socrates and the most important goal

shameless self promotion and the mla

I'll be at the MLA (Modern Languages Association) among other things, getting an award for rogue thought from Slought Foundation in Philadelphia. In addition to this, there will be a book launch on the same night for Rrrrevolutionnaire , a volume of interview transcripts with a roster of theory heads from Cixous to Ronell...with an afterword by yours truly.

The presentation of the award will include a panel discussion with Marjorie Perloff and Jim English -- who has just published a book called The Economy of Prestige: Prizes, Awards and the Circulation of Cultural Value .

I will be discussing among other things a culture industry analysis of the industrialization of distinction. It is ironic for me to get this award at this time, since I am completing a book manuscript that has no publisher -- and so find myself in the strange position of once again knocking at editor's doors, hoping for success, hat in hand, once again...One of the things I am going to talk about on in my "acceptance speech" is the strange phenomenon of ubiquitiouse sense of disempowerment and marginality that almost everyone in the profession can lay claim to...English points out that critique and denunciation of prizes is almost as institutionalized as the culture of prizes itself.

Have a very Happy Holiday Season. I will try to go to the panel on bloggers, but I can really make no claims to being able to get up before 8:30 for the morning sessions. I know that I don't have my MLA badge although I am sure I did register for the conference! It is the professional organizaiton I love to hate!

If you are going to be MLA, please drop by Slought on December 29. Information is on their website above.

u is for underwear

The Bong Show

If you're in the New York area, don't miss the Bong Show. THE BONG SHOW or This Is Not A Pipe is curated by Beverly Semmes December 9, 2006 – January 20, 2007. at 535 West 22 Street New York, NY 10011 T. 212 255 8450 info@tonkonow.com. The bong refers to the urn, one of the most ancient aesthetic and ritual forms known to humankind and its expressive potential is almost endless. As an avatar of higher yearnings, the bong teaches us that some times one has to reach higher to learn a few of this life's tough lessons. The new strains of doobage have improved over the years and taken the cannabis high to a WHOLE different level. This is all second hand smoke or hearsay of course!

D.I.Y. Arts Organization: DO try this at home

I'm inspired by these brooklyn curator/residents who have decided to take D.I.Y. to its logical extreme and make a museum out of their home . No alternative contemporary art spaces in the O.C.? I will make one at home!

The only real problem I see is that whereas HoMu seems immaculate and very, very neat, our own home, which does not lack in square footage or white walls, is extremely, well, casually neat. Umm...so what about the messy HoMu?

I think the other thing we should explore is MuHo or Museum Ho, otherwise known as arts fundraising...A tribute to this brilliant project and "The Believer" for covering it!

Unneighborly conduct and anger management

At one of of Club Ed's neighborhood parks, I was castigated by a "neighbor" for letting my son pee in the bushes behind the children's playground. Actually, I am not sure he made it into the bushes. A drawn woman was standing safely a few yards away yelling at me after failing to get my attention since I was completely engrossed in used car ads (another story), "DID YOU HEAR WHAT I SAID? IT'S NOT A BATHROOM AROUND HERE! SMALL CHILDREN PLAY HERE!"

I was so shocked to be addressed this way that I took a pause and said sarcastically, "Thanks for the heads up." But then I was really angry when it sank in and I started to walk after her with my son in tow ready for a real fight when I thought the best of it. "No one speaks to me that way," and a mutual castigation session would have been sure to follow. I cursed and then suggested that we go confront her. My son, "No, mama, she would be too angry." And upon further reflection, I realized that losing your temper with another grown up in front of your child is really not a good idea. I had already replied with sarcasm. I didn't have to follow up with belated aggression.

So I controlled my impulses. My incontinent neighbor didn't. My son didn't either, but then he is still learning. What is her problem?