Hey Ginny,

going to hand in my thesis today. I can get started now on that backlog of recommendations I have from you. :)

posted by FourSeasons at 5:49 am (EST) on Jul 31, 2008

I hope so too.

Is Gravel really out, what happened there? It will I am sure still be full steam ahead for the National Initiative.

Must have a look at that book, sounds like a very interesting read.

Not sure if you have ever heard of Herbert Marcuse. His writings are on the more philosophical end of radicalism, he was nonetheless a great radical himself. Well worth a read. His writings are thankfully available for free. I recommend One-Dimensional Man :)

http://www.marcuse.org/herbert/

posted by FourSeasons at 10:17 am (EST) on May 28, 2008

Sweetdissadent

If you become a Librarything early reviewer, you can get free books!! hint hint....also, I could not possibly afford many of the books now that I've obtained, because as you know many are out of reach, price wise...so I order many from abebooks.com, which is very resonsonable. Also I go to thrift stores, garage sales, library sales, and on those special holidays I ask my friends to purchase books or a provocative DVD...so they already know what my wishes are...I'll have to obtain Roy's and Chomsky's books or videos by this method, honestly I can't wait!!!!

By the way what are you currently reading and have you watched any provocative DVD's on social responsibility, outstanding thinkers or political mischievements?

peace

diana

posted by doowatt34 at 5:55 am (EST) on May 24, 2008

Of course you are right, and I always vote according to my ethics and not for 'practical' reasons or reasons of economy. I believe it can cost up to 50 million dollars now to run a Mayoral or Gubernatorial campaign, it sickens me to think what better things that money could have contributed to. It is another sickener to think that in the current climate where candidate choice is based virtually in its entirety on personality we would be more likely to vote for Ted Bundy than we would Mike Gravel or even Chomsky :)

You watched Manufacturing Consent; brilliant. Glad you liked it.I would scarcely compare the book with the film; apart from them being different in subject for the most part the density and meticulous researching of the book makes it one of Chomsky's finest works. His collaborations with Edward Herman are always informative reading. Manufacturing Consent and Political Economy of Human Rights are totally indispensable in understanding the make up of the world after World War 2.

A pleasure as always Ginny,

talk to you soon.

posted by FourSeasons at 9:12 pm (EST) on May 18, 2008

yes, thanks again. Even for those like us who like to think we are to a larger extent than most, informed about the world it is still easy to forget there is more than two parties to decide between :) I was talking with my American friend today, but unfortunately she reckons that a third-party vote is a spoiled vote. I figure in a sense she is right since they have no hope really, but I also informed her that if everybody who was dissatisfied with the two-party system got up and voted for a third party, rather than focusing on futility, it may not appear as futile after all. Got her to take a look at the National Initiative anyway. I do not hold out much hope there either :P I despise party politics, it is precisely the orientation of thought from that point that leaves the other candidates out in the cold.

Keep me posted Ginny

I do not have a vote so my support may mean less and less as the election draws near.

posted by FourSeasons at 10:33 am (EST) on May 16, 2008

I cannot say I have seen any of his musical performances. Did watch a couple of those short Chomsky videos, I love when he says that polling information if merely reflective of the amount of money being spent in the campaigns. I hope Gravel becomes far better known amongst the US citizenry before the election. A Gravel victory, though appearing virtually impossible given media policy, may not be insurmountable. He could be another Howard Dean. I will combat and inform at every given opportunity assaults against Gravel as well as against his policies. The impact will not be large here in Ireland but I perhaps can get him one or two expatriate votes :) My cousin is also a US citizen now, living in New York, I will be sure he knows about Gravel also. He does however work for Morgan Stanley and may not like corporate social responsibility. If he is not elected I will be sure to continue informing people about the national initiative where in spite of a Gravel loss, could make future challenges to elite hegemony not as insurmountable as before.

Thanks Ginny, this guy has lit up my life :)

posted by FourSeasons at 6:21 am (EST) on May 14, 2008

Hey Ginny,

sorry about the double post. I found Manufacturing Consent on Youtube. The video however is in 17 different parts, which will be quite annoying to watch. The video quality is quite good but there is only around ten minutes in each of the 17 parts.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_qu...

posted by FourSeasons at 5:10 am (EST) on May 13, 2008

It was my pleasure, it did a lot to cheer me up. It had never occurred to me that you could make meaningful changes by becoming a politician :) Gravel appears to be traversing (quite successfully) that dangerous road of serious change.

Chomsky as an adviser; I do wonder how enthusiastic he would be. I recall Chomsky being asked jokingly would he ever consider running for President. He replied that if he ever did run for President the first thing he would do is tell you not to vote for him :D

posted by FourSeasons at 5:01 am (EST) on May 13, 2008

Hey Ginny,

Gravel is phenomenal. It baffles me as to how he ever even became a Senator :) He must be like Mr. Smith. Nonetheless, his ideas are without doubt some of the most refreshing and exciting I have heard discussed within the representative democratic framework. Unfortunately he will never be President, which is a real shame. I love the fact that they discussed ideas, something we certainly need more of in politics. He certainly appears as a man who does not bandy words, is knowledgeable about US history and not afraid to discuss it with great candor. I was not in total agreement with everything he said; I do for example feel that a massive part of the US withdrawal from Vietnam was down to domestic dissent. Still fascinating to hear somebody who is running for US President say that we cannot admit when we are wrong. That is a big problem for individuals and nations alike these days.

Thank you for that Ginny, having heard that I am the most optimistic I have been for a long time. Regardless of Gravel's winning or losing, just to know that he exists is a great boost :) That is my view as an Irish citizen and I hope would be my view no matter what my citizenry.

Fingers crossed for the National Initiative.

posted by FourSeasons at 7:24 am (EST) on May 11, 2008

Yes I would absolutely agree. There is a vast swathe of empirical data, but it is always used in service of ideology. This is particularly true of historical data although I have come across it in archaeology also. In this light I would consider Zinn and indeed Chomsky as much propagandists as Arthur Schlesinger or J.L. Gaddis. Oftentimes it is not the data brought into question but interpretation. The is a rather fiery debate, also in Manufacturing Consent between Chomsky and John Silber (some sort of Harvard dean) and they are debating about El Salvador. Chomsky is talking about them wiping the press out and about how a news editor was found hacked up and mutilated. Silber starts shouting that it is not true. Chomsky starts shouting that it is and asks him did these things happen or not. Silber's reply is that they did not "happen in the context in which you (Chomsky) suggest". I figure this is the divergence between most forms of propaganda the context in which factual data is placed.

Ah, I did not realise that Beyond the Pale was a collection of essays, I just saw a gigantic book full of William Trevor and thought of you :P Said I must remember to tell you but I could not remember the title.

posted by FourSeasons at 7:03 am (EST) on May 8, 2008

Yes, the film is absolutely amazing. I must have watched it ten times over and cosiderring it is 3 hours long :P Just when you thought your love for Chomsky could not grow any more, this film comes along :)

I saw a book recently which is one of collected essays of William Trevor. If you wre not aware of its existence you are now. Not totally sure of the title.

Yes the whole Zinn thing was ridiculous. Basically this guy's idea was I have studied this for forty years and by definition my opinion of events cannot be wrong. I would agree that Zinn is a proagandist but I would further state that all historians are, whether they know it or like it.

My book list grows and grows, and believe me I am taking all recommendations into account. I cannot wait to retire in 40 years or so, all the reading time I will need :P Bought Hugh Thomas' Slave Trade, A History of the Atlantic Slave Trade 1440-1870. Very good.

Hope to hear from you soon Ginny

PS Could not help but notice the comment below this one. Is that true about Arudhati Roy writing fiction.

PPS Also in the middle of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse 5.

posted by FourSeasons at 9:24 am (EST) on Apr 30, 2008

Sweetdissadent

I absolutely love J.A., I've had 5 negro presidents for at least ten years. I bought it from the shrine of the black madonna...its a great addition. Also I was reading something about adrundhati roy, that she/he? was at first a fiction author before they become very political???

peace

diana

posted by doowatt34 at 12:39 pm (EST) on Apr 27, 2008

I was not being negative about ZNet. I think the range of topics they discuss is very useful. I merely meant it in terms of the expansion into minority studies, women studies, diseases, propaganda etc. etc. as being very useful. Thank you for excluding me, I must have learned most of my words at least two years ago :P

It is indeed an invaluable resourse for allowing people to see that they are not isolated beings, as the internet does in some ways.

Yes I like Zinn, I was not sure whether I told you this little anecdote. Anyway I was soing an assignment a year or two back about the rise of unions in the US. I used Zinn's book to tease out the factual events surrounding the Haymarket Square Affair. In my bibliography for the essay my lecturer (a bit of a dinosaur) put a large red mark through the reference to Zinn and wrote PROPAGANDA: DO NOT USE beside it. I thought that was a rather funny thing to put beside a book, particularly on the US. I am a firm believer that if I was not to use propaganda in my essays there would be no bibliography and no essay :)

I am aware of the article but as yet have not read it, gain college work is taking primacy at the moment.

There is a small part of Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media (The documentary) regarding Znet, including a short interview with the founders, whose names elude me at the moment. I must have watched that film over ten times now. A great way to spend a Friday evening :)

posted by FourSeasons at 7:36 am (EST) on Apr 21, 2008

Hey,

I am the late one this time :) I actually went on to Znet a few eeks back I had been on there before but I forgot the sheer range of issues they discuss there.

Likeness can get boring after a while. I am sure I share many of the same values as my girlfriend but what I enjoy most personally is the ability of the other person to debate and discuss. If you agree all the time the discussion gets tiresome fairly quickly.

Recently picked up Zinn's People's History of the US. An excellent radical perspective on the US domestically from 1492 onwards.

Recently got back into the documentaries of Adam Curtis. All I can say is if you have not seen them; do. Absolutely fantastic. Here is a list :)

Pandora's Box, Century of the Self, Power of Nightmares, The Trap, The Mayfair Set. All of them are pure excellence. There is another one called the Living Dead, if you ever find this somewhere please let me be the first to know as i have been unable to find it since first getting into Curtis a few years back.

posted by FourSeasons at 8:56 am (EST) on Apr 20, 2008

Sweetdissadent

Its been a long time, and how are you... and yes actually I found a little time to read currently, Egypt vs Greece and the American Academy...a very interesting analysis of Prof Mary Leftkowitz' and others attack on Afrocentrism, written by a variety of the oppositions colleagues. such as Asa G Hilliard, Clyde Winters, Theophile Obenga, Molefe Asante, Charles Finch, Don Luke etc and others. They have made a good case for Afrocentrism and have helped others including those siding with Ms Leftkowitz to step up their game in a more positive direction as these guys have come to the table with their A game on an nothing less.... and by the way if I wanted to start reading something by Noam Chomsky where would you suggest that I start???

Peace

diana

posted by doowatt34 at 9:27 pm (EST) on Apr 12, 2008

Haha, you are very right. The way I figure it now my girlfriend can be arom of escape for me. Sure it is nice to have like-minded people to talk to but I am not so sure if it would be good for a relationship.

You should watch Red Heat with John Beluschi and Arnold Schwarzenegger for a truly overt example. I sometimes thought I was crazy but it seems everywhere I look now in terms of popular culture the idea is to make it as vacuous and trite as possible.

Of course we have our movies to simply look at and enjoy while they are running, but as a form of art they are perhaps one of the most important mediums for imparting ideas. You should get him to watch Manufacturing Consent (although it is a documentary) I wonder could it just being a movie remove the relevance of the themes it explores.

Propaganda I feel is the greatest obstacle we have to overcome, the propaganda system can seem at times monolithic, even though I know it is not. There is a diversity of opinion even in the news media, even though in its daily distribution it is severely bounded.

PS Thanks for the intellectual remark; I just do not really consider myself to be one. :)

posted by FourSeasons at 7:34 pm (EST) on Mar 27, 2008

Thats is good, you appear to be in a better situation than me as regards partners. I cannot even get my girlfriend to watch things that may contain violence. I think I will trap her one day and I will say let's watch the Fourth World War. That dilm (if you haven't seen it already) is one of the most horiffic things I have ever seen. For the mostpart is documenting dissent and rebellion in different parts of the world under the IMF stranglehold; Argentina, Mexico, South Korea. There is however one particular part where a Palestinian man cries over the body of his daughter. The girl who could be no more than 9 or 10 had just taken and Israeli slug to the arm, which you can see has absolutely decimated her entire arm. It follows her from the surgery table where she dies until the body is revealed to her father. This is perhaps one of the most harrowing things I have ever seen. While one must always have a sense of humour, we can all be reminded of what sometimes makes it so hard to have one.

Anyway I will trap her with this film because I am a terribly cruel person, and just to remove her from being such a sensitive girly girl that she is. Your situation must be better than mine as you have not yet resorted to shock therapy :P I don't think you could ever be cruel towards somebody who gad introduced you to Dr. Strangelove. My girlfriend introduced me to America's Next Top Model, Ugly Betty and many other pieces of meaningful intellectual discourse on the current global crisis. So as you can see In have no choice but to be cruel. :P

Anyway my sympathetic ear is always here. I would not consider myself however a budding intellectual, I would not really consider myself intellectual at all but I can tell you that at 22 I am already a burned out husk of a person :D

posted by FourSeasons at 8:40 am (EST) on Mar 27, 2008

I have floated around it from time to time but never subscribed. Generally if I want to ask Chomsky something I email him at MIT. I do know however that there is much more valuable stuff on that site, so I must subscribe.

Who is the boyfriend, have you discovered your like-minded adonis? :)

posted by FourSeasons at 7:36 am (EST) on Mar 25, 2008

Haha, you must have been slightly freaked out before you reaslised what it was from. :P

posted by FourSeasons at 8:20 am (EST) on Mar 18, 2008

Hey Ginny,

yes I figure we are even too :) I am actually reading some very interesting things for my thesis; namely Michel Foucault, who had a very enlightening debate with Chomsky back in 1971. Available on Youtube by the way.

Dr. Strangelove is one of my favourite films. I love Peter Sellers too. I recommend Being There as another classic Sellers film. You also might like The Life and Death of Peter Sellers a biopic. Strangelove would be my favourite of his though.

The census thing is quite interesting. I am sure being drowned in paper isn't very nice but historically I have an interest. They recently released the 1911 census for Ireland on the internet; very interesting stuff (for me at least).

Hope to talk to you soon Ginny and hold on to those Precious Bodily Fluids :D

posted by FourSeasons at 7:21 pm (EST) on Mar 13, 2008

Hey,

I haven't looked at Trevor's book yet but I will get there. I have to write my thesis soon for my Masters so I am neck deep in that stuff at the moment.

Anything major happening on your end? Did you vote in the Primaries at all?

posted by FourSeasons at 6:44 am (EST) on Mar 5, 2008

Hey Ginny,

long time no talky. Just figured I would drop you a comment you might see in the coming months to recommend Peter Marshall's History of Anarchism. Don't know if I told you about it before. Anyway well worth picking up.

posted by FourSeasons at 6:36 pm (EST) on Jan 24, 2008

sweetdissident,

I got on the Pacifica.org/Democracy Now site and heard a video with Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn...I can see why you like him so much, the two of them were fascinating...I worry that since he is up there in age, if he were to write a book the shook the foundation of the country, could he weather the heat!?!?

peace

doowatt34

posted by doowatt34 at 10:57 pm (EST) on Jan 5, 2008

Hello Sweetdissedent

You love Norm Chomsky!!!...could you tell me a little bit about him, what he does, what his background is, what he does now, is he still alive and how you were introduced to his works and philosophy?

Peace

Diana

doowatt34

posted by doowatt34 at 6:29 pm (EST) on Nov 6, 2007

sweetdissident,

when gerald ford died it is my understanding that part of his legacy was that he supported the invasion of east timor by the racist indonesian army that killed a third of the population...its too bad, cause the people are still, to this day fighting the same imperialistic mindset...I started getting emails from the blacklist magazine and there were alot of articles by the east timors themselves, regarding their history and exactly who they were, where they came from and what they believe...It was interesting that they know that their origins are on the afrikan continent, and they can link their cultural spituality their also....amy goodman as always does a great job reviewing what happened 1975 when she was there reporting on the invasion and subsequent slaughter...

peace

diana

posted by doowatt34 at 4:57 pm (EST) on Oct 13, 2007

sweetdissident

yeah, I read the interview between amy goodman and randell robinson...it was very good and I commend ms goodman for taking a media stance, "out of the box" and giving us real news about real people doing things in real places...I went to haiti in 2005, with an environmental farming group...it was totally awsome, the spirit of the people, what they were trying to accomplish, their culture and language...however it was sad that a lot of self serving NGO's were there looking out for their own interest, well that's what I saw...with the exception of a few, all were arguing about nut-inn, and the mindless psycho babble just drove me nuts...Have you read The Black Jacobins, it is one of the best books on the history of Haiti, check it out....

peace

diana

posted by doowatt34 at 4:32 pm (EST) on Oct 13, 2007

Sweetdissident,

I recently went to the democracynow website and read about the Timor tragedy featuring gerald ford. Thanks so much for the information. I'll have to return to the site to see what Mr. Randell has to say about the invasion. As I delve more deeply into the history of southeast asia, the more interesting the region becomes...I definately would like to visit austrailia soon as well as other original black asian countries.

peace

doowatt34

posted by doowatt34 at 4:33 pm (EST) on Oct 12, 2007

Yes, I am especially interested in the plight of the East Timorese the scandalous history, persecution and massacre and the rest of the story. Currently I have but have yet to read...East Timor Genocide in Paradise and Reluctant Indonesians: Australia, Papua and the Future of West Papua, and Follow the Rabbit Proof Fence. The whole Afro-Asian plight is very similar, to Native Americans (The Washitaw), South Africans, and Indigenous North Africans battle with outside islamic /imperialistic forces....

Peace doowatt34

posted by doowatt34 at 12:34 pm (EST) on Sep 18, 2007

Hello

Thanks for adding me to your favorites, I appreciate it....I am new also and I love manually adding books...I can keep abreast of my inventory. I see that you have some of Christina Rosettis' work, I had to read her works in college, and she is quite wonderful. Currently I am collecting material on the history of Indonesia and the history behind the revolutionary fighting by the Black Indonesians that is currently taking place. It's quite an interesting area.

Enjoy your time on LT

Peace doowatt34

posted by doowatt34 at 12:22 pm (EST) on Sep 7, 2007

The quick reply was just a matter of luck - I happened to see your message not too long after you posted it. You don't have to make messages private - especially if you want to say nice things about me :-)

posted by jimroberts at 7:15 am (EST) on Aug 30, 2007

Your author entry "Rogers, J. A." is fine. Sorted by author, he now comes after Ray Bradbury, then comes William Trevor, who you have also entered with the comma, then William Duffy.
How you see the author name in the catalog depends on how you have set up your view, or, if you haven't yet customised your views, what the LT default was. For your author column, you can choose "first last" or "last first".
I don't mind giving you a bit of help: I too found some of LT a bit hard to understand at first.

As to the book on linguistics of Chomsky's that I have, I read them with interest at the time. They aren't easy going though. "Aspects" was truly a pioneering work.

posted by jimroberts at 5:06 am (EST) on Aug 30, 2007

Hallo sweetdissident - apologies for not getting back to you sooner.
I agree that William Trevor is wonderful. For me, nearly each and every one of his short stories is a masterpiece. I'm quite excited at the moment, because his latest collection of stories, Cheating at Canasta has just been published. Not sure when I'll find the time to read them, though!
If you like William Trevor, I can strongly recommend Elizabeth Bowen - again, her marvellous short stories, but also novels such as The Last September.
All the best, Carolyn

posted by citizenkelly at 2:15 am (EST) on Aug 28, 2007

I see you have Dear and Glorious Physician by Taylor Caldwell. My copy is old too and I also have The Man Who Listens, which is a lovely book.

posted by BooksPlease at 1:21 pm (EST) on Aug 26, 2007

Regarding your comment on my review of Gore Vidal's book I think that you have completely misunderstood my point. I simply thought the book could have been much more in depth to increase it's usefulness as a resource material. I don't disagree with the premise of the book but I found it lacking in making a strong point. It wasn't particularly well written and the repetition was indicative of that. Believe me I have NO "patriotism" towards the US government as I am a Canadian and have unlimited complaints of their policies and political maneuvering myself. Your preaching to the choir!

posted by BookAddict at 2:46 am (EST) on Aug 26, 2007

Hi,
Thanks for your comment. I love history especially African & Africans in the disapora. History is my hobby and I also collect authors and now I've gone on a vampire road, I just love to read.

Nzingha

posted by Nzingha at 11:41 pm (EST) on Aug 25, 2007

Not a problem! You'll find a lot of nice, helpful people on LT. Welcome to the site!

posted by Talbin at 11:02 am (EST) on Aug 22, 2007

Hey,

you and I are kindred spirits. I wrote to Chomsky at MIT also, had a bit of a correspondence going at one time but I figured he was so busy that I would leave him alone :P

I had a chance to see several of his lectures when he was here (Ireland). I got Fateful Triangle and American Power and the New Mandarins signed. They are the pride of my Chomky collection.

It is so difficult to recommend Chomsky because it is all so good and informative.

It is a pleasure to meet somebody as passionate as myself about the great man :D

posted by FourSeasons at 9:26 am (EST) on Aug 20, 2007

I notice that you like William Trevor - I also think he is excellent. I see we have very few books in common however.

You may also like Sebastian Barry - he is also Irish and I find his writing wonderful as well.

Cheers,
Karen

posted by kiwidoc at 9:08 pm (EST) on Aug 17, 2007

Welcome to LibraryThing--it's addictive! I haven't read Beyond the Pale yet, but it's in the Collected Stories that I have. I'll get back with you when I read it. The first Trevor I read was Felicia's Journey and I remember it blowing me away--very haunting, tense. That one is my favorite of his novels. He's really amazing with the short stories, though. It's such a hard thing to pull off, but he consistently does it. He has a new collection coming out October 18--Cheating at Canasta.

You might also like Colm Toibin. I find myself drawn to the Irish writers...

posted by lisamorgan at 8:53 am (EST) on Aug 17, 2007