And so LI moved to Paris…
Lucretius might have been a hard taskmaster when it came to superstition, calling upon man to surpass the “flaming limits of the world” and not to piss himself before the vain phantom of the angry gods – but he did have a fearful appreciation of the power of love, with its invisible, hounding movement. “Hence into the heart distilled the drop/Of Venus’ sweetness, and numbing heartache followed./For if what you love is absent, none the less/ Its images are there, and the sweet name/Sounds in your ears.”
Amen to that! Lucretius, drawing an ascetic’s conclusion from the naturalist stance, taught us to resist the drop of Venus’ sweetness – or so some claim. LI, however, drew the opposite conclusion – we have had more than enough of numbing heartache in our life, and so we didn’t hesitate to follow A. to Paris, merrily throwing away clothes and books, giving away our paltry possessions, and in general reducing the hurly burly of our, shall we say, middle aged existence to the order of two packed suitcases, plus a laptop in a knapsack purchased from Target for thirty nine dollars.
And so the city I have imagined, the exemplum of the artificial paradise, Baudelaire’s cite des reves en plein jour, is a place I casually get ripped off in, purchasing meatballs from the Italian deli down the street.
It is here, I hope, that I will get much more done on the Human Limit, as well as making a superhuman effort to edit many many more papers and books – for the prices of Paris truly are beyond the flaming limits of the world.
On the other hand, what price could possibly be attached to biking, on a lovely autumn afternoon, with my love through the streets up to Paris-Bercy and the BN – observing the absurd names that are attached to things (Simone de Beauvoir’s passerelle, Josephine Baker’s piscine – heartbreakingly, some restaurant that calls itself Jules et Jim (o the exploitation!) in a complex of cinemas, MK2.
And so I have arrived...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
-
Being the sort of guy who plunges, headfirst, into the latest fashion, LI pondered two options, this week. We could start an exploratory com...
-
The most dangerous man the world has ever known was not Attila the Hun or Mao Zedong. He was not Adolf Hitler. In fact, the most dangerous m...
-
You can skip this boring part ... LI has not been able to keep up with Chabert in her multi-entry assault on Derrida. As in a proper duel, t...
8 comments:
paris? i leave you alone, for just a little bit, and off you go gallivanting.
Well, you know how it is North. One day you wake up and go, basta! L'amerique is goin to hell in a handbasket! I'm exiting, stage left. And the next thing you know you are sitting in Paris.
The King and the City in the Parisian Royal Entry Ceremony
…crowned Henry II, at the entrance side of the Painter's Gate arch, a personification of Paris called attention to the city as the prop for the dynasty. This goddess offered the king, who passed through the arch, the silver ship of Paris in gesture of the citizens' gift «à leur Roy de leurs vies, personnes, et biens en toute humilité». She also held under her arms a book and fasces to represent the University and the «Senat e Parlement» residing in the city. At her feet a dog and a cock called attention to the humility and vigilance of the city's government. Paris stood forth, according to a Greek caption on the entablature above its personification, as the «Mother of Piety, of Wisdom, and of Justice». The commentary of the livret called attention to the signs that called Paris «la grand cité des artz», of peace, justice, and prosperity.
The reverse of the arch with Charles IX enthroned forecast the fruits of the dynastic policies established by the rulers on the entrance side. In passing through the arch the king could see astrological signs predicting the extension of his dominion; in the words of Vergil, «He shall see all things under the sun, in its daily course from Eastern to Western sea, roll obedient beneath his feet». Appropriately, Apollo was in the paintings along with deities who supported the royal scepter. Outside, in the program at the top of the arch, the enthroned king's brother, Henry, duke of Anjou, held two laurels and a sword in a prefiguration of his destiny to possess a «new kingdom». Thus Virtù and Fortune had marked him for Poland, as they had the elder brother for France. François, duke of Alençon, the brother on the other side, had a star to announce his glorious prospects. In Greek, beneath this royal group, a Janus-faced Hermes Trismegistus («Mercure d'Egypt») with both a young and an old visage cautioned «Nothing without counsel», reminding the young rulers that past policies shaped future prospects. On the façade, Astraea, goddess of justice, announced the dawning of a new golden age since, as the emblems indicated, «the noises and dissensions have been cut away by the profit of peace». Opposite the goddess, the French diety Aglaie or Public Happiness (liesse publique) celebrated the «honneste liberté» of public — and presumably secular — amusements among the…
godspeed
QWERTY 981 = AT THE ENTRANCE SIDE OF THE PAINTER'S GATE ARCH, A PERSONIFICATION OF PARIS CALLED ATTENTION TO THE CITY AS THE PROP FOR THE DYNASTY = CRESCENT-SHAPED BODY, 1693 IN REF. TO LENSES, C.1812 IN REF. TO LIQUID SURFACES, MOD.L. MENISCUS, FROM GK. MENISKOS "LUNAR CRESCENT," DIM. OF MENE "MOON" (meniscus).
QWERTY 745 = THE LITTLE CHAIN OF BUBBLES THAT APPEARS ON THE MENISCUS OF THE LIQUOR WHERE IT TOUCHES THE GLASS (rakia) = AND HAVING (AS MY CUSTOM WAS) IN MY HUMBLE PRAYER SUFFICIENTLY CONVERSED WITH MY CREATOR (Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz).
QWERTY 156 = A SMALL DISPLACEMENT = DO WHAT THOU WILT = THE DARK CRYSTAL (Our escapee, the cogito) = THE FLYING CELESTIALS.
QWERTY 468 = TRIP LIKE I DO USES SAMPLES FROM THE JIM HENSON FILM THE DARK CRYSTAL (Vegas (The Crystal Method album)) [+][+].
QWERTY 263 = VEGAS (THE CRYSTAL METHOD ALBUM) = FEEL THE POWER OF THE DARK CRYSTAL!
QWERTY 1954 = ANOTHER WORLD, ANOTHER TIME… IN THE AGE OF WONDER. A THOUSAND YEARS AGO THIS LAND WAS GREEN AND GOOD, UNTIL THE CRYSTAL CRACKED. FOR A SINGLE PIECE WAS LOST; A SHARD OF THE CRYSTAL. THEN STRIFE BEGAN, AND TWO NEW RACES APPEARED: THE CRUEL SKEKSIS… THE GENTLE MYSTICS = THE MISSION OF THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION (NASA) IS TO DRIVE ADVANCES IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND EXPLORATION TO ENHANCE KNOWLEDGE, EDUCATION, INNOVATION, ECONOMIC VITALITY, STEWARDSHIP OF THE EARTH, AND SOLUTIONS TO NATIONAL AND GLOBAL CHALLENGES (FY2011 Budget).
QWERTY 1324 = I'VE GOT THE ACCUMEN OF A SEASONED PRO / I'VE GOT THE LEGACY OF A BILLION SOULS / I'VE GOT THE WORLD DOWN MY BACK, BUT I DON'T SEEM TO CARE / I'VE GOT THE COMPREHENSION OF A WORLD UNAWARE / TRIP LIKE I DO = NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2010 - AUTHORIZES APPROPRIATIONS FOR FY2011-FY2015 FOR THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION (NASA).
QWERTY 323 = THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ACT = EVERYTIME I SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS I SEE YOUR FACE = BODIES SEVEN AND SPIRITS FOUR WHOSE TOTAL IS ELEVEN.
QWERTY 1119 = DESTROY THAT EQUILIBRIUM BY ONE TENMILLIONTH OF AN INCH, AND THE EFFECT IS LOST. THE UNBALANCED ITEM STANDS OUT LIKE A CIVILIAN IN THE MIDDLE OF A REGIMENT = …CROWNED HENRY II, AT THE ENTRANCE SIDE OF THE PAINTER'S GATE ARCH, A PERSONIFICATION OF PARIS CALLED ATTENTION TO THE CITY AS THE PROP FOR THE DYNASTY = BEFORE CONSENTING TO HIS ELECTION TARASIUS ADDRESSED TO THE COURT AND PEOPLE OF CONSTANTINOPLE A DISCOURSE FROM WHICH WE QUOTE THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE = IN HARLEIAN MS. 6482, TITLED "THE ROSIE CRUCIAN SECRETS" (PRINTED BY THE AQUARIAN PRESS, 1985), DR. RUDD LISTS CIMERIES AS THE 26TH SPIRIT MADE USE OF BY KING SOLOMON (Kimaris) = THEY ARE NOT COMPETING AGAINST EACH OTHER AND THE SUCCESS OF THE RECIPIENT OF THE BATON DEPENDS GREATLY ON THE RACER THAT IS HANDING OFF THE BATON.
QWERTY 241 = CLASSIC SAINT BEUVE ESSAY FORM = BUER ~ GOËTIC EVOCATION FOR AFPAK = I DON'T WANT A FLAW IN MY FLOW = THE ANAL ORIENTATION OF THE FIGURE (Thresholds, Issue 23).
QWERTY 1933 = THE INFANT JESUS, IT HAS BEEN SHOWN, IS A DISPLACED REPRESENTATION OF BABY MAX ERNST HIMSELF… THE PRESENTATION OF THE BABY'S BACKSIDE REINFORCES THE ANAL ORIENTATION OF THE FIGURE SO THAT HIS BUTTOCKS FUNCTION AS THE EQUIVALENT OF WHAT WE IDENTIFY AS THE FACE (Thresholds, Issue 23) = FORT' REPRESENTS THE MORE AGGRESSIVE SIDE OF THE MUSIC. 'MINOR' CAN MEAN A FEW THINGS: IF YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT MUSIC THEORY, THE MINOR KEY IS DARKER. I WANTED TO NAME THE ALBUM RATHER THAN HAVING MY NAME ON THE COVER, BECAUSE I WANT PEOPLE TO FOCUS ON THE MUSIC, NOT ME.
QWERTY 1390 = AND REMEMBERING WHAT GOOD COUNSEL THY APOSTLE JAMES GIVES, SAYING: "IF ANY OF YOU LACK WISDOM, LET HIM ASK GOD, THAT GIVETH TO ALL MEN LIBERALLY, AND UPBRAIDETH NOT; AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN HIM" JAMES I:5 = ARINNAQ · ADOEOET · {AAETPIO} · {AAPDOCE} · ANODOIN · ALNDVOD • LIGDISA · SAIINOU · {LSRAHPM} · {SLGAIOL} · SONIZNT · LAOAXRP • HIPOTGA · AAOZAIF · {HABIORO} · {AHAOZPI} · AUTOTAR · HTMORDA • LIIANSA · ACZINOR · {LAIDROM} · {ALHCTGA} · AHMLICV · LZINOPO (PHASE 8).
QWERTY 782 = I CAN HELP YOU IMPROVE YOUR WRITING ACCORDING TO THE CANONS AND STYLES CURRENT IN YOUR DISCIPLINE = 17-TAN. "THE PATH OF LAMED. (THE COMBINATION GIMEL, LAMED, SAMECH. THE VISION OF THE JUSTICE OR BALANCE OF THE UNIVERSE" = ONCE AGAIN, THE ARDENT AND STEADFAST ASPIRANT MAY EXPERIENCE FOR A MOMENT THE ALL-REVEALING LIGHT OF WHOLENESS (PHASE 27).
QWERTY 229 = THE ALL-REVEALING LIGHT OF WHOLENESS = THE SECRET MINISTRY OF FROST.
QWERTY 141 = FROST AT MIDNIGHT = AND SO LI MOVED TO PARIS…
QWERTY 93 = DRUNKEN EGGS = FOUR SPIRITS = IN BALANCE.
QWERTY 199 = BRITNEY SPEARS - EVERYTIME = THE MYTH OF THE CREATOR.
QWERTY 3290 = BUT IT IS CONCEALED FROM THE SPECTATOR THAT THIS IS PRECISELY THE POINT TO WHICH THE PLOT DEVELOPMENT HAS BEEN DIRECTED. YET, IN ADDITION TO THIS DIRECT CAMOUFLAGE ANOTHER, EXACTLY OPPOSING ONE, REVEALS ITSELF, AND WE CAN EASILY SHOW THAT THE SCENE… IS TREATED ON TWO DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED PSYCHOLOGICAL PLANES: ON THE ONE HAND… IS OVERSHADOWED BY A SERIES OF IMMEDIATE CAUSES… ON THE OTHER HAND, IT IS DISTINGUISHED FROM THE SERIES… IN A WAY THAT HAS NO COMPARISON = TOT TIBI SUNT DOTES, CAELO QUOT SIDERA, VIRGO. TOT TIBI SUNT DOTES, QUOT CAELO SIDERA, VIRGO. TOT TIBI SUNT DOTES, QUOT, VIRGO, SIDERA CAELO. TOT TIBI SUNT VIRGO, DOTES, QUOT SIDERA CAELO. TOT TIBI SUNT VIRGO, CAELO QUOT SIDERA, DOTES. TOT TIBI SUNT VIRGO, QUOT CAELO SIDERA, DOTES. TOT TIBI SUNT CAELO DOTES, QUOT SIDERA, VIRGO. TOT TIBI SUNT CAELO VIRGO, QUOT SIDERA, DOTES. TOT TIBI SUNT CAELO QUOT, VIRGO, SIDERA, DOTES. TOT TIBI DOTES SUNT, QUOT, VIRGO, SIDERA, CAELO.
QWERTY 3544 = IT CONSISTS OF EIGHT WORDS, WHICH, WHEN THUS PUT TOGETHER, CONSTITUTE A PANEGYRIC ON THE BLESSED VIRGIN, AND HAVE THE CURIOUS PROPERTY OF COMPOSING AN ENTIRE POEM, OF WHICH ANY MAN WHO IS CURIOUS ENOUGH MAY MAKE HIMSELF THE AUTHOR. THE PROPERTY TO WHICH IT IS INDEBTED FOR THIS MAGIC POWER IS THIS: THE WORDS ARE SO SELECTED, THAT IN EVERY ORDER WHICH THEY ARE CAPABLE OF BEING MADE TO ASSUME, THIS SORT OF VERSE IS COMPOSED OF THEM. THE VERSE IS THIS: — "TOT TIBI SUNT VIRGO DOTES QUOT SIDERA CÆLO" ({605} The Works of Jeremy Bentham, Volume 5) = THE MOST SEVERE ECONOMIC CRISIS SINCE 1929 HAS PRODUCED A LEVEL OF INTELLECTUAL DISARRAY PROBABLY NOT SEEN SINCE 1968. IN ONE CRUCIAL RESPECT, THE CLIMATE IS DIFFERENT: MARXISM'S INTELLECTUAL IMPACT IS NEGLIGIBLE. THE CULPRIT IS NOT MARX BUT 'MARXISM WITHOUT MARX' — A SYSTEMATIC ATTEMPT TO DIVORCE HIS CONCLUSIONS FROM HIS ECONOMIC THEORY. THE DEMISE OF WESTERN MARXISM MARKS THE FAILURE OF THIS PROJECT. THIS NOTE SIGNALS A FIRST ATTEMPT TO ASSESS MARX'S REAL RELEVANCE TO THE CRISIS OF 2008 (Marxism without Marx).
Post a Comment