Impredicative Junkyard
Friday, February 27, 2004
"Well, now, it could be crap art. I've avoided seeing Mel Gibson movies ever since I had the misfortune of being locked up with one on an airplane.
The fact that Mel *deeply believes* something and *feels passionate* about it not only brightens the little red Mel-light for me, but blows its fuse." © Google
The fact that Mel *deeply believes* something and *feels passionate* about it not only brightens the little red Mel-light for me, but blows its fuse." © Google
French media have reported widely on the film's U.S. premiere and strongly criticized its violent images.
Gibson's ``Passion seems to be based on an apocryphal Gospel according to the Saint Marquis de Sade,'' the daily Liberation wrote. ``His faith is the Shi'ite version of Christianity, his religion soaked in blood and pain.''
``That's not what the film's about,'' he said. ``It's about tolerance.''
Mel Gibson
In his opening monologue [on NBC's ``The Tonight Show''], Leno joked that the movie, which cost Gibson $30 million to make, was doing so well that ``there's now talk of turning it into a book.'' :)
Gibson's ``Passion seems to be based on an apocryphal Gospel according to the Saint Marquis de Sade,'' the daily Liberation wrote. ``His faith is the Shi'ite version of Christianity, his religion soaked in blood and pain.''
``That's not what the film's about,'' he said. ``It's about tolerance.''
Mel Gibson
In his opening monologue [on NBC's ``The Tonight Show''], Leno joked that the movie, which cost Gibson $30 million to make, was doing so well that ``there's now talk of turning it into a book.'' :)
Tuesday, February 24, 2004
"Passion" dialog:
me:
>
> another afterthought: you say
>
> > we get to stop paying attention to anything else that's coming out of
>> his mouth.
>
> my point is - you can pay no attention, but he's *dangerous* - with all
> this money and Catholic fundamentalist message ... needs to be
> isolated. Contagious ...
joe:
2 points;
A) You say this is "contagious", yet you agree that this is only a symptom - to extend the pathological metaphor - of a social malaise that has been extant at least as far back as Titanic (I think farther back -
since Star Wars, which is pretty much the same kind of mythological pornography. Ditto Lord of the Rings) . This is at least a bit schizophrenic, to my mind.
B)Granting that you correctly identify the danger, what is the proper response to it? One of the things that totalitarian regimes have taught us is that ideologies are not amenable to extripation by mechanistic and rational technologies. Having a debate with or about this stuff won't help any because it's not a rational ideology. Neither will mechanistic forms of social control like isolation or negative reinforcement via labelling as "hate speech", because it's just as likely to entrench itself against the Satanic Unbeliever Forces marshalled against it.
The only proper response, to my mind, is mockery, satire, and sarcasm. This is why these bastards find irony so dangerous - it actually forces people to think, in order to separate what is "serious" from what is "ironic". Satire is a liminal form of engagement which at the same time expresses approval for new emanations of an epiphenomenon, i.e. more grist for the mill, and disapproval, i.e. laughter and mockery. You once quite correctly remarked that russian serf "styeb" was/is congruent with american negro spiritual and blues music. This is because it allows the slave to at least temporarily redress the power differential with the master.
Briefly, my point is this; all such phenomena are at least partially democratic; that is to say, gibson is able to make this movie because some people will take his money and work for him and others will sell
tickets to their friends in church. This is an example of democracy, a twisted example, but an example nonetheless. So was the election of Hitler and the Iranian revolution. The two solutions you have offered
thus far seem to me not to take this fact into account.
me:
>
> another afterthought: you say
>
> > we get to stop paying attention to anything else that's coming out of
>> his mouth.
>
> my point is - you can pay no attention, but he's *dangerous* - with all
> this money and Catholic fundamentalist message ... needs to be
> isolated. Contagious ...
joe:
2 points;
A) You say this is "contagious", yet you agree that this is only a symptom - to extend the pathological metaphor - of a social malaise that has been extant at least as far back as Titanic (I think farther back -
since Star Wars, which is pretty much the same kind of mythological pornography. Ditto Lord of the Rings) . This is at least a bit schizophrenic, to my mind.
B)Granting that you correctly identify the danger, what is the proper response to it? One of the things that totalitarian regimes have taught us is that ideologies are not amenable to extripation by mechanistic and rational technologies. Having a debate with or about this stuff won't help any because it's not a rational ideology. Neither will mechanistic forms of social control like isolation or negative reinforcement via labelling as "hate speech", because it's just as likely to entrench itself against the Satanic Unbeliever Forces marshalled against it.
The only proper response, to my mind, is mockery, satire, and sarcasm. This is why these bastards find irony so dangerous - it actually forces people to think, in order to separate what is "serious" from what is "ironic". Satire is a liminal form of engagement which at the same time expresses approval for new emanations of an epiphenomenon, i.e. more grist for the mill, and disapproval, i.e. laughter and mockery. You once quite correctly remarked that russian serf "styeb" was/is congruent with american negro spiritual and blues music. This is because it allows the slave to at least temporarily redress the power differential with the master.
Briefly, my point is this; all such phenomena are at least partially democratic; that is to say, gibson is able to make this movie because some people will take his money and work for him and others will sell
tickets to their friends in church. This is an example of democracy, a twisted example, but an example nonetheless. So was the election of Hitler and the Iranian revolution. The two solutions you have offered
thus far seem to me not to take this fact into account.
joe:
Long story short; when a guy says that his wife isn't going to heaven, we get to stop paying attention to anything else that's coming out of his mouth. Like my boss says, "okay, good, maybe she doesn't want
to spend eternity with this jackass".
Concurrent joke (s borodoy).
Two friends, one a pious and moderate man and another a degenerate lecher, both die on the same day and go to heaven. The pious man is given a clous, a harp, and a halo. The impious one is given all of these, but in addition he is chained to a beautiful woman. One day, the pious man gets up the nerve to ask a passing angel why the lecher was thus rewarded, to which the angel scronfully replies, "Foolish mortal, how dare you question this woman's punishment?"
joe:
This stuff is all just as silly as your repeated debates with Inna about who was worse - KGB or CIA. Kant had this one right. Deontological ethics may be questionable on a personal level, but as far as government goes they're the only way to go. As soon as one country does something that no governemnt should ever do (i.e. suborning elections) it loses the right to bitch about any other country doing it. That's what NGOs are for. The question "who did it first?" or "who did it more?" is immaterial and indicative of a thought process more appropriate in the kintergarden playground than in political debate.
Ditto for this business about comparing genocides. Rape, torture, and large-scale murder have been part of recorded history since the dawn of - well - recorded history. Putting the Holocaust in it's own conceptual pigeonhole does nothing to ameliorate that situation. The rallying cry of "never again!" has become a sad little mockery of itself both within and without the state of israel, as well as within and without the Jewish community. Holocaust as a historical phenomenon for the Jewish people is, and always will be, important. Holocaust as a separate category of historical event may well have outlived its usefulness before it came into being.
Long story short; when a guy says that his wife isn't going to heaven, we get to stop paying attention to anything else that's coming out of his mouth. Like my boss says, "okay, good, maybe she doesn't want
to spend eternity with this jackass".
Concurrent joke (s borodoy).
Two friends, one a pious and moderate man and another a degenerate lecher, both die on the same day and go to heaven. The pious man is given a clous, a harp, and a halo. The impious one is given all of these, but in addition he is chained to a beautiful woman. One day, the pious man gets up the nerve to ask a passing angel why the lecher was thus rewarded, to which the angel scronfully replies, "Foolish mortal, how dare you question this woman's punishment?"
joe:
This stuff is all just as silly as your repeated debates with Inna about who was worse - KGB or CIA. Kant had this one right. Deontological ethics may be questionable on a personal level, but as far as government goes they're the only way to go. As soon as one country does something that no governemnt should ever do (i.e. suborning elections) it loses the right to bitch about any other country doing it. That's what NGOs are for. The question "who did it first?" or "who did it more?" is immaterial and indicative of a thought process more appropriate in the kintergarden playground than in political debate.
Ditto for this business about comparing genocides. Rape, torture, and large-scale murder have been part of recorded history since the dawn of - well - recorded history. Putting the Holocaust in it's own conceptual pigeonhole does nothing to ameliorate that situation. The rallying cry of "never again!" has become a sad little mockery of itself both within and without the state of israel, as well as within and without the Jewish community. Holocaust as a historical phenomenon for the Jewish people is, and always will be, important. Holocaust as a separate category of historical event may well have outlived its usefulness before it came into being.
on amending Constitution to ban gay marriage, our Beloved Leader had this to say:
"The voice of the people must be heard," Mr. Bush said in a brief White House appearance.
"America's a free society which limits the role of government in the lives of our citizens," Mr. Bush said. "This commitment of freedom, however, does not require the redefinition of one of our most basic social institutions. Our government should respect every person and protect the institution of marriage."
"There is no contradiction between these responsibilities."
"The voice of the people must be heard," Mr. Bush said in a brief White House appearance.
"America's a free society which limits the role of government in the lives of our citizens," Mr. Bush said. "This commitment of freedom, however, does not require the redefinition of one of our most basic social institutions. Our government should respect every person and protect the institution of marriage."
"There is no contradiction between these responsibilities."
one more very good article on the same "Passion" movie by Gibson; mentiones this movie by Pasolini ...
Monday, February 23, 2004
Временно лежит 9-я симфония вот тут - и еще кое-какая музыка. Можно пользоваться, пока не убрал :)
Sunday, February 22, 2004
посмотрел "Husbands and Wives" ... Woody - единственный разумный человек в этой стране :) Кроме Хомского, конечно - они похожи, кстати, чисто внешне :) "Жалко, что я не девушка. Дал бы обоим. Бесплатно" :) © see O. Bender
- один и тот же еврейский тип
 |  |
- один и тот же еврейский тип
Читаю статью про Сартра - забавно написано, along the conservative party line :) Про церковь, детей и кухню как смысл жизни :) "Kinder, Kirche, Kuche" :)
Saturday, February 21, 2004
был на замечательной выставке
... очень цепляет. Во-первых, отличные фотографии, а во-вторых - все "заряженные". Хотя после выставки у меня появились after-thoughts ... Для меня лучшая выставка фотографии в жизни - Интерпрессфото, в Ленинграде, очень давно. Огромная, все виды фотографий, от чисто художественных пейзажей, через портреты и эмоционально нагруженные снимки, до социально заряженных - со всего мира.
На сегодняшней выставке не было, наверное, ни одного снимка без "нагрузки", в основном - социальной ... Но все равно здорово.
Потом ходил в Chelsea - там на самом западе (22nd & 11th) открыли целую кучу новых галлерей ... обошел штук пять - полное говно. Все.
Продолжаю ругаться с местным населением - уже по полной программе :)
... очень цепляет. Во-первых, отличные фотографии, а во-вторых - все "заряженные". Хотя после выставки у меня появились after-thoughts ... Для меня лучшая выставка фотографии в жизни - Интерпрессфото, в Ленинграде, очень давно. Огромная, все виды фотографий, от чисто художественных пейзажей, через портреты и эмоционально нагруженные снимки, до социально заряженных - со всего мира.
На сегодняшней выставке не было, наверное, ни одного снимка без "нагрузки", в основном - социальной ... Но все равно здорово.
Потом ходил в Chelsea - там на самом западе (22nd & 11th) открыли целую кучу новых галлерей ... обошел штук пять - полное говно. Все.
Продолжаю ругаться с местным населением - уже по полной программе :)
Интересная дискуссия - я там даже поучаствовал на последних страницах.
Friday, February 20, 2004
NYRB Jan 15th, 2004 - Coetzee, "As Woman Grows Older". Same impression as with "Disgrace", very good start, but then ... peteres out.
"The fog of Justice" - biased article about Hague Tribunal on Yugoslavia ...
NYRB Feb 12th, 2004 - "Pulling the Rug Out from Under" - evry irritating, about Soviet national policy ... nothing good happened whatsoever ...
"The fog of Justice" - biased article about Hague Tribunal on Yugoslavia ...
NYRB Feb 12th, 2004 - "Pulling the Rug Out from Under" - evry irritating, about Soviet national policy ... nothing good happened whatsoever ...
Thursday, February 19, 2004
В Еврейской АО прошел конкурс "На лучшую валентинку для президента"
Как пишет газета, главный приз получил творческий дуэт Евгений Симонов — Елена Гарштейн. Их "валентинка" представляет из себя бархатное сердце, на котором вышиты слова "Все мысли заняты тобой — люблю тебя, мой Путин дорогой!".
Как пишет газета, главный приз получил творческий дуэт Евгений Симонов — Елена Гарштейн. Их "валентинка" представляет из себя бархатное сердце, на котором вышиты слова "Все мысли заняты тобой — люблю тебя, мой Путин дорогой!".
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
всю ветку советую почитать - просто всю подряд, ничего не пропуская :)
New Yorker, который взял вчера в библиотеке, оказался Dec 23 & 30, 2002 :)
Но не жалею: читаю там замечательный рассказ "Jolene: A Life" by E. L. Doctorow - давно не читал fiction с таким удовольствием. [not that great after all ... it's ok]
New Yorker, который взял вчера в библиотеке, оказался Dec 23 & 30, 2002 :)
Но не жалею: читаю там замечательный рассказ "Jolene: A Life" by E. L. Doctorow - давно не читал fiction с таким удовольствием. [not that great after all ... it's ok]
Monday, February 16, 2004
завален книгами и ссылками интернетными - наступает ступор, хочется сразу все прочесть, и не читаешь ничего. Хочется всю музыку сразу - не слушаешь ничего.
Robert Rosen - "Essays on Life Itself" - хорошо идет в электричке, но зачем-то поперся в библиотеку, взял два номера NYRB, New-Yorker, да еще Harper's пришел - у меня подписка .... По вечерам перед сном - Adorno, "Minima Moralia" ... в сортире "По ту сторону добра и зла" лежит ... раньше Козьма Прутков лежал - но я его закончил за полгода :)
А у сестры вчера взял сборник Петрушевской - давно собирался почитать. Я ее читал лет 20 назад - пьесу и рассказов пару ... очень хорошие. Сейчас прочел два рассказа - тоже супер, но ... fiction ...
Вот интересная статья. Я бегло просмотрел ... очень грустные данные про Россию ... Эту тоже стоит прочесть ... и эту ... завтра на работе распечатаю: дома бумаги жалко :)))
Плюс к тому - лежат Josef Roth две книги, Жижека две, давно купленные ... в общем - завал. Слушаю рэп непрерывно по сети - русский и американский вперемешку. В машине слушаю "Богему" ...
Robert Rosen - "Essays on Life Itself" - хорошо идет в электричке, но зачем-то поперся в библиотеку, взял два номера NYRB, New-Yorker, да еще Harper's пришел - у меня подписка .... По вечерам перед сном - Adorno, "Minima Moralia" ... в сортире "По ту сторону добра и зла" лежит ... раньше Козьма Прутков лежал - но я его закончил за полгода :)
А у сестры вчера взял сборник Петрушевской - давно собирался почитать. Я ее читал лет 20 назад - пьесу и рассказов пару ... очень хорошие. Сейчас прочел два рассказа - тоже супер, но ... fiction ...
Вот интересная статья. Я бегло просмотрел ... очень грустные данные про Россию ... Эту тоже стоит прочесть ... и эту ... завтра на работе распечатаю: дома бумаги жалко :)))
Плюс к тому - лежат Josef Roth две книги, Жижека две, давно купленные ... в общем - завал. Слушаю рэп непрерывно по сети - русский и американский вперемешку. В машине слушаю "Богему" ...
Sunday, February 15, 2004
Bad Or, the Dumbing of America
by Paul Fussell - good, but can be shortened. Some things can be added (to my taste): coffee, especially Starbucks (how many in lower Manhattan?) Some things i do not agree with: "Endorse here" on checks.
Мураками: "Пинбол", "Слушай песню ветра", "Dance, Dance, Dance" - очень хорошо.
Стругацкие "Отягощенные злом". Слабо.
"History of the Future" by Warren Wagar - very weak, boring.
"Human Stain" by Philip Roth - preposterous.
Paul Fussell, "Blood, Tears & Folly" - first third very interesting, later - boring.
movies: "Irreversible" - superb. Frightening ...
"Talk to her" - too nice ... good tale.
"Марш славянки" - интересно. Жуткие цвета ... все неумело ... но интересно.
by Paul Fussell - good, but can be shortened. Some things can be added (to my taste): coffee, especially Starbucks (how many in lower Manhattan?) Some things i do not agree with: "Endorse here" on checks.
Мураками: "Пинбол", "Слушай песню ветра", "Dance, Dance, Dance" - очень хорошо.
Стругацкие "Отягощенные злом". Слабо.
"History of the Future" by Warren Wagar - very weak, boring.
"Human Stain" by Philip Roth - preposterous.
Paul Fussell, "Blood, Tears & Folly" - first third very interesting, later - boring.
movies: "Irreversible" - superb. Frightening ...
"Talk to her" - too nice ... good tale.
"Марш славянки" - интересно. Жуткие цвета ... все неумело ... но интересно.
Tuesday, February 10, 2004
For tenderness between people is nothing other than awareness of the possibility of relations without purpose.
Theodor Adorno.
Theodor Adorno.
In the consciousness of the truth he has perceived, man now sees everywhere only the awfulness or the absurdity of existence... and loathing seizes him.
Friedrich Nietzsche
The Birth of Tragedy
Friedrich Nietzsche
The Birth of Tragedy
Thursday, February 05, 2004
Not every problem someone has with his girlfriend is necessarily due to the capitalist mode of production.
Herbert Marcuse
Herbert Marcuse
Men first feel necessity, then look for utility, next attend to comfort, still later amuse themselves with pleasure, thence grow dissolute in luxury, and finally go mad and waste their substance.
Giambattista Vico
Giambattista Vico
I think that in no country in the civilized world is less attention paid to philosophy than in the United States. The Americans have no philosophical school of their own, and they care but little for all the schools into which Europe is divided, the very names of which are scarcely known to them.
Alexis de Tocqueville
Alexis de Tocqueville
