8.23.2001
posted by fred solinger 8:37 PM
i write, simply, because i love to read. over the
years, which have been relatively few, a number of
writers have spoken to me, for me, and with me, putting
into words things i thought incapable of being
expressed, things i lazily deemed "ineffable," and
they've made the world seem smaller and less cruel,
revealing thoughts and ideas i felt i alone possessed.
now, I just try my best to reciprocate.
posted by fred solinger 8:04 PM
Someday, at the end of the nightmare of knowing,
may I emerge singing praise and jubilation to assenting angels.
May I strike my heart's keys clearly, and may none fail
because of slack, uncertain, or fraying strings.
May the tears that stream down my face
make me more radiant: may my hidden weeping
bloom. How I will cherish you then, you grief-torn nights!
Had I only received you, inconsolable sisters,
on more abject knees, only buried myself with more abandon
in your loosened hair. How we waste our afflictions!
We study them, stare out beyond them into bleak continuance,
hoping to glimpse some end. Whereas they're really
our wintering foliage, our dark greens of meaning, one
of the seasons of the clandestine year--; not only
a season--: they're site, settlement, shelter, soil, abode.--rainer maria rilke, "the tenth elegy"
8.22.2001
posted by fred solinger 6:53 PM
breaking news from hell this evening...: "i am now the owner of a bob dylan album," says the man in the wrinkle-free pants. this admission completes the scene, develops the picture: having perused 401 (k) info this afternoon, of the opinion that his parents have some good ideas, the speaker is now, for the record, officially old. (the album, for those interested, is blood on the tracks. i downloaded "tangled up in blue" the other day at work -- in what one might call "a simple twist of fate." or not. -- enjoyed it, sought other tracks from the album and decided to do the right thing and purchase it. it should be noted that "just like a woman" and "don't think twice, it's alright," other dylan tracks given a hearing, failed to pass.)
8.21.2001
posted by fred solinger 9:16 PM
richard powers, galatea 2.2: i've just finished reading this book and it was fantastic. powers, for those who are unfamiliar with him, is like don delillo with a phd in physics, philosophy, literature, and so forth. quick synopsis: men try to teach machine to read, to comprehend, to explicate. machine evolves into more than they bargained for. in lesser hands, it's short circuit 2; but with powers doing the writing, it's thrilling and heartbreaking -- not only is galatea a cognitive science primer, it's also a manual of human failings, a scrapbook of loves both lost and unrequited. thematically, galatea is about three things: about people stuck in yesterday and people who are the world's tomorrow; machines who strive for life and men who have given up on it; and the word, in all of its guises, and how it brings us together and tears us apart. in galatea, hope is found in the least likely of places and powers' faith in himself -- for he serves as his very own protagonist -- and in his fellows is restored by a machine; his reader, just as fortunate, will find this book capable of the very same. highly recommended.
posted by fred solinger 7:46 PM
it now strikes me just how much easier it is to write tragedy, to create with a words a scenario that will unsettle something in the mind and heart of the reader, than it is to respond to the tragedy of another. in the former, the words mean everything; in the latter, they mean nothing.
8.20.2001
posted by fred solinger 8:18 PM
i can't stay away: yes, yes, i'm back (and i promise to do something about this, uh, design). but my reasons for being back are nefarious and self-serving. first off, i want to link to my wishlist, since my birthday is around the corner. (actually, this is the chief reason, ask josh.) secondly, i want to some outlet while i put off writing anything of meaning and importance. like (finally) this, which i wrote not too long ago and which is probably the best thing i've written. some are calling it "very moving." and "some" isn't even related to me. so yeah. here i am. uh, keep your eye on this page.
contact me.
the following are some sites i visit
from time to time. you'd be all the better if you did the same:
nylpm
freaky
trigger
josh
blog
loatd
grr
skykicking
maura.com
popshots
matos
badger
catherine
pearls
the voice music section
submeat
perpetual motion
tmftml
the rub
no rock&roll fun
spizzazz
fluxblog
sex & sunshine
technicolour
