Brain Pain discussion
This topic is about
Ulysses
Ulysses - Spine 2012
>
Questions, Resources and General Banter - Ulysses
date
newest »
newest »
Brandon wrote: "I know discussions don't start until Monday, but I'd just like to share my fav line in the book so far. This was in Episode 1:"The sacred pint alone can unbind the tongue of Dedalus.""
Oh, man, Brandon - thank the gods you're not old enough to drink.
Yeah ... I like that line too. It applies to all the elbow benders, even the ones like me who are no longer old enough to drink.
(If you don't have any addictions, don't start any - it's a bugger to kick 'em)
Liz M wrote: "I'm reading the Oxford edition: 
, but it sounds similar. The end notes for each episode starts with a summary of the relevant section of Homer's Odyssey, followed by a f..."My text reading, at present, is coming from one GR has supplied right here - is it the same ... couldn't be, 'cause the text I'm following doesn't have any stuff at the end of sections.
I've done a 'create shortcut' for it anyway - like I needed more shortcuts on my desktop.
(Then again, I guess FreeCell doesn't need an icon ... heh! heh!)
A few more notes I took while wading through the links here this morning - it IS 11:25 - good! I can allow myself a wee bit of scrabble, etc.Might even eat something.
I'll paste the rest of my notes in one gulp and hope I'm not boring you all to death.
So Joyce wrote Ulysses, themed on Homer's Odyssey ... got that ... I'm curious - has anyone ever written a book themed on Joyce's Ulysses? Like followed it along in the same manner, trying to duplicate the effort - say, between the years of 1980 and current time?Or am I being just too imaginative here.
..........................................
Will said ...
I continue to digress (whilst also returning to Ulysses) by quoting concert pianist Jeremy Denk, who wrote this passage that I keep printed above my piano as a reminder: (from http://jeremydenk.net/blog/2005/04/14/cl...)
Thanks, Will ... it's a terrific excuse for all the procrastinating I've been doing on my collection of stories. I can consider this present study of Joyce as being 'research' for my story of the Irish woman, Evelyn Fagan - eventually to become Book of Fagan. Most likely will be printed posthumously - unless I plan on living till 100.
.........................................
What was it I said way back there?
quoting self ...
I'm gonna' spend the week on this book ...
unquoting self
Right! I'm still the intro thread here - still checking out all the links and ordering the books in! I think I've got one toe wet!
..........................................
HOLY TOLEDO, Jim! You've got 401 members on this group already! Congrats!..................
I persevered at Delaney's site ... booted it up without anything else going on the task bar - that way, I did NOT Get booted out, like yesterday.And I found it! What I was looking for ...
Here is Delaney's feed right from the get go - Episode 1
http://feeds.feedburner.com/libsyn/sQtR
It goes right back to June 2010
I've dug right in to the first episode - Delaney is a genius.
He reads one sentence and sets in to explaining it all - beautiful!
That's amazing - it's like having a teacher go through it para by para!
Gonna spend some time with those podcasts today - they're short so I can probably bring myself up to the current date's broadcasts.Thanks again, Whitney, for linking to this site. I just love it.
Mod
.................."
Thanks!
JIM! In one point of his discourse - on art - Oscar Wilde - Frank Delaney says to James Joyce - Way to go, Jim. Ha ha!And isn't that odd - YOU are Jim!
Mod
And isn't that odd - YOU are Jim!"
It's true. I am a member of a secret fraternal order of men named James, stretching back before the time of Christ. Of course, B.C., we all had a different name, but I'm forbidden to mention it here. Somewhere around 34 or 35 A.D., there was much debate about getting on the whole Jesus bandwagon and changing our names to James en masse. It was a close vote with many of the older members claiming Christianity was nothing more than a fad that would be all but forgotten by the year 39. Luckily, we didn't listen to them and changed our names to James. True story...
ROTFLOL!Heeeeelarious, Jim!
The first post I've read this morning - 6:20 am, here in Toronto Town. After an evening of two really deep intellectual films:
Stuart Little
&
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
we retired around midnight. As I've been sleeping right through the nights this past week, I've risen at this lovely hour of the morning to find we've been bombarded by Old Man Winter who heard me saying 'we're having a very mild winter'.
If it continues to fall, I'll be home all day, happily listening to Delaney's podcasts.
Will the man actually live to get through the whole book? Will I live long enough to follow it through.
Very informative, these wee discourses of his. I'm enjoying myself immensely.
I really do envy you all and the discussions you're having. I haven't dropped off the face of the earth, but I have had to drop my participation in most of my GR discussions for a while. I'm finishing up a Masters Degree in Teaching and am in the internship phase; I'm also teaching at a local University, so time is dreadfully short and something had to give. Unfortunately it was my time for reading and discussing. But, it's only about 11 weeks left until graduation (noooo, I'm not counting down :>) and then I can return and really enjoy your company again. I do miss you all.
Mod
Thanks for checking in Catherine!
Sometime soon you can jump back into the discussions. We'll be here, straining our brains for..... wait, why are we straining our brains again??!?
Oh right! No Brain Pain, No Brain Gain...
And remember, the discussion schedules are just for our first pass thru these books. They will remain open and can be rejoined and revived at any time, so when your schedule permits, join in whatever discussions you want, no matter what the calendar date.
Thanks, Jim. I do check in from time to time just so I don't fall too far behind in the discussions. These are books I have wanted to read for a long time, so I'll be making comments at some point.
Yet another link to the musings of Joyce fans ...http://ulyssesseen.com/landing/tag/cl...
Looks like an interesting lot of web pages to scour through - maybe even sign up for
whatever forums Berry has going there.
Haven't time to look at it now - already keeping busy with the Delaney discourses.
(Like the obsessive nerd I am, I am listening to the audio segments of his podcasts, right
from the GetGo when he started - I've already raved ... er ... mentioned my infatuation
with this man, introduced by Whitney, so I won't go on about it further ... today.)
Carly wrote: "Yet another link to the musings of Joyce fans ...http://ulyssesseen.com/landing/tag/cl...
..."
Oh, good - another Joyce time-suck! These comics are quite good, IMHO, thanks for the link. I like reading Stephen's thoughts superimposed over the action inspiring them, even Joyce may have appreciated the way it breaks down the temporal restraints of the text. They've only completed two chapters, so mixed blessing in that I can't spend too much time over there :-) Glad you also love the Delany podcasts, hoping he has a long, healthy life!
I can't imagine Delaney actually getting through the whole book like that. He gives a 15 minute discourse every 10 lines or so - I'm already re-thinking the idea of continuing to do the book this way - it's too slow.But I just love the guy - finished up his talks on section/chapter 1 last night.
I can't think of a book where I learned so much about a culture and life, in general.
I do crossword puzzle construction (only one gig on it now - every two months I do a puzzle for Atlantis Rising and have done so for about 10 years).
I'm working on puzzles for this book - Names/Places/Language, etc.
I'll have fun sharing them with y'all sometime later.
Ya' never know - might even get a publisher to accept them.
My first published crossword was on Charles Dickens - it was online with one of the writing sites for years. I think it's still up there - haven't looked for a long time - guess I could google it.
I think this is going to be the blast of the year, here on Goodreads - Brain Pain's discussion on Ulysses.
And ... I've even started thinking about doing some poems for Ulysses.Guess others have done or are doing that.
Hmmmm ... ok - here I've given the link to that Berry chap's comics, etc., and have only really looked at it now.You're right, Whitney - another JJ Time Suck - just might get into that. Make it another portion of my day to spend time on that site.
Good job I no longer work outside the home.
Gotta do Section/chapter 2 today - I'm not going to get in so deep with Delaney ... I'd like to finish the book before New Years Eve, y'know?I think what I'll do is:
1) listen to my CD audio;
2) read the text;
3) listen to SOME of Delaney's broadcasts on that.
What's turning me off is realizing that there's only so much Delaney to listen to right now. He is currently doing a weekly on this book. I know when I get to the end of his archived podcasts, I'll be ticked off if I have to wait a week for the next.
So ... that's the main reason I don't want to get TOO attached to it all.
But, I've said that before ... mmmm hmmmmm.
Oh, obsession, obsession
how you take me into the night
leaving me sleepless, waiting
for the light of day to break
so I may once again take you up
hold you in my arms, scent the pages
from old tomes ...
ok - that's enough - that's all i need, to get into writing poems for the day.
Gotta' get on with my puzzle page deadline or I'll be in a big flap on the 29th of the month.
Quoting from the Wikipedia document:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Joyce
Though most of his adult life was spent abroad, Joyce's fictional universe does not extend beyond Dublin, and is populated largely by characters who closely resemble family members, enemies and friends from his time there; Ulysses in particular is set with precision in the streets and alleyways of the city. Shortly after the publication of Ulysses he elucidated this preoccupation somewhat, saying, “For myself, I always write about Dublin, because if I can get to the heart of Dublin I can get to the heart of all the cities of the world. In the particular is contained the universal.”
Regarding Mr. Cashel Boyle O'Connor Fitzmaurice Tisdall Farrell, who briefly appears in a few chapters of Ulysses. The Dubliner who originally surveyed Market Street in San Francisco in 1847 (and for whom O'Farrell Street was named) was Cashel Boyle O'Connor Fitzmaurice Tisdall O'Farrell. Coincidence? Conspiracy? Am I to conclude that "Cashel Boyle O'Connor Fitzmaurice Tisdall" is a common given name in Ireland?As an interesting side note, Mr. O'Farrell was nearly lynched (another Irish name) for his efforts. The full story for interested parties: http://foundsf.org/index.php?title=Th... (the last paragraph).
Well, it's a pretty long name - guess those that get it take a number.
Did everyone hear about the new movie version of ‘Ulysses’ that’s being made? Apparently it’s a vanity project for Justin Bieber, who said it’s one of his favorite books and he’s always wanted to play Stephen in a film version (never would have seen that coming). Baz Luhrmann is slated to direct, and John C. Reilly will be playing Bloom.
No, but I have been tempted to find this version. ETA: Don't drink & post, especially around 4/1.
Mod
I just pray the calendar still read April 1st when you posted this...
Jim wrote: "I just pray the calendar still read April 1st when you posted this... ..."Why, yes, it was definitely April 1st. Why do you ask? :-)
I totally fell for it. Embarrassing, but I blame Joyce. After Circe, nothing seems weird any more!
Rachel wrote: "I totally fell for it. Embarrassing, but I blame Joyce. After Circe, nothing seems weird any more!"At least you didn't fall for it publicly :P
No shame! After all, stranger things have happened...Keanu Reeves in "Much Ado about Nothing," for instance.
I'm going to have to go back to this later. Ulysses is on my to read this year.
I'm finally getting to read Ulysses. I know I'm late, but I like that in this group I CAN read a book late and still make my contributions. Just hope that people are not completely talked out.
Mod
A bit fatigued maybe, but far from talked out. There are a number of people still reading, and I'm sure we'll be happy to join in with your discussion as you go.
BTW, the third Episode, Proteus, is one of the most difficult in the book and is often the wall that people cannot make it over and turn back, leaving the book on that sad "couldn't finish" list. If that happens, don't give up! Just go to the Week One thread and shout for help and we'll throw you a rope. On the other side of that Protean wall is Mr. Leopold Bloom and his wife Molly whom you'll be happy to meet after Stephen's pissing and moaning on the Strand...
Welcome, Catherine! Judging from the zillions of books about this book, I don't think it's possible to talk out Ulysses. Enjoy your read!
Jim wrote:"BTW, the third Episode, Proteus, is one of the most difficult in the book and is often the wall that people cannot make it over and turn back, leaving the book on that sad "couldn't finish" list. If that happens, don't give up! Just go to the Week One thread and shout for help and we'll throw you a rope. On the other side of that Protean wall is Mr. Leopold Bloom and his wife Molly whom you'll be happy to meet after Stephen's pissing and moaning on the Strand... "
Jim, thanks for the rope! I'm climbing Proteus and slipping and sliding all the way. =) Week One Thread is my next stop (along with grading papers, lesson planning, etc.) and I know I'll find lots of help to get through this part.
Off to the next thread, she says as she waves her climbing gear!!
Hopefully, I can start on this book after finishing Rashomon and Seventeen Other Stories and Frankenstein, my other book club reading I wanted to join in.
Catherine wrote: "I'm finally getting to read Ulysses. I know I'm late, but I like that in this group I CAN read a book late and still make my contributions. Just hope that people are not completely talked out."Catherine, I'm one of the stragglers. I'm taking the whole thing very slowly. After Proteus I took a long break (and *almost* gave up!) but then I loved the next four episodes. I have put it aside again for a couple of weeks because my in-laws were here and trying to read Ulysses and entertaining in-laws was just too much!! :)
Mod
http://www.mentalfloss.com/cheatsheet...
And if you do finish and you're at a cocktail party where someone starts rolling out the factoids on this cheat sheet, you'll be able to call their bluff!
Jim wrote: "On the chance that any of you don't make it all the way through Ulysses, here's a cheat sheet:...""Nothing much happens"? Total spoiler alert!
Mod
I'm still listening, but came across this yesterday in
Deconstruction in a Nutshell: A Conversation with Jacques Derrida
by John D. Caputo:
(Quotation)
["...Trying to trace the historical genesis or constitution of ideal meaning, Husserl insisted upon 'the imperative of univocity' that the same words bear the same meaning across time, that later generations be able to repeat and reactivate exactly the same sense, in order thereby to allow communication and, hence, progress among generations of investigators. The opposite conception is Joyce's, which locates history in releasing every buried association in language, in loading every vocable word, and sentence with the highest possible amount of associative potential, which cultivates rather than avoids plurivocity, so the history lurches forward in a labyrinth, a 'nightmare' of equivocation.
"Derrida is struck by the self-limitation of both ideas. For unbridled equivocality would breed such confusion that 'the very text of its repetition' would be unintelligible, even as perfect univocity, were such a thing possible, would result only in paralysis and sterility, in the indefinite reiteration of the same, not in a 'history.' Joyce would thus have to make some concessions to univocity, even as Husserl would be forced to admit a certain equivocity into history, a certain mutation that is no mere accident or fall but a transformation that must accompany every repetition and transmission, in virtue of which history is not a simple reproduction but a productive self-transformation.
"Deconstruction--as usual--situates itself in the distance between these two. It does not renounce the constitution of meaning and the transmission of scientific ideas, even while it inscribes ideality in the flux of writing, for the sphere of ideal meaning is always and already forged from below, as an effect of the play of traces. Deconstruction is a certain Husserlianism, a theory of the constitution of meaning and ideality, but one that is always already exposed to a certain Joyceanism, to the irrepressible anarchy of signifiers, the unmasterable, anarchic event of archi-écriture. For textuality or écriture sees to it that we are at best able to put together certain unstable and contingent unities of 'meaning,' certain effects of the differential play of traces that, with a good lick and a promise, may get us through the day, that are only as good as the work they do and only for the while that they do it, before they give way to more felicitous effects and more successful convergences, before they are taken up not into 'higher' but into different and more felicitous configurations.
The entire chapter, "Re-Joyce, Say Yes", may be of interest to those of you who enjoy both Joyce and Derrida and maybe some of you who don't. I particularly enjoyed the commentary on "Yes."
If anyone is in the SF Bay Area, there's a new Ulysses Reading Group Meetup that's meeting every Sunday from St. Patrick's Day to Bloomsday to read this thing. Come on! You know you want to read it again, right? Right??
Mod
That sounds like a lot of fun, but I'm 7000 miles too far away. Enjoy!
Rachel wrote: "Since my edition of Ulysses is strictly text only - no notes, no intro, no nuthin' - and the last time I cracked the Odyssey was approximately 1992, do any of those guides mentioned above have good..."The best companion book is Stanley Sultan's 1964 masterpiece The Argument of Ulysses.
I suppose from a purist point of view, the Oxford World's Classics edition would be the one to read since it's a reprint of the original 1922 edition. And it has some very detailed notes. I've also got the Penguin edition and the Gabler edition (the so-called corrected text, even though it is problematical) and have read the older Bodley Head one in the past. Books to read on Ulysses are by Gilbert, Budgen, Kain, Ellmann, Kenner, Litz, Groden, Adams and Schechner.
Brain Pain
Books mentioned in this topic
Rashōmon and Seventeen Other Stories (other topics)Frankenstein (other topics)
Ulysses: The 1922 Text (other topics)
Ulysses (other topics)
Ulysses: The 1922 Text (other topics)
More...
Try 'Petersen's Field Guide To Modernism' - LOL!!"
Jim, I was so relieved, just now, to realize you really were joking ... I actually put that title in the library's search window, thinking ... hmmmm ... he IS kidding, isn't he? Horrors of horrors, nobody actually published a book with that title?
OK ... that's out of the way - as you were - smoke 'em if ya' got 'em.