Saturday, January 30, 2010

genius, eccentric, or something darker??

j d salinger, author of "catcher in the rye" died this week, aged 91.

was he a good writer, an insightful visionary, a mesmerising storyteller? never having read, nor been inspired to even 'pick up' any of his works, I can't say...  some call  'catcher in the rye'  a classic in the teen angst / coming of age genre - it apparently typifies teenage alienation and rebellion in the 50s - but  salinger was 32  when he wrote 'catcher' in 1951 - hardly a teenager - and it was actually published for an adult audience...  apparently it still has a following (i suspect being on school curricula over the years has kept it in the public eye - along with its intermittent controversy) - looks like alienation and rebellion  are part of teenage cultures across the generations, regardless of the era - what a surprise...

so is it a classic or not? what 'makes' a classic? now that's subjective - i believe that, just like beauty, it's 'in the eye of the beholder', or should that be 'in the imagination of the reader'!



salinger had apparently been a recluse for the last 50-odd years... and from what i've read it appears he was a very dominating, controlling and manipulative personality who had a 'penchant'  for much younger girls / women - all the females in his life were years, some decades, his junior!!!

the following excerpts come from an article at  the daily mail online, entitled  "Why did J.D. Salinger spend the last 60 years hiding in a shed writing love notes to teenage girls?" by Anne de Courcy

"Along with this quest for total seclusion went a predilection for teenage girls - not so much a Lolita syndrome as an urge to discover innocence and then mould it to the shape he wished."

i can't find any age for his first wife but he was 26 - they met when he was sent to germany to interrogate nazis at the end of the war - "There, he fell in love with a girl called Sylvie - later believed to be a former Nazi official - whom he married and, after eight months, divorced."  he later described her as 'an evil woman who bewitched me'.

he was 34 when he met his second wife - "At a party, he met a young student, Claire Douglas, the 18-year-old half-sister of a British aristocrat.

Soon she moved in, and in 1955, when Claire was 20 and Salinger 36, they married. But as Salinger's desire for solitude increased, he made her burn all her papers and cut off all contact with her friends and family.

Claire, who had tried desperately to please him, found herself plunged into an isolation she had never sought. But when she became pregnant Salinger cut off all contact with the outside world and from the fourth month of her pregnancy, she saw no one whatsoever." Claire finally divorced him in 1967.




in 1972 "he saw a picture of a young writer, Joyce Maynard, on the cover of the New York Times Magazine with the headline An 18-Year- Old Looks Back On Life. Soon, Joyce was receiving fan letters from him.

Intrigued, she wrote back - and soon gave up her degree course at Yale University to live with him in New Hampshire - she was 19, he was 53." that relationship lasted 9 months.



in 1981, at 62 "he began a relationship with the 36-year-old actress Elaine Joyce, again initiated by letter. This lasted for several years, until he met Colleen O'Neill, the director of the annual town fair, who was 40 years his junior. They married in the late Eighties."





having 'fled the literary world in 1953', according to an article in the new york times "... Mr. Salinger’s privacy was punctured in 1998 and again in 2000 with the publication of memoirs by, first, Joyce Maynard ... and then his daughter, Margaret. Some critics complained that both women were trying to exploit and profit from their history with Mr. Salinger, and Mr. Salinger’s son, Matthew, wrote in a letter to The New York Observer that his sister had “a troubled mind,” and that he didn’t recognize the man portrayed in her account. Both books nevertheless added a creepy, Howard Hughesish element to the Salinger legend.

Mr. Salinger was controlling and sexually manipulative, Ms. Maynard wrote, and a health nut obsessed with homeopathic medicine and with his diet (frozen peas for breakfast, undercooked lamb burger for dinner). Ms. Salinger said that her father was pathologically self-centered and abusive toward her mother, and to the homeopathy and food fads she added a long list of other enthusiasms: Zen Buddhism, Vedanta Hinduism, Christian Science, Scientology and acupuncture. Mr. Salinger drank his own urine, she wrote, and sat for hours in an orgone box." (according to wikipedia you can also add an adherence to macrobiotics, the teachings of Edgar Cayce, fasting, vomiting to remove impurities, megadoses of Vitamin C, and "speaking in tongues" (or Charismatic glossolalia) to the list!)





i also found the article J D Salinger's women written by Paul Alexander (journalist and author of "Salinger: a biography") worth the read too... "The winsome, uncanny girls of Salinger’s fiction have real-life counterparts. They’ve always kept the secrets of this country’s most famous recluse. Till Joyce Maynard changed her mind."







and this?? it's an orgone box based on wilhelm reich's controversial 'orgone therapy' (also known as orgasmotherapy) - a wanker's wonderland? - you wouldn't want to be claustrophobic!!

it was popular amongst some of the 'beat generation' such as kerouac and burroughs too... hmmm... kerouac, born in 1922, died an alcoholic at 47 in 1969 - burroughs, born in 1914, was an opiate addict - "a condition that marked the last fifty years of his life" - he died in 1997...

were they radicals, or bohemians - maybe they were just hedonistic manipulators of the social change that was taking place?




so what do you think? was salinger genius, eccentric, or something much darker?

let's recap - manipulative, controlling, domineering - his obsession with and stalking of younger women was definitely disturbing - was he a pedophile? probably - did his writing 'imitate' his life then?

from an online magazine called secrets of the city "... there's an all too obvious theme of pedophilia in Salinger's work. You've got Holden's strange obsession with his younger sister. The most arresting scene in "Zooey" is when the title character looks out the window at a schoolgirl playing with her dog. Whatever plot "Bananafish" has is centered on Seymour's encounter with a young girl who's "wearing a canary-yellow two-piece bathing suit, one piece of which she would not actually be needing for another nine or ten years." In "For Esmé - With Love and Squalor," a soldier makes promises to a haughty thirteen-year-old girl whom he describes too often as a 'young woman.'



ohhh, and you'd have to agree that anyone who drinks their own piss, masturbates in a closet sized 'box' and 'speaks in tongues' is definitely somewhat odd, weird, strange - sick even!!!


i lean towards the 'something darker' concept - and  i'm far more inclined to read his daughter margaret's memoir  'dream  catcher'  or joyce maynard's 'at home in the world' than any of his books... 



 


i didn't mean this post to be so long or majorly about salinger... it was going to be about me dad... i was originally reflecting on salinger's age and pondering how close to that age my father would be if he'd still been alive, but then i did a bit of research about him out of curiosity, and you all know how absorbing that can be - it's been fascinating reading the articles i came across...

i recently read larry the librarian's post 'larry's dad' which made me think some more about my father and then i realised that january is the anniversary of his death - he died in 1976 in his mid-50s (my age now!!!), 3 months before my 21st birthday - took me a long time to forgive him for that one - but unfortunately there aren't many photos of him...


 



that's roy a couple of years before he died, and this is me in 1975 - just a few months before he died - with my niece rebbecca only a few months old - and yes, that's an 'afro' - that's what perms looked like in those days!!






you know, even after 34 years (he's been dead longer than i actually 'knew' him!!!) i still find myself missing him sometimes...


Tuesday, January 26, 2010

the new 'call to arms'???



apparently 'australia day' 2010 is all about barbecues and eskys...





we're being encouraged to 'man your eskys' and 'bbq like you've never bbq'd before' - and from the graphics on the posters apparently we should eat a lot of animal fat, flesh and gristle, and men should drink heaps (and, as is the 'aussie way', all byo of course)!!!! oooh, and notice everyone is white - some just more suntanned than others (skin cancer - another 'aussie custom')!!! and we should all look to the sky for some reason - what's heading our way???

such responsible advertising - eat and drink to excess - and then what? get in your car and drive home?? or maybe the message is - party hard because tomorrow you die - from all that animal fat clogging the arteries and - if you're male - if the fat doesn't kill you alcohol poisoning just might - and, failing all else, melanoma will get ya!!!! -


very  retro style posters aren't they - reminiscent of the style of propaganda posters put out during wartime...




war propaganda posters war propaganda posters war propaganda posters war propaganda posters




and does it mean if you're not white, don't eat animal and don't drink, you're not a 'real aussie' because that's how australians party... does that make vegos, vegans, non-caucasians and non-drinkers unwelcome, unwanted aliens perhaps!!!!


rather than 'australia day' isn't a better description of the british invasion and its attempted genocide 'survival day' or 'invasion day', or perhaps on january 26 we should celebrate indigenous culture?










i came across this graphic in an article at dailyhistory.net and couldn't resist using it...

        and the rest is 'history' - they wanted everything!


even the debate over the australian flag is still raging... why the hell does it still incorporate the union jack - isn't it about time we cut the british colonial umbilical cord?? shouldn't we acknowledge the past and incorporate an indigenous symbol in the flag?





perhaps one of these designs - created for a competition by ausflag a few years ago - people are still submitting designs -  you can view them here (but you have to scroll right down the page!!)








although this beautiful quilting  fabric from the onestop fabric shop called 'awesome australia' totally epitomizes the country as far as i'm concerned and would make a wonderful flag - if we have to have one - it's a lovely depiction of australian flora, fauna and the indigenous art style - how much more 'australian' could you get - it's unmistakably australian - it gets my vote!!!


anyway, whatever you've got planned, whether you celebrate the day, ponder on the past or just relax and have a lazy day, enjoy the public holiday, and i'll enjoy the rest of my week off!!!!




Wednesday, January 13, 2010

the calm before the storm??






hasn't today been a lovely respite from the heat of the last few days... but is it 'the calm before the storm'? i wrote a post - 'melting moments' - in february last year when we were having a run of 42+ degree days... ooooh, is the worst still to come???





me mother didn't cope very well at all with a few days of heat, and by yesterday she wasn't looking too good either - it's really debilitating for her - as if her chronic kidney disease isn't debilitating enough coupled with her age!!! she was feeling a bit 'perkier' today luckily but told me she was at the point yesterday where she was just willing herself through an hour at a time...






allie found it hard too - once the flat heated up she just couldn't settle and wandered around for hours - and that's distressing for both of us because she bumps into so many things... even shadow wasn't interested in food and looked like life was an effort... and those north winds make it so hard to breath - they do 'wonders' for the asthma...








and then there's the 'horrible when you're hot' syndrome - that's definitely affecting a lot of people... enjoy the cool while you can...





before i go i have to tell you that i've finally done it - yep, after being a vegetarian on moral grounds for decades i've finally taken the next step - i've given up dairy (it was always organic, with my favourite cheese (animal-rennet-free of course) a passion (and possibly an addiction!) and eggs (always free-range but mostly consumed as cake or quiche) - why? because...



"Veganism denotes a philosophy and way of living that seeks to exclude, as far as possible, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, nonhuman animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of humans, nonhumans and the environment. Vegans avoid all animal produce: meat (including chicken and fish), eggs, animal milks, honey, and their derivatives" read more at vegan voice




and i have to share my latest find... chocolate rum balls - they taste just like the rum balls me nan used to make - fuckin' delicious - and vegan!!!! my new addiction perhaps!!!

made by LEDA Nutrition, according to their website - "LEDA's entire facility is Vegan, with all of our products suitable for vegan consumption."

i found them at iga and apparently coles and woolworths stock the brand too... yuuuuummmmm!

i'm definitely going to have to check out some of their other products...






Monday, January 11, 2010

womyn and marijuana....




with 8 million womyn admitting to smoking marijuana in america in a survey taken late 2009, it's no wonder the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (otherwise known as NORML) launched its' womyn's alliance last thursday, with the executive director stating: “The prominent role of women in the effort to end marijuana prohibition is pivotal, necessary, and long overdue. According to recent national opinion polls by Gallup and others, the dramatic rise in the public’s support of marijuana law reform is being driven primarily by an increase in support among America’s women. The NORML Women’s Alliance will bring a contemporary approach to the public policy debate, and will proudly represent the interests of modern, mainstream women who believe that the negative consequences of marijuana prohibition far outweigh any repercussions from marijuana consumption itself.” read more here...




and the position taken by the alliance...




"1. The NORML Women’s Alliance believes that the fiscal priorities of marijuana prohibition are wasting billions of dollars on a failed policy.


2. The NORML Women’s Alliance believes that marijuana prohibition violates states’ rights, and improperly expands the reach of government into the families and personal lives of otherwise law-abiding citizens.


3. The NORML Women’s Alliance advocates for an open, honest conversation about marijuana with America’s youth that is void of all propaganda and misleading information.


4. The NORML Women’s Alliance endorses the science-based evidence regarding the therapeutic applications of medical marijuana as well as the continuation of research into the subject.


5. The NORML Women’s Alliance strongly opposes the sexual exploitation and objectification of women in pot-culture and business marketing."


'marie claire' has also taken an interest in the topic, and published an article called 'stilletto stoners' in october 2009 - i'm not 'enamoured' with the terminology they use in the article, but the gist of it makes for interesting reading... you can read it here or watch an interview on NBC featuring the editor-in-chief of the magazine...








According to David Ford, author of  'marijuana: not guilty as charged'


"In ten thousand years of use there is not one recorded death from the overdose or toxicity of cannabis. Compare that with alcohol, which kills more than 100,000 American's each year. Or with nicotine products that kill more than 400,000 annually. Or with the FDA-approved, so-called "safe drugs" listed in the physicians' Desk Reference, (PDR), which cause the death of another 100,000 each year, and put one million Americans in the hospital annually as a result of toxicity or overdose."



surely with marijuana having no attributable deaths to it - compared with alcohol (and closer to home according to the the south australian government's alcohol-related statistics over 3000 Australians die each year as a result of harmful drinking) - and with a growing list of medical uses and clinical applications of cannabis and its constituents - one of them ironically being the treatment of alcohol abuse - the 'war on cannabis' can't really be sustained any longer...





it's quite heartening to hear so many womyn are preferring to go home to a joint or bong rather than a glass of wine or whatever variation of alcohol, a drug worse than many because it can do so much damage in so many ways (and i know this 'first hand' - i lived with an alcoholic for years)...

as marijuana has been my drug of choice for decades - and, as with all dope smokers, i live under the constant threat of being busted (and that's aside from its exorbitant cost!!!) - i'm hopeful the debate will start to be had seriously here in australia in the foreseeable future - it's way overdue!!!!








oooh, looks like those hoary old 'pothead' stereotypes might finally get dispelled... in reality dope smokers are fully functioning, intelligent, rational people able to maintain careers, social and personal relationships, and live comfortable lifestyles... who woulda' thought??!!!!

and of course there's the propoganda of marijuana being a 'gateway drug' - there are so many articles out there refuting this but it's been such a long, widespread campaign to 'demonize' marijuana - to keep it illegal and part of the lucrative black market...






and let's not forget, not everything legal is right,
nor everything illegal wrong...
some issues depend on what vested interests are involved and what they stand to lose...
justice has always been a rare outcome of our legal system!!!



Saturday, January 9, 2010

short and sweet....

finally some relaxing, quiet, alone time to blog...


my new year’s eve was very pleasant indeed - irene picked me up after work and we had a leisurely drive up to kyneton for a visit to my niece Rebbecca’s place – she’s got a new companion so i got to meet him – it was good to catch up with her (and Matthew and her cute wee ‘fur-kids’) - she had a few people around to celebrate the new year but once the partner started cookin’ animal flesh on the barbie and the stench became overpowering (made worse by the barbecue being under the verandah to avoid being rained on) it was time for us to say goodbye and continue on to Malmsbury before a really major storm hit... we just made it – thunder, lightning, gi-normous hail – it was quite spectacular...


and here we are once we got there and settled into 'comfy mode' - the gang are just waitin’ for me to share some more munchies with them (although my boy thinks a pat is just as good sometimes)... and it never seems to matter how many humans are around because of course all 4 gather around the one person to get something – that’s eight eyes just staring at you – and 4 poodles drooling!!!


we did see the new year in - us oldies have still got the stamina!!!!... but we had a really slack one the following day - spent part of the day watching 'east of eden' - well, 5 hours of it off and on anyway - ya just get drawn in - and anyway  it was raining most of the day - but the sun finally appeared in the late afternoon so we did at least get some photos of the land for sale before it was time to come back to melbourne - you can see them in the sidebar - know anyone who's looking for a tree-change or quiet weekends away from the hustle and bustle of city life???



well, we’re into the 2nd week of the new year now and 2010 seems to be shaping up alright... although i did work last saturday, and today, and next sunday i’m doin’ an all-dayer - far out, 3 weekends in a row - yuck - hope it's not a 'stinker'  next weekend, that would be okay for me because i'll be in air-conditioning, but i'd rather be home with me old girl so i can have the fan on for her!!!... i’m having a week off at the end of January though - i'm hangin' out for that...





and talking about work - what is it with all the returns at the moment??? it was like the bottomless bin today - and that was at albert park!!!! definitely is ‘that time of year’ hey...





alas my alone time has just come to an abrupt end, but hopefully i'll get to blog in-depth over the next couple of days...


Friday, January 1, 2010



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and for a little bit of trivia - did you know that some 'branches' of catholicism actually celebrate january 1 as 'the feast of the circumcision' (nothing like a celebration of mutilation hey!!!!) - and apparently the 'foreskin relic' still exists - yewwwww!!!!!