Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Things That are Ideal, Cool, & Fun (and Other Things)

So I was rejected by Teach For America, which is not ideal. Jessica was accepted, which is half-way back to ideal again. A short story of mine is being published, which is cool. But by a crappy magazine I will not mention, which is less cool again. I donated blood with the Red Cross last week, which is fun. Unfortunately, they poisoned me and now my left forearm is black and sore and I am on the edge of death, which is less than fun.

I like writing, which is cool because it is never something I thought I would say.
Perhaps I will someday post some of my poetry on this blog.

That might be cool.

For me, I mean. You would all just have to deal with it in the same way that I am dealing with my blackened arm.

I show it to people and snigger.

Also, I cannot tell the difference between Robert Benchley and James Thurber...except that you've heard of James Thurber.

Monday, November 06, 2006

MON TOUR-MENTEUR by Raymond Federman

moi ils m’ont mis dans un trou [me they put me in a hole] lui sur un piédestal [him on a pedestal] moi on m’a empêché d’aller à l’école [me they prevented me from going to school] lui on l’a envoyé dans les meilleures écoles [him they sent to the best schools] moi je fus déplacé [me I was displaced] lui on lui a tout de suite donné sa place [him they gave his place immediately] moi je suis tombé dans le vide[me I fell into the void] lui il s’éleva dans les nuages [him he rose into the clouds] moi on m’a fait du mal partout [me they hurt me everywhere] lui on lui faisait du bien tout le temps [him they made him feel good all the time] moi j’avais peur du noir [me I was afraid of darkness] lui il adorait le noir [him he adored darkness] moi je parlais deux langues mal [me I spoke two languages badly] lui il parlait toutes les langues à merveille [him he spoke all languages beautifully] moi j’ai jamais réussi à inventer un seul nouveau mot [me I never managed to invent a single new word] lui il inventa des tas de mots qui resteront gravés dans la mémoire humaine [him he invented all kinds of words that will remain engraved in human memory] moi je voulais savoir tout [me I wanted to know it all] lui il a réussi à oublier tout ce qu’il savait [him he succeeded in forgetting everything he knew] moi je suis resté méconnu [me I remained unrecognized] lui il devint célèbre [him he became famous] moi on oubliera mon nom très vite [me my name will be quickly forgotten] lui son nom restera inscrit dans l’histoire [him his name will remain inscribed in history] moi je suis encore ici seul [me I am still here alone ] lui il a déjà changé de temps [him he has already changed tense] moi je continue à me traîner dans la boue verbale[me I continue to drag myself in verbal mud] lui il danse déjà avec les anges [him he dances with angels]

Sunday, November 05, 2006

Harold Pinter on Pinter, Harold

"Once many years ago, I found myself engaged uneasily in a public discussion on theatre. Someone asked me what was my work 'about'. I replied with no thought at all and merely to frustrate this line of enquiry: 'the weasel under the cocktail cabinet'. This was a great mistake. Over the years I have seen that remark quoted in a number of learned columns. It has now seemingly acquired a profound significance, and is seen to be a highly relevant and meaningful observation about my own work. But for me the remark meant precisely nothing."