Gray and raining outside. Starbucks is momentarily, unnaturally quiet, only the two of us minding our screens and our thoughts. Why so silent? Is this the edge? I mean the edge (never with a safety rail) of the abyss? Perhaps it’s extraordinary to know when one is proximate to the edge, a “hazard zone”…
The fundamental male fantasyof the womanis not her seductive appearance,but the idea,that the dazzling appearanceconcealssome imponderablemystery. -Jacques Lacan There is something tragic, simultaneously sad and delicious with respect to Lacan’s quote. How could this possibly be denied? The male – female dynamic-attraction is as old as Helen of Troy. Perhaps you remember Helen, according…
The goal is to avoid harassment. But no harassment means no joy either. [Harassment] can mean nothing more than the excessive proximity of the other with his/her desires and fears and pleasures. The other is Ok as long as he does not intrude as long as he/she is not really other. The central human…
The journey to better understand Jacques Lacan’s system of thought continues. In a few days we will turn the page on 2024. 2025 brings the inauguration of Donald Trump on January 20th. The first quotation featured in today’s post reminded me of the President elect. Our institutions proved hollow, without power to incarcerate him…
Another gray day in the Fox River Valley. My day began around 6:30 AM at Starbucks in downtown Geneva. Baristas there are old acquaintances, and it was good to see everyone again. Then several friends came in. The better part of the morning was dedicated to pleasant conversation. Is there a more congenial, satisfying…
A hangover is what this feels like. Perhaps you recall your last hangover? It is Thursday morning after Christmas day. You know, that day anticipated by everyone with the highest of expectation. For my adult self, reason/experience insists “that longing is fantasy, a shape shifting, media driven, ginned up illusion” so snap out of…
Christmas Eve and I begin the day at Starbucks… Why wouldn’t I? Beginning a day, any day with some reading, some contemplation, and pleasant conversation is agreeable to me. That is what I want. For the most part, on many occasions I have no idea about what I want. If you were to ask,…
There are, indeed, events, forms and oscillations which are only open to a long contemplative gaze, but remain hidden to the working gaze; things that are subtle, fleeting; inconspicuous things, minor things [das Geringe]; that hover or retreat, which evade any violent efforts at their capture. The Scent of Time by Byung-chul Han, trans….
Another day, and yet not just ‘another’ day. There has never been, or can there ever be a segment of space and time that mirrors, replicates this one. The “eternal return” as a rule-of-thumb is a safe bet. Patterns become familiar. We’ve seen them before. Would we expect anything else? Matter and the personalities…
The lines quoted below were read several days ago. I was confused. I thought about revisiting Nietzsche’s point of view, as more time was needed to absorb what he seemed to say. A collection of blown glass pumpkins that I encountered while Christmas shopping yesterday reminded me of the written lines about beauty. The…
