November 10, 2010

th at the beginning of a word is like h, as thig=hig—come

there are too many signs for I am sad in the language of I am tired

     ú
    ò   ó
       ì    í
           é    è
               á    à
                   ä

These sleeping pills owe,
like the early Moderns,
a creative debt to the Cubists.

:Dìscùss:thé: ——— ———— —— ——   —   
:sìgnífícánc: —————  —————  ——— ——  —  
:è:óf:äny:nò: —— —  ————  —  —— ——  — — 
:täblé:sìmíl: —   ———————  ——— — —  ————— —— — 
:árìtìès:ór:: — ——— — —————   ——————  ——      ——— 
:díffèréncès:  —  ————  ———— —  ———   ———  —    
::bètwéèn:th: ————— —— — ———— ——  —         
:èìr:méthóds: ——— ——— — ————  ——    — 

—exorcism of past associations and inheritances—fragmentation a spun sugar break from typical associative reasoning—multiple perspectives, but all of them independent and irrelated—a focus on significance of letters in words in language(an attack against the interpretive act itself)—events orphaned from their historical narratives—

   ú ò    
 ù     ó 
 ì     í
   é è

An occurrence is taken out of context and
brought somewhere else. The meaning
it takes on has everything to do with its
relationship to this new space: your nest
is filled with eggs that aren't your own that
some instinct forces you to attend -- birds
of what colour? but you must keep them warm.

th in the middle and end of a word is silent, as bathar=baär—goods, bàth=bà—drown

I enjoy Teaching the Arab-Israeli conflict by far more than the rest of this irritating US History Survey class.  Unlike most days, where i'm having to rush just to get the material out, I schedule two weeks on this topic and take my time.  It's really nice actually explaining things in close detail.  I had a nice opener today after having some argument on Monday over the "Biblical Truth" of the region.

"On monday we discussed the Temple Mount" I told my class this morning "and I told you that, according to Jewish tradition, this is the location of the famous Binding of Isaac.  I got a lot of pushback on that.  Some of you challenged me, saying that Abraham attempted to sacrifice his son on Mt. Sinai, which is nowhere near Jerusalem.  I was boggled by this, and I am embarrassed that I responded inappropriately. I told you that Judaism, like many other religions, tends to take important events and relocate them to important places, which is why this does not match your understanding.  Some of you balked at this."

"I went home and looked it up, certain that I had made a mistake, and I did. What I should have said is: Judaism, like many other religions, tends to take important events and relocate them to important places, which is why this does not match your understanding, and you are all wrong because this didn't happen at Mt. Sinai in the first place.  It happened at Mt. Moriah, which is a fictional place anyway.  According to Jewish tradition Mt. Moriah is this little hill under the Al Aqsa mosque."

One student, who had ardently defied my claims about the beliefs of Christianity and Judaism on Monday chimed in to support me.  "He's right.  I looked it up too."

It's always nice when a student who argued with you openly in class goes home with the intention of proving you wrong, does useful research, and comes to a new understanding of the subject.

As our dinner date winds down, I pour the cream into my decaf and stir it.

My wife holds up her wine glass. "Do you like Riesling?"

Beat.

"I don't know, you naughty woman, I've never Riesled."

We both break out in smiles. "No rehearsal required. That's why I married you."

"That's why I married you."