"Heaven is a place where nothing ever happens" this is the chorus to a song by the Talking Heads.
Heaven for David Byrne who wrote the song, sounds an awful lot like Professor Davis' description of Bitzer rhetorically free world.
The lyrics in full are:
Everyone is trying to get to the bar.
The name of the bar, the bar is called Heaven.
The band in Heaven plays my favorite song.
They play it once again, they play it all night long.
Heaven is a place where nothing ever happens.
Heaven is a place where nothing ever happens.
There is a party, everyone is there.
Everyone will leave at exactly the same time.
Its hard to imagine that nothing at all
could be so exciting, and so much fun.
Heaven is a place where nothing ever happens.
Heaven is a place where nothing ever happens.
When this kiss is over it will start again.
It will not be any different, it will be exactly
the same.
It's hard to imagine that nothing at all
could be so exciting, could be so much fun.
Heaven is a place where nothing every happens.
Heaven is a place where nothing every happens.
What is so interesting, at least to me, is how nothingness can be described so differently. Is it a heaven, where as Byrne says "Its hard to imagine that nothing at all could be so exciting, and so much fun". Or is it as Professor Davis and the movie Groundhog Day suggest, a hell.
I don't know the answer, and this post is really just an exploration of the idea, but at times like these (the end of the semester) I am inclined to think of nothing as heaven. Good old relaxing nothingness sounds a lot better than end of the semester cram stress fest. I wonder if I will feel differently tomorrow when the semester is over. Or "it will start again"
Friday, May 6, 2011
Brennan Ch 5-7
In Teresa Brennans transmission of Affect she states: "Civil codes are not understood, of course, as means for discerning and resisting the transmission of affect and responding to another affective states in ways that would dissipate negative and disabling affects (putting a person at ease). But this is what they do."
In an earlier post I described Rashard Mendenhall's comments about people celebrating Osama Bin Laden's death, in relation to Ahmed. But I his comment are useful in analyzing this quote from Brennan. Mendenhall merely questioned the ethics of celebrating a death, yet he has been vilified for it as if he was an actual member of Al Qaeda himself. I believe he violated the civil code. His response to others' affective states did not put anyone at ease. It did the opposite. And it was because he did not discern the situation properly. The killing of Osama brought out the emotions as right after the 9/11 attacks, and created a situation which called for American unity. Mendenhall, as a star of the most American of sports (football), issued a statement which the country was not prepared to deal with. He violated what the situation called for and pissed off a lot of people.
In an earlier post I described Rashard Mendenhall's comments about people celebrating Osama Bin Laden's death, in relation to Ahmed. But I his comment are useful in analyzing this quote from Brennan. Mendenhall merely questioned the ethics of celebrating a death, yet he has been vilified for it as if he was an actual member of Al Qaeda himself. I believe he violated the civil code. His response to others' affective states did not put anyone at ease. It did the opposite. And it was because he did not discern the situation properly. The killing of Osama brought out the emotions as right after the 9/11 attacks, and created a situation which called for American unity. Mendenhall, as a star of the most American of sports (football), issued a statement which the country was not prepared to deal with. He violated what the situation called for and pissed off a lot of people.
Edbauer-rice Executive Overspill
Zaphod Beeblebrox is the President of the Galaxy in Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. For some reason, George Bush reminds me of him. Or Does Beeblebrox remind me of Bush... whatever, you get the point.
Anyway, in the books Beeblebrox's responsibility as President of The Galaxy is to play "a role that involves no power whatsoever, and merely requires the incumbent to attract attention so no one wonders who's really in charge"(Wiki).
Not to suggest that President Bush was not in charge (*coughDickCheneycoughcough*) but that Beeblerox and Bush both share the similar trait of attracting the attention -good or bad- of the masses. And this attention is what the people want.
Edbauer seems to reaffirm my belief , in her analysis of Bush. She says: "Bush's rhetoric, including the jarring disruptions of thought and speech, creates an intensity that can move others."
It may be overly pessimistic to think that the people just want a colorful character on stage to entertain them. But then again look at the recent criticism of Obama as 'elitist' and "too cerebral". Wouldn't we as a people be happier or more entertained, if we had elected John McCain and his sideshow of a VP?
Anyway, in the books Beeblebrox's responsibility as President of The Galaxy is to play "a role that involves no power whatsoever, and merely requires the incumbent to attract attention so no one wonders who's really in charge"(Wiki).
Not to suggest that President Bush was not in charge (*coughDickCheneycoughcough*) but that Beeblerox and Bush both share the similar trait of attracting the attention -good or bad- of the masses. And this attention is what the people want.
Edbauer seems to reaffirm my belief , in her analysis of Bush. She says: "Bush's rhetoric, including the jarring disruptions of thought and speech, creates an intensity that can move others."
It may be overly pessimistic to think that the people just want a colorful character on stage to entertain them. But then again look at the recent criticism of Obama as 'elitist' and "too cerebral". Wouldn't we as a people be happier or more entertained, if we had elected John McCain and his sideshow of a VP?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)