In lieu of a soft beating... a second story of the Menzies building

I'm awful at blogkeeping, so I'm trying to develop some discipline -- a soft beating, if you will (yes, thanks A.B.). The first step, telling people I know that this blog exists and how to find it, and likewise linking blog to blog, like some kind of virtual docking (in all of its meanings).

There was a reiteration today, the same conversation from this blog's entry number one. This time resultant of an attempt to close the windows in the Menzies building, and still talks of suicide ensued. Perhaps the reason we close windows in the autumn ('the fall') has less to do with cold temperatures and more to prevent [the need for woolly] jumpers.

It is somewhat concerning that my colleagues are so a/pathetic -- regarding the ultimate culmination of Thanatos (albeit in its conscious variation).

The Infernal Dictionary Test 2007

I’ve been trying to buy a new dictionary and have been paralyzed with the choice. At the university bookstore there are at least 20 to choose from, different styles from 5 different publishers – it’s the usual suspects: Oxford, Macquarie, Penguin, Webster’s, etc.

Of course they try to provide guidance by assigning levels of depth to dictionaries: concise, abridged, collegiate, pocket. And there are editions and publication years to look out for. Some say you should look for dictionaries that include the current buzz words.

For my own money, I’ve developed what I call the Infernal Dictionary Test 2007: Open the dictionary to ‘infernal’ if there is a separate definition for ‘infernal machine,’ that’s the one to buy.

Kudos go to Angela Carter and her novel The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman (1972), for necessitating my trip to the dictionary so long ago to discover the distinction.

Quadrumvirate

I used to paint, with oils. These are a group of four that I completed a few years ago, tied together in perhaps too many ways: colour palate, canvas size, and theme.

Of course this digital photo representation doesn't do them justice, really. The colour range is actually stronger, the darkest bits are blues and maroons.

I am most interested in art that straddles the border between abstract and representational - shapes are suggested, as well as shadow. Though I'm not saying I've accomplished that here.

I would be interested in hearing from anyone who does, knows about, or has an interest in: any art that straddles the border between abstract and representational, especially the notion of abstract photography.

One story of the Menzies Building

In the first class of the semester, your forehead delivers its own unique blend of salted water to your brow, and you get to know each other in the most primal way, deciphering one another from the blended musk. We wield the syllabi like harisens.

“I’ve just turned on the fan, but I don’t know if it will do much good,” offers the professor, “and the windows don’t open any further.” They’re open enough to fit your arm up to the shoulder.

“The windows used to open more and you used to be able to go up on the roof too,” says one of the returning students who knows the whole story, “But one person ruined it for all of us.”