One more reason to detest LA: upscale Goodwill boutiques.
[Polish] There is still a lot we don’t know about the Chechen terrorists who bombed Boston in 2013.
It boggles the mind that a shockingly brilliant journalist like Ta-Nehisi Coates could have written such a preachy, saccharine and weak book. I guess it goes to show that everybody should stay within their own genre.
An ultra – conservative hag of a journalist who normally can’t shut up about how immoral everybody is all of a sudden produces a rant in defense of Ashley Madison. Might she be the female version of Josh Duggar?
In case you need more proof that Hamas is nuts, follow the link.
Australians, as usual, show that their sense of humor is as out there as their continent: “From Australia, we watch Israel at a great distance, safe in the knowledge that the regular and horrific levels of violence in the region are far from our shores.”
In the meanwhile, in the otherwise peaceful region the feisty Australians care about so much, “ISIS beheaded 82-year-old Khaled Al-Asaad on August 18, 2015, in the 2,000-year-old city he spent his life restoring. Syria’s most prominent antiquities scholar is the latest victim of the Islamic State group’s war on history.”
If you are not American, you will be floored when you read this article and discover that there is a whole tradition of serving “salads” in mounds of Jello in this country. Be careful, though, the images might make you barf. (Hat tip to Epicene Cyborg).
There are scholars and then there are scholars who study David Bowie, aka total weirdos.
The tragedy of a teenager who confuses the suffering produced by domestic abuse with politics. This kid still has tons of time to grow up but how many adults refuse to notice that their pseudo – political hustle and bustle only serves to drown out their inner demons.
The only way to interest people in Virginia Woolf these days is to write about her sex life, it seems.
Clarissa's Blog 
It wasn’t until I got to college that I discovered that some people viewed Jello as a dessert, rather than a vegetable.
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Yea, I remember jello salads, put into molds and then shaken out once they set in the fridge. With little particles of marshmallow, pineapple, or coconut jelly (since I was from Hawaii) in them.
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“Might she be the female version of Josh Duggar?”
Seems more likely that she might be turning up on a certain list.
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That’s what I’m saying. 🙂
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WATCH: Matisyahu faces protest in Spain concert
Reggea artist defiantly performs ‘Jerusalem’ to crowd of festival goers waving Palestinian flags, calls event ‘difficult but special.’
…
The concert passed off peacefully after a tense build-up, but Matisyahu had to keep a cool head amid catcalls and whistles of disapproval as dozens in the crowd waved massive palestinian flags.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4693649,00.html
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I’m painfully ashamed for Spain.
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Report: Israel imports 77% of its oil from Iraqi Kurdistan
Israel has reportedly bought 19 million barrels of Kurdish oil in recent months, according to Financial Times, providing the embattled autonomous region with essential funding for fight against ISIS.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4693799,00.html
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Receding river in drought-hit Poland reveals cultural artifacts
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-wednesday-edition-1.3204494/receding-river-in-drought-hit-poland-reveals-cultural-artifacts-1.3204504
I was surprised in a bad way by:
\ Jewish historians have long suspected that tombstones were stolen from Jewish cemeteries across the country and used in rebuilding efforts after the war. Brodno cemetery in Warsaw had 400,000 markers before the war. That number is down to 3,000 today.
“We’d heard the rumours, but to actually find them was really, really remarkable. It was such an important find for us.”
Stealing Jewish tombstones right after Holocaust does seem symbolic. Bet they weren’t touching Polish graves.
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Wasn’t Poland the only place to have Jewish pogroms after the defeat of the Nazis?
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\ Wasn’t Poland the only place to have Jewish pogroms after the defeat of the Nazis?
I don’t know. Are you sure? Because I think I heard about other countries too. Hasn’t Tony Judt written about it in his book?
I haven’t heard much about post-WW2 pogroms, but after googling now found that “It is estimated that in Poland after the World War II more than 1000 Jews were killed.”
Just read:
Palestinian leaders have set September 15-16 as the dates for their first congress in nearly 20 years after President Mahmoud Abbas announced his resignation as head of a top executive body.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4695265,00.html
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I wanted to ask you something: do you think people who write about not classics also may do worthwhile literary criticism work, or is it wasting own time and one should find classical texts?
For instance, Harry Potter books. One could discuss the way they represent uniqueness (no real strangeness despite much talk about strange heroes), (lack of) rebellion against authority (both family and adult authority in general), worth (“you are the way you are born”), etc. and then try to connect that to the state of modern subject / identities / society. After all, if those books became so popular, it has to say something about their message suiting modern ideology / subject, no?
What does it say about modern society if books espousing ultra-conservative ideology under a thin veneer of being transgressive and tolerant become so popular?
Btw, in Harry Potter books:
women cook, are better at relationships, are blamed for dying in childbirth, etc.
house elves naturally want to be slaves and only need a kind master despite a book-long subplot about an abused house-elf dreaming to be free and another book-long subplot in which a main female character (naively) wants to free all elves
our choices show (not make) who we are
any uniqueness / strangeness is completely illusory despite great deal of talking about “strange” positive characters
one wins by following instructions of a father figure onto death (literally), behaving a suicide bomber
happiness is marrying a sister of the best friend who looks like one’s dead mother, and naming children after one’s parents and the dead mentor
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Zizek does this kind of thing a lot because it is entertaining and provides a relief from the rest of his heavily Hegelian stuff
It’s fun to do this kind of thing on a blog or Facebook. In terms of actual professional criticism, the problem with this kind of literature is that there isn’t much to say about it. “Harry Potter revolves around the hairiest old gender stereotypes.” Well, duh. It’s entertainment. How can anybody expect it to offer anything but clichés?
It doesn’t really make sense to do scholarship that will prove the same idea over and over again. We try to do something new, so we look for texts that have the capacity to suggest something new.
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\ one wins by following instructions of a father figure onto death (literally), behaving a suicide bomber
I meant “like a suicide bomber.” Forgot to add two main points:
The (anti?) hero, who is magically both usual and special, may do heroic deeds like slaying dragons, but the final real test is accepting one’s death and letting the villain kill you. This passivity is rewarded in the end by staying alive and marrying into best friend’s family.
The books tried to present problems of racism leading to war, but the epilogue’s last words are “all was well” despite not showing any dealing with those social problems.
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Now my former Harry Potter posts look bad even to myself. Guess if one goes into children’s lit, it’s better to choose something classical like “The Secret Garden” (have you read it?). I heard there is another popular book “Tom’s Midnight Garden” (published in 1958 vs “The Secret Garden” of 1910), so will read it now in case it may treat growing up and the garden in an interestingly different way.
Btw, have you ever analyzed children’s lit? It should’ve profoundly changed from the era of Frances Burnett till today.
On another topic, just saw this:
Zurich: Switzerland expressed regret on Friday after its ambassador to Iran displayed a cartoon depicting two doves defecating on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s head, at an event promoting Iranian business opportunities.
Ambassador Giulio Haas showed the image during a speech to hundreds of Swiss and Iranian business people at a Zurich hotel on Thursday.
…
In his speech, Ambassador Giulio Haas called Iran the “pole of stability in a very, very unsafe region.” He urged Swiss businesses not to delay their endeavors in Iran, a potentially lucrative market with a population of 80 million.
http://m.gulfnews.com/news/europe/switzerland/switzerland-regrets-envoy-s-display-of-netanyahu-cartoon-1.1574554
It only helps Right wing Israelis by providing support to “antisemitic Europeans” worldview. And makes Europe look weak and lacking any self-respect in the eyes of everybody, including Iran. Europeans may not care about the former, but they should about the latter.
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It is a great embarrassment to have such an ambassador. One expects a degree of gravitas and self-control from somebody in this position.
This reminded me of a joke about a provincial Russian School of Diplomatic Relations.
A professor says to a student, “Please be careful with your writing. Fuck off is two words, and motherfucker is one word. Remember, we are practicing how to write a diplomatic note addressed to a foreign head of state. It is crucial that we use the correct grammar.”
(This is my translation of the joke. The original is much more gross and very racist.)
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