Daft Draft-I(Robert Browning’s Poem)

How I wish I could read this out to you,
this spontaneous overflow of powerful emotion,
This pure threnody that flowed from someone else’s soul,
as he was standing on the edge of the road, as I do,
Bound by honor to run, and tempted by loneliness to turn,
and stare forever at the memories of those amiable evenings,
When you talked crap and I was worse still.
Now,the wheels still turn and I must start my solitary walk
towards other lives and other loves. For spring must come,
Even to that lonely isle in the polar seas,
and walk I shall, friend- after I savor this verse just once more

The Void I

” Nature has a true abhorrence for the void” was one of the major exhortations of the scientsts during enlightenment. Not being really accquainted with the progress that science has made over the past 300 or so years, I cannot say for certain if the opinion of the scientist of today has changed very much! But surely, now that we know that most of outer space and beyond consists of very little, we might be more inclined to question the aforementioned statement. Notwithstanding this and the seemingly endless discourses on completely stupid experiments involving vaccum that we had to learn by rote in elementary school, in the world around us, at least to the untrained eye,  the Void is surprisingly rare. In fact, I dont think void as such exists naturally on earth atleast, on a macroscopic level. This is probably why our illustrious ancestors found it necessary to believe that anything that exists cannot really cease to be. I know this probably involves a huge leap of faith. But, if you really think on this…. I will let the reader make his own judgement. Let’s take a look at our own life.  It is so full…. of Stuff….. isnt it?…. Physical and Psychical phenomena impinging on our senses,  mind and the soul(?).. provoking a myriad of reactions… how can one  even begin to imagine that this would just  cease to exist so abruptly? In fact, if you actually think about it, not that the 17th century man noticed this any way, the body does not in fact disinegrate in to nothingness. It is merely transformed in to different matter. However, the person, I, ceases to exist.  Let me elaborate on this point , say I lose all my limbs and somehow turn green, I will still be Me!  However while I will still identify the cut off limbs as me, the limbs do not form part of the unconscious awareness  of ‘me’. So then what is it that constitutes me? Let’s come back to this later on. The impossibility of Human kind to come to terms with death despite millenia of practice is absolutely baffling.  The fact that we still refuse to believe that there can be no beyond, given the absolute lack of evidence of anything that would suggest life after death, is completely astonishing!

Stuff playing on my Headphones

Not arranged in any order:

Proud Mary- CCR

Comfortably Numb, Welcome to the Machine, On the Turning away- Pink Floyd

The Man who Sold the World, My Girl, Actually the whole Unplugged in Newyork album- Nirvana

Mama, I am coming home, changes, Dreamer- Ozzy 

Layla, Cocaine- Clapton

Achilles’ Last Stand and The Battle of Evermore Led Zeppelin

I want you and Rita May, All along the Watch tower, Stuck in the mobile with the Memphis Blues- Bob Dylan

Scarborough fair, Mrs Robinson, Bridge over troubled waters- Simon and Garfunkel

Broadsword, I am a whistler- Jethro Tull

Annie’s Song- Denver

Norwegian Wood, Twist and Shout, Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s club, I am the Walrus, Lucy in the sky with Diamonds and While my guitar gently weeps- The Beatles

Riders on the storm, The End, Wishful Sinful, Not to touch the Earth- The Doors

The Seeker, Pinball wizard and Baba o Reilly- The Who

Pynchonmania

I have decided to take a few days off from work (from dec 23 to Jan 1) the plan is to finish all the books written by Thomas Pynchon by then.

These  are the  books

Mason and Dixon

Vineland

V

Against the Day (If available in India)

I am gonna be completely cut off from the world.. no phone calls no internet…. no TV…. Just me and pynchon…

oboy oboy oboy…. this should be real great

He he he

Go live today! First set of requests. Just cant take GR out of my mind.I’ve caught myself in the middle of a fantasy involving GR me and the bed atleast thrice. It is a throbbing ache in the back of my skull now!! I want her….I need her!!!

Gravity’s Rainbow 2

Still not done with GR……. took a diversion started on MD….. Not as easy as I thought it would be. Halfway through. Seduced by GR again. Back to her warm embrace. She’s my  wife, GR….. I do get around (A LOT) but home’s where the heart is. GR is my home my heart. My only love…. MY life. I love her!!!! yes I said it…. I love HER!!!!!

Gravity’s Rainbow

Reached part II ……………. one more week ………….500 pages to go….. Nail biting… Reading JV Jones… Interesting.. Much needed Change. … Pynchon was sucking the life outta me…….

The battle of Evermore………….. The best song ever……. awesome…………..

A Summary of Unfinished books

Ulysses- James Joyce:

Lying around for quite Sometime. Finished half of it.

Target Completion Date: December 31 2006

Gravity’s Rainbow-Thomas Pynchon

Highest priority. Completed only a hundred pages! Started-March 2006

Target Completion- Sep 30

Absalom Absalom:

Finished about half the book. Bought the book in March.

Complete by Oct 31

Nausea:

Bought in August. Complete by October

The magic Mountain:

September Buy. To Complete before November.

The world as a will and representation: Schopenhauer

Bought: July-Aug

To Complete by: No Specific Timeframe

Writing and Difference:Derrida

Bought: July-Aug

To Complete by: No Specific Timeframe

Hyperion: Dan Simmons 

Bought: July

To Complete by: No Specific Timeframe

The Schopenhauer Cure: Irwin D Yalom

Dont even want to think about this one. Bad Book. Mistake

The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana: Umberto Eco

Last few pages remaining. Not Finishing this one on principle.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/18/books/19tolk.html?ref=books One of the best stories in The Silmarillon, “the children of Hurin” is about mainly about Turin and Glaurung. The story also pirouettes around the Fall of Gondolin, the story of Beren and Luthien and is the begining of the end of the gray Kingdom that was protected by the enchanted Girdle of Melian and the Wise rule of Thingol the Gray elf and contains Glimpses of the original Dark Lord- Melkor or Morgoth. Combining elements of Tragedy, heroism and self sacrifice, this is one story that should translate well in to the silver screen! Are you listening, Peter Jackson?

Words

Seem to have no time for Full length posts. Anyways.. a list of words that I had to Look up in Becket’s Murphy
eleutheromania
n. strong desire for freedom. eleutheromaniac, n. & a

Leyden Jar
The Leyden jar was the original capacitor, invented in 1745 by Ewald Jürgen Georg von Kleist (1700–1748) and used to conduct many early experiments in electricity

Tod
: (n) tod (a unit of weight for wool equal to about 28 pounds)

: (adj) tod (alone and on your own) “don’t just sit there on your tod”

Civet
S(n) civet, civet cat (catlike mammal typically secreting musk used in perfumes)

Belacqua
Belacqua was a maker of musical instruments, known for his laziness. A Florentine, he seems to have been a friend of Dante. His voice appears in Purgatorio Canto IV

Lydia(n)
:Lydian mode, one of the modes in ancient Greek music
:Lydian (typeface), a decorative typeface
:Lydia, an ancient kingdom in western Anatolia

clonic
of or relating to abnormal neuromuscular activity characterized by rapidly alternating muscle contraction and relaxation- “clonic spasm”

Whinge
To complain or protest, especially in an annoying or persistent manner.

This is from Nabokov’s Lolita

Catullus:
Gaius Valerius Catullus (Roman lyric poet remembered for his love poems to an aristocratic Roman woman

Forsythia
is both the common name and botanical name of a plant genus belonging to the Oleaceae (Olive family). It is named after William Forsyth, and comprises six species of deciduous shrubs to 3-6 m tall, mostly native to Asia, but one native to southeastern Europe.

Hoyden
tomboy, romp, hoyden (a girl who behaves in a boyish manner)

aleatory
(dependent on chance) “the aleatory element in life”

Words I could not find meanings For

matitudinal acathisia Kilmerite Pavonine