So, yeah, the exam is over. It went well. There were a few minutes of panic, when I wasn't sure what I was going to do, or whether my take on a piece was quite right. But it felt pretty good, on the whole. I guess we'll see. I'm glad it's done. I'm taking today off, and then tomorrow - I'm digging into my (final!) course paper.
Since our cable is out and won't be fixed until tomorrow, we've been watching TONS of movies. Last night, it was Fargo. I forgot how fucking awesome this movie was. First, the Coens are brilliant for again putting noir in the place you least expect. What I really love is how the Coens *validate* the Midwest - what I guess we know might call "Red State America" [
]. There is a real tendency in pop culture to mock rural people and the Midwest in general; as though, everyone not on the coasts is a raging moron. What I love about Fargo is how *competent* all of Minnesota's finest are. Margie (Frances McDorman) - the "cute pregnant lady" as my wife calls her - is fucking aces at her job, even if she is a bit hokey and awful sweet. I really like that. I like that the movie is earnest and horrifying, not ironic and cute.
You all should check out this website. Find out which of the most evil books, as judged by leet conservative types, of the 19th and 20th century you've read.
My favorite picks are:
1. Unsafe At Any Speed and Silent Spring (both honorable mentions) - b/c controlling evil corporations is always bad
2. The Origin of Species, The Kinsey Report, and The Descent of Man - b/c science sucks
3. The Authoritarian Personality and Introduction to Psychoanalysis - b/c uncovering the inner workings of people is bad and stuff
4. The Wretched of the Earth, The Second Sex, and The Feminine Mystique - b/c thinking about oppressed people is for pussies
5. On Liberty - WHAT THE FUCK?
6. The Course of Positive Philosophy, Madness and Civilization, and The Prison Notebooks - b/c finding out how the social world actually works is for jerks
This is my favorite...
Both Marx *and* Keynes made the list?!?!??! When critique Marx, these brilliant sages claim:
Since our cable is out and won't be fixed until tomorrow, we've been watching TONS of movies. Last night, it was Fargo. I forgot how fucking awesome this movie was. First, the Coens are brilliant for again putting noir in the place you least expect. What I really love is how the Coens *validate* the Midwest - what I guess we know might call "Red State America" [
]. There is a real tendency in pop culture to mock rural people and the Midwest in general; as though, everyone not on the coasts is a raging moron. What I love about Fargo is how *competent* all of Minnesota's finest are. Margie (Frances McDorman) - the "cute pregnant lady" as my wife calls her - is fucking aces at her job, even if she is a bit hokey and awful sweet. I really like that. I like that the movie is earnest and horrifying, not ironic and cute.
You all should check out this website. Find out which of the most evil books, as judged by leet conservative types, of the 19th and 20th century you've read.
My favorite picks are:
1. Unsafe At Any Speed and Silent Spring (both honorable mentions) - b/c controlling evil corporations is always bad
2. The Origin of Species, The Kinsey Report, and The Descent of Man - b/c science sucks
3. The Authoritarian Personality and Introduction to Psychoanalysis - b/c uncovering the inner workings of people is bad and stuff
4. The Wretched of the Earth, The Second Sex, and The Feminine Mystique - b/c thinking about oppressed people is for pussies
5. On Liberty - WHAT THE FUCK?
6. The Course of Positive Philosophy, Madness and Civilization, and The Prison Notebooks - b/c finding out how the social world actually works is for jerks
This is my favorite...
Both Marx *and* Keynes made the list?!?!??! When critique Marx, these brilliant sages claim:
Marx theorized that the inevitable eventual outcome would be global proletarian revolution. He could not have predicted 21st Century America: a free, affluent society based on capitalism and representative government that people the world over envy and seek to emulate.
Sure, sure - but do they *get* that capitalism hit a big bump in the road, fucked up, and we got the Great Depression? And that Keynes's theories helped correct that, and that's why we have the lucrative 21st century? I mean, laissez faire had it's shake, and it ended badly. Keynes is the correction. It's sort of funny that *both* of these guys get blasted. 
So it goes. See you folks tomorrow.
VIEW 11 of 11 COMMENTS
also, the pop up:
I'm glad the test went well.
Plus, I just want to point out that my intellectual hero, John Dewey, made the list too.
Glad your exam went well, though.