It’s proper good reading this Augie March, it really is. Don’t always get it and some of it is frankly over my head, but so often passages deserve to be read again and savored. Like this one where Augie is returning from an accidental road trip across Michigan:
When evening came on we were tearing out of Gary and toward South Chicago, the fire and smudge mouth of the city gorping to us. As the flamy bay shivers for home-coming Neopolitans. You enter your native water like a fish. And there sits the great fish god or Dragon. You then bear your soul like a minnow before Dragon, in your familiar water.
Or this passage where Augie is ruminating on the subjectivity of bitterness:
And if the highest should come in that empty overheated tavern with its flies and the hot radio buzzing between the plays and plugged beer from Sox Park, what are you supposed to do but take the mixture and say imperfection is always the condition as found; all great beauty too, my scratched eyeballs will always see scratched. And there may gods turn up anywhere.
Here is a lazily cobbled together list of likes and dislikes that have been sustaining me over the past few weeks. Other stuff has been happening, it’s just well, y’know…
Hates
1. That advert that features a guy using a car for a skateboard. I can’t begin to describe how much this advert annoys me. The thought of thousands of gawpers sat in their homes transfixed by this singularly empty imagery fills me with despair. I think it’s the tinkly piano music cynically employed to try and lend it some air of nuanced grace or profundity that gets to me. There was this jerk I went to University with who works in advertising and I imagine this to be exactly the kind of unadulterated crap he’d come up with.
Actually I can’t think of any more hates right now (aside from moaning about the British weather and my personal gripes with the department of work and pensions with whom I’ve had some regretful yet necessary dealings with lately), so I’ll just move on to more positive things instead.
Loves
1. Cosmos by Carl Sagan. I’ve been watching this seminal series from 1980 on tv links and believe it to be the best effort of its kind I’ve seen on television. Though they cover mostly things I’ve encountered before somewhere, the shows have a remarkable way of clarifying ideas and explaining them in a simple way. This must in part be down to the sympathetic and affable narrator himself, (though bizarrely I’ve noticed how a Sagan has a strong resemblance in speech to Agent Smith from the Matrix films). It also has a kind of retro appeal reminiscent of a gentler and more subtle time. A contemporary rendering of the same ideas would no doubt bombard you with impressive visuals but at the same time it would spoon feed you information and generally insult your intelligence.
2. The Adventures of Augie March. This is the most difficult but rewarding novel I’ve read in a long time. I’ve struggled with Saul Bellow in the past but once you get into the flow of this one it’s really compelling. It reminds me a little of Felix Krull by Thomas Man. Both novels follow a young man into maturity and both central protagonists seem to have a similar quality of being empty vessels able to alter themselves chameleon-like to each new situation that presents itself. Though not having finished it yet, I’m sure its full off great insights into the the nature of the American experience. For instance, the way in which Augie’s brother Simon marries into a family of money despite being from a poverty stricken background. It is the very quality of having come from a modest background and being a self-made man that is seen as an attribute by the new in-laws, who themselves were once poor. This is the very opposite of the European way where almost invariably the monied marry the monied and the nouveau riche are to be looked down upon. The way immigrant families picked themselves up and carried on after the great depression is at the heart of the American myth and a prelude to its becoming the undisputed superpower in the second half of the twentieth century. The text is peppered with references to European literature and history that, though perplexing and obscure at times, throw into the relief the human drama playing out in the New World. I’m also enjoying the rather lost quality of Augie as he tries to find a place in the world for himself.
3. The Office (US Vesrion). Like most people I was a bit prejudiced when I heard that there was to be an American version of the classic British comedy, and this probably explains why I’d not given this show a try until very recently (again through the generosity of tv links). I’m pleased to be able to report that it works! Sometimes marvelously so; I have on occasion uttered forth proper belly-laughs when viewing it. It fills a gap left by the end of the brilliant Peep Show 4. Once you get over the fact that it’s just different actors playing the same parts, and realise that they’ve achieved more or less the same formula its really very enjoyable. ‘Michael Scott’ i.e. David Brent is played by Steve Carall who is as we all know a gifted comic. Give it a try.
At perhaps arguably the slightly too old age of twenty six I am officially no longer a student. From now on I’m only going to read books I really want to read; in fact I’m only going to read science fiction from now on. Don’t try and talk me out of it. I know where my place is and it’s thousands of light years from the here and now.
I went to see Alex Garland and Danny Boyle’s new film Sunshine the other day. I really enjoyed it. Despite failing on the science front somewhat (it’s never explained why the sun is suddenly dying in the near future, or how putting a bomb in it will somehow replenish its fuel), it does get you thinking about some big questions: for instance, is conscious life the supreme accomplishment of the universe, and can life outlive it’s own solar system of origin? All the way through I was thinking about that saying, I can’t remember which physicists said it, that “human beings are atoms way of thinking about atoms”.
Speaking of sunshine, I can’t believe the weather we’re having. It’s been great for about a month now. Last year was the hottest on record and April this year was the hottest April on record. Perfect weather for sitting in the garden reading.
So before I go outside myself I just want to draw your attention to the video below. I was searching for footage of Christopher Hitchens’ recent appearance on the daily show when I came across the video below. I didn’t realise that Penn and Teller did this kind of thing. They haven’t been on our screens for ages it seems which is a shame. incidentally I’m sure everyone is excited about the release of Hitchens’ new book ‘God is Not Great’. I’ve got mine pre-ordered already.
Just in case anyone hasn’t discovered Sarah Silverman yet and isn’t completely in love with her, here’s a little taster. I can’t really post much at the moment because I’m busy with other things so this’ll have to keep you going for a while. That said Joe and Matt have agreed to write for this blog so watch out for their contributions coming soon. Actually if you read some of the comments it will tell you that Joe has already posted, but this is incorrect. There are few bugs in the system that need to be looked at (or rather it’s me being an idiot) . It could get confusing.
I’ve just noticed that when you log out of MySpace you’re confronted with a full page advert for gym membership. I suppose this is because they’re trying to capitalize on that unloved johnny no-mates feeling that sometimes accompanies a fruitless trip to the all conquering social networking site (nobody likes facebook). People think “I really have to do something about my fat arse or nobody is going to want to be friends with me or sleep with me ever again”, and hey presto there’s the solution. I wouldn’t know about any of this of course, it’s merely speculation.
It’s really interesting reading Huxley’s Brave New World again after Houllebecq. Houellebecq’s reading of the society portrayed in the novel is morally ambiguous in comparison to the way in which the phrase ‘Brave New World’ has entered the vernacular to signify a technological consumerist dystopia.
The idea that Houllebecq borrows is that, in late capitalist society the traditional family unit and viviparous motherhood are totally incommensurate with a system where sex is just another commodity. This dissonance results in epidemic levels of depression and to some degree, ideological conflict. The so-called sexual revolution of the sixties, in conjunction with certain other factors, precipitated the total meltdown of western society.
The solution: remove competitiveness from reproduction; engineer the animal out of the man. Humans have outgrown their biology. It’s time create our successors. Pretty wacky I know – but after you’ve read enough sordid Houellebecq sex scenes it seems quite an attractive idea.
Sometimes when I look at the all the evidence of our ‘raunch’ culture I think Houellebecq may be correct in this rather depressing view of things. Maybe the Jihadists are right! But predictably enough, I’m more inclined to just blame capitalism, or rather the way it’s managed, or not managed, if you see what I mean. Not much of a conclusion I know, but it’s a start.
I can now proudly say that I am a signatory of the Euston Manifesto. Having been aware of it for about a year, and having spent a great deal of time over the last year arguing and rehearsing some of it’s central points, I finally decided to sign. This decision has been helped along greatly by what I’ve been reading in 2007, but also lately by Joe introducing me to Little Atoms and all the great interview downloads on the site. Little Atoms has been a revelation in reassuring me that I’m not alone in my views.
The pro-intervention left have been poorly represented in the mainstream liberal media (so a common refrain of signatories of the Euston Manifesto is what a relief it is to be connected to others of a similar position via the wonders of the Internet). Lots of factors have contributed to this situation but I especially feel that post-modernism’s challenge to enlightenment values is somehow at the heart of this.
Some of the creators of the manifesto opposed the war in Iraq and this is clearly written into it as a valid position to hold. As Norman Geras said at the Launch: “Reasonable people can reasonably disagree”. But both sides of that debate are united in a disillusionment with the state of the left, with its marginal far-left factions, but perhaps more importantly with the left’s representatives within the liberal establishment. The massive schism created by the 9 11 terrorist attacks and the end of the cold war has thrown the left into a crisis. The Euston Manifesto is an attempt to formulate a progressive program that is true to the left’s best historical values.
Whilst half asleep recently I half heard a report on the today program about the launch of a new magazine. I’d forgotten the name of it until this morning, or perhaps thought it was a dream. Monocle Magazine, the name of which hitherto eluded me, is now counting down to the release of issue three. The website is worth looking at for the quality of the design alone. It was conceived by the founder of Wallpaper so you would expect a level of visual panache.
The concept outlined on the website is nothing if not ambitious:
We believe it’s time for a new, global, European-based media brand. With a keen focus, strong reporting, sharp wit and a more classic approach to design, we’ve dubbed our venture Monocle. At the core there’s a monthly magazine delivering the most original coverage in global affairs, business, culture and design. Alongside, there’s a web-based broadcast component covering the same areas through a variety of bulletins, mini-documentaries and talk formats. Focused on informing and entertaining an international audience of disillusioned readers, listeners and viewers, it is our intention to create a community of the most interested and interesting people in the world.
I have to admit that on the surface it doesn’t seem quite like the kind of magazine I had wished for. I haven’t bought a magazine regularly since The Face and Jockey Slut folded and I was hoping this might be the one to the fill the gap. Annual subscription is seventy five pounds which is a bit steep, and no doubt individual issues are at least a fiver. Worth looking at in the library though.
Mr. Cameron’s ascent to the premiership of the British regime looks set to continue unabated with the news that he’s won ‘2nd best dressed man’ in GQ’s annual list!
“Is David Cameron tough enough to be prime minister?” it asked on the cover of an earlier issue that had also boosted the conservative leader’s profile. What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean? Well he does look kind of hard in that picture; one toff you’re probably not going to mess with. For some reason GQ seem to love him. You know what, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some sort of Eton connection between him and the editorial there. Maybe him and Charles what’s-his-name who works for the magazine used to smoke pot together behind the Egerton room together back in 82′. Or else it’s something much more sinister.
In just a few months Britain will have a new Prime Minister. It’s looking like it will be Gordon Brown, (though David Miliband is potentially a contender). And I think it’s going to take more than a few glossy magazine covers to get the tories back into power at the next general election. I think Gordon Brown is more popular with the electorate than some sections of the media would have us believe.
On April the first I was nearly taken in by a Channel 4 news article about The Arctic Monkeys offering their support to David Miliband as a potential leader of the Labour party. He was to join them on stage at Glastonbury in a bid to launch his campaign to younger voters. It seemed plausible enough. It seems that everything in the political sphere is becoming increasingly divorced from reality, and at the moment that seems to be in the in the conservatives favor. I’m half expecting Cameron to launch a radical new conservative policy of re-nationalising the railways or something.
long time. I’ve struggled with Saul Bellow in the past but once you get into the flow of this one it’s really compelling. It reminds me a little of Felix Krull by Thomas Man. Both novels follow a young man into maturity and both central protagonists seem to have a similar quality of being empty vessels able to alter themselves chameleon-like to each new situation that presents itself. Though not having finished it yet, I’m sure its full off great insights into the the nature of the American experience. For instance, the way in which Augie’s brother Simon marries into a family of money despite being from a poverty stricken background. It is the very quality of having come from a modest background and being a self-made man that is seen as an attribute by the new in-laws, who themselves were once poor. This is the very opposite of the European way where almost invariably the monied marry the monied and the nouveau riche are to be looked down upon. The way immigrant families picked themselves up and carried on after the great depression is at the heart of the American myth and a prelude to its becoming the undisputed superpower in the second half of the twentieth century. The text is peppered with references to European literature and history that, though perplexing and obscure at times, throw into the relief the human drama playing out in the New World. I’m also enjoying the rather lost quality of Augie as he tries to find a place in the world for himself.
I can now proudly say that I am a signatory of the 
Whilst half asleep recently I half heard a report on the today program about the launch of a new magazine. I’d forgotten the name of it until this morning, or perhaps thought it was a dream. Monocle Magazine, the name of which hitherto eluded me, is now counting down to the release of issue three. The
Mr. Cameron’s ascent to the premiership of the British regime looks set to continue unabated with the news that he’s won ‘2nd best dressed man’ in GQ’s annual list!