For my English class, I had the luxury of taking my pick of book/play for a project off of a list of books and plays that the College Board defines as important for my education... or something.
As the title of this post gives away, I decided on Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire for my project. I have heard many things about it, and I thought that it would be a good addition to the other clutter in my brain. 15 pages in, I think I am right.
Aside from the fact that every time I mention that I am reading Streetcar, someone has to scream "STELLA! HEY STELLA! STELLLAAAAAA!", I am finding it very intriguing. Since I'm doing a project on the book and have to take weekly notes on it (because I'm stuck in Senior English), I read the plot summary and checked out the symbols that I am to watch out for to save myself some time. After reading the summaries and analysis and the beginning of the play, I must say that this play is great. Incredibly fucked up, but great.
Speaking to one of my friends (an English and Psychology guy), I hear that Williams' characters in his plays were almost always all flawed in some way, and this far into the play, I agree. While not all in the same way, all of these characters have fucked up personalities.
It's kind of fun to read a play in which there is no "good guy" to save the day.
Word of the Day: Slactivism/Slacktivism portmanteau of slacker + activism
This is when you "support" a cause to make yourself feel like you're doing something without actually putting in significant (personal) effort.
Ex: "I texted the Red Cross, so I did my part to support Haiti and don't need to do anything else...." or "I joined a Facebook group that is supposedly donating to Haiti, so I feel good about having done all that I possibly can!"
Yes, you've made an "effort", but to consider it "doing your part" is downright moronic.
Thanks for helping. I spent five hours standing out in the cold collecting donations for the Tzu Chi Foundation today and intend on doing it again tomorrow and next weekend.
I'm still sick. I'm getting better, though! Sinus infection + multiple pulled intercostal muscles => clogged up and painful breathing. T_T
Leonard Cohen's Chelsea Hotel No. 2 is a song he wrote about his one night stand with Janis Joplin in the famous Chelsea Hotel. He later regretted penning the tune, but I am glad he did. It's hard to make a one night stand poetic, and he did it well. The "No. 2" means it was the second version of the song he wrote, performed, and recorded.
This is my own version, so don't be too offended if it's not the same as the original.
Chelsea Hotel # 2
I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel, you were talking so brave and so sweet, giving me head on the unmade bed, while the limousines wait in the street.
Those were the reasons and that was New York, we were running for the money and the flesh. And that was called love for the workers in song probably still is for those of them left.
Ah but you got away, didn't you babe, you just turned your back on the crowd, you got away, I never once heard you say, I need you, I don't need you, I need you, I don't need you and all of that jiving around.
I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel you were famous, your heart was a legend. You told me again you preferred handsome men but for me you would make an exception. And clenching your fist for the ones like us who are oppressed by the figures of beauty, you fixed yourself, you said, "Well never mind, we are ugly but we have the music."
Some people act like they hopped right out of the womb complete with a well-developed sense of false self-importance and entitlement. Honestly, I don't care... that is, until said people begin bothering me on a regular basis.
Here is how it works: I don't care if you feel like the world cannot function without you sharing your every opinion on every subject. The problem I have with you begins when you begin to feel obligated to share all of these opinions with me (and other people who complain to me) and then insist that you cannot be wrong even when you do not have any insight into most of the things you comment on to me. What grinds my gears even more is that I'm usually the one who actually has the experience and insight into the situation that is being so terribly distorted.
Bottom line: it's not cool to be stubborn about your absolutist statements (and you make way too many anyhow) when you have no idea what you're talking about. I try hard to be nice and try to accommodate your self-centeredness, but it's getting very difficult.
Bottom edge of the bottom line: I suppose I can be more understanding and try to empathize with you, but you're just so blatantly wrong...
And I'm almost done figuring out my next two internships. I've been granted permission by the professionals I want to work with and I'm just working on finding time to go now. Hurrah.
