Alex Kudera's Blog, page 149
October 19, 2011
and don't forget
Strictly for the purposes of personal promotion, I'm writing an even slimmer volume on why people should read Benito Cereno and Billy Budd, Sailor, but I'm also tearing my hair out in neurotic angst over whether or not I should italicize or put these titles in quotation marks. Or maybe throw folks off by italicizing one and putting the other in quotes? (The Billy Budd hypertext from the University of Virginia is worth linking to more than once.)
And please don't forget Pierre, "Bartleby the Scrivener," "I and My Chimney," "The Encantadas," Israel Potter, and so forth.
As a final thought, I'm transfixed by the possibility that Herman Melville would have been a great name for one of those huge, seven-foot, tree-trunk centers who were so prevalent in the 1970s NBA (the other NBA). Of course, Nathaniel Philbrick also resonates in this regard. Where have you gone Caldwell Jones? And what are you reading?
And please don't forget Pierre, "Bartleby the Scrivener," "I and My Chimney," "The Encantadas," Israel Potter, and so forth.
As a final thought, I'm transfixed by the possibility that Herman Melville would have been a great name for one of those huge, seven-foot, tree-trunk centers who were so prevalent in the 1970s NBA (the other NBA). Of course, Nathaniel Philbrick also resonates in this regard. Where have you gone Caldwell Jones? And what are you reading?
October 11, 2011
Linh Dinh
Over at counterpunch, I stumbled upon a familiar name, that of Philadelphia's own Linh Dinh.
I remember that in the early nineties, my early twenties, he was already recognized as a new and important voice in town. I believe he was understood to be a poet, then. One night at McGlinchey's, I'm pretty sure we met, and we talked a bit over famously inexpensive drafts. I didn't have any literary accomplishments, so I imagine that I would have been impressed with whatever he had to say.
McGlinchey's is the kind of place where the hipper Temple and University of the Arts professors mingle with everyone else although I began to indulge in sobriety and never had time to go there once I started teaching all around town. (I've never been a party type, but you could say the adjunct overloads kept me off the streets.) My understanding is that the bar might not be the extreme bargain it once was, or that even the bargains don't seem so these days. In fact, I'm having trouble picturing it at all with the smoking ban now firmly in place although the comments at yelp suggest smoking inside is alive and well at the "dive-y" bar and grill.
Anyway, Linh Dinh's current project includes photographs from Occupy Wall Street and, if I'm not mistaken, dozens of other occupations. And he is accepting donations, perhaps because he needs them: "Speaking of solidarity, I wouldn't have been able to observe the protest if a dozen readers of my blog hadn't sent me hundreds of dollars this past month alone. Part of this cash was used to fix my broken camera. With a poisoned media, untrained citizens must anoint themselves journalists."
Well, I suspect that most of the "poisoned media" are just trying to survive like the rest of us, and even many writers considered mainstream are freelance and hustling to make ends meet. But Linh Dinh's photographs are certainly not indicative of an "untrained" eye.
I remember that in the early nineties, my early twenties, he was already recognized as a new and important voice in town. I believe he was understood to be a poet, then. One night at McGlinchey's, I'm pretty sure we met, and we talked a bit over famously inexpensive drafts. I didn't have any literary accomplishments, so I imagine that I would have been impressed with whatever he had to say.
McGlinchey's is the kind of place where the hipper Temple and University of the Arts professors mingle with everyone else although I began to indulge in sobriety and never had time to go there once I started teaching all around town. (I've never been a party type, but you could say the adjunct overloads kept me off the streets.) My understanding is that the bar might not be the extreme bargain it once was, or that even the bargains don't seem so these days. In fact, I'm having trouble picturing it at all with the smoking ban now firmly in place although the comments at yelp suggest smoking inside is alive and well at the "dive-y" bar and grill.
Anyway, Linh Dinh's current project includes photographs from Occupy Wall Street and, if I'm not mistaken, dozens of other occupations. And he is accepting donations, perhaps because he needs them: "Speaking of solidarity, I wouldn't have been able to observe the protest if a dozen readers of my blog hadn't sent me hundreds of dollars this past month alone. Part of this cash was used to fix my broken camera. With a poisoned media, untrained citizens must anoint themselves journalists."
Well, I suspect that most of the "poisoned media" are just trying to survive like the rest of us, and even many writers considered mainstream are freelance and hustling to make ends meet. But Linh Dinh's photographs are certainly not indicative of an "untrained" eye.
October 7, 2011
new web design
The Atticus Books website received a total makeover, and now the homepage sports title rotation worthy of the very finest in Dim Sum table spin. (No, I don't know what that means, but it's worth checking out.)
October 1, 2011
occupying a nice first print run
Within hours of learning that The Philadelphia Inquirer no longer prints a Saturday edition (I do remember that one shrinking over the years), I read that Occupy Wall Street printed its first newspaper--raising $12,000 and printing 50,000 copies.
I guess it's safe to say that we can now count Occupy Wall Street as among and supporting the 99% of writers who contribute to the global economy of words on paper and screen--but would that be at the expense of the 1% of writers who still hold the good union jobs with corporate newspapers?
Fight for Your Long Printed Page!
I guess it's safe to say that we can now count Occupy Wall Street as among and supporting the 99% of writers who contribute to the global economy of words on paper and screen--but would that be at the expense of the 1% of writers who still hold the good union jobs with corporate newspapers?
Fight for Your Long Printed Page!
September 30, 2011
CAAH
Clemson University's College of Architecture, Arts, and Humanities had the peculiar misfortune to find The Duffler Occupying its website this month. If we get a chance to interview Cyrus, we'll try to find out why he left his tiny apartment to live in the public domain.
September 28, 2011
we who are
In the We Who Are About To Breed series at We Who Are About To Die, Patrick Wensick was kind enough to include a special segment on We Who Are About To Grade Too Many Undergraduate Blogs and Essays. Thanks for the interview!
September 25, 2011
NYTimes "Gunning" for Protestors?
Like a well trained dog, I exceed my reading limit early each month, but I'm still able to pass on that the New York Times has Occupy Wall Street front and center on the Sunday morning website, and that they include links to three stories.
The main headline reads, "Protesters Are Gunning for Wall Street with Faulty Aim."
To me, it's unfortunate that peaceful protestors would be described in a "legitimate" news source as "gunning." And, alas, the first sentence is a dig at the ignorance of these peaceful young people:
"Demonstrators on Wall Street this week seemed to lack hard knowledge of the system they were fighting."
In fact, if they do lack this "hard knowledge" it could be due to how the system's statistics continually mask reality, whether we're talking about rates for unemployment, inflation, or pay for college grads. It's only in the last few years that we've seen more establishment journalism include information on discouraged workers or workforce participation rates.
Harper's Magazine in the Index ran the statistic that 85 percent of 2011 college grads returned to live at home after commencement, and any teacher in America who has ever reported this statistic or something similar to his or her students is greeted by expressions of shock and disbelief. That statistic certainly doesn't mean that these young people remain at home for the rest of their adult lives, but it also doesn't account for all the other adult Americans living with parents due to economic necessity.
So, perhaps, if it is true that these young people lack hard facts, perhaps it is also their sources--educators, journalists, parents, and others--who might take some responsibility for that? And perhaps the journalist who "broke" the story for The New York Times could also, by at least some criteria, be counted as among those who lacks "hard knowledge"?
There was also a nice Mom from Queens on the Occupy Wall Street livefeed right now who sends her love to you.
The main headline reads, "Protesters Are Gunning for Wall Street with Faulty Aim."
To me, it's unfortunate that peaceful protestors would be described in a "legitimate" news source as "gunning." And, alas, the first sentence is a dig at the ignorance of these peaceful young people:
"Demonstrators on Wall Street this week seemed to lack hard knowledge of the system they were fighting."
In fact, if they do lack this "hard knowledge" it could be due to how the system's statistics continually mask reality, whether we're talking about rates for unemployment, inflation, or pay for college grads. It's only in the last few years that we've seen more establishment journalism include information on discouraged workers or workforce participation rates.
Harper's Magazine in the Index ran the statistic that 85 percent of 2011 college grads returned to live at home after commencement, and any teacher in America who has ever reported this statistic or something similar to his or her students is greeted by expressions of shock and disbelief. That statistic certainly doesn't mean that these young people remain at home for the rest of their adult lives, but it also doesn't account for all the other adult Americans living with parents due to economic necessity.
So, perhaps, if it is true that these young people lack hard facts, perhaps it is also their sources--educators, journalists, parents, and others--who might take some responsibility for that? And perhaps the journalist who "broke" the story for The New York Times could also, by at least some criteria, be counted as among those who lacks "hard knowledge"?
There was also a nice Mom from Queens on the Occupy Wall Street livefeed right now who sends her love to you.
September 24, 2011
first thought, best thought
I've been reading about Allen Ginsberg's "first thought, best thought" ideas, which seem particularly suitable or relevant to contemporary studies of blogging--perhaps more so than studies of poetry. In fact, according to American Scream, an easy to read book primarily about "Howl," Ginsberg's most famous poem was rigorously edited despite Jack Kerouac's insistence that Allen cut and revise as little as possible. In fact, at the time, it became apparent that "first thought, best thought" was much more Jack's idea than Allen's. This kind of adds to the sad irony of Ginsberg living a full, marketed life that culminates with a decades worth of professorship at Brooklyn College while Kerouac dies relatively young, relatively drunk, and of course, more or less living on his relative's (as in Mom's) couch.
As to how "first thought, best thought" relates to this blog, I did in fact just revise a recent entry to make myself appear less cynical and perhaps more generous. (Yes, a kind soul who was only partly obsessed with how low his meager stock holdings would decline during the current revolution in Liberty Park--that is how posterity and the present should know L.U.S.K. Oh, how I wish I were one of those grainfed affluent liberal-to-lefters who remains completely unaware for an entire lifetime that his or her retirement has primarily been secured by ample holdings of and dividends from Big Oil, Fat Retail, Large Car, Long Bomb, etc.) I'm sure this impulse to revise relates to the fact that this is a public blog, and so there is also the possibility that the usual censors--from peers to authorities to parents to potential employers could chance upon it and consider whether or not it meets the standards.
Anyway, I also noticed I didn't revise out that I began four consecutive substantial paragraphs with "and."
OK. I'll post now and then come back to this later!
As to how "first thought, best thought" relates to this blog, I did in fact just revise a recent entry to make myself appear less cynical and perhaps more generous. (Yes, a kind soul who was only partly obsessed with how low his meager stock holdings would decline during the current revolution in Liberty Park--that is how posterity and the present should know L.U.S.K. Oh, how I wish I were one of those grainfed affluent liberal-to-lefters who remains completely unaware for an entire lifetime that his or her retirement has primarily been secured by ample holdings of and dividends from Big Oil, Fat Retail, Large Car, Long Bomb, etc.) I'm sure this impulse to revise relates to the fact that this is a public blog, and so there is also the possibility that the usual censors--from peers to authorities to parents to potential employers could chance upon it and consider whether or not it meets the standards.
Anyway, I also noticed I didn't revise out that I began four consecutive substantial paragraphs with "and."
OK. I'll post now and then come back to this later!
September 23, 2011
if you build it,
people will come?
It seems plausible.
Saturday in New York City, they are expecting 10,000 people:
http://www.adbusters.org/blogs/adbusters-blog/occupywallstreet-saturday.html
I know this is the Kudera kiss-of-death, for me to predict anything at all, but it has become apparent that this movement could be successful at having its "one demand" met.
But what will the one demand be?
No clue.
It seems plausible.
Saturday in New York City, they are expecting 10,000 people:
http://www.adbusters.org/blogs/adbusters-blog/occupywallstreet-saturday.html
I know this is the Kudera kiss-of-death, for me to predict anything at all, but it has become apparent that this movement could be successful at having its "one demand" met.
But what will the one demand be?
No clue.
news worth ignoring?
I still haven't found a business news article that connects the first week of Occupy Wall Street to our worst week for stocks since 2008. Have you?
