quote: "Just as the eye was unable to turn from darkness to light without the whole body, so too the instrument of knowledge can only by the movement of the whole soul be turned from the world of becoming into that of being, and learn by degrees to endure the sight of being and of the brightest and best of being, or in other words, of the good." (Plato, The Allegory of the Cave)links:
1) "There are four ways to survive as a writer in the US in 2006: the university; journalism; odd jobs; and independent wealth.": Money, by Keith Gessen (@n+1)
2) Proust Discovers Livejournal. (@mcsweeney's)
3) Truth! This list of The Cutest Jewish Boys on TV includes Fred Savage, others. (@popserious)
4)I love this series, in which authors provide a "music playlist that is in some way relevant to their recently published books." This month is Lavina Greenlaw's The Importance of Music to Girls (@largehearted boy)
5) Once again the power of small unfiltered voices on the internet, combined with that reckless and Opinionated young urban demographic, are ruining the economy, the lives of others, old people, etc. This time, it's Yelp! (@the nytimes)
6)"The nomineees in the Samuel Johnston Prize for Non-Fiction feature a surprising number of novelists, as the Guardian notes, as well as a record level of assholes." (@bookslut)
7)"The desire for a writer to find readers is perfectly understandable, just as it is for a writer to fear judgment": Jonathan Franzen and Phillip Wood converse in Harper's New Book Blog: An Egg in Return (@sentences)
8) JK about the Apocalypse. (@universe today)
9) Chicago is the city of the year, probs 'cause of Oprah or the Cubbies! (@fastcompany)
10) It's Lozo's third birthday! (@wdwgdab)
11) Do 1.3 million people really make a living on ebay? Probs not. (@slate.com)
12) Andrew WK went to my high school. He was actually legitimately too cool for school then, still is: "I had some notes that I'd made to give me a starting point, sometimes, lyrically. But I misplaced those notes." (@the village voice)
8 comments:
In my second class ever in college, we had to get into groups of four, and draw the scene described in the allegory of the cave on the chalk board. I can't remember how we drew it, but everyone's pictures looked ridic. That's one of the things I remember from my liberal arts education. Look how far it got me: blog commenting!
[sigh]
Plato is amazing, is he not? He's like an old, trusted friend, or a calm, kind, wise grandfather: always there to lend support and advice when one most requires it. I love him. And, funny, when I was double "concentrating" in comparative literature and philosophy at good old Scary Larry, and all of my non-academic friends and family members would inquire as to what on earth I was going to do with philosophy once I got out of college? I wish I could go back and tell all of them now exactly what I do with it: allow it to, sometimes unexpectedly, get me through some of the most dismal, most trying, and most soul-destroying times of my life. That's what I do with philosophy after college.
And I am dying, dying and crying, with laughter, over the "Proust Discovers LiveJournal" piece; thank you so much for posting that. I am rather sure I awakened several of my neighbors with my hysterical four in the morning laughter filtering through my windows. (Also, it made me feel kind of proud in a juvenile yet superior way that I do not have a LiveJournal. Um. Anymore. [cough])
Also loving number ten. For reasons I have not yet divulged, but definitely will.
As usual, loving the blog, and you.
Hope you're feeling better, my dear!
P.S. Sorry I can never figure out / remember how / who / where to properly log in over here. Also, I have not slept. I have an excuse.
wow. i usually have a little more notice than this, but i think i can still make it happen.
tonight big party for lozo's 3rd year.
me jumping out of a cake ala marilyn monroe singing.
i don't have much time, but if Kimora's people can throw together a million dollar party in a week i can do it in one day... i mean obvs.
i hope hav can fly in... or i guess we could ichat and have 2 bicostal parties, like Dick Clark does on New Years..
I gotta run to party city and get balloons...
Ha! Thanks for the link to 'Proust discovers LiveJournal' - totally amazing. Having recently found myself in gainful employment your blog has become a go-to for unbridled joy during those dark dark moments (ie ALL THE FRICKIN FRACKIN TIME)so thank you. Your literary taste is sweet, have you read How To Breath Underwater by Julie Orringer? Its one of the short story collections i uncovered around the same time as Dave Eggers and such folk, and it comes recommended. See Ya - Sophie
allie - did you go to NYU and have Dr. Ferrara? bc i did, and we had to do the same thing, which is why i hate the allegory of a cave, as i said in a vlog once...
i have terrible nasal allegories.
and if a dude in drag ever jumps out of a cake at any party for me, i'm afraid i might get some of that that Jenny Jones rage.
kidding. killing gay people is wrong. the more you know.
who said i was doing drag? i was just going to sing the way Mari sang.
allie: I didn't hear about it 'til last year when my ex flled me in, and then Haviland said she hated it on a vlog, and the fact that haviland said, 'I hate the allegory of the cave" is one of 100 reasons why I love her. From my liberal arts education I mostly remember marajuana.
atherton: Speaking of my liberal arts education. I think it's you who mentioned it this morning, yeah? And it was someone else's philosophy degree (see above) that enabled my knowledge of it to start with ... you should tell them it's just as useful as an english degree, or really any college degree outside of pre-med. Which I guess is only useful if you wanna go Med-Med. Or something.
I found "prous discovers livejournal" on mcsweeny's itself, then saw it also linked as a shared item by a friend and I was like "DANGIT, that was MY discovery." Luckily I have auto-fun, otherwise I'd have to subscribe to 40,000 feeds to keep up to date. I also do not have a livejournal. Um. Anymore? [cough].
I also have not slept. This morning I almost saw the sun rise, and it felt like that kind of cave, or some kind of opening. Some kind of something..
I am feeling better. I'm ready for a weekend in the forest without internet, playing games in the dark with Alex's brother. I'm either scared or excited.
eric mathew: I wouldn't be surprised if you do what you do best which is, of course, personalized vlogs! haviland loves video ichat!
jigsawyouth: I have! I own it actually. I think it may've been recommended by Nick Hornby in a "Stuff I've Been Reading" column some time ago. It's beautiful I loved it, and all the children and the fish and the feelings. It was just lovely.
Haviland - I feel like Allie went to somewhere in Ohio though I can't be sure. Oberlin or something? Kenyon? If I'm wrong, I will look like a jackass, but I'm prepared for that.
lozo- Nice pun! The more gay people you know the better, that's right. Ding dong !
eric mathew - Of course you were baby, of course!
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