tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463471462522424732.post971223680773516040..comments2024-03-05T20:07:08.232+00:00Comments on The Kitchen Bitch Ponders: BindingsErylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06008344023000459577noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463471462522424732.post-6831086552416271862010-03-07T21:49:23.678+00:002010-03-07T21:49:23.678+00:00Kathryn ~ I think there is only so much that can b...Kathryn ~ I think there is only so much that can be said, wisely, of a silly idea.Erylhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06008344023000459577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463471462522424732.post-74828908597127257342010-03-07T17:39:26.228+00:002010-03-07T17:39:26.228+00:00Interesting post that sure is bringing about some ...Interesting post that sure is bringing about some intriguing and wise comment, of which I now have nothing intelligent to add! ....though I am sitting here thinking I can be wise, I suddenly feel ...not wise!Kathryn Magendiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12863595228298349863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463471462522424732.post-34255119351814891162010-03-07T16:51:22.724+00:002010-03-07T16:51:22.724+00:00Golden ~ I think I could happily live where you ar...Golden ~ I think I could happily live where you are, it sounds like my dream climate. <br /><br />Cuban ~ one of the things I love most about blogging is the book recommendations I'm given, I will certainly put 'Impro' on my list. <br /><br />In order to get anything done I seem to need to let the pressure build up until I'm about to explode. I then suffer a few days of tail chasing and wailing, but suddenly everything falls into place and I <i>know</i> what to do. I've tried all manner of ways to subvert this process to no avail. Anyway, the nasty bit has passed and now I've entered the lovely phase of understanding once more, thankfully, all I need to do now is write it in essay form.<br /><br />Elizabeth ~ I have just realised that the whole point of my work is that the characters are <i>un</i>heroic. I don't know why I didn't know that before. I will see Bonnard, Morandi and Mr Pooter, thanks.Erylhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06008344023000459577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463471462522424732.post-25221575330084251412010-03-07T12:55:46.278+00:002010-03-07T12:55:46.278+00:00I think I'm much more interested in the 'u...I think I'm much more interested in the 'unheroic'<br />see Mr.Pooter.<br />So much of life concerns the ordinary little detail<br />see Bonnard, Morandi<br />so bored of movies with catacysmic stuff<br /><br />give me the <br />'common round and trivial task'<br />yes, I would be most interested to read some of your poems<br />(says a sometime writer herself)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463471462522424732.post-85661582170453321262010-03-07T11:06:46.789+00:002010-03-07T11:06:46.789+00:00'My problem could be that I am glib, incarnate...'My problem could be that I am glib, incarnate.'<br /><br />Or the opposite. Over-thinking (I wonder if that word even exists in English :-D)<br /><br />I agree with Rachel. Keep it simple. That's one of my mottos. If I can be very cheeky and recommend 'Impro' by Keith Johnstone. It is primarily aimed at actors and theatre directors but I used the method successfully as a foreign language teacher in Cuba in the mid 90s, plus occasionally I still use it with my own children when I'm working on their Spanish. It's all about converting that original idea (sans rational thought, mind) into a tangible plot.<br /><br />Enjoyed the post but I don't think you're enjoying the pressure. :-)<br /><br />I wish you loads of luck with your heroes and heroines.<br /><br />Greetings from London.A Cuban In Londonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463471462522424732.post-91638648959300556232010-03-06T00:08:50.852+00:002010-03-06T00:08:50.852+00:00Hi Eryl,
Yes, that photo on my blog was from yeste...Hi Eryl,<br />Yes, that photo on my blog was from yesterday. We have an unusual weather pattern here on the coast, not unlike the Mediterranean coast of France ( so it is said). Our weather is affected mostly by the ocean currents - something called the Catalina Eddy. It only rarely gets colder than the mid 40s and rarely higher than the low 80s, and December is our sunniest month! We get a condition called May Gray and June Gloom - when the deserts inland heat up, we get overcast gray days, sometimes for weeks at a time... Just in case you wondered.Golden Westhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04590087189810939432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463471462522424732.post-28249786263219358382010-03-05T16:57:30.525+00:002010-03-05T16:57:30.525+00:00Scarlet ~ you're a genius! After days of tortu...Scarlet ~ you're a genius! After days of torturing myself over this bloody essay: trying to make my characters fit a theme (heroism) instead of trying to understand them, I have only just realised this.<br /><br />Golden ~ me too, I don't know what I was thinking. My fiction and poems focus in on people who, in trying to make their lives fit some sort of grand idea, find themselves coming unstuck. So, what did I do? I tried to make my work fit a grand idea and came unstuck.Erylhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06008344023000459577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463471462522424732.post-80032816671962736302010-03-05T13:33:47.692+00:002010-03-05T13:33:47.692+00:00I'm always a little leery of media created her...I'm always a little leery of media created heroes. A quote from H.L. Mencken comes to mind: "The urge to save humanity is almost always a false face for the urge to rule it".<br /><br />I prefer the quiet heroics of people who go about their lives making their immediate world a better place, out of any spotlight.Golden Westhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04590087189810939432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463471462522424732.post-63744664037118140752010-03-05T12:54:04.989+00:002010-03-05T12:54:04.989+00:00Is there a muddle of maverick and heroic here?
SxIs there a muddle of maverick and heroic here?<br />SxMs Scarlethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00449626572478125088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463471462522424732.post-22317211944796154442010-03-04T22:03:38.603+00:002010-03-04T22:03:38.603+00:00Meri ~ you are absolutely right. I often find taki...Meri ~ you are absolutely right. I often find taking time out and doing something like baking or gardening allows everything to sort itself out so that when I come back to the writing I can just do it. And, now I do feel I'm getting back on track. <br /><br />Kim ~ it's a bugger that, isn't it?<br /><br />Elizabeth ~ my relationship with my supervisor is such that I couldn't ask for more. I emailed him today in a bit of a panic and he got straight back to me with a few thoughts on my work which were so astoundingly wise I immediately knew where I was going wrong. No more heroism, thank goodness. <br /><br />It is so tempting, isn't it, to quote verbatim. I fall foul of that far too often, for the same reason you do. Everyone else seems to put things so much better than I do.Erylhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06008344023000459577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463471462522424732.post-40964638563925344892010-03-04T21:31:32.063+00:002010-03-04T21:31:32.063+00:00I knew my topic/theme pretty well from the first d...I knew my topic/theme pretty well from the first discussion I had with my supervisor, even before I enrolled to do my PhD, Eryl. <br /><br />It had been rolling around in my mind for some time. She, my supervisor, helped me to articulate it. I owe her a great deal. <br /><br />They say that your relationship with your supervisor is one of the most important features of this type of research. I think there's some truth in this. <br /><br />Your relationship, with your supervisor that is, sounds pretty good, too. <br /><br />I'm good at finding wonderful quotes from other people but I need to better at paraphrasing the ideas. At times I quote too much directly because I prefer other people's words to my own. It's an occupational hazard and one to be wary of.Elisabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04015624747225433940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463471462522424732.post-11580134502770995072010-03-04T18:10:22.305+00:002010-03-04T18:10:22.305+00:00The hero who doesn't die at the end, becomes p...The hero who doesn't die at the end, becomes part of the establishment...Kim Ayreshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02656677501116622953noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463471462522424732.post-66634723845732515752010-03-04T16:51:37.898+00:002010-03-04T16:51:37.898+00:00You've gotten so many brilliant comments about...You've gotten so many brilliant comments about the quotidian/heroic issue that I want to address one other piece that leapt out as I read your post. It has to do with you saying that you spent the day thinking about your topic and not doing anything constructive. I find that mulling ideas over while doing mundane things that might not seem to amount to much can have a huge impact on writing. Your unconscious has a chance to take over so that when you begin to write again, there is fertile material there that you might not have anticipated. I'm sure that happens to you. The problem is being too ready to flog yourself for "unproductive" time, measuring only by a benchmark like word count or revised drafts. Granted, it may be that this piece needs a longer gestation and another will come to you before the first is birthed. But there is likely a lesson in the tending process. (And thanks for your comment).Merihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07024443046207501650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463471462522424732.post-74468023837421539862010-03-04T14:58:30.965+00:002010-03-04T14:58:30.965+00:00Pat ~ I think I will ask my son to make me one of ...Pat ~ I think I will ask my son to make me one of those badges that people display on their sidebar: 'I am a Glibbite and I'm proud' perhaps. So anyone who wants one can copy and paste. It seems there are more of us than one might think!<br /><br />Red Handed ~ I do love a cemetery myself. Is your story on your blog? I'll come and have a wee read when I'm free.<br /><br />Gadjo ~ I'm at the tail end of a creative writing master's degree trying to get my final portfolio finished, hence the poem panic earlier this week.<br /><br />To me the interesting thing about real heroes, such as Florence Nightingale, is that in doing one thing marvellous they fuck up every thing else.<br /><br />Worldy ~ what I need is a hero wielding eye-drops to rescue me from my evil poems.<br /><br />Elizabeth ~ did you know what your theme was when you started, or has it revealed itself to you over time? I'm not entirely sure what my theme is but all my writing is about 'women's work.' Or, rather, it describes either the actions of women working in the home or the result of those actions. At least I think that's the case. The problem with the exegesis is having to analyse what I write and why. Why do I focus on the actions of these women, what am I trying to say? I guess if I could explain it fully I wouldn't be driven to write creatively in the first place. <br /><br />But you are right, I must dig out a few scholars to quote.Erylhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06008344023000459577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463471462522424732.post-68189150356375423382010-03-04T11:30:54.218+00:002010-03-04T11:30:54.218+00:00I suspect you're not glib at all, Eryl, just f...I suspect you're not glib at all, Eryl, just finding your way.<br /><br />I met my supervisor today, too. We talked about similar issues t do wth my thesis: how to stick with the heart of my theme - life writing and the desire for revenge - how to keep it to the centre. <br /><br />This is the age old problem of the more academic approach to ideas.<br /><br />I have a friend, a wonderful writer whose first novel received high praise indeed. Her second novel is part of her PhD and therefore subject to an exegesis. She sent off a section of her exegesis to her supervisor who sent it back with the comment, not so much in these words, but words to the effect, 'this has no footnotes, it will not do'. <br /><br />In other words, however well written, it was not scholarly. To be scholarly you need to visit other people's ideas. To explore and discuss other people's ideas you need to quote from them, hence the need for footnotes. <br /><br />Speaking of which I should be working on my own right now.Elisabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04015624747225433940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463471462522424732.post-28222090612380237432010-03-04T11:25:07.366+00:002010-03-04T11:25:07.366+00:00Everybody needs a hero. But not one who makes your...Everybody needs a hero. But not one who makes your eyes bulge and feel dry and cracked. Or was that just your poems?!The World According To Mehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06877147634501360129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463471462522424732.post-52507842239421310652010-03-04T07:10:46.475+00:002010-03-04T07:10:46.475+00:00I'm a necomer to this blog - what are you gett...I'm a necomer to this blog - what are you getting bound at the printer's? I never been much drawn to heroes, especialy the super- ones. Even cuddly ones like Florence Nightingale apparantly did more harm than good.Gadjo Dilohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08998278830936531990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463471462522424732.post-8993666031519487252010-03-04T02:10:28.929+00:002010-03-04T02:10:28.929+00:00I *love* thinking about heroes. Especially dead on...I *love* thinking about heroes. Especially dead ones. And the cemetaries they inhabit. I wrote a story about it myself.red-handedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16484549762594608774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463471462522424732.post-35374259637639737842010-03-03T23:43:00.123+00:002010-03-03T23:43:00.123+00:00Lulu says: 'I was just going to say that you m...Lulu says: 'I was just going to say that you might be doing too much thinking - but that would be exactly the sort of thing a Glibbite like me would come out with.'<br /><br />Seems I'm another. Glibbite that is.Pathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01529798893653033970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463471462522424732.post-83395980954114877342010-03-03T23:05:18.734+00:002010-03-03T23:05:18.734+00:00Lulu ~ me too, she's incredible.
Titus ~ fant...Lulu ~ me too, she's incredible.<br /><br />Titus ~ fantastic, thank you. <br /><br />I think I might have to have a t-shirt printed!Erylhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06008344023000459577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463471462522424732.post-29424184048136933932010-03-03T22:51:24.440+00:002010-03-03T22:51:24.440+00:00Is this enough?
Xiaobing Tang. Chinese Modern: The...Is this enough?<br />Xiaobing Tang. Chinese Modern: The Heroic and the Quotidian<br />Journal article by Ban Wang; China Review International, Vol. 9, 2002<br /><br />If not, search on the title of book and you'll get to it. I hope.<br /><br />Glibbitism - you know it makes sense!Titushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16380213493011623153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463471462522424732.post-90245791699404789742010-03-03T21:33:56.183+00:002010-03-03T21:33:56.183+00:00I'm bloody impressed with Titus.
I was just ...I'm bloody impressed with Titus.<br /> <br />I was just going to say that you might be doing too much thinking - but that would be exactly the sort of thing a Glibbite like me would come out with.<br /><br />Glibbite - I love that!fannyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08179361597045797178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463471462522424732.post-38660307907985043242010-03-03T21:24:45.338+00:002010-03-03T21:24:45.338+00:00Polli ~ I must watch Erin Brockovitch again. See, ...Polli ~ I must watch Erin Brockovitch again. See, I don't really know enough about this to tackle it in an essay, and I think I've left it too late to find out. Also, I think it's bigger than a 2000 word essay, it's probably phd stuff, and therefore not for me. <br /><br />I'll put that book on 'my must get hold of once I have some money' list. The writer's journey website is great!<br /><br />Savannah ~ exactly! And thank you, but I do seem to open my mouth a bit too readily at times. <br /><br />Titus ~ ooh, brilliant quote, thanks.You couldn't give me the exact citation could you just in case I need to use it? How come everyone else is so much better read than me?<br /><br />I think the time for the Glibbite is coming!Erylhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06008344023000459577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463471462522424732.post-8013135720991126322010-03-03T20:53:35.341+00:002010-03-03T20:53:35.341+00:00Aargh, on your behalf.
I would sit for at least a ...Aargh, on your behalf.<br />I would sit for at least a day and consider if you completely want to change the covering essay, as isn't that a big ask of yourself?<br />However, if you want to press on with what sounds to me like a very interesting idea, here's a quote from Ben Wang's intoduction to Xiaobing Tang's "Chinese Modern: The Heroic and the Quotidian."<br /><br />"Tang tips the balance toward the quotidian. The heroic encompasses the momentous actions, theatrical spectacles, and epoch-making collective drives of modern China--the image of history in the classic Marxist sense. The quotidian looks the other way at the comforting nooks and crannies of quiet pleasure, domesticity, the intricate workings of the psyche, the satisfaction of desire, and daily commodity consumption. Even though the heroic generally ran roughshod over the quotidian for a whole tumultuous century--until the latter emerged as the new god of consumption--the quotidian in its tragic victimhood and resilient survival is bound to take on an aspect of the heroic on its own. It has a "revelatory desolation," possessing "its own beauty and grandeur" as part of "the heroism of modern life" (p. 5). It is a heroism lived from day to day, quietly, beneath the relentless march of political history."<br /><br />Hang on in there!<br />I like being a glibbite. It's a big world and there's room for us all out there.Titushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16380213493011623153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8463471462522424732.post-11810854340012063642010-03-03T19:58:41.977+00:002010-03-03T19:58:41.977+00:00The idea came to me after my supervisor said that ...<i>The idea came to me after my supervisor said that my characters could never be heroes because they are always being dragged back down by the quotidian.</i><br /><br />so, as i was considering my answer, you wrote it! dealing with the everyday is <i>heroic.</i> it is heroism of the highest degree - unspoken, unheralded and unknown. i also would never consider using the word <i>glib</i> to describe you! xoxoxosavannahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04310843901371718758noreply@blogger.com