Despite the fact that it is in fact quite far off, I’ve slowly begun to lay the grounwork for the analysis section of my thesis. This is what happens when I’m actually involved with something I’m interested in. Whoulda thunk.
Obviously, I always wanted the center theme of it is going to be lamb in a wool sweater, but was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to muster up a definition of it that would be appropriate for an academic paper. Then, lo and behold, a few weeks ago I picked up Douglas Hofstadter’s book I am a Strange Loop, and it begun. What I had previously failed to realize is that the way to come at a proper definition is, instead of endlessly listing examples, as I had been (and which is fine for getting people to understand without getting to creepy and aluminum foil hatted) what I really needed to do was to combine theories. I can come at it by defining which parts of other’s theories it is and which parts it is not (I should have realized this earlier, when Scott described it as irony/tautology/a bunch of other things but…hairier).
So here’s what I have so far (these are some texts I’ll be using, but by no means all). Basically the definition will exist in the section of the Venn Diagramm of all these texts where they all overlap.
-Hofstader’s theories of loops in consciousness
-Godel’s Proof
-Revelations
-Freud’s Theories of the Sublime and the Uncanny (the section on doppelgangers, mostly)
-Some text on semiotics that fits my needs
-other stuff
what I’m defining it right now as is: loops in the subconsciousness that are manifested in cultural signs as they relate to the infinite and apocalypse fear. and literature. what the fuck am I getting myself into? Yipes.
so we’ve descended back into bad weather here in the big apple, at least for today. lightning tomorrow, then hopefully back to sunny-sun-sun? c’mon pleeze.
i jumped on the pirate bay bandwagon way too late, but just soon enough to download bruce springsteen’s greatest hits. i do what i want.
this is what happens when you’re raised in the closest thing to a blue-collar family on stanford campus (we had a mutt dog, christmas lights, e street band family dance parties where we opened all the windows, and a lawn *banjo twangs, rooster crows, be-spandexed man on a recumbent bike pedals by*)
…I aint looking for praise or pity
I aint coming round searching for a crutch
I just want someone to talk to
And a little of that human touch
Just a little of that human touch…
i’m so into the apocalypse right now that i’m going to teach a class about it. so it goes.