Carmen Electra and Hermeneutics, together again.

I recently discovered, that a work of Hans Georg-Gadamer, The Relevance of Beauty and Other Essays, was available at Amazon.com in English. I added this book to my wish list as it is my wont, and those who are familiar with this procedure know that the following page usually lists other books that readers who purchased this work also considered purchasing. I had expected the usual suspects, Truth and Method, The Beginning of Philosophy and maybe some Cambridge or Routledge Anthology, but much to my surprise according to Amazon.com-

Customers who bought The Relevance of the Beautiful and Other Essays also bought:

Carmen Electra's Advanced Aerobic Striptease


Carmen Electra's Fit to Strip


and of course...Carmen Electra's Aerobic Striptease


Now it seems that there are three possible conclusions that can be drawn from this:

1) Carmen Electra, the "talent" of these instant fitness classics is a student of philosophical hermeneutics
2) Gadamer fans are really lonely women who are overweight and have metal poles in their living rooms or lonely men who enjoy spandex, sweat, and repetitive counting to either three or 10 with their striptease.
3) amazon.com has far too many of these DVDs laying around and in a thinly veiled attempt to mass market them, odd juxtapositions have been created with sexy results.

I really, really hope it is 1)...

Soul Brother...Alexander Pushkin

Alexander Pushkin famed Russian author of the verse novel, Eugene Onegin, among many other poems, short stores, and plays is apparently a Brotha. In fact quite proud of his African heritage, an unfinished novel, A Moor of Peter the Great is more or less a biography of his great-grandfather, Avram (Ibrahim) Gannibal. Though perhaps technically he is of Abyssinian and not Sub-Saharan decent, he is quite comfortable with the moniker "negry." Though I would imagine that the term itself "negry" must be understood in a radically different context than the term "black" or "African-American" is used in the United States today; it certainly might be useful to compare his self-understanding as an African and the modern Black experience. One notable point, the "hot African blood" that is often attributed to such other figures as the noble St. Augustine, he himself appropriates it as a driving force behind his many sexual conquests, which he alluded to in conversation and a poem regarding his heritage, "I please young beauty with the shameless frenzy of my desires." Though it seems he is not totally immune to the syndrome that W.E.B. DuBois intimated in his, Souls of Black Folk, the syndrome of double consciousness when he describes himself as "an idle rake, ugly descendant of Negroes, brought up in wild simplicity." It is of course the case that his enemies and rivals used his heritage against him, Faddei Bulgarin, apparently the Dan Savage of 19th century Russia describes Pushkin's ancestor not as "a Negro bought by a skipper for a bottle of rum."

An article, by Anne Lounsbery in a 2000 edition of Transition Magazine is an excellent piece on the subject. She suggests that the blackness of Pushkin is not a minor biographical detail for American audiences, though to be honest it was a chance encounter with a question to which Pushkin was the answer did I become aware of this fact. Perhaps, I have been hiding under some type of literary rock and am apparently even more of a Philistine than I had previously imagined, but I guess that is for a later personal-inventory session. Nonetheless, I do believe that Pushkin's African-ness is not a well-known fact for those (and a dwindling "those" in United States) that even know who Pushkin is.

Russians, as I have been told by a number of sources, are uniquely aware of their literary tradition in a way many Americans are not so as it regards our tradition. Many a Russian, both of the literati and proletariat will tell you that Pushkin is the father of the Golden Age of Russian Literature, which naturally had a strong influence on the Silver Age of Russian Literature occurring soon thereafter. Some would suggest he is the single most important Russian literary figure, though I would add such a claim would be significantly more contentious than the former. I am not sure what difference Pushkin's "Negro Blood" makes if any in Russia, but I am left wondering as a last thought, if in the United States a literary figure of the stature of Pushkin could have ever existed or would have been recognized as the "father" of any age of American literature. The Harlem Renaissance is typically presented and conceived of as some brief and isolated outburst of literary genius, a towering mountain in an otherwise unaccented literary terrain. As the name suggests however, it had to be a "re-birth" of something and yet I am at a loss to offer another period in American History that provides a context from which to be reborn. Again, this might be some function of my gargantuan ignorance manifesting itself here in my inability to recognize other significant African-American authors before the 20th century and so further investigations await.

Of Red Cards and Fire Hazards: The Call of Coercion

This year's World Cup, which I have been watching quite avidly, has engendered a record number of yellow and red cards (at last count 27 red cards and 300+ yellow cards) blowing previous records out of the water, with three matches left to tally. FIFA has appropriately defended the referees, suggesting that the cards are given out in a concerted effort to clean up the game of Futbol. Most announcers, from the less than stellar ESPNcadre to the super-excited to be here Unavision crew, have thought the number of cards is ridiculous. In one match between Portugal and the Netherlands, a Russian referee dismissed 4 players and made 16 bookings...leaving a frayed and beleaguered match of 9-on-9 soccer. Let me add here briefly that 9-on-9 soccer is terribly unexciting, players have to cover far too much distance, far too often, leaving them and their passes in less than brilliant form. In the Italy vs. US match, 3 red cards and a number of yellows, turned a spirited and exciting match into a rather boring and defensively minded tilt ending in a 1-1 tie. Certainly there are those who will suggest, that many of the cards were legitimate, and that with some exceptions many of the cards handed out were justified. So this begs the question, has the game become too physical, and have players become too dirty, or too good at diving? Putting aside these contentious issues temporarily, there is another call of coercion which might help put this in perspective.

The new Fire Marshall in the State of Florida responsible for monitoring the safety standards of the buildings on this campus is apparently a card-carrying Nazi. In typical fashion, the University during the summer decides to unleash harsh and intolerable policies on the unsuspecting, though not entirely innocent Greek Life population. Last summer, it was the ridiculously illegal and inane, Amendment 1, which was to allow police officers to randomly walk around the private residences of Greek students. A number of letters to the school newspaper as well as some intervention from some external forces was able to put the kibosh on that University Initiative. However, the administration, a creative bunch, have decided to seek a higher, more uncompromising authority, the State. The State, which holds the bonds on the fraternity and sorority houses, has determined that despite 3 years of no fire issues, the houses are essentially cement encrusted tinder boxes, and someone must be held responsible. In Gestapo like form, the Fire marshals, replete with vague forms and even more vague explanations, stormed through and demanded that many of the lofts, composites, trophy cases and other "abominations to fire safety" be removed and/or taken down, leaving in their wake generally confused fraternity men even more confused and emotional sorority girls in utter shock as their charmingly designed and professionally decorated houses in a state of classroom-like sanitized banality. This is especially disconcerting for our lovely sisters of Greek Life as their houses are a strong selling point among potential new members. Regardless of the validity of such criteria, it is nevertheless the case that many sororities are a bit distraught with the prospect of recruitment, colloquially known as rush, precious few weeks away. What is the most disgusting and annoying feature of this new policy is the rather arbitrary and mean-spirited nature of the requests. Inflammatory letters intimating condemnation and eviction of premises, the terse and rude nature of the fire marshals, citing mysterious fire code violations as the source of our ills, and obscenely short time deadlines to rectify our most egregious errors. Unfortunately compliance is mandatory, and resistance is futile, Thank you, Hans vs. Louisiana

I sense a bit of resonance between these situations despite their radically different scopes. It seems that our reaction to the call to coersion is less a principled or analytically derived response but more an adverse response to new stimuli. The number of red and yellow cards are indeed quite high, but interestingly enough on a case by case basis most of the cards were legitimately handed out, or at least a reasonable defense could be garnered in its favor. It gains this edifice of ridiculousness when interspersed with a few really bad calls which colors all of the cards and dismissals a shade of dark caprice. Much like our dear friends at the Fire Marshall's office, many of the violations are probably legitimate (though I suspect some of then are contrived just for the sake of knee-jerk paternalism), but the sudden, intense and sweeping nature of their behavior, completely skews and in all likelihood blows out of proportion their actions.

One could easily chalk this up to a general suspicion of authority, and though I am often sympathetic to this explanation, I do not believe in this case it is sufficient to elucidate either situation. In the former case, FIFA World Cup Officials are highly respected members of the Soccer World, and for the most part they do an excellent job. In this game of Futbol, the game of the world, with huge social, cultural, political, financial, and as I would suggest religious implications, referees stand at the crossroads, UN ambassadors of the pitch, keeping the intense forces behind both teams on the international stage in usually perfect competitive balance. It is only occasionally that incompetency allows for this balance to be unhinged, and only rarely does it lead to genuinely disastrous results. In the case of the fabulous representatives of the State, I would bet and would certainly hope that they have better things to do with their life then make trouble for some college kids. It has been reasonably suggested that previous Fire marshals have been far too lax with their enforcement of policies, and this was a painful but necessary step to resolve these oversights in enforcement. Perhaps the pendulum will swing the other way once the semester starts, and maybe some compromise will be found. Also, as the World Cup has progressed the number of cards has gone down, and the refs have started talking to the players more, offering warnings before bringing out the book. I believe, if such a policy were adopted here, where the administration would actually talk to us before sending the wolves of the State after us, letting us know of their concerns for our safety, I believe we would have been much more amenable to their suggestions. But as it stands the color of warning, anger, fire and dismissal raises the aversion to coercion and control that we seek to escape in our lives made all the more frustrating when it appears in the outlets of our escape...

Mandatory Summer Reading List

"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."
-Dr. Seuss

As summer approaches on a warm breeze...thoughts no doubt turn to the Mandatory Summer Reading List. Well, it is highly unlikely that thoughts turn to such things, but I remember the days when such lists were met with a mix of foreboding and mock enthusiasm. The idea of spending sweltering July evenings, eyes buried in some long forgotten classic, or soon to be forgotten instant classic did not fill me with anticipation. However, my days in undergraduate life and my current identity as a graduate student, have given me reason to look forward to the summer months for the chance to create and execute a killer summer reading list. For those who feel that 'killer' and 'summer reading list' do not and should never exist in the same sentence, you may want to stop reading. End Disclaimer. For the rest of us bibliophiles, devastatingly single bibliophiles...I offer some guidelines on how to create a summer reading list. The reason I do this is mostly so I can systematize how I intend to create one. My plan if I am successful is to enumerate some rules without revealing what titles will appear on my list. One, I do not want to hold myself to anything on this most public of forums. Two, it smacks of intellectual self-aggrandizement and general academic wankery (yes..wankery) to list what books I am planning to read this summer. However, I am sure you have all met or will meet the type that is all too eager to share his or her list of truly sophisticated and erudite literature, this strange game of "oneupmanship" is suddenly being played and you don't even know the rules. We know the type, one happens to share a book that she has read recently, and our friend has one of three responses immediately at hand: 1) "Oh, yes I read that some years ago on my trip to Calcutta" 2) "Ah yes, I am waiting to read that in the original Albanian," or finally my favorite, 3) "I see, you like him. I myself find his ouevre too derivative and pedantic-I suggest you read [insert obscure work here] instead, oh but wait you don't know Sudanese, I guess you'll have to wait for the translation."
Instead of trying to delineate a general program of list composition, I will give some individual rules, e.g. put something on that list that you would never normally read. So, if your usual fare consists of science, and science fiction books, read a historical novel and vice versa. The benefits of such a dictum are clear, perhaps it will inspire you to open up new interests and genres of reading. Or, which is often the case, reaffirm why you are not into these books in the first place. So, the next time someone criticizes your disposition on a genre of writing, assuming falsely that you do not actually read said genre, you will be able to respond intelligently and coherently. Not that such individuals who condescendingly regard one's reading list deserve a response; however, one will be able to be supplied if such a situation arises.
Read one thing this summer that you are embarrassed for not having read yet. Admit it, you never read The Great Gatsby, it is okay. Your eleventh grade teacher Ms. Alvarez assigned it, and instead you downloaded the Spark Notes and wrote a stock essay about the role of indirect narrative expressed by the character, Nick Carraway-admit it. Suck it up and read it. It is not entirely clear at least for me yet, how essential is the 'canon' of literature to proper intellectual, humanistic development. Which if we parse the claim properly suggest that I am not entirely sure such a beast as the canon exists. This assumes a great many things about the functional role of literature, and the limited number of emotional, and cognitive responses an individual can engender towards the canon. Moreover, what does this canon, and those who read it have to say regarding those who do not engage the canon, especially those who are nevertheless intelligent, well-rounded individuals (assuming such things are possible on the canonist account) and are avid readers. It seems that the most powerful, yet totally arbitrary quality about the canon is this ability to distinguish and therefore to evaluate normatively those who do read it, i.e. Harold Bloom, and those who do not. Of course, there are many who genuinely enjoy the canon and make no claims to literary superiority, so I have no truck with them. Even Mr. Bloom himself, despite his very discriminating literary aesthetic is probably very much interested in the canon for personal reasons, but I wonder what is genuinely contributive about the canon. It is possible that the canon allows for the creation and growth of cultural literacy, Ed Hirsch, has long been a proponent of that. But, how much does literature function anymore in that capacity with the wonderful internet, and instant information at our fingertips.
Finally, read something that you will definitely find helpful or constructive to your life or work. Especially since, the time where the benefit of having read this or that would have been maximized; is the same time in which one is the least disposed to be reading it. So, get ahead and save some time later.
So far the list I have generated only contains three books, and I hope if you have the time, which I know some of you do have, your list should in all likelihood be longer than that (unless they are excessively long, like Toynbee's History of the World long). But that is all the rule-giving I will offer at this juncture, part of the fun, perhaps most of the fun, is making the list yourself. This is probably why those reading lists in summer during middle and high school were so little fun, it isn't what we read that made it so oppressively boring, but the fact we had such little control over the creation of the list, and to boot we were subjecting ourselves to this coercive list during the one time of the year when we were not subjected by the vagaries of a teacher. This is not to suggest that the students should come up with the whole list or even a significant percentage, because without this list I would not have been introduced to some great literature, which by the end I liked despite the fact I was mandated to read it. However, it might behoove some teachers and schools who create such lists to have students more involved in their own education process, to some degree the more control you have over something, the more likely you are personally interested in its success, right? So, good luck in your summer reading, and try to enjoy the time you have with the words that you love.

Aquaman and Puppies

...have not gotten a fair shake in the internet forum world, in popular forms of media, and on the street. Aquaman gets disrespected constantly. Robot Chicken and Family Guy-in recent episodes, this cartoon here, Chris Rock-and the general feeling I gather from casual observers that the ability to talk to the creatures of the sea is a little appreciated power. St. Francis of Assisi could talk to the animals, the Beastmaster could talk to the animals, why does Aquaman get the shaft? Many such cartoons, and other malcontents make some singularly "clever" remarks about Marine Biology departments, like such skills would only be useful in the hallowed and narrowly defined halls of academia. Does anyone tell Wonderwoman she would be great in a Women's Studies department? Or Batman should seek a full-time position in Chiroptera Research facility? Aquaman is not an animal he is a man an Aqua-man!

Second, violence against Puppies is always used as an example of intolerable cruelty or gross levels of injustice. Especially when they are kicked or eaten, and most disturbingly when they are already dead. Leave the puppies alone. They have done nothing. Their only crimes are being eminently cute and uniquely vulnerable. I am convinced there is some strange obsession with puppies under duress for college age males. Those who have taken a Psychology 101 course in school might be familiar with the narcoleptic puppies video that seems almost ubiquitous in such classes. They are filmed scampering as it is a puppy's wont, and then unsuspectingly they pass out asleep, instantly. Why must we be witnesses to such everyday tragedy? Consuming or punting deceased puppies should be a much more serious crime against nature, yet gets regulated to the most mundane of transgressions. A few particularly noticeable examples of internet exaggeration occurs on the HSQuizbowl message board, these gems are priceless, especially for those that are familiar with the highly insular world that is the College-Level academic competition circuit. "Personally, I'm down with the "CBI apologists = puppy eaters" equivalence..." or this piece of work, "I also dropkick puppies into piles of burning American flags, as one can clearly see by my opposition to dead tossups."

Aquaman and Puppies maliciously maligned...such humiliations must stop!

Is the Time for Skepticism Over?

In the latest issue of Time, one of the most ominous Special Reports on the Environment was featured. As you can see, we are being asked to be worried, be very worried. Alarmists have been raising red flags of environmental doom for years, and their have been many of those so-called Cooler Heads (Global Warming-Cooler Heads, grow up...) that have been there calling those Alarmists...well, Alarmists. Yet, in this issue of Time, there is no ambiguity. Global Warming is real and it is man-made and it is happening faster than anyone could have predicted. This in an of itself is nothing new; however, what is new is the bold suggestion that the debate over the past five years is over, and that the scientific community is no longer conflicted over whether or not Global Warming is happening, but what can we do (if anything) about it. Recent Congressional Hearings, have invited industry leaders such as Wal-Mart, Dow, BP and the like to voice their concerns and/or find out how they can a) contribute to the solution b) stay out of trouble. Much blogspace has been devoted to the Kyoto Protocol and our continual rejection of it. This issue though I think relevant, is not the biggest problem in US Environmental policy. To be honest, I have no idea what it is. Science, up until quite recently, was always viewed as an almost mystical source of knowledge. The conclusions of "hard" science were indisputable, and were taken to be true sans reflection. Yet, it should be clear to all, and should have always been clear, that Science just like every other field of endeavor is susceptible to human subjectivity and contingency. I have been vainly attempting to do my own research on this issue, and I find that wherever I go the science is always overwhelmed by terrorizing propaganda, on both sides of the Global Warming Issue. Each side is marshaling data, studies, and rhetorical strategies not to discover the truth, but in order to combat the other side's lies. It is frustrating to read. It seems that this issue, if legitimate, could signal a watershed moment in Human History. It could also spell the beginning of the end of the human race on planet Earth. Yet, so many are hung up on these ridiculous binary distinctions, of right and left, Republican and Democrat, and employ such childish rhetoric in order to make a point. The point is, the more we focus on the "Global Warming Debate" and the less we focus on what is actually happening on our Pale Blue Dot, the more people become alienated and disillusioned (at best) or the closer we get to sowing the seeds of our own destruction (at worst). I would like to believe that a reasonably reputable magazine such as Time would not present such a sensational, shocking report without being fairly confident about the conclusions it draws. But so little research is presented without having some blatantly biased agenda. We live in a Culture of Fear, a society that is kept in paralysis through our own paranoia. God is coming, the Devil is Coming, Terrorists are coming, Global Warming is coming, the liberals are destroying our way of life, the neocons want to destroy us.

I think the time for Skepticism is just beginning...

Fake Opera, Fake Movies...Real Good Times

So listening to NPR this morning and this evening, there have been a number of fake stories. One of the best is the I-Bod, a machine that regulates the heartbeat, and other metabolic body functions. In one "interesting" depiction, Scott Simon engages in I-Bod intercourse with Mr. Gupta in accounting.

On the way back from an academic trivia tournament, I was listening to an amazingly well done, and quite funny story. Called "One Man's Sad Goal...Make Opera Positive!" Hamilton Banks, a rich Cape-Cod new homeowner, bought an Opera Company and changed its name to the Positive Opera Company, inspired by the late, great, Norman Vincent Peale, author of the Platonic Form of Self-Help Books, "The Power of Positive Thinking." In his new envisioning of the great Classical Operas, for example, in Don Giovanni (Mozart) after the statue of his father the Commandatore comes alive, and asks him to repent for his adulterous, womanizing ways, Don Giovanni becomes a born again Christian. In the Positive La Boheme (Puccini), Mimi is cured of Tuberculosis. And in Tristan and Isolde (Wagner) Tristan's injury is merely a flesh wound (it isn't even infected) and he is returned to his love, and instead of the moving Liebestod there is the melodically pleasant and totally unWagnerian the Love of Life Song.

I wish I knew how to quit you...

Remember, Remember the 5th of November or perhaps the 11th of September

'And a character actually says, "God is in the rain"; if a fanboy creates godisintherain.com, I may have to hurt somebody.'
- Eleanor Ringel Gillespie (Atlanta-Journal Constitution Reviewer)


So the Greg Lloyd illustrated, Alan Moore written (Watchmen) comic has been turned into the first blockbuster of the year. I know that professional critics (Ms. Gillespie) cannot allow themselves to be wrapped up in the exuberance of the moment. The critic, self-appointed gatekeepers of the global-consumerist dominion, must maintain the cool air of the intelligentsia and be the detached reviewer asserting their emotional superiority over the Hollywood-psychological-trick-bag. Fortunately, since neither you or I must answer to such lofty goals, we can succumb to the mysterium-tremendum of the Blockbuster film experience. With that said, V for Vendetta is a great movie. Yes, a character does utter that phrase, and I am sure Ellen will have to bring out her hurting stick since some fanboy will probably have a blog named Godisintherain.blogspot.com or the ShadowGallery.com. I guess with our postmodern sensibility, sentimentality is for the under-informed. I remain blissfully ignorant and bow in humble reverence for the sheer power of film-making. No, V for Vendetta is not the greatest movie ever made. But it is damn good, and is worth a look. I have not had the pleasure of reading the Alan Moore comic, and I know he himself had some issues with this project; nevertheless, I was impressed. There are certain characteristics of the movie that might appeal to my particular sensibilities a bit more than the average Guy. So, I understand if many do not respond in a similar fashion. Fortunately, that is why they have selections for the consumer, so that everyone is satisfied, "BE SATISFIED or else." V's lines (Hugo Weaving) much to Ellen's dismay are a bit grandiloquent, and he sounds a lot like an underemployed Shakespearean actor. John Hurt is a bit too Hitler-redux. Natalie Portman despite reports to the contrary looks older than 12 (except in the schoolgirl outfit...hmmmm). The political commentary is intelligent, and not as over the top or as obvious as you might hear otherwise. Part of the dilemma is that for those who have made up their mind about the world, they will either wholeheartedly agree or disagree with the politics. If you are one of those precious few who are holding judgment on humanity just a bit longer or heaven forbid refuse to make the call-then I think the message is much more subtle and disturbing. Clearly, V is a terrorist in terroristic society. This is unequivocal. His methods are violent, his mercy is absent. His reasoning is the same reasoning that those that seek to cause chaos have always used. He exists in a world that for him is transparently wrong, corrupt and evil. He seeks to recreate a world where different choices can be made. Justice is violence in V's world, and justice wears two faces neither of which are blind. There are the less than vague references to situations currently affecting our world, at one point V in a moment that the directors must have known would generate a bit of awkwardness with American audiences, justifies the destruction of a building, he calmly yet emphatically states, "With enough people, blowing up a building can change the world." Clearly, the Wachowski brothers were a bit timid indeed, as V casually states this point, wearing an apron, with a very Clintonesque hand-in-fist delivery, with little emphasis or dramatic pause. It was as if someone had mentioned that it was going to snow today, and that someone happened to be in Colorado in the middle of Janurary. The movie carries forward and we see the how the parallel plot lines of V and Evey and the government of a fascistic England are all connected in a sort of classic Hollywood interweaving, which ends with a fairly dramatic conclusion. However, the movie in the end does not so clearly, as some would argue, come down on one side of the violence and justice issue. The music that is playing during the credits has clips of Malcolm X and Gloria Steinem speaking about Black Power and the sexual revolution respectively. I believe genuinely that this movie despite Ms. Gillespie's cute review of V for Vacuous has enough philosophical meat that it could qualify for one of those "and Philosophy" books. Though, this comment should in no way suggest that this movie does anything more than any other good movie usually does, which is to make you think differently or better yet make you feel differently. Freedom forever! And Moreover...Natalie Portman is Lolitishly- sexy in that schoolgirl outfit.

Funny....because it's True, Vol. I

Mobile Blogging 2 : This time it's personal

This is the second test of a mobile blogging system.
Blackberry transmitted Ahmad approved.

This seemed to have worked. I for one am impressed. To what degree I will employ this lovely feature of Blogger.com is an unknown, but that it works fairly well and rather easily is something of a boon on technology's part. Many are quick to denigrate the role of technology in making our lives interesting and entertaining. There are of course many, many downsides to technological progress. I think the disconnectedness that can occur when one spends too much time on the internet, the rapidly developing weapons of Mass Destruction, the reliance on technology to do the things that at one time people could do, maybe not as quickly or as accurately but added that touch of "magic" for a lack of a better word that made human constructed items "charactered" all represent the dangers or problems with technology. But Ipods are neat, Blogging though occasionally ridiculous-also fun. Blackberries and other mobile telecommunication devices are so useful it's scary. So perhaps like much else in life, technology is a mixed bag. But I think in the end, it comes down to how we use technology and not the other way around, yet!