Friday, July 30, 2004

on being a writer

excerpts from a speech delivered by a.l. kennedy at the 2003 edinburgh book fair:

"...you are not quite made a writer in the way that you are made blue-eyed, or diabetic. Writing is more of an inbuilt disposition – some children, suitably triggered, will grow up to perpetrate random murders: others, suitably triggered, will become heroin addicts, or clerics: still others will write. The trigger for writing appears to be very finely tuned – it may be sprung by chance qualities of light, coincidences, or any of the unpredictable odds and ends mixed up in the simple presence of everyday life. And, going back to those clerics, we might also describe the predisposition to write as a vocation, because it seems to be a need that comes from without as well within. It is ours, but it plays upon us, has an independent existence which sometimes argues with our own. This calling, like any other, can be resisted, abused, disappointed, or simply drummed into silence by external forces."

"... One of the things we look for when we read is just that level of commitment, that totality. We seek out the full realisation of a unique presence, a voice other than our own: the viewpoints of human beings beyond ourselves: the precision of experiences we cannot have, described by somebody we cannot be. When we read we can go where the geese are, because someone took pains to go there before us and write the way. The writer gives us two miracles, a world other than that which we inhabit and the ghost of their company, their voice."

READ THE WHOLE SPEECH BY THE INIMITABLE A.L. KENNEDY, in fact, read her whole site, esp. FAQs, she's hilarious. and read her books, especially her short stories. my favorite piece of hers is GROUCHO'S MOUSTACHE in ORIGINAL BLISS.

the kanga king

one of the best short stories i've read in ages is a piece by nick halpern at the fabulous gettysburg review. i won't give the story away, so go read it yourself. it's subtle, poignant and well-crafted, emotionally powerful without ever being maudlin or treacly. i cried.

READ THE KANGA KING HERE

carrying on the spirt of fannie lou hamer

Excerpt from "Forty years after Fannie Lou Hamer"

-- Joan Walsh

"Donna Brazile spends a lot of her time these days in front of the camera, but she was behind it Wednesday afternoon, to document a history-making reception by Future PAC, known by the shorthand "the black Emily's List," since it focuses on electing black women to office. On the 40th anniversary of Fannie Lou Hamer's historic trip to the 1964 Democratic Convention in Atlantic City, N.J., where her Mississippi Freedom Party members challenged the seating of the whites-only official delegation, Future PAC honored three black women who represent "the spirit of Fannie Lou Hamer," in the words of its chairwoman Gwen Moore -- Connecticut treasurer Denise Napier, philanthropist Gloria Gary and San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris -- along with at least a dozen other black women elected officials who turned up."

"Black women are by far the most reliable Democratic voters, but their representation among elected officials doesn't match their voter turnout. Future PAC is an effort to marshal their growing if still limited economic power to change that equation. "Black women give money to church, church, church," said Kathy Taylor, managing director of WGBH and a board member, marveling at the crowd of women who paid $125 to attend. "We are the change that we've been looking for," Moore told the group...."

"...This is a new Democratic Party," Donna Brazile said. "Black delegates no longer come and expect nothing. We have the keynote speaker, and no one could have captured the spirit of the party better than Barack Obama. He gave the Democrats a reason to be joyful, and we hold the power in at least eight battleground states. This is a new political season...."

READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE AT SALON.COM

Sunday, July 25, 2004

glory to unruly women!

By Arianna Huffington, AlterNet. Posted July 22, 2004. [NOTE: I got this from a chatroom, couldn't find the original URL, so I'm posting in full here instead of linking.]

Teresa Heinz Kerry is a breath of fresh air, so why are the media choking on it?

Almost every story about her these days includes at least one snarky remark – usually attacking her for her refusal to endlessly regurgitate the same pre-approved talking points.

According to the chattering class, Heinz Kerry is – and I quote – "too outspoken," "too opinionated," "slightly zany," "eccentric and unpredictable," "the queen of direct" and – cover your ears, kids – "says what she thinks, when she thinks it."

In other words, she's an unconventional straight shooter. The horror!

(Reporters also seem to have a big problem with her hair, which has variously been described as "unkempt," "unruly," "humidity-frizzed," "voluminous" and "expensively colored a rich auburn" – but that's follicle fodder for another column.)

Even Maureen Dowd, no slouch herself in the independent-thinking department, felt compelled to write not one but two columns in the course of 10 days slamming Teresa for, among other things, being "flaky."

You gotta love this about our media mavens: They are constantly bemoaning the lack of forthrightness in our public figures – the vast majority of whom wouldn't know a straight answer if it bit them in the butt. But when they are finally presented with someone who doesn't (pardon the expression) beat around the bush, they start sharpening the long knives.

They're like a bunch of little kids who have gotten so used to being fed nothing but vanilla ice cream for dessert that a serving of Rocky Road with some sprinkles on top leaves them sputtering and crying, "Yuck!"

Most of the American public, on the other hand, possess a far more developed and discerning palate – and can appreciate more complex and piquant flavors.

And when it comes to spicing up the political dessert tray, Teresa Heinz Kerry is one of the most flavorful and compelling public figures to hit the national stage in decades.

When I first met her in Washington in 1980, she was a very popular Republican wife, with views very similar to the ones she holds today. Now she's a Democratic wife, a philanthropist who oversees a foundation that gives tens of millions to causes like the environment, healthcare and early education, a loving mother, grandmother and stepmother. She grew up in Mozambique, went to college in South Africa where she marched against apartheid, is fluent in five languages and learned so much about medicine from her oncologist father that friends and family have nicknamed her "Dr. T."

And unlike most politicians, she has a natural gift for intimacy and interacts with campaign crowds of 5,000 as if she were sitting around chatting with a small group of friends.

Yes, she is indeed unabashedly open with her opinions on everything from the war in Iraq ("I would never have gone to war this way") to George Bush ("fazed by complexity") to Botox treatments (she's had them).

But isn't that what we claim to want from those in public life? Or are we comfortable with authenticity only when it's a contrivance manufactured to appear authentic?

"I am the product of living in dictatorships," Teresa has said. "It makes you cherish the ability to be yourself, to have feelings and to speak them when asked. People say I'm blunt. I say, 'No, just honest.'"

It's this honesty that has led the media to brand her with the scarlet O for offbeat – a caricature given national credence by a Newsweek cover that trumpeted: "Is John Kerry's Heiress Wife a Loose Cannon or Crazy Like a Fox?"

It was character assassination by headline – especially since the cover line was not in any way reflective of the story inside, which painted Heinz Kerry as warm, smart, alive, funny, and, yes, brutally honest.

It's hard to imagine that headline – which was written, incidentally, by a man – being used to describe a man. As Marlo Thomas once said: "A man has to be Joe McCarthy to be called ruthless. All a woman has to do is put you on hold."

We may have come a long way, baby, but there is no doubt that there is still a double standard when it comes to women in politics – especially political wives – who are supposed to be smart but not so smart that they're threatening, and strong but not so strong that they are intimidating.

It's a high-wire tightrope act, one that's almost impossible to pull off to the political media's satisfaction. And this at a time when girl power is blossoming in other parts of our culture, especially sports and entertainment. Last week's Olympic Trials featured women going faster, higher, stronger than ever before. And our movie screens are filled with indomitable, determined women like "Kill Bill's" Beatrix Kiddo or Keira Knightley's kick-ass Guinevere in the new "King Arthur."

But try to apply these attributes to politics and the media start acting like it's 1958 – they suddenly don't know how to handle smart, accomplished, complex women. Judy Dean wasn't glamorous or supportive enough, Hillary was too smart and too strong and Teresa is too loose-lipped and too unpredictable.

So it really isn't much of a surprise that the political wife the media seem most comfortable with is Laura Bush, who has chosen to take on the image of the perfect 1950s sitcom housewife.

She's the Harriet Nelson of first ladies, the quintessential deferential spouse, praised by her husband for not "trying to butt in and always, you know, compete" and lauded by the media for her ability "to balance strength and subservience." I guess I missed the moment where subservience became a virtue.

When Laura Bush was asked what advice she'd given her twin daughters before sending them out this summer to campaign for their father, she replied: "Stand up straight and keep your hair out of your eyes." Words to live by – if you're Marabel Morgan. Somehow, I don't think those are the same words of wisdom Teresa Heinz Kerry passed on to her stepdaughters before they hit the hustings.

Both Teresa and Laura are scheduled to deliver primetime speeches at their respective party conventions. The contrast between the two – and what this contrast says about the men in their lives – should be stark. Out on the campaign trail, Teresa is given to in-depth discussions about health care and global warming. Laura tends to say things like: "I'm not privy to the policy disputes. I'm not over there at the table where everyone is actually formulating specific policy." Heaven forbid.

"We need to honor women in all their complexity," Teresa Heinz Kerry told me. "It's time that we acknowledge the wisdom women have acquired by managing the chaos of daily life. Women are realists, the glue that holds society together. They bring a reverence to life that's instinctual, not just intellectual."

Thirty-eight million women didn't vote in 2000, many of them because they were so disgusted with our inauthentic politics-as-usual. If even a small percentage of them turn out this November, they could very well end up deciding the election and the direction of the country.

So I propose that we turn on its ear the traditional good-old-boy political litmus test – which candidate would you rather have a beer with? Instead, let's ask the women of America: Which candidate's wife would you rather have a cup of coffee with?

Wednesday, July 14, 2004

literature and arts daily

for more intelligent news than you can get your head around each morning

VISIT LITERATURE AND ARTS DAILY

translation exchange

another fantastic site with great translation related information!!! all your language lovers should check this site out. it's a collective endeavor just bursting with translation trivia and interesting discussions of translation-related questions.

visit translation exchange

Tuesday, July 13, 2004

impending vote on constitutional amendment to ban same sex marriage

Congress is about to vote on amending the U.S. Constitution to deny marriage equality to same-sex couples. Never before has our Constitution been amended to take away anyone's rights. Yet our Senators will vote on this amendment in the next 48 hours. It's urgent that we speak up now. This hateful divisiveness has no place in America. Please join me in saying so.
Equality in marriage is the civil rights issue of our generation. We can't let anyone, or any group, be singled out for discrimination based on who they are or who they love. Thank you.

opposition to same sex marriage smacks of the same logic as opposition to interracial marriage

For those who object to same sex marriage, let me put on record several rather crucial considerations.

1) The primarily Christian religious-moral objections that same sex marriage is a violation of "God's Will," have NO PLACE being codified into the legal system of a nation whose cornerstone is the SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. To allow the religious beliefs of one sect to become normatively authoritative and binding for the society as a whole sounds like Theocracy not Democracy to me.

2) Granting only "Civil Unions" while denying marital rights smacks of Separate But Equal, which we all know simply isn't. Banning or refusing to sanction same sex marriage is UNCONSTITUTIONAL. It is a blatant violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and it is no less egregious and than the so-called "Anti-Miscegenation" Laws that banned interracial marriages and also had wide-spread "popular" approval. Anti-miscegenation laws were only ruled unconstitutional in 1967!!!

Anti-Same Sex Marriage Prohibitions are genealogically related to Anti-Miscegenation Laws, which implicated anxieties about gender more than one might suspect. While for most of American history, white men could rape, or otherwise engage in sexual relations with black women with impunity, the hysterical fear of "racial impurity" and interracial marriage as an aberration that would cause our society's moral downfall, was directed primarily towards unions of black men with white women and not the other way around (let's not forget Thomas Jefferson's many biracial children with Sally Hemmings, he was criticized, but not impeached or lynched!)--white women being the instantiation par excellence of Possessive Individualism enjoyed by white males.

Following the abolition of slavery, no "property" was treated by the dominant culture as more intimate and defining of white manhood than the "possession" and domination of the white woman in the domestic sphere. To allow that most intimate "possession" to be shared with black men or men of color would be to acknowledge their equal manhood. But this was threatening to the very definition of citizenship embraced by the dominant order. For most of American history, full citizenship was defined in terms of an exclusive, invidious amalgam of whiteness, ownership/self-possession/domination, and masculinity, as well as being defined as fundamentally oppositional and antithetical to blackness(otherness),slavery/servitude/submission, and femininity.

Just as interracial marriage was seen as a threat to the very order of things that supported existing power relations, so Same-Sex Marriage threatens those who cling to these same malignant and fundamentally anti-democratic notions of selfhood and citizenship. For men to marry men and women to marry women, implies a breakdown in the traditional domestic power structure in the same way that interracial marriage did. It grants a legitimacy that desacralizes the "axis of evil" that comes into being when we lump race, class and gender together in an invidious manner equating whiteness and masculinity with possession, domination and power, and non-whiteness and femininity with submission and subordination.

The relations implied above and in the mainstream metaphor of heterosexual union are inherently hierarchical and exclusionary. What model of power relations is implied in same sex unions if not relations of equality, fraternity (forgive the pun, I mean sorority too, but without all the bad bleach jobs, fake tans, french manicures and kegger parties) and the liberty to choose how to live and who to love for oneself? And what could be more democratic?

interpreter of maladies

jhumpa lahiri's debut collection deserved the pulitzer prize it received. i finally read this book yesterday and was enchanted. usually i am not crazy about such spare prose, but the storytelling technique that lahiri employs to frame the dislocations attendant to transnationalism and globalization drew me into the fragmented worlds of her characters. i particularly enjoyed "a temporary matter," and was entranced by "the third and final continent," the ending of which made me cry. speaking of his american born son, the narrator, who has come to the US by way of the UK, says:

"In my son's eyes I see the ambition that had first hurled me across the world. In a few years he will graduate and pave hisway, alone and unprotected. But I remind myself that he has a father who is still living, a mother who is happy and strong. Whenever he is discouraged, I tell him that if I can survive on three continents, there there is no obstacle he cannot conquer. While the astronauts, heroes forever, spent mere hours on the moon, I have remained in the new world for nearly thirty years. I know that my achievement is quite ordinary. I am not the only man to seek his fortune far from from home, and certainly I am not the first. Still, there are times I am bewildered by each mile I have traveled, each meal I have eaten, each person I have known, each room in which I have slept. As ordinary as it all appears, there are times when it is beyond my imagination."

Sunday, July 11, 2004

visit language hat

for all your linguistic needs! what a kickass site. i love you language hat!

Себе, любимому, посвящает

Четыре.
Тяжелые, как удар.
"Кесарево кесарю - богу богово".
А такому,
как я,
ткнуться куда?
Где мне уготовано логово?
Если бы я был
Маленький,
как океан, -
на цыпочки волн встал,
приливом ласкался к луне бы.
Где любимую найти мне,
Такую, как и я?
Такая не уместилась бы в крохотное небо!
О, если б я нищ был!
Как миллиардер!
Что деньги душе?
Ненасытный вор в ней.
Моих желаний разнузданной орде
не хватит золота всех Калифорний.
Если б быть мне крсноязычным,
как Данте
или Петрарка!
Душу к одной зажечь!
Стихами велеть истлеть ей!
И слова
и любовь моя --
триумфальная арка:
пышно,
бесследно пройдут сквозь нее
любовницы всех столетий.
О, если б был я
тихий,
как гром, -
ныл бы,
дрожью объял бы земли одряхлевший скит.
Я если всей его мощью
выреву голос огромный, --
кометы заломят горящие руки,
бросаясь вниз с тоски.
Я бы глаз лучами грыз ночи -
о, если б был я
тусклый, как солце!
Очень мне надо
сияньем моим поить
земли отощавшее лонце!
Пройду,
любовищу мою волоча.
В какой ночи'
бредово'й,
недужной
какими Голиафами я зача'т -
такой большой
и такой ненужный?

1916
Владимир Маяковский

words without borders

the art of translation triumphs at this wonderful site. check out writing from all over the world, translated into english here. according to the site, while the english speaking world exports its writing everywhere, translating 50% of its material into other languages, only 6% of the world's great literature is translated into english. the poverty of our offerings here is striking.

visit words without borders, and if you are a translator, contribute!

SUPPORT WWB


and you will be automatically entered in a free drawing to win

A Shorter Oxford English Dictionary or a Norton Anthology

Friday, July 09, 2004

who says theory is dead?

"Gender-theory superstar Judith Butler takes on 9/11 and its aftermath in a new book -- written in clear English! But the task of postmodern theory, she argues, is more crucial now than ever."

By Astra Taylor
July 6, 2004
Copyright 2004 Salon.com
- - - - - - - - - - - -
EXCERPT: "The essays that make up "Precarious Life" seem to be underscored by a single question, one that motivates and connects them: Who counts as human? This is the problem that concerns her in her consideration of grief and mourning, her essay on the lives of Palestinians in the occupied territories and the Guantánamo piece, "Indefinite Detention." What Butler is analyzing are the ways in which some individuals are not protected by law. Unnamed and unmourned, they are not counted as fully human."

"As Butler warns in her preface, the 'foreclosure of critique empties the public domain of debate of democratic contestation itself, so that debate becomes the exchange of views of the like-minded, and criticism, which ought to be central to any democracy, becomes a fugitive and suspect activity.'"

READ THE ARTICLE

Wednesday, July 07, 2004

生肖好玩儿

酉 鸡

一生总运势

  鼠酉年生人,其性诚实多智慧兼伶俐,能与人交际,望得贵人提拔,抱大志多计谋,终遂捷径光明,且有带快热冷的心理,致自抱自弃的缺点,对自己不利的时多与计较,致见少利而生大财之嫌。 忠告:属鸡的人,远方男性女性都容易受异性引诱,恋爱的次数相当多,而且每一次都会付出真情,自尊心高,讨厌依赖别人,个性直率,所以并不是每种类型的人都合适你,因此在选择伴侣时,一定要三思而后行。 特性:保守、热心、漂亮、坦诚、幽默。 缺点:傲慢、自大、盲目崇.

优点
做事很稳定,有现代新潮派的大志向,脑筋 转动很快。性急,喜欢打扮自己,善於交际,有贵人相助,有心和毅力如鸡司晨一样有信心。交友广阔善於言辞,善於辩论又具说服力。对色彩感觉有独到之处。想到什麽便说什麽毫不保留,常与权威抗衡 刚愎自信力很强,喜爱豪华气派。爱好别人恭维,同时喜欢赞美别人,看不起 那些不修边幅的人。坦白活跃,勇敢风趣,机智多谋,专心一意,勤奋热情慷慨。个性好胜专注,凡事不愿落人之後,头脑反 应快。深思熟虑勤奋能干,富责任感严守纪律,讨厌游手好闲的人。

缺点
具有忽冷忽热的心理,处事往往纸上谈兵很少付诸行动。心理一有不满马上反应毫不隐瞒。一切以自我利益为中心,处事乐观但刻薄短视,常自以为是喜爱自吹自擂。说话不保留,易忽视旁人的感受与尊严。出言欠谨慎为社交上最大阻力。不会接纳别人的劝告却会名正言顺地去教训别人。不喜欢正式传统的装扮,而偏爱奇特的式样 喜欢唠叨,心胸狭窄,傲慢自大,性情急躁,爱慕虚荣。
【以上各项缺点经修持是可以克服的。】

性格
鸡年出生的人,坦白直率,想到什麽便说什麽。自视甚高,不喜欢他人在背後指责,对他人的要求也一样严格,较不易变通。严守纪律,色彩感觉敏锐。
           

事业
集中精力,全力投入,事业会因为您的努力卓然增色,事业的扩展让您更上一层。年轻者若想开创自己的事业,可以在今年开始,会有一个很好的开端。

爱情
回避家庭内部可能出现的口角。恋爱中人不能因为自己工作的繁忙忽视了对情侣的联系和关心。未婚者的成婚率高,需要自己的珍惜和重视。
大喜婚配: 牛(丑)、龙(辰)、蛇(己)
忌婚配: 鼠(子)、马(午)、兔(卯)

Tuesday, July 06, 2004

a few of my favorite things (in no particular order)

david bowie's hunky dory
henry miller's the tropic of cancer
red dragon fruit 火龙果
furry kitty tummies
qingshan lushui 青山录水
eye contact with strangers
arundhati roy's the god of small things
foot massages (receiving)
single-lidded eyes 单眼皮
pj harvey's dry
helen dewitt's the last samurai
chongqing mala huoguo'r 重庆麻辣火锅
live poetry readings in St. Petersburg
lack of inhibition
my dinner with andre
riding bareback
wittgenstein's philosophical investigations (he also wins the award for best preface)
passion fruit
furry kitty paws
talks that last all night
erguotou 二锅头
kisses, and more kisses
nan goldin's photographs that capture the beauty of transgender heroes, daring to be who they know they really are
freckles across the bridge of a most beloved nose
sisters who are also best friends
teachers with authority who deserve it
il postino
more kisses
scarlet harlot lipstick
black nail polish
hannah arendt's the human condition
nick cave's from her to eternity
blueberries
tequila
tieguanyin green tea 铁观音
anne sexton
wings of desire
passion
anything by alice fulton
compassion
logic
gomen wot
the ocean
bumblebee gobis
lorrie moore's the jewish hunter

the obsolescence of minimalism

Atlantic Unbound | January 24, 2001

Raymond Carver's reputation as an American master of short fiction is as good as etched in stone. But his hardbitten prose style has had its day

by Sven Birkerts (check out AGNI, the litmag he edits)
"...Doubtless there are many other forces in play, but the upshot is the same. The ground, the cultural soil—that element that our writers represent and from which they draw—has been completely spaded up and turned since Carver's day. The writer who now picks up his pen—or, as is more likely, turns on his laptop—tunes in to a very different frequency. Understatement, once very nearly reflexive, sounds suddenly wrong. The held-back sentence looks almost funny on the page; there is a perceptible pressure to open out, annex, pull some of that overwhelming ambient complexity into the circuitry of the sentence. And if this is an exaggeration, it is nonetheless true enough to warrant our attention.

Short sentences are—structurally—all alike. Every complicated sentence is complicated in its own way. Even a glance at some of the touted prose of recent years will confirm the new expressive plenitude—or chaos."

READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE

david foster wallace's oblivion

"...The narrator of "Good Old Neon" [one of the stories in the collection] (another ad man) is smothering in self-awareness. "My whole life I've been a fraud," he announces, relating a history of triumphs, each one curdled by his consciousness that "all I've ever done all the time is try to create a certain impression of me in other people." Admitting as much to a psychoanalyst only leads him to further spasms of self-loathing: "My confession of being a fraud and of having wasted time sparring with him over the previous weeks in order to manipulate him into seeing me as exceptional and insightful had itself been kind of manipulative.

"This dilemma, in which every layer of self-knowledge is nested inside yet another layer that scrutinizes it mercilessly for inauthenticity, is a Wallace trademark."

check out laura miller's review in salon.com of david foster wallace's new collection.

michael moore's message

EXCERPT PASTED FROM HIS WEBSITE
Sunday, July 4th, 2004
My First Wild Week with "Fahrenheit 9/11"... By Michael Moore

"** More people saw "Fahrenheit 9/11" in one weekend than all the people who saw "Bowling for Columbine" in 9 months.

** "Fahrenheit 9/11" broke "Rocky III’s" record for the biggest box office opening weekend ever for any film that opened in less than a thousand theaters.

** "Fahrenheit 9/11" beat the opening weekend of "Return of the Jedi."

** "Fahrenheit 9/11" instantly went to #2 on the all-time list for largest per-theater average ever for a film that opened in wide-release.

How can I ever thank all of you who went to see it? These records are mind-blowing. They have sent shock waves through Hollywood – and, more importantly, through the White House."

VISIT HIS WEBSITE, READ HIS BLOG
www.michaelmoore.com

Friday, July 02, 2004

that HELLO KITTY vibrator you've always wanted


something to bring out the girly girl in you! Posted by Hello


BUY HERE, on the J-List

the american people ruled unfit to govern

not that this should come as any surprise to anyone, of course, but:

"In light of their unmitigated apathy toward issues of import to the nation's welfare and their inability to grasp even the most basic principles upon which participatory democracy is built, we found no choice but to rule the American people unfit to govern at this time," Scalia concluded.

The controversial ruling, court members stressed, is not intended as a slight against the character of the American people, but merely a necessary measure for the public good."

check out full the scoop HERE:

IE sucks, MOZILLA rocks

and my blog looks a million times better in this browser. IE has a bizillion security problems, MICROSOFT is evil monopoly capitalism incarnate and IE is a shitty browser. MOZILLA rocks. it's lean and mean and fast and reliable. it offers better graphic and language support and it's based on the techno-anarcho-syndicalist principles of the OPEN SOURCE MOVEMENT, so it's free and open. DOWNLOAD MOZILLA now and try it out. You'll never go back to IE.

john john jesse punk artist and iconoclast extraordinaire


check out john john's awesome new exhibit Posted by Hello

he has the cutest puppy, too.

ART AT LARGE
630 Ninth Avenue, No. 707
NYC, 10036
(212) 957-8371

marilyn monroe should have married henry miller

i was listening to an old favorite cd that was given to me as a gift from my very dear friend pavlik--dan bern's eponymous album--and discovered that the wit in this song can still make me fall to the floor cackling with laughter. dan bern is unique, but if i had to make comparisons i'd say he's the lovechild of phil ochs and bob dylan coming of age in the reagan years, mixed with a little elvis costello and they might be giants for good measure...unplugged.

MARILYN

Marilyn Monroe didn't marry Henry Miller
Marilyn Monroe didn't marry Henry Miller
Marilyn Monroe didn't marry Henry Miller
Marilyn Monroe didn't marry Henry Miller

But if she did
He'd a taken her to Paris
And if she did
She'd have smoked a lot of opium
And if she did
She'd have dyed her hair blue
And if she did
She might be alive

Oh-ohh Henry Miller
Oh-ohh Marilyn Monroe
Oh-ohh Henry Miller
Oh-ohh Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe didn't marry Henry Miller
She lived outside the Tropic of Capricorn
Marilyn Monroe didn't marry Henry Miller
I don't even know if she knew Henry Miller

But if she did
He'd a taken her to Paris
And if she did
They'd have fucked every day
And if she did
She'd have felt like a woman
Not a photogragh
In a magazine

Oh-ohh Henry Miller
Oh-ohh Marilyn Monroe

This is not a knock against Arthur Miller
Death of a Salesman is my favorite play
But Marilyn Monroe
Should have married Henry Miller
And if she did
She might be alive

Cause if she did
He'd have taken her to Paris
Tied her to the bed
And eaten dinner off of her
And okay maybe
she'd have died the same, anyway
But if she did
she'd have had more fun

Oh-ohh Henry Miller
Oh-ohh Marilyn Monroe
Oh-ohh Henry Miller
Oh-ohh Marilyn Monroe

Dan Bern, copyright.

support smart indie folk music, buy his albums and visit his website

Thursday, July 01, 2004

regime change begins at home