Between classes
I turned on the TV. The Waltons were on. I remember really hating that show growing up, though my mom loved it. I found out later that my Dad hates Ralph Waite. Maybe I got the “I hate the Waltons” gene. It only took about thirty seconds to hear: “Girls who say gosh, golly, and darn will wind up sleeping alone in a barn.” While I may admit the truth of this statement, I really prefer girls who say “Holy Shit!” and “Damn” myself.
Speaking of “Holy Shit!,” there’s been a big discussion on the Nassr-L list about the nature of the “Pleasure Dome” in Coleridge’s Kubla Khan, regarding whether it is a dome floating in mid-air, unsupported, or if it is meant to be a bedouin tent. One of the scholars on the list pointed to new archeological findings in the summer issue of National Geographic. They’ve found some glass, thought to be part of that dome. Cool stuff, I wish there was more information online somewhere. Personally, I think the tent hypothesis is pretty lame.
Concerning the damned, Ron Asheton of the Stooges has a great interview at Perfect Sound Forever. Also, according to Rolling Stone several important Sonic Youth records are going to be remastered and rereleased. Damn, now I’ll have to buy them again.
Also recently unearthed, is a rave review of my favorite album of 2001, Steve Wynn’s Here Come the Miracles. I wish Steve Wynn wasn’t such a secret to most people. He builds some mighty fine pleasure domes himself.
Morning class went pretty well, but though I prepared what I thought was enough material for a class and a half, I got through it all pretty thoroughly with five minutes to spare. I’ve got to work on this. I don’t want them to get into the habit of leaving early. This time though, I gave them the Mary MacLane excerpt and an article from the New York Times. I bet the dictionaries will have to come out for the Times article. And this is a good thing. I thought since Mary MacLane makes the outrageous claim of being a genius, it might be fun to figure out what people think genius really is.
