a little white god i can hold in my lap
Mon dieu, il est arrive! One beautiful, angelic, unmarred little ibook has arrived, dropped off by the ebay stork. Or so i hear from my brother, who was in charge of directing the stork. The series of events went as follows:
DAY 1
Me: I'm considering buying an ibook.
Brother: That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.
DAY NEXT
Brother: Hey, I've been researching ibooks and perhaps your idea was not criminally stupid. Perhaps there may be something to this "macintosh" thing.
DAY THE FOLLOWING
Brother: Okay! Here's what's happening. There's an auction on ebay for YOUR computer -- it has to be your computer, it's awesome, and it's cheaper than you can get it online. You have to bid for it. If you won't bid for it, I will. Or can you bid for me, actually? I'm at a bar.
And so, the harmless plan to replace my decrepit and w-less laptop, hatched with my co-worker T. only a few weeks ago and which T. and I were perfectly content to keep idly batting back and forth ("should i buy one?" "yeah definitely. should i?" "oh yeah." ... "should i?") cost me $950 because I made the mistake of informing my brother. Ah well.
T. and I spent this evening doing my taxes. If our figures are correct, and they should be dammit because (a) bitch azn!, (b) bitch scored in the astronomical on her most recent standardized math test, and (c) we totally used a calculator and everything, I should get enough back from various state and federal governments to pay for the beaming, beneficent white god and take T. out to a celebratory dinner and apologize for calling her "azn" and "bitch."
In non-laptop related news, I've been thinking about Camille Paglia. Now, Swarthmore as a general rule was the kind of place where you could engage fellows in discussion on just about any topic or personality. But every once in a while, I found, I encountered a topic or personality about which/whom conventional wisdom was so ingrained that there was no discussion to be had. Instead of discussion, fellows substituted a dismissive "pff!" sound. David Horowitz? "Pff!" And so on.
What I can't recall is whether Camille Paglia is a "Pff!"er. Andrew Dvorkin, RIP -- her too. The fear of the dismissive reaction keeps me from raising the issue, or perhaps I should say 'spectre,' of either. But in the two interviews I've linked, I found myself finding Camille somewhat charming, even as I giggle at her Goodyear blimp of an ego. It's mostly due to her snarky disdain for theory, but still, please tell me, am I going to lefty hell? The kind of hell filled with shrines to President Tom Delay and where wednesday night standby West Wing is stripped from the air and replaced with conservative christian apocalyptic fantasies?? (Oh wait ...)
It's hard having to think for myself. No, really.
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7 comments:
maybe you're going to lefty hell. or maybe you're just a little unorthodox. anyway, the reason i usually say "pff" to paglia is that she does a lot of gender essentializing and thinks, or seems to think, that rape is not so bad, or rather that there's an element of consent in much rape. interesting to think of her in proximity to dworkin, who thought there was an element of rape in much consent.
jesus, she said that? really? can you find a link for me? naturally they didn't mention that in her interviews.
yeah, i thought the juxtaposition with dworkin was interesting too. have you been reading the tributes to her? there's a lot of, uh, range.
here's an excerpt that was blogged a while ago. the full cite is on the page.
http://www.deanesmay.com/archives/006227.html
i think i probably mischaracterized her in my first comment...but, as you'll see, not too badly -- and maybe not badly enough.
oh right, and also please notice that she is irremediably racist.
My Sixties attitude is, yes, go for it, take the risk, take the challenge--if you get raped, if you get beat up in a dark alley in a street, it's okay. That was part of the risk of freedom, that's part of what we've demanded as women. Go with it. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and go on. We cannot regulate male sexuality. The uncontrollable aspect of male sexuality is part of what makes sex interesting. And yes, it can lead to rape in some situations. What feminists are asking for is for men to be castrated, to make eunuchs out of them. The powerful, uncontrollable force of male sexuality has been censored out of white middle-class homes. But it's still there in black culture, and in Spanish culture.
dios mio. you're so right.
perhaps i shouldn't say this but...
andrea dworkin. blech. she and mackinnon just annoy the fuck out of me.
whatcha doing saturday night, though? want to have dinner or a drink or something?
p.s. congrats on the ibook. i've been thinking of acquiring one myself, if only i can think of a way to get rid of my totally dysfunctional (even though it is only 5 months old!!!) dell laptop.
also, your brother is extremely amusing.
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