themes

this week on the avant guardian\/\/time is the greatest innovator

May 17, 2010
By
this week on the avant guardian\/\/time is the greatest innovator

As the births of living creatures, at first are illshapen, so are all innovations, which are the births of time. Yet notwithstanding, as those that first bring honor into their family, are commonly more worthy than most that succeed, so the first precedent (if it be good) is seldom attained by imitation. For ill, to man’s nature, as it stands perverted, hath a natural motion, strongest in continuance; but good, as a forced motion, strongest at first. Surely every medicine is an innovation; and he that will not apply new remedies, must expect new evils; for time is the greatest innovator; and if time of course alter things to the worse, and wisdom and counsel shall not alter them to the better, what shall be the end? -Francis Bacon, Of Innovations Image: JISC infoNet

Read more »

this week on the avant guardian\/\/pick up the gun

May 10, 2010
By

Thanks to the indelible Bill Hicks, this week on t.a.g. we’ll all be picking up the gun.

Read more »

this week on the avant guardian\/\/the magnet smiles

May 3, 2010
By
this week on the avant guardian\/\/the magnet smiles

Thanks to mfsandler for the theme for this week: The Magnet Smiles “the magnet smiles” is a line taken from an interview with Jorge Luis Borges, in which he discusses a story told by Oscar Wilde: MP-R: Can a narrative, especially a short narrative, be rigorous in a philosophical sense? Borges: I suppose it could be. Of course, in that case it would be a parable. I remember when I read a biography of Oscar Wilde by Hesketh Pearson. Then there was a long discussion going on about predestination and free will. And he asked Wilde what he made of free will. Then he answered in a story. The story seemed somewhat irrelevant, but it wasn’t. He said — yes, yes, yes, some nails, pins, and needles lived in the neighborhood of a magnet, and one of them said, “I think we should pay a visit to the magnet.” And the other said, “I think it is our duty to visit the magnet.” The other said, “This must be done right now. No delay can be allowed.” Then when they were saying those things, without being aware of it, they were all rushing towards the magnet, who smiled because he

Read more »

this week on the avantguardian\/\/the foundation of every virtue is the realization of human weakness

April 26, 2010
By
this week on the avantguardian\/\/the foundation of every virtue is the realization of human weakness

“No, the world did not come into being of itself, because out of nothing, nothing is derived, and thus we have to reject as unfounded the idea of automatic or spontaneous genesis.  … Nothing is zero, and zero has no force. But put an entity, a unit, in front of it and 0 becomes 10, and 00, 100; and 000, 1000 and so on. This unit, then, the Triune God, turned 0 into the world…” ~ Athanasios Frangopoulos “… nothing is better than to realize one’s weakness and ignorance, and nothing is worse than not to be aware of them.” ~ St Peter of Damascus “God made us so that we might become ‘partakers of the divine nature’ (2 Peter 1:4) and sharers in His eternity, and so that we might come to be like Him (cf. 1 John 3:2) through deification by grace. It is through deification that all things are reconstituted and achieve their permanence; and it is for its sake that what is not is brought into being and given existence.” ~ St Maximos the Confessor “The foundation of every virtue is the realization of human weakness.” ~ St Maximos the Confessor “The Lord gave clear evidence

Read more »

this week on the avantguardian\/\/aliens

April 19, 2010
By
this week on the avantguardian\/\/aliens

Aliens. That is all.

Read more »

this week on the avant guardian \/\/ a grain of poetry suffices to season a century

March 29, 2010
By
this week on the avant guardian \/\/ a grain of poetry suffices to season a century

A grain of poetry suffices to season a century.           - José Martí, Selected Writings

Read more »

this week on the avant guardian \/\/ london calling!

March 22, 2010
By
this week on the avant guardian \/\/ london calling!

Musical reviews were a popular form of entertainment during the first third of the 20th century.  Reviews usually involved a short series of sketches with a variety of comedic and romantic themes running through, but above all they were known for their spectacle.  And really, who doesn’t love a good spectacle!  In 1923, London Calling! premiered at the Duke of York Theater in London, with music and lyrics by Noël Coward.  Though there is little information on the show available (at least that I have been able to find), It seems to be Noël Coward’s first major work as a musician and lyricist and whatever it looked/sounded like, it no doubt influenced his later work. In case you’re not familiar with Coward’s work, he wrote plays and musicals.  Among his most famous works is the play Private Lives in which a divorced couple finds themselves honeymooning with their new respective spouses at the same hotel.  They see each other and hilarity ensues!  And by hilarity I mean they ditch their new spouses, run away to Paris where they fight and fuck all day long.  At least that’s the gist of it.  During World War II, Coward headed up the British

Read more »

this week on the avant guardian \/\/ simplify the universe

March 15, 2010
By
this week on the avant guardian \/\/ simplify the universe

Here’s the raw truth: simplification involves destruction.  The world is place of clutter and sprawl.   To simplify is to kill the clutter. Back in 1985, the DC comics universe was a case study in clutter and sprawl.  An expansive roster of characters inhabited a number of parallel universes.  Earth 1!  Earth 2! Earth 3!  Earth B!  Earth X! and so on.  Different Supermen with their own storylines?  Batman has a daughter?  Lex Luthor is a hero on a different Earth? The kahunas at DC were concerned, rightly, that potential readers would be turned off by having to navigate a fictional universe choked with a half-century of comic jetsam.  So they masterminded a 12-issue story arc that would, in the words of writer Marv Wolfman, “simplify the universe”.  This meant constructing a narrative that would compress the out-of-control multiple universes into a single neat one.  So, from the brain of Wolfman sprang the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” and in an epic comic cleansing, billions of fictional people were scoured from the pages until just a single accessible Earth remained. To show their dedication to this simplification, some fan favorites had to get killed off too, most notably Supergirl and Barry

Read more »

this week on the avant guardian \/\/ tighten up

March 8, 2010
By
this week on the avant guardian \/\/ tighten up

Archie Bell and the Drells’ 1968 hit “Tighten Up” is one of a long line of American popular songs built around a dance. There are few lyrics beyond Bell’s cajoling the band and the dancers (you!).  He does claim at the beginning of the song that “we dance just about as good as we walk,” which is a pretty transporting possibility when you think about it. Apparently, Bell fought in Vietnam while the song was climbing the charts, and could only come back to tour with the band after having been shot in the leg. That’s some rich irony to live, and sing. In these “tough economic times,” we need his simple, easy-to-follow advice… and all the better if it comes with some heavy Texas soul music… Bon appetite…

Read more »

this week on the avant guardian \/\/ the blending heat of compassion

March 1, 2010
By
this week on the avant guardian \/\/ the blending heat of compassion

In his book The Traces of God in a Frequently Hostile World, Diogenes Allen tells the story of Iulia de Beausobre. In the early 1930s Iulia was arrested and tortured in Russia during the reign of Stalin when millions were tortured and died. She lived in solitary confinement for three months, and spent three more months in the “Inner,” the worst part of the prison. Most prisoners could only endure this type of interrogation and torture for about six weeks. She lasted six months. She was brutally tortured by “scientists” trying to discover how to make people become pure instruments of the state by erasing their personal will. During her suffering Iulia discovered that there were three possible responses to her tormentors: one, she could fight them and make it a battle of wills. She saw prisoners who fought, and they often did not survive. Two, she could become utterly passive and withdrawn from her tormentors. Prisoners who did this retreated into an inner world for self-preservation, but they too rarely survived. She considered these two responses but felt both made her less human. So she chose a third response. She chose to notice everything

Read more »