wheresmycow: (cabinpressure02)
When I became a literature major, I didn't expect to start hating some of the texts I read. I certainly didn't expect to find that analyzing them could be a horrible chore and not a pleasure at all.

Take my current problem, for example: to write a 25+page in-depth analysis of Gertrude Stein's Three Lives; if possible, to come up with some original insight into its creation, reception, and influence on modern American literature.

What else is there to say, though? I can talk about how much of an influence Cubism had on Stein and her work (and how much influence she had on it, thanks to her and Leo's palling around with the Parisian artist's community); taking that idea further, I can write about how much her experimental style reflected and influenced early 20th-century literary modernism; we can discuss the sexual politics of "The Good Anna" and/or racial politics of "Melanctha", even though I find analyses like these irritating and exhausting; I can go back and mine Stein's work with William James and the Harvard Psychology Laboratory for some juicy tidbits about her characterization style.

Thing is, it's all been done. I'm currently surrounded by a sea of printouts of journal articles talking about everything I mentioned above. The only other approach I can think of at the moment is to discuss the significance of threes in Stein's life and work made manifest in Three Lives (also, Cubism. See, cube = three. Get it? *groans*), and right now I don't know how to spin that one without making me sound like some weird New Age fool.

The problem here, too, is that I have now read Three Lives backwards, forwards, and sideways, and I can tell you this: I hate it. I HATE IT. I have never liked the Modernist Literature movement and its dreary misery and emptiness. I hated the literary and linguistic experimentation and how it was all so dreadfully artificial and frequently got in the way of whatever story there was -- and sometimes there wasn't any story to speak of, nothing but a mess. It takes an extremely talented writer to make his or her experimentation seem fluid and organic, and as far as I was concerned Joyce (and to a certain extent Woolf) did it. I am a formalist at heart, and Miss Stein, all you did here was annoy me. Especially with "Melanctha" and its meanderingly circular way of storytelling. Talk about ending not with a bang but with a whimper.

I want to make it clear that I'm not against all literary and linguistic experimentation here -- literature would stagnate if it didn't occur -- but there's a huge slush pile of mediocrity to wade through, here.

It feels like a rat race, sometimes.




Gosh, that felt good. I'm sure I'll regret a lot of the things I've said here by tomorrow, but right now, it feels really good.
wheresmycow: (Default)

1400. Oh god. Melanctha is so, so irritating. And I'm not just talking about the prose style. I do so loathe Naturalism.

Posted via LiveJournal app for iPhone.

wheresmycow: (Default)
...and, as usual, 90+% of the city's establishments will be shut tighter than a duck's arse for the next four days.

However, to show my UTTER CONTEMPT FOR THE GENERAL NARROW-MINDED SANCTIMONIOUS IDIOCY OF THE CATHOLIC BISHOP'S CONFERENCE OF THE PHILIPPINES*, I am posting SPOT.ph's link of Establishments That Will Be Remaining Open In Metro Manila from Thursday to Sunday, and you might actually find me at any one of the ones here in Pasig City:

PASIG CITY

Army Navy
Address: F. Ortigas Jr. Road, Ortigas Center, San Antonio, Pasig City
Telephone number: 570-8181
Operating Hours: Saturday and Sunday (10 a.m. to 9 p.m.)

Eat My English
Address: Gold Park Center, Meralco Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City
Telephone number: 683-0449
Operating Hours: Thursday and Friday (24 hours), closed Saturday and resumes 6 a.m. Sunday (24 hours)

Good Ah!
Address: Shaw Blvd., Pasig City
Telephone number: 638-0858
Operating Hours: 24 hours

Shakey's
Address: 682 Shaw Boulevard, Kapitolyo, Pasig
Telephone numbers: 631-3589, 631-6581
Operating Hours: 10 a.m. to 12 mn

Starbucks Coffee
Address: G/F Emerald Building, Ortigas Center, Pasig City
Telephone number: 631-2936
Operating Hours: Thursday (6 a.m. to 12 mn)

Starbucks Coffee
Address: Metrowalk Mall, Meralco Avenue, Pasig City
Telephone Number: 637-6893
Operating Hours: Saturday and Sunday (24 hours)

They're all 5-10 minutes away from my place anyway. It's high time I found out what Army Navy and Eat My English are all about.

*You stick to your guns, Wet Noodle, and I promise to NEVER call you Wet Noodle again.
wheresmycow: (sarcastic)
Pam Pastor's little rant column "The next person who asks me when I'm getting married will get punched in the face" posted in the Inquirer this afternoon was quite interesting and illuminating, not just for its content but also for the varied responses to its content. In it, she describes in horrifically accurate detail what single women like myself are subjected to, not just during the holidays, but during almost every single family gathering.

I am, like Pam, also 30 (okay, 31) and not even the fact that I have two older unmarried sisters can insulate me from the inevitable questions and the consequent looks of pity. Just this past Christmas, at one of those aforesaid family gatherings, I was just sitting on the couch minding my own business when one of my older cousins sidled up and whispered, "O, ikaw, kailan ka naman ikakasal?" ("So, Mary Ann, when are you getting married?")

If she thought it was an ideal conversation-starter, well, it wasn't. If you're single and unattached and with no desperate immediate plans to rectify that situation... what do you say to something like that? I admit, a slew of responses similar to and yet more uncharitable than Pam's did go zip! like a bunny in my head. What stopped me from unleashing the full force of my withering sarcasm, though, was the tiny yet shrill voice of my conscience screeching "She meant well! She meant well!"

And that's the trouble, isn't it? Most people who ask this question always mean well. They genuinely are interested in and worried about your future. I remember staring at my cousin for a full five seconds, searching for some sign of malice aforethought in her face (Alas, there was none. She's from the branch of the family that wouldn't know deadpan irony if it goosed them on the backside. She honestly believed that this was The Right Thing To Do) before smiling awkwardly and saying "Walang oras, alam mo naman, laging busy." ("Oh, you know how it is, no time, waaaay too busy.")

And that would have been the end of that, if she hadn't added, "Oo, kasi para habang pwede pang magka-anak, di ba?" ("Oh yes, you should get married while you can still have babies, right?")

Goddammit so much.

You know what really irks me about questions like that? It's the assumptions inherent in them. The state of matrimony and motherhood is apparently the Holy Grail of being a woman, and anyone who makes the conscious decision to either postpone or completely write off one or the other is apparently someone that needs to be saved from themselves. And any protest, however mild, is looked at as hurtful and offensive towards someone who only wants what's best for you. Looking at some of the comments left on Pam's article certainly cements that impression.

(Some people on that comments board do make the point that it's part of Filipino culture, this intrusive questioning. Oh yes, it's right up there with "near-non-existent grasp of irony" and "no concept of personal space". To people who try to excuse that behavior by saying it's "part of the culture": Screw you. It's annoying in every culture.)

Here's the thing: Yes, I am single. No, I am not seeing anyone at the moment, but even if I was it sure as hell wouldn't be with the intent of dragging him down the aisle lickety-split. Quite frankly, dearest cousin, I'm really not interested in getting married at this time because 1) I dislike fuss and weddings are the very definition of fuss; 2) it will inevitably lead to questions like "O, kailan ka ba magkaka-anak?" ("So, when are you having kids?") or, more rudely, "O, buntis ka na ba?" ("Aren't you pregnant yet?"); and 3) I have no interest in enabling your self-validation.

If and when I do decide to get married, it won't be because there's this societal, cultural need to do so before the age of 40; quite frankly, I'm quite open to the idea of--dun dun dun! LIVING IN SIN--provided it's with the right person. I will get married because I and whoever I choose want to. And if that happens when I'm 55 with no possibility of having kids, well, that's fine.

Don't worry, I'll still invite you to the wedding. Don't be scandalized if I don't wear white, though.



WERE YOU AWARE OF IT?: The Philippines is one of only TWO countries (the other being Malta) where divorce is illegal. So basically (except under extreme extenuating circumstances): you break it, you bought it.

UGH

Aug. 25th, 2010 09:34 pm
wheresmycow: (Default)
1. caught the flu, god knows where. Took the day off and spent half the day asleep, the other half watching/not really watching videos/staring at the ceiling.

2. YOU SICK, STUPID, SICK FUCKERS.. I can't bring myself to watch the news, I can't take the shame and embarrassment right now. You stupid, stupid assholes, I hope your Facebook walls get swamped with angry, angry messages.

grrr

Jul. 15th, 2010 02:26 pm
wheresmycow: (Default)
Nag-brownout ulit kanina, at kababalik lang ng koryente ngayon. Anobeh?

Utang na loob, kung mag-ro-rotational brownout scheme kayo dito sa Maynila, magsabi naman muna kayo, no? Hindi magandang sorpresa ang biglang maputulan ng koryente habang nag-hahabol ng deadline, di ba?

('nyeta.)
wheresmycow: (Default)
Even if My Boy doesn't win, I will be fine with Wet Noodle becoming President. Maybe after several drunken binges I will also be fine with the Grasping Orange Opportunist being President as well.

But if Erap WINS... Dammit, then what the hell was EDSA II for?!
wheresmycow: (Default)
So NOW I get my sample ballot, an hour before the polls open. Of course, certain names have been helpfully highlighted for my convenience. Talk about making sure I NOT VOTE FOR YOU, people. Yeah, I'm looking at you, incumbent Pasig City officials. Sheesh.
wheresmycow: (Default)
  • GET OUT OF MY HEAD JEREMY BRETT! I can't read Sherlock Holmes/John Watson slash without giggling like a prize idiot. Not because they're bad -- some are quite good -- but I developed a concrete picture of Holmes and Watson from reading all the stories and this picture keeps intruding into my carefully-constructed-yet-dangerously-fragile head-bubble that is the 2009 movie!verse. I can only (provisionally) accept Holmes/Watson when they're RDJ and Jude Law.

  • I'd like to say that I have no horse in this race, but I used to watch both Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno pretty regularly when both their shows were being aired here on cable, and I realize that I'm for Team CoCo. He's much funnier, and it's obvious who's being really screwed over here. Gawker has all the sordid details of this riveting bitchfight between rich white men.

    (for some odd reason I also have vivid memories of Leno vs Letterman 1992.)

    (also, jeez, why the fuck am I caring? Craig Ferguson FTW)

  • Oh, of course! IT'S ALL ABOUT YOU, ISN'T IT?* Speaking of bitchfight, Kris Aquino's gone loco again. Her brother, presidential candidate (and all-around wet noodle) Senator Noynoy Aquino, has asked that people give her and husband James some privacy. Hard to do that, Noynoy, when your baby sister appears on Private Conversations with Boy Abunda to appeal to James to get his act together and help save their marriage. All this, by the way, while tearfully airing all the dirty laundry at the same time. The woman just lives in a self-absorbed bubble, doesn't she? I would say that her mother is probably spinning in her grave, but Cory had to deal with 25+ years of this shit. The poor lady deserves her rest.

    *Galaxy Quest, ILU.

  • Tick-tock, tick-tock. Still need a concrete idea for my final term paper in grad class. I've got a one-on-one powwow scheduled with the prof on Thursday in Makati, can't show up half-assed. Thing is, I still don't have much of a grasp on what the class is really about.

  • Er, Um. So there's this guy. I think his friends are obliquely setting us up. Or having a joke at my expense. Possibly both.

ugh

Jan. 13th, 2010 09:51 pm
wheresmycow: (Default)
Things I have now that I didn't before my 30th birthday:

1. Acute lactose intolerance.

2. Bizarre random allergy to galunggong (mackarel scad, according to this site). *sad*

3. Frequent idiocy-related headaches and an increasingly short temper.

What surprises will my 31st bring me in 2 1/2 weeks?

...

BTW, American Idol is back. Naturally its degenerate awfulness has sucked me in again. I'm weak, I'm telling you, weak!

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