Henry Miller

I've spent too much time away from reading Henry due to school - which I know he'd be disappointed in me for sticking it out this long and not just living. I flip through a few pages from The Time of the Assassins and see all my highlights which in turn causes flooding of all these other brilliant things he said from everything of his I have read.

And in that moment I realize I have lost myself in this city many times over.

"... I saw finally that no matter how much I did it was just a drop in the bucket. I'm not saying that I grew indifferent, or hardened, no, but I realized that it would take a revolution to make any appreciable change in conditions. And when I say revolution, I mean a real revolution, something far more real and sweeping than the Russian Revolution for instance. I still think that, but I don't think it can be done politically or economically. Governments can't bring it about. Only individuals, each one working quietly in his own way. It must be a revolution of the heart. Our attitude towards life has to be fundamentally altered. We've got to advance to another level, a level from which we can take in the whole of the earth with one glance. We have to have vision of the globe, including all the people who inhabit it - down to the lowest and most primitive man."
Henry Miller - "The Alcoholic Veteran with the Washboard Cranium", From Nights of Love and Laughter. p 39 1955

Max Horkheimer from Dawn and Decline - as cited in Michael Löwy's Fire Alarm:

When you are at the lowest ebb, exposed to an eternity of torment inflicted upon you by other human beings, you cherish, as a dream of deliverance, the idea that a being will come who will stand in the light and bring truth and justice for you. You do not even need this to happen in this lifetime, nor in the lifetime of those who are torturing you to death, but one day, whenever it comes, all will nonetheless be repaired... It is bitter to be misunderstood and to die in obscurity. It is to the honor of historical research that it projects light into that obscurity.

* this is not in the English Translation of Dawn and Decline.
* I think of this passage often, and was surprised I hadn't posted this already.

it has been awhile

oh life. Since we last met under these circumstances, I lost a loved one to breast cancer (slightly dramatic phrasing; she's alive and well actually, just on the other side of the planet, 10,000 miles almost exactly from door to door), been super busy with school, and just trying to figure out what's next?
I have a lot of fragments of things that I need to finish writing, a bunch of quotes that I won't explain (cause I think they speak for themselves, even out of context), and even some label news: Morrow's S/T record will be here on vinyl in a few short weeks. Morrow is getting some attention in the blogs and such.

I raised this point with a journalist:
As a somewhat cynical but curious person, I was thinking about music journalism, which lead me to wonder... does the greater world of journalism at all operate the way music (and pretty much all media) journalism does; ie either through payola, who you know, or due to pressures put forth by higher ups to compete with what others are reporting? Is there any genuine sincerity left in journalism? 'cause there certainly isn't in media reporting...

This thought, and its consequences, spills over into so many areas of the everyday, that I just don't know where to start. I invoke Adorno, Tolstoy, Horkheimer, Nietzsche, Goethe, (Henry) Miller, Marcuse, Marx, and I end up feeling like Schopenhauer.

if one dismisses what they did yesterday, what's the point of today?

Marx:
"The existence of what I truly love is felt by me as a necessity, as a
need, without which my essence cannot be fulfilled, satisfied, complete."

Karl Marx and Australia

Karl Marx seems to mention Australia in his works quite a bit (ie The German Ideology, Capital, he also wrote articles ie in the Neue-Oder Zeitung, March 7, 1855, and elsewhere).
I'm going to make this claim and not fully back it up, because: one, I'm lazy, and two, it's something I want to explore further at a later time / really it's rather insignificant, and is mostly due to commentaries on colonization, the newness at the time, labor movements, and so on. This is a note to self, that will never be fulfilled.

I may just notice it more than the others because of my sentimental attachments to Australia. It's sorta like the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon, a form of synchronicity.

Love and Stupidity

Love and Stupidity: The pleasure the animal trainer takes in the affection of a lion may sometimes be attenuated by the realization that the stupidity of the beast has a good deal to do with it. Because a heightened consciousness of its power would destroy the tie, the animal's present tenderness isn't worth much. The more reason the trainer has to think highly of his art, the less he need feel flattered by the affection of the lion. We don't like it when we are loved from a lack of intelligence. The pride many fine ladies and gentlemen take in the loyalty of their servants, or the Junker in their workers, caricatures the confidence we feel because we know we are genuinely loved.
Max Horkheimer. Dawn and Decline. p 72.

lose a friend.
make new ones.
find old ones, even better yet, be found by old ones.

I need more sun and warmth, not speaking solely of weather. yes, spring's promise is welcomed.


Sometimes things don't add up and we need reference points, things to consider, substantiate claims. ie let's say someone was influenced by something, someone, or what have you, I personally would like proof. or let's say you heard a rumor, and you wanted to know if it's true - or if it has some semblance of truth - going to the source(s) would be better than just believing the claim. People say stupid things to suit their needs, whether that's out of hurt, pride, jealousy, confusion, malice, hearsay, or simply not knowing the facts, and it is of great consequence. I tend to believe most things I'm told, especially when it comes from someone I admire, respect, or have some sense of attachment to. However, the confrontation can be, and in all probability will be, damaging, resulting in loss. Maybe there are some things we are not meant to know. But when one's driving force is after truth, how to walk away in confusion and doubt, well it's not easy. I've never been one to be dismissive.

I always wondered if Nietzsche ever commented on Marx, according to a footnote in Kaufman's biography of Nietzsche, no (see page 292 n7 which is continued from pg 291). I may have mentioned this already. That could have been real interesting.

and maybe that's where I get hung up, in the possibilities. the promise. again, there is no beginning, there is no end. nothing is finite.

If you suppose man to be man and his relationship to the world to be a human one, then you can only exchange love for love, trust for trust, etc. If you wish to appreciate art, then you must be a man with some artistic education; if you wish to exercise an influence on other men, you must be a man who has a really stimulating and encouraging effect on other men. Each of your relationships to man - and to nature - must be a definite expression of your real individual life that corresponds to the object of your will. If you love without arousing reciprocal love, that is, if your love does not as such produce love in return, if through the manifestation of yourself as a loving person you do not succeed in making yourself a beloved person, then your love is impotent and a misfortune...
pp 119-120 Karl Marx Selected Writings ed David McLellan

Assume man to be man and his relationship to the world to be a human one: then you can exchange love only for love, trust for trust, etc. If you enjoy art, you must be an artistically-cultivated person; if you want to exercise influence over other people, you must be a person with a stimulating and encouraging effect on other people. Every one of your relations to man and to nature must be a specific expression, corresponding to the object of your will, of your real individual life. If you love without evoking love in return - that is, if your loving as loving does not produce reciprocal love; if through a living expression of yourself as a loving person you do not make yourself a loving person, then your love is impotent - a misfortune.
p 140 - Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 Karl Marx translated by Martin Milligan.

1789
1848
1914
1968

end of the year post including top ten records.

I am convinced that within my lifetime they will find some form of life on another planet / in another galaxy.

Wrapping up the end of the year is interesting, and this one was.
Stuff happened - some were there to witness it, some weren't.

Reviews for Portraits of Past should be published next month (the very few of them).
I am not selling any more color vinyl through the store - putting those few remaining copies aside for the time being - particularly for when people attempt to sell them on ebay.
However, I do have a few test press versions for sale for ultimate nerds (like myself), with different artwork by me and printed by Jarod at In Case of Emergency Press - which is a silkscreened CMYK print based off a photograph I took when Liann was visiting last August (there is meaning in everything). E-mail me if you're interested.


Top Ten records of 2009 (that I feel you should check out):
1. Towers - Full Circle - I "reviewed" this sometime this year on here. I really hope they keep active cause they are one of the best heavy bands. Good dudes, backed hard, etc. Atmospheric, technical, beautiful, ugly, hopeful and other one word adjectives. I'm jealous of this band having toured South America all while remaining true to DIY ethics. Amazing.

2. Morrow - My best friend, ex business partner, ex band mate outshines all of our musical endeavors with this record. I say that with full awareness that our extended musical family tree is now connected to just about every band that ever existed, or is separated by less than one degree (due mostly to Josh Kuntz) - so that's saying something. While some politicians want to be vultures and manipulate people into thinking they are comfortable with talk of hope and change, this record is the sound of that hope we all have, the change that would naturally follow it's fulfillment - it is the sound of love. The sound of music.

3. Algernon Cadwallader - Fun 7"+CD - Perhaps the "funnest" (yeah I know, most fun) band ever, from the best dudes ever. I never liked the "midwest emo" these guys constantly get compared to, and are obviously hugely influence by (ride in the van with them for an extended period and they will all sing along and have a good time to those bands), but really, there's something Algernon has that those predecessors were lacking. Maybe it's just my love for my friends, but that's what it's all about.

4. Portraits of Past - Cypress Dust Witch - An all time favorite band (in the top 5) that "changed my life", reunites, writes new material and asks me to release it. The result is a 4 song ep "picking up where they left off" and leaving most of us hoping for more - and rumor has it, there might be...

5. Dinosaur Jr - Farm - Another all time favorite band (also in the top 5) that "changed my life", reunites, records, and tours - Dinosaur Jr is the reason I play guitar, the reason I play(ed) music, and a bonding experience with so many of my friends. Again destroying any fears of some phoned in reunion record, these dudes still have it. And I mean who wasn't a little touched during that moment in the video for Over It when J puts his hand on Lou's shoulder? -

6. Narrows - New Distances - The singer of Botch has a new band (with other people that are in other bands) and it is awesome. I really don't have much more to say than that. It kinda sounds like Botch, which is a good thing.

7. Converge - Axe To Fall - Surprisingly good from a band that reached their peak in 2001 with Jane Doe - Since then they've had moments that definitely justify their continuance. I was really weary of the collaboration with Ghengis Tron - who I think is a terrible band with even worse fans - sorta like the Grateful Dead - but I love their collaboration track! But then again I'm a sucker for Converge's more epic tracks: Minnesota, Jane Doe, You Fail Me, Grim Heart/Black Rose, and now Wretched World - which leads to a wonder of calculation.

8. Jay-Z - Blueprint 3 - I actually think this isn't all that good of an album, it's just better than a lot of other records released this year (that I've heard). It absolutely has some pretty amazing moments, particularly "Empire State of Mind" - easily proving that Jigga can still bring the singles that far outweigh the lack felt from his albums as a whole. Since Blueprint 2 was named as such, it's hard to say Blueprint 3 as an album doesn't belong in the Blueprint trilogy - it definitely doesn't hold a candle to the original Blueprint - so like Converge - Jay reached his peak in 2001 (ironically both Blueprint and Jane Doe were released on September 11, 2001) but has had many more justifiable moments for his continuance than Converge (but recognize that it's a different medium altogether). And hey where else would you read Jay-Z and Converge mentioned in the same breadth, other than from me?

9. Cold Cave - Love Comes Close - I saw Cold Cave open for Dinosaur Jr and Sonic Youth (with Peter from Algernon Cadwallader) and honestly I didn't want to like them but I did. I was shaking my leg and nodding in time and was captured by certain melodies (particularly Theme From Tomorrowland). Then I found out that Wes Eisold is in the band and that made me look it up. Music for bullshit hipsters, but whatever. Somewhere in that whole Joy Division/New Order vein that will always be returned to by said bullshit hipsters. While JD and most of NO are timeless, the bands emulating them sound dated within weeks and no one remembers them - however, Cold Cave might actually have something here, even if it is just a fleeting moment.

10. - I really wanted to find a 10th record that was released this year that wasn't a reissue, and I'm already pushing it with #'s 8&9 therefore no such luck, so: Nirvana - Bleach - I got into Nirvana from a radio station out of Detroit that was powerful enough to have the ability of being picked up all the way in Findlay, Ohio. I was listening the night the DJ played "Smells Like Teen Spirit" back to back to back despite complaints from listeners. (I'm pretty sure it was one of the very first places it was heard, outside of people on the inside - the days when radio mattered). The DJ responded that he'd play whatever he wanted because "Alternative" didn't really mean anything. Then proceeded to play either Johnny Cash, Elvis, or Willie Nelson - or something of the sort. Anyway, that was about the time I became "punk" and this band wasn't "punk" enough - oh remember all the arguments of being a "sell-out"? A more mature me couldn't deny their power, particularly "Milk it" and "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter" from In Utero. Like most people I discovered Bleach after the fact, something that doesn't seem to hold as much power these days. If it's not new, it's not relevant. Bleach is a good record. I totally appreciate the rawness of it - which is succinctly captured by "...recordings by Jack Endino for $600" written in the linear notes. I still think this is one of the best bands of all time (however Nirvana is not in my top 5 personal favorites, oddly enough) and admire their integrity given the time frame, not to say it is not without it's criticisms, but whatever. I absolutely love the fact that they consciously didn't buy gas from Exxon or Shell for political reasons (based in business ethics) - something I adhered to in all my time in touring bands. So much heartache, nostalgia, and happiness wrapped up in the memories of this band, thus rightfully earning it's place.

also worth mentioning: Hatred Surge, Vaccine, Damages, Black Kites.



It was pointed out to me that it is also the end of a decade, but I'm not making a list for that.

untitled

The end of the year is fast approaching, more importantly the end of the semester.
I am thinking that with the effects and affects of technology, the fast pace of the world, semesters are too long and should be shortened so that there are 3-4 a year. This speaks volumes to those with any form of ADD/ADHD/anxiety etc. Taking into account those effects of technology and that fast pace, that is all of us.


I wonder if one can draw parallels from the Wiemar Republic, and subsequently World War II with what is going on in Iraq and separately in Iran - of course we have to account for international intervention and outright causal. Taking into account the economic "crises" that parallel deepens. One begins to wonder, will future generations ever look back at any given specific time in history and not say it was a dark time? I'm sure there is a better example, but this comes to mind almost every time while reading the news - maybe it is a bit of a stretch, but sometimes we must look to the past to make sense of what takes place now, not to concern ourselves with what is coming.



end of the year lists to follow shortly, and perhaps before the end of the year.

context(ually) speaking [to you].

Suppose we had produced things as human beings: in his production each of us would have twice affirmed himself and the other. (1) In my production I would have objectified my individuality and its particularity, and in the course of the activity I would have enjoyed an individual life; in viewing the object I would have experienced the individual joy of knowing my personality as an objective, sensuously perceptible, and indubitable power. (2) In your satisfaction and your use of my product I would have had the direct and conscious satisfaction that my work satisfied a human need, that it objectified human nature, and that it created an object appropriate to the need of another human being. (3) I would have been the mediator between you and the species and you would have experienced me as a reintegration of you own nature and a necessary part of your self; I would have been affirmed in your thought as well as your love. (4) In my individual life I would have directly created your life; in my individual activity I would have immediately confirmed and realized my true human and social nature.
Our productions would be so many mirrors reflecting our nature.
What happens so far as I am concerned would also apply to you.

Karl Marx. Notes of 1844.

Things have been the busiest yet.
I am really pleased with how the new Portraits of Past 12"/CD turned out, and am getting some nice feedback from others as well.
All pre-orders have shipped and I am now working on distributors and stores - as well as reviews.

School is also super busy.
Yesterday went to the Bauhaus exhibit at MOMA and it was awesome.
Now I'm sick.

other than that, I haven't much else to say or report.

time immemorial (dialectically speaking)

"Wealth and speed are what the world admires and strives for. Railways, express mail, steamships, and all possible facilities for communication are what the cultivated world desires in order to over-cultivate itself and thereby to stick fast in mediocrity. The concept of the general public has also led to the spread of a medium-level culture: this is the goal of the Bible Societies, the Lancastrian method*, and God knows what else. The fact is that this is the century for able minds, for quick-thinking, practical men with a certain dexterity which enables them to feel superior to the crowd, even though their gifts do not put them in the first rank. Let us try to remain true to the principles with which we came; along with perhaps a few others, we shall be the last members of an era which may not return so quickly."

- a letter from Goethe to Carl Friedrich Zelter, 1825.

*The Lancastrian method was based on the idea that children who were more proficient could teach other children under the supervision of an adult.

Leaking an, as of yet, unpublished review.

The thing about leaking records that aren't out yet is, I get it, I really do. It's all so very exciting. Yet it's those people leaking the records that always have some disclaimer about supporting the bands and buying the release if you like it, as if this would absolve any responsibility.
As previously mentioned, to my shock, the new Portraits of Past record leaked from the Japanese CD version.
It's not about cutting into sales, whatsoever - but a record is supposed to be experienced with the packaging in hand, reading the lyrics, and appreciating the work involved. I just wanted and hoped that it wouldn't leak until after it was released, at that point, I wouldn't have cared at all.
With that said, I have posted some out of print records on this blog, that I actually own and more than appreciate. But these releases are out of print, sold out and no longer available. So they are there for archival purposes, and even more specifically for those that own the records but don't have the means to copy them to digital formats and want to listen to them on the go, mainly my friends (in particular people I was in bands with, and we geeked out on these records in the van or while hanging out). While I recognize the issue, and approach the situation completely aware of my/the contradictions and hypocrisies. Especially the often cited Marshall McLuhan phrase, "the Medium is the Message." (most of us know it from Born Against or Reversal of Man).
Walter Benjamin wrote an amazing essay, (in fact, his most cited work) the title of which is generally translated as "Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction." A free version is located here. Read that and update it to "art in the age of digital reproduction" and one could see just how far alienation has come into our everyday lives and removes us from experience. It's all quite disappointing to me, and hopefully yourself as well.

So. Funny thing is, I've already received a really nice glowing review of Portraits of Past's new release "Cypress Dust Witch" (despite the reviewers incessant and despicable use of the word Screamo) when there aren't even physical copies available in the United States. The review was emailed to me, therefore I wanted to share with those interested:

Often looked upon as one of the grandaddies of true Screamo, Portraits Of Past are remembered with the greatest respect. So last year, when they started gigging again after a 13 year hiatus, people began to get excited. An Ebullition records band of old touring again with new tunes in their repertoire? Surely that's enough to get anyone giddy.

"Cypress Dust Witch", the new 4 track EP released by Excursions Into The Abyss, is simply beautiful. Their sound has matured in the decade and a bit they've been busy doing other things. It's a more grown up and well rounded collection of pieces, all still retaining their trademark sound of passion and chaos. Amidst the fury of jangly riffs, erratic drumming and pained screams you'll also find wonderful sections of glassy almost-Post-Rock interludes which act as a perfect counterpoint to the insanity of the Punk. Like tender, frail thoughts between anguished realisations. This is what Screamo is meant to be!

Fire Song explodes into a cacophonous racket of blistering percussion and frantic guitars. Robert Pettersen snarls and spits violently when suddenly everything slows down. It gets peaceful. And then the beauty comes like a wave of soothing rest. The calm before the storm that lulls you into a sense of security. Then out of nowhere the track erupts again with passionate anger. That's the general theme throughout "Cypress Dust Witch" and it works to great effect. The highlight comes with the third song Through To An End which begins with all the idyllic twinkles and drones of a pretty lullaby. Even with the screams and shrieks, you still get lost in the attractive vibe of the song. It's a wonder that anyone could take an ugly format and transform it into something delicate and pretty. I absolutely love it!

The most remarkable aspect of the music is the effortlessness of each metamorphosis between angry and insane to calm and harmonious. The lack of stark change between ideas works well both on the individual tracks as it does with the EP as a whole. "Cypress Dust Witch" is about the most pleasurable aural kick in the face you'll receive in 2009!

in my spare time I run a record label...

a little bummed that within minutes of me getting the ok from the printer that the covers of the Portraits of Past 12" are all set and ready to print, that I found out someone in Japan leaked it from the Japanese CD version. I had kept a really tight lid on this and didn't let anyone copy it or have mp3s of it. oh well, now that it's out there I'm anxious to hear other people's response.

the 12" will be here within the next few weeks.
pre-ordering launched - which means I set up a webstore - http://excursionsintotheabyss.com/store/

still waiting for Furnace to get it together and let me know what's up with the US CD version.

anyhow...
school's great.
I'm great.
You're probably alright.

Something about rambling or Babel-ing.

Please tell me they have ditched the idea of calling it the Freedom Tower.

Nearly everyone is familiar with the story of Babel (which is located in modern day Iraq)
The tower never finished, but the people became too involved and attached so the children and grandchildren of the workers stayed, thus the first city was born. Were there those seeking a redemption in the completion of the building? Was it a singular idea of one of the following: a protest to infantile ideas of a higher being and the heavens, an attempt to elevate human kind and reach a semblance of unity, to touch the sky, and other such ideas, or some combination. Were there pure intentions?
Then the "scattering of the tongues" - the birth of 72 languages out of Adamic. Fittingly, in Hebrew, Babel means confusion.
To reach such heights, why wasn't the tower built on a mountain?

To prevent my own rambling see Kafka, Benjamin, Mosés, Isenbarger, Led Zeppelin, the book of Genesis.

And now "they" are attempting to build an elevator to space.

"Life is really weird man."

Montauk + 2 thoughts (education and fashion).

On a whim, after a drunken dinner that turned into a very late night, I along with a friend of a friend decided to go to Montauk. Both of us had never been there. Each of us had our own reasons; I like edges, furthest points in a given direction, the ocean, traveling, I have been wanting to take this trip for a few years, and in doing so came away with a sense of relief, a redemption (and these days I'm all about the theoretical implications of redemption in every possible sense). Her reasoning was based on a book by Max Frisch (a Swiss-born German writer) about and titled, Montauk. The premise of the novel is quite romantic, and I love chasing romantic ideas, or having them be the basis for anything, so what better a travel companion? On top of all of this she is a German illustrator here on a Fulbright Scholarship.

The trip was nice. We just hung out and explored. Spoke English and a few German words and phrases. Discussed how it is nearly impossible to write a Master's thesis without referencing Walter Benjamin.

One of the reasons I really wanted go is to see the lighthouse. It's the fourth oldest working lighthouse in the United States, and it sits on the furthest point east of Long Island. So we board a bus from the Harbor to the Village. We notice there is a discount for students, so we present our id cards. German student identification cards do not have pictures on them. This was a huge problem that the bus driver couldn't deal with. She started yelling at both of us. My travel partner explains, "But I'm German..." to which the bus driver interrupts, "I don't care, I'm Russian [at the very least 2 generations of being in America, for sure], am I supposed to bow down to you because you are a German, or because you are a student. There are a lot of students. We're all just people." I couldn't believe this. So reluctantly, I paid the extra fifty cents, and we took our seats. My travel partner and I couldn't really grasp why the driver was so rude. The bus driver pulls over the bus and continues to hold up everyone else on the bus, continuing her yelling at both of us. We tried to explain the misunderstanding, but she just wasn't having it. She opened the doors and told us to get off the bus. And at our suggestion she calls the "cops" (her term). We wait, and everyone on the bus was embarrassed and impatient. Sensing this, she shuts the doors and drives on. No police involvement. We arrive at the transfer station and the bus driver refuses to open the back doors, so we had to walk to the front of the bus. Not surprisingly, she refuses to give me her name, I think she knew she was wrong and over-reacted. We had planned on being able to ask her which bus would take us to the lighthouse. Frustrated, we walk to the ocean front.
Unlike the harbor beaches, this one is amazing, more like my more favorite California beaches (Santa Cruz / Monterey Bay areas) than any of the East Coast beaches I've been to. The waves break right on the shore and crash over the break, creating pools and small streams in some areas. The cliffs look exactly like the Bad Lands in South Dakota.
We ended up just getting dinner, walking around the village, and going to the train station (there are only 2 returning trains from Montauk - 2:51p and 10:38p. We arrive at 9:45 and catch a drink at the restaurant right next to the station, then head home.

***

Rob just sent me an amazing article published in this month's issue of Harper's Magazine by Mark Slouka. Article is here if you have a subscription (or if you ask me, I can send you a pdf of it). The article focuses on the current "trend" in education being less and less about the humanities and arts and pushing more and more math and science. It's really a heartbreaking article that is so well written that Slouka deserves some national recognition.

***

also I have been really contemplating fashion again. I haven't really bought any clothes in a REALLY long time. Outside of friends giving me their band shirts, I think my newest clothes were bought for me in 2007. So I'm in the market for new jeans and other articles of clothing. The issue being (of course) not wanting to support in any shape or form people that don't align themselves with either revolutionary causes or sustainability / "green" ethics, along with fair working conditions and wages, and not playing into the roles of being a parrot of mainstream politics and so on. These companies have to exist.

so speaking of Walter Benjamin (as I often do)
the following from the Arcades Project:
"Here fashion has opened the business of dialectical exchange between woman and ware - between carnal pleasure and the corpse. The clerk, death, tall and loutish, measures the century by the yard, serves as mannequin to himself to save costs, and manages single handedly the liquidation that in French is called révolution. For fashion was never anything other than the parody of the motley cadaver, provocation of death through the woman, and bitter colloquy with decay whispered between shrill bursts of mechanical laughter. That is fashion. And that is why she changes so quickly; she titillates death and is already something different, something new, as he casts about to crush her. For a hundred years she holds her own against him. Now finally, she is on the point of quitting the field. But he erects on the banks of a new Lethe, which rolls its asphalt stream through arcades, the armature of the whores as a battle memorial. * Revolution * Love *"
"If a woman of taste, while undressing at night, should find herself constituted in reality as she has pretended to be during the day, I like to think she'd be discovered next morning drowned in her own tears." [Alphonse Karr, cited in F. Th. Vischer, Mode und Zynismus].
"Every fashion is to some extent a bitter satire on love"

and On the Concept of History:
XIV

Origin is the goal [Ziel: terminus].
– Karl Kraus, Worte in Versen I [Words in Verse]

History is the subject of a construction whose site is formed not in homogeneous and empty time, but in that which is fulfilled by the here-and-now [Jetztzeit]. For Robespierre, ancient Roman was a past charged with the here-and-now, a past which he blasted out of the continuum of history. The French Revolution viewed itself as Rome reincarnate. It cited ancient Rome exactly the way fashion cites a bygone mode of dress. Fashion has a nose for the topical, no matter where it stirs in the thickets of long ago; It is the tiger’s leap into the past. Such a leap however, takes place in an arena in which the ruling class gives command. The same leap into the open air of history is the dialectical leap Marx understood as revolution.

and Sonny Kay,
via Angel Hair: "Better a fashion show, than no show at all"
via the VSS: "your fashion was famous long before you named it. this sex life was predictable before it was prestigious. is your psoriasis more glamorous than contagious? your fashion was aimless long before you blamed it. before you maimed it, claimed it, tamed and shamed it. distress was timeless, prior to your passing interest in blood tests and cigarettes. atop mount fucking everest."

old man mumbles something to himself

Walter Benjamin: "Hope soared away over their heads like a star falling from the sky... The most paradoxical, the most fleeting hope is born at the end of the novel in the guise of a reconciliation, in the way in which, when the sun has disappeared, twilight sees the rise of the Even Star which lasts longer than the night... The Symbol of the shooting star passing over the heads of lovers expresses the mystery that inheres in this work better than anything... That mystery promises much more than a reconciliation, it promises redemption."