Member: signature103

I read a poem by Ted Hughes once about a farmer who raises a lion. The lion cub plays with his sheep in perfect harmony. Finally as the cub grows into adulthood, its nature cannot be turned and carnage ensues. As for Langston Hughes, here are a few favorites:

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

Dreams

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

Langston Hughes writes simple poems with not much ambiguity. His poems are rhythmic that imitate in some ways jazz music:

The Weary Blues

Droning a drowsy syncopated tune,
Rocking back and forth to a mellow croon,
I heard a Negro play.
Down on Lenox Avenue the other night
By the pale dull pallor of an old gas light
He did a lazy sway ....
He did a lazy sway ....
To the tune o' those Weary Blues.
With his ebony hands on each ivory key
He made that poor piano moan with melody.
O Blues!
Swaying to and fro on his rickety stool
He played that sad raggy tune like a musical fool.
Sweet Blues!
Coming from a black man's soul.
O Blues!
In a deep song voice with a melancholy tone
I heard that Negro sing, that old piano moan--
"Ain't got nobody in all this world,
Ain't got nobody but ma self.
I's gwine to quit ma frownin'
And put ma troubles on the shelf."

Thump, thump, thump, went his foot on the floor.
He played a few chords then he sang some more--
"I got the Weary Blues
And I can't be satisfied.
Got the Weary Blues
And can't be satisfied--
I ain't happy no mo'
And I wish that I had died."
And far into the night he crooned that tune.
The stars went out and so did the moon.
The singer stopped playing and went to bed
While the Weary Blues echoed through his head.
He slept like a rock or a man that's dead.

Honestly, these are the only Langston Hughes' poems I'm familiar with.

posted by donbuch1 at 11:07 pm (EST) on Mar 25, 2013

Happy New Year too! Interestingly enough, we often look back fondly on past years while still embracing new experiences in the upcoming months. I feel optimistic and hopeful for friends and relatives who do not have vision to take life by the steering wheel to drive toward that nostalgia that comes with personal success. I think the trick is to always keep busy in activities that yield incremental rewards.

posted by donbuch1 at 11:47 am (EST) on Jan 1, 2013

I'm happy to hear from you. I don't remember if I mentioned this, but if you go to Philpapers.com and sign on as a member, you can perhaps glean some helpful ideas for your research by participating in the numerous discussions on Wittgenstein and philosophy of language. Yes, I bought a small collection of Zen books as I am currently fascinated with mysticism.

posted by donbuch1 at 7:56 pm (EST) on Dec 17, 2012

2009's Encyclopedia of Sustainability (3 vol, 819 p., $265.00) is available at various public and academic libraries. Authors are Robin Morris Collin and Robert William Collin. The Amazon review states that "each volume is dedicated to 1 of 3 equally important contexts in which the term is used: environment and ecology, business and economics, equity and fairness."

Since an encyclopedia of sustainability has been produced, what is still needed is a "Pocket Guide To Sustainability."

posted by Indybooks at 2:01 pm (EST) on Sep 19, 2012

Hi Warren,

I'm happy to hear from you. I hope your journal article writing does not keep you away from too many social scenes. Sometimes I get lost in my own writing sessions, forgetting to open the door of my study to exit into the macro-world. Yes, lately I've been doing some trimming, discarding books here and there, as well as sifting through boxes from storage. Recently too my reading has become more refined and selective; I have been doing intense studies of Bertrand Russell.

Your comments about traveling to bookstores to find those sought-after, literary gems makes me nostalgic. I recall how I ventured into German bookstores in Heidelberg years ago looking for some rare bindings to add to my then nascent collection. Well, today this inventory has grown into a meglo-tome that continues to clutter my living space rather than provide accessible enjoyment. I took a long, hard view of the stock to consider what volumes really mattered most,and realized that the number would be very small. If I ever was forced to save part of it in a disastrous fire, my wheelbarrow would probably not contain more than 500. Even then some would be jettisoned to make space for photo albums and diaries.

If you read the first posting from Benthamite that gives a link to the article "Stuff," I think this encapsulates my sentiments more fully. We read about a 1000 books in our lifetime, know socially well about 250 people, and sleep a third of our life away. Hopefully in our waking time, we'll be aware of those books that contribute most to the happiness that we all wish to share.

posted by donbuch1 at 1:43 am (EST) on Sep 8, 2012

Have to thank Rozax for this image.

posted by signature103 at 6:35 pm (EST) on Aug 28, 2012

Great picture choice!

posted by 2wonderY at 12:05 pm (EST) on Aug 27, 2012

Here's another helpful link to understand Kant's position on truth and judgments: http://projectbraintrust.com/cogburn/germanidealism/kant/critiqueofpurereason/cr...

posted by donbuch1 at 5:19 pm (EST) on Aug 10, 2012

You're correct that Kant believes judgments are never the whole picture, but also according to Kant, "truth is a predicate of whole judgments, and not a predicate of the representational proper parts of judgments." Whether or not we ever obtain "whole judgments"--I think--is questionable. However, we can also have empty judgments that can still be meaningful and reflect some aspect of truth of things-in themselves--for instance. As one can see, these classifications of judgments can get very complicated quickly. Admittedly I'm not sure that I completely understand Kant on these issues well enough to give an accurate summary. For help, see the Stanford Encyclopedia article:http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-judgment/

posted by donbuch1 at 5:08 pm (EST) on Aug 10, 2012

Thank you for adding our library to your list of interesting libraries. We take that as a compliment! I have read several of Netuma Sosecki's novels, and I like him very much. I have a friend currently visiting Japan, and she has found a 1000 Yen note with Sosecki's picture on it for me. That will be a great souvenir to go along with my books.

-Jim

posted by rmckeown at 10:52 am (EST) on Aug 8, 2012

You are working backwards and pretty much have the idea of Kant's view of truth, which is set up to follow a correspondence theory. In terms of semantics, he holds a nominalist position that judgments (propositions) do not give information about the essence of the objects described. So linguistically, as I understand it, we can't go beyond the limitations of language to get at the true nature of reality. See the link with the subheading "Modern Age:Kant" where there is a passage on his logic: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth. However, this still means that truth exists which language describes, albeit inadequately at times.

posted by donbuch1 at 8:01 am (EST) on Aug 7, 2012

Hi,

I applaud your willingness to read Kant as background for understanding categories. On YouTube, Jason Campbell gives a very succinct presentation of what Kant was trying to do regarding the possibility of sythetic a priori propositions.
See this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqD19CC6weM&playnext=1&list=PLCC3A5B7FFAE...

I would recommend the Norman Kemp Smith translation of the Critique of Pure Reason.

posted by donbuch1 at 10:47 pm (EST) on Aug 6, 2012

Thank you for your insightful comments on perception. Yes, optical illusions can reveal much of how we divide up the world categorically to make sense of it. Gestalt psychology is still fashionable to apply to the study of human perception, although it has prescriptive limitations for explaining why human perception is ordered as such. With regard to language, I'm reminded of linguistic relativity in the work of Benjamin Whorf, namely that the structure of language affects the way in which we view the world. Awhile ago I spoke to a linguist about the Whorf hypothesis which she believed was inconclusive. I think one must remain cautious to avoid generalizing how language affects perception since other external factors come into play: emotion, desires, etc.

posted by donbuch1 at 1:00 am (EST) on Aug 3, 2012

Hi,

Although you have a fledgling collection, I'm sure it will grow in the future. Here's a helpful website I came across:http://www.onlinedegree.net/100-tips-tools-to-create-the-ultimate-home-library/.

I'm still interested in our Cogling discussion. I think that it's helpful to define what cognition is in relation to abstract language. This can launch us into a more structured discussion of metaphor. I'm leaning toward the connectionist view of cognition, namely viewing the mind as a complex computer, but I see the dangers in this. Every new invention in history gets mapped onto the human mind as a way to explain it.

posted by donbuch1 at 11:33 am (EST) on Jul 24, 2012

Hi,

I noticed in your collection that you have D.T. Suzuki's Living by Zen and Manual of Zen. It's been awhile since I read them, but now I feel compelled to go back and glean some wisdom from these valuable texts.

posted by donbuch1 at 7:34 pm (EST) on Jun 29, 2012

Hi,

I see that you started a cognitive linguistics group. Any specific topics in mind?

posted by donbuch1 at 12:18 am (EST) on Jun 28, 2012

Hey thanks for adding me to your interesting library. Yours is sublime. I am in the beginning of my endeavor. I have some kind of fascination for all things Japanese. So different than anything in my cultural background but shattering to the status quo. Like sitting in the desert after a lifetime of trees. Ravendory

posted by ravendory at 1:18 pm (EST) on Mar 16, 2008

I didn't know you were interested in Victor Shklovsky (sp?). I read "Theory of Prose" a few years ago and quite liked it, though I have to say that it didn't make a very lasting impression. Narrative defamiliarization as an expressive technique didn't seem like a new idea to me, but I didn't read very deeply.

posted by asquonk at 4:44 am (EST) on Feb 11, 2007

Just use 'JET Book Exchange' or 'Exchange' or something. (I'm presuming you're not looking to get rid of all of the titles you've listed :)) Thanks.

posted by virtualcaz at 2:28 am (EST) on Nov 29, 2006

Hi, could please tag the books you are prepared to exchange for the JET Book Exchange group? We don't want to both you about stuff that's part of your library. Thanks.

posted by virtualcaz at 8:29 pm (EST) on Nov 28, 2006

Todd Shimoda's "365 Virews of Mt. Fugi" is subtitled "Algorithms of the Floating World." It's a large format book, published in 1998 by Stone Bridge Press (Berkeley, CA). It is the story of Keizo Yukawa, a modern young man, but also of Takenoko, an artist from 1830-45 (and people connected to both of them). Each page has separate narratives of these characters and readers must decide in what order to follow the life/lives. I have been fascinated by it, and wonder how you would react to it. Esta1923

posted by Esta1923 at 2:23 pm (EST) on Sep 2, 2006

I'm keen to hear what your view of Dazai is.
His personal narratives, as well as his fiction, have really grabbed me.

posted by Max at 3:18 am (EST) on Aug 22, 2006

Steve Reich's sonic canvasses are sublime.

Would be a real pleasure to build some sounds together should I ever come to Hiroshima.

posted by Max at 8:49 pm (EST) on Aug 14, 2006

Unfortunately, some J-Lit, too, was surrendered because of space restrictions.

I will be performing "abstract" guitar (organic-sounding pulses and noises. etc.) at a Tokyo gallery.

posted by Max at 10:29 pm (EST) on Aug 13, 2006

Kodansha's encyclopedia is an exquisite resource.
Should be a delight to discuss J-lit.
Japan, in general, too.
(I have a show in Tokyo in October)
My collection, well, lamentably plummeted because I recently rented the roof of a nice old house wherein I could barely squeeze myself - (my bed was atop my wardrobe) - so, alas, crying, I parted with 250-odd books.

posted by Max at 8:02 am (EST) on Aug 13, 2006

Admirable collection, signature103.

posted by Max at 10:07 am (EST) on Aug 12, 2006