tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-180978272024-03-07T18:57:37.368-05:00I am not who I think I am or is I whom?All about anything, including bits of writings I'm working on, published fictions, poems and fusions, other writers' brilliant works, news about my e-mag, Mad Hatters&#39, Little Mountain Retreat, MadHat Press and Reading Series; Review, updates concerning my spectacular career as a quirky writer with a JD & MSW, but no MFA, and mainly abominable events in the present passing history of the Age of Dementia.Carol Novackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05043226140974797775noreply@blogger.comBlogger901125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18097827.post-19673145067118622582011-11-24T09:21:00.000-05:002011-11-24T09:21:43.989-05:00U.C. Davis pepper spray cop occupies art history - The Washington Post<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/uc-davis-pepper-spray-cop-occupies-art-history/2011/11/22/gIQAO1Y3kN_gallery.html">U.C. Davis pepper spray cop occupies art history - The Washington Post</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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<br />
Now (more or less)<br />
<br />
This cell is torrid and moist, like the city<br />
in which I’ve resided,<br />
the air fatal<br />
with the disease of fear.<br />
<br />
I lie flat on bones, staring at holes in the sky,<br />
hard as a ceiling;<br />
let my prison gown rise to expose my withered orchid.<br />
The guards stare, salivate.<br />
I am so chilled with fever, I tremble;<br />
so petrified I turn into an angry stone.<br />
<br />
This is a cave. No, this is my city.<br />
No, this is my tomb.<br />
<br />
My city burned and I saw edifices disappear, smelled toxic death.<br />
Even the cats wheezed. The day was a stunning Miro blue, clean as<br />
a new sheet, loud with one collective black sigh, the gasp of millions.<br />
As always, the foreign cities were aflame, fields cluttered with mines,<br />
like our minds and hearts.<br />
<br />
We lined up at hospitals, waiting to give our blood to the dead.<br />
There was nothing else we could do.<br />
For months, flyers posted on the storefronts displayed faces of the<br />
dead. We could still smell them. Have you seen Marie, George, Michel,<br />
Ali? I memorized their faces. They come to me in nightmares, asking<br />
why? We could do nothing.<br />
<br />
I will do anything to escape. Well, almost.<br />
<br />
Flashbacks?<br />
<br />
When they brought me to this city it was dark; I could not see<br />
through the black hood. But they forgot to put cotton in my<br />
ears and plug my nose, so I know I was brought to a camp by<br />
a sea or bay, could smell sea, hear waves. Camp --- oh, such<br />
a droll name, reminds me of summers in the Catskills when<br />
I was a child. There I was, gender delicate, so privileged to undergo<br />
summers of fun fun fun with the innocent sadists, those<br />
budding authoritarians in their early twenties, the counselors;<br />
and the kiddies like Tiny Tina, the little curled girls with their<br />
hierarchies of popularity. So I can drink in the smell of girlish<br />
talcum powder in my dreams, revive the Hallmark moments of<br />
childhood: strawberry lipstick, pink pantaloons, finished basements,<br />
and birthday parties on yachts. We Americans have so<br />
many accessories, don’t we; what a bore.<br />
<br />
I remember Tiny Tina and Lucky Lulu and the rest of the<br />
flock, age 12. They tied the big, strange, quiet one to the bed,<br />
stripped her, showered her with milk and talcum powder,<br />
poked at her tender, chubby spots, tittered: ominous, girlish<br />
giggles. Too stunned to weep, the strange one covered her eyes<br />
with her hands. I learned later that her uncle had raped her.<br />
Repeatedly.<br />
<br />
I think it was a camp on a bay. But it could be this city, here<br />
wherever I am.<br />
<br />
<br />
As I was Saying<br />
<br />
I am not nor have I ever been. But that’s wrong. There’s no<br />
neither for the nor, no either for the or – simply no choice,<br />
either ho or hum. I am not and I have never been. I am God’s<br />
little acre, passive soil. I dare you to cultivate me: come on,<br />
come on! The bloody rain is falling.<br />
Whether I’m in a camp or a city makes no difference. I could<br />
be diving in Belize. It is all the same in my cave.<br />
But I’ll try anything to crawl my way out of here.<br />
I will convince you:<br />
<br />
I HAVE NEVER BEEN AN EXISTENTIALIST<br />
<br />
That is why I’m here, isn’t it? I swear to God never. I am ruled by white<br />
candles, moved by divine destiny. I pledge allegiance to God, the all<br />
merciful, the All. I fi ght for prayers all over the place, vocal prayers in<br />
schools, banks, restaurants, libraries.<br />
<br />
My God is sweet, despite the sin of my birth, nearly an abortion, but the<br />
doctor erred. She’d received a call from her father and missed with the<br />
scalpel. My mother nearly bled to death. And so I’m on this planet but<br />
for His Grace, quite the Miracle, my mother said quite frequently, handing<br />
me the sponge-mop, Walmart special. There were so many things to<br />
clean; there are always so many dirty things. A woman’s work is never<br />
done. The hungry angler arises hours before dawn, before the early bird<br />
begins to catch worms. The rapacious angler catches tiny fish amongst<br />
the trophies, fish with mouths that won’t close, like the accused in monolithic<br />
Mafia trials. Of course, to be fair, fi sh mouths can’t close with all the<br />
shit in the oceans. But who gives a shit, anyway?<br />
<br />
No no, I have never been an existentialist, heavens forbid. Never ever<br />
even when I had a lover who placed his hand over my mouth so I<br />
wouldn’t utter a sound when I came. When I came, I said thank the Lord<br />
thank the Lord. He –the lover– was an evil existentialist. He wouldn’t let<br />
me say it.<br />
<br />
I can’t possibly make anything happen, but I will try, clandestinely, give<br />
it the old college try, hehe, but nothing upsetting or revolutionary, you<br />
understand. Don’t tell them, they’ll misinterpret. Always good to keep<br />
one’s mouth shut. Forget I said this. Better safe than sorry, have faith in<br />
the Lord.<br />
<br />
My god is sweet. He’s capitol! And capital! How about yours?<br />
<br />
I HAVE NEVER BEEN A COMMUNIST<br />
<br />
After hours of interrogation, I have nothing to confess, although<br />
it’s possible I have no memories left. Please believe me. I have no<br />
politics.<br />
<br />
I’ve always loved foie gras, Grey Goose, Gucci Puccis, blue fox<br />
coats, fancy dishwashers, diamonds, and white limos as sleek as<br />
Arabian horses. I am not ashamed.<br />
Even when daddy lost his big job and threw himself out, I loved<br />
the burgundy leather sofa and that ivory statuette of Cupid with<br />
the lampshade hat. I loved so many things in that house I stayed<br />
there much too long. I suppose I wanted more and more and more<br />
– more childhood, more gifts at Christmas, more champagne<br />
and caviar, you know the scoop. They teach you to want. Wanting<br />
is an art. How could I know that my father was suffi cient? Give me<br />
his voice, the lullabies he sang, the adoration in his eyes. I want so<br />
much to go back, sentimental fool that I am. He is dead.<br />
Of course, I was never a Communist. Mother never let me share<br />
my toys. I never give anything away. I can’t live without that Prada<br />
purse. They all have Prada purses.<br />
<br />
Mother died in that house. She said the locks were broken; she<br />
couldn’t possibly open the doors. They found her in bed with the<br />
family gems scattered all over the bedclothes, sparkling like babies’<br />
tears. Most of them were fake, it turned out. It usually happens<br />
that way.<br />
<br />
I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A LOYAL TEAM PLAYER<br />
<br />
I tell you I swear I will not make waves, never made them. Those who<br />
accuse me are lying.<br />
<br />
Proof:<br />
<br />
Exhibit A<br />
When M ravaged P in the ladies room, I was hiding in a stall and<br />
heard everything.<br />
When P begged me to testify I said no, what are you thinking?<br />
I support the company. My testimony would hurt the company. M is not<br />
expendable; you are, I said. I said Sorry, life is tough, gotta take the bad<br />
with the good tomorrow is another day forget about it, life is short, gotta<br />
catch the worm catch the worm, bye and may God be with you.<br />
<br />
Exhibit B<br />
When the important news reporter wanted to interview me about<br />
financial discrepancies in the company’s auditing reports, I said B &<br />
Y are squeaky clean how can you suggest otherwise. Can you prove<br />
that B and Y are in hiding somewhere in South America? No, you can’t,<br />
I said the phone records have been cooked by the liberals, goodbye no<br />
further comments.<br />
<br />
Exhibit C<br />
When G & G could no longer sublet their apartment because of my<br />
co-ops’s new policy, they appealed to me, unemployed and broke,<br />
they claimed. I’m a good citizen, on the board, president<br />
for 16 years, a no nonsense type of person. One must take control<br />
to defend one’s property; one must be decisive. So the residents always<br />
elect me and I have my obligations. Accordingly, I said no<br />
way to G & G, we can’t have transients living here, have to control<br />
the comings and goings, too bad for you can always sell. There’s a<br />
real estate agent on our Board, you know. While we sympathize, we<br />
can’t possibly make an exception, when in Rome do as the Romans do<br />
make haste while the sun shines redo your resumes, tough luck. I am<br />
protecting my investment, mine all mine. I shall not waver. No<br />
exceptions.<br />
<br />
Exhibit D<br />
When they started coming for the foreigners, I closed my curtains.<br />
My neighbors and I shut our doors. We refused the children.<br />
They were crying. It was not for us to decide what was best for<br />
the community. We spoke in whispers and cooked big chickens.<br />
We played Frank Sinatra to snuff the irritating sound of the<br />
gunshots and wailing, wrote to our politicians to get rid of the<br />
local porn shop.<br />
<br />
Exhibit E<br />
When Billy said I want to fight for democracy, I didn’t think I’d<br />
be staring at a face without eyes, six months later. I said this is<br />
our team and you are right the President said so. Make us proud,<br />
Billy. Make us safe. I knew my duty. It is a mother’s lot to sacrifice<br />
everything for her children, and her children’s lot to defend their<br />
mothers from savages. That is what I know. That is what I was<br />
taught.<br />
<br />
We go about our routines, as usual, but we know they are coming and<br />
there is nothing we can do. Our skin is bound so tight we are suffocating.<br />
We sigh. We gasp. We close our eyes, rely on our faith.<br />
We do.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /><a href="http://litmagazine.org/">LIT magazine</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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John Sutherland <br />
<br />
SOUNDS FAMILIAR <br />
<br />
The Words of Others: From Quotations to Culture <br />
By Gary Saul Morson (Yale University Press 352pp £20) <br />
<br />
Academics like me are skilled users of turnitin.com. Never heard of it? Ask the nearest undergraduate and watch their cheek blanch. Turnitin is the trade's leading 'plagiarism detector'. You upload the student's essay or dissertation and it's checked against trillions of words and phrases in seconds. Irritatingly, however, Turnitin turns in a lot of zombie quotes. Say, for example, a student opens an essay thus: <br />
<br />
It is a truth universally acknowledged that Dickens, well aware that he lived in neither the best nor the worst of times, was more tolerant than his Vanityfairean rival of 'great men'. For Thackeray no man was a hero to his valet. <br />
<br />
The detector is quite likely to claim six hits here. Should the conscientious student have appended footnotes citing Pride and Prejudice, A Tale of Two Cities, Ecclesiastes, John Bunyan, Carlyle, Goethe? <br />
<br />
We think of our use of language as 'fluency'. There are, however, congealed lumps floating in it and, if we look beneath the surface, often more lumps than liquidity. Put another way, most language is pre-owned. The previous owners are, as Gary Morson instructs us, often worth knowing about. Take, for example (not one of Morson's examples), the indisputably most famous and quoted line in English literature, 'To be, or not to be, that is the question'. <br />
<br />
Most theatregoers would think the sentence spit new. But should they also go to a performance of Marlowe's Doctor Faustus they would hear the following in the hero's magnificent opening soliloquy, in which he resolves to sell his soul: 'Bid Oncaymæon farewell, Galen come'. The Greek Oncaymæon transliterates as 'being and not being'. Where is Faustus a professor of philosophy? The University of Wittenberg. Where is Hamlet a student of philosophy? The University of - you guessed it. 'To be or not to be' is not a deeply original thought but a hackneyed sophomoric seminar topic. Hamlet is not thinking, he's quoting. ........................ <br />
<br />
(access the entire article here: <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.literaryreview.co.uk/sutherland_08_11.html">Literary Review - John Sutherland on <i>The World of Others: From Quotations to Culture</i></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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<br />The deadline for MadHat Press's first chapbook contest is fast approaching. Details are here on our judge's blog:
<br />
<br />
<br /><a href="http://caconradevents.blogspot.com/2011/06/poetry-chapbook-contest.html">CAConrad's upcoming events: poetry chapbook contest...</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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<br />3 brilliant poems from the "Back to the USSR" feature in the current issue of Mad Hatters' Review:
<br />
<br /><a href="http://www.madhattersreview.com/issue12/feature_ussr_turovskaya.shtml">Genya Turovskaya 'Back From the USSR' Feature | Mad Hatters' Review</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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<br />
<br />So hey, we should all protest Delta's union-busting maneuvers. Those of us who rely on their service should protest in front of airports. Those of us who don't, should also protest online and off. Starting at:
<br />
<br /><a href="http://action.cwa-union.org/c/11/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=2693">Tell Delta: Union Busting Won't Fly</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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<br />CATCH PART 2 OF THE MAD HATTERS' REVIEW SHOW TODAY, 5-6PM -- Recitations of contributors' writings.
<br />
<br />
<br /><a href="http://www.ashevillefm.org/wordplay">WordPlay | Asheville FM | Community Radio</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="265" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/26782140?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" width="400"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/26782140">Destination</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user783509">Jean Detheux</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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</div></div></div></a></h6><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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Far from it. While U.S. debt is at one of its highest levels ever in terms of gross domestic product, the estimated interest payments for all of 2011 on the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np">$14.3 trillion public debt</a> will be a mere <a target="_blank" href="http://www.fms.treas.gov/mts/mts0611.pdf">$430 billion</a>. This is only 18 percent more than the $364 billion paid way back in 1998, while the U.S. economy has <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.bea.gov/national/">grown nearly 30 percent since then</a>. Rock-bottom interest rates on U.S. government debt account for the low payments today, but the practical effect is that servicing the debt as a percentage of GDP is near the lowest it’s been in decades.</p> <p>Or what about hysterical headlines like “U.S. Debt Default Looms” (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.npr.org/2011/07/27/138746752/no-progress-as-u-s-debt-default-looms-closer">courtesy of NPR</a>) unless Democrats and Republicans agree to raise the debt ceiling? They are completely untrue. Richard Wolff, professor of economics emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, says, if there is no agreement by Aug. 2 to allow the U.S. Treasury to borrow more funds, then “the government instead would choose among cutbacks on various expenditures such as state and local aid, medical aid, for war, for infrastructure. It would extraordinarily unusual for a government in such a situation to attack its creditors.”</p> <p>If no deal on the debt ceiling is reached this sucks for the rest of us, such as the millions depending on their portion of the <a target="_blank" href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/debt-limit-delay-jeopardize-social-security-payments/story?id=13953916">$23 billion in Social Security payments</a> scheduled for Aug. 3. A short delay would do no serious harm, but a longer delay, perhaps just a week or two, would be devastating.</p> <p>For one, removing income support payments would have a major ripple effect in our consumer-based economy. Spending would drop precipitously on items like food, medicine, transportation, clothing and household goods. Peter Bratsis, a professor of Political Theory at the University of Salaford in England and a Greek-American, says his home country is a cautionary tale. Speaking from Greece, Bratsis said since the debt crisis hit last summer many people’s income have dropped up to 25 percent as wages, pensions and social welfare have been sacrificed to please the banks. As a result “Greece is in an economic depression. In Athens, on every block, you have shuttered bakeries, cafes, shoe stores, plumbers and other small businesses that are closed because either people don’t have the money to spend or are afraid to spend.”</p> <p>Second, says Wolff, “The U.S. Government is one of the largest buyers, if not the largest purchaser of commodities in the world of oil, of computers, of weapons. In an already shaky global economy, the biggest buyer of goods would be making cutbacks. This would be stupefyingly dumb.” He adds that by playing chicken with the national debt, Washington has already irreparably wounded the economy. “The world depends on the U.S. economy running smoothly. A default would lead governments and companies to rethink their relation to the United States, and this has already happened.”</p> <p>The point is while the dangers are rife in a delay in raising the debt ceiling the doomsday scenario of a government default on debt is not going to occur. The creditors will be kept happy and there will be no default because that is how government works in a capitalist economy. And even if the impasse dragged on, the Fed could dip into its <a target="_blank" href="http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/IR-Position/Pages/07152011.aspx">$550 billion in reserves</a>, including more than $400 billion in gold at current prices, to keep making debt payments.</p> <p>One blatant lie is that Republicans and Democrats, the Congress and the White House are serious about reining in budget deficits to reduce the long-term debt. They are not. The Congressional Budget Office calculates that the deficit from <a target="_blank" href="http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/120xx/doc12039/SummaryforWeb.pdf">2011 to 2013</a> will be $3.5 trillion. Over the decade it will be $8.5 trillion. Now, lots of numbers are being thrown about on spending cuts over a 10-year period, but they keep dropping – the Senate Democrats are proposing <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/28/us/politics/28fiscal.html?pagewanted=all">$2.2 trillion</a> in cuts and costs savings while the Republicans weigh in at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/07/22/us/politics/20110722-comparing-deficit-reduction-plans.html">$915 billion</a>.</p><br />------- ACCESS THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE VIA THE LINK:<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.alternet.org/story/151827/the_6_biggest_lies_about_the_u.s._debt/">The 6 Biggest Lies About the U.S. Debt | | AlterNet</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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