in a Violent World by Miroslav Wolf. Or Volf, my writing there is iffy.
8. On Photography and Regarding the Pain of Others by Susan Sontag. She's totally intriguing, though I understand if this is not the sort of title you look for in a Christmas present.
9. Angels in America by Tony Kushner, but what I want is the movie/miniseries, not the book. Because I just love Angels in America, and I never get to see anything but the first part over and over and over again.
There are more, I think, but this is getting dull, and I'm kind of assuming that buying me theory is not what most people have in mind. Nonetheless, it's good to have them written down some place. Perhaps I'll add later.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
It's Going Around!
| Describe yourself using one band and song titles from that band | |
| Choose a band/artist and answer only in song TITLES by that band:: | Billy Joel |
| Are you male or female:: | She's Always a Woman |
| Describe yourself:: | Keeping the Faith |
| How do some people feel about you:: | You May Be Right |
| How do you feel about yourself:: | A Matter of Trust |
| Describe your ex girlfriend/boyfriend:: | Shades of Gray |
| Describe your current girlfriend/boyfriend:: | New York State of Mind |
| Describe where you want to be:: | The Great Wall of China |
| Describe what you want to be:: | An Innocent Man |
| Describe how you live:: | The River of Dreams |
| Describe how you love:: | All About Soul |
| Share a few words of wisdom: | Only the Good Die Young |
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Dropping from the Eaves
So, you have to imagine that you are walking across Harvard's campus to Lamont, the big undergraduate library. It's a beautiful night, almost-black sky studded with clouds, a big gibbous moon... and then you hear a man speaking on his cell phone, in a perfect English accent, and a very agitated tone of voice.
"Caroline! I live two blocks away! His house is right next to mine!"
Pause.
"Well, I'm frightened for him!"
Pause.
"Because he seems to have gone stark raving mad!"
Pause.
"You said he attacked you, shoving you about and all that..."
Pause. He lowers his voice.
"Well, I'm not going to talk about it here."
Sadly, he is telling the truth. But I think you will see that this is nonetheless a singular experience.
"Caroline! I live two blocks away! His house is right next to mine!"
Pause.
"Well, I'm frightened for him!"
Pause.
"Because he seems to have gone stark raving mad!"
Pause.
"You said he attacked you, shoving you about and all that..."
Pause. He lowers his voice.
"Well, I'm not going to talk about it here."
Sadly, he is telling the truth. But I think you will see that this is nonetheless a singular experience.
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