Insights: What strikes you today? - The Lounge Discussion and Review on Literature, Arts, Culture

Blarg · 09-17-2009, 05:01 AM

What are you thinking today that turns your head around? It doesn't have to be original or for the ages or worth showing off. Just new, or felt as new, to you today.

Blarg · 09-17-2009, 05:03 AM

I'll start.

I loved the Tarzan and Korak books when I was a kid. Probably read about 30 of them. Here's part of a review of one of the Tarzan books on Amazon(with tiny corrections of some confusing typos):

Quote:

In this first Tarzan novel, Edgar Rice Burroughs explores the idea of class as inherent. A British lord will always be a British lord and will always rise to the top no matter how far he has been pushed down. Tarzan, being raised by an unknown species of intelligent apes, has further to rise than any lord in history. But rise he does because class will always prove itself. This is a popular theme and one that, in detective fiction, shows the difference between the British view and the American view. The British view used to hold that an aristocrat, acting as an amateur, will easily best the professional laborer, as in the Sherlock Holmes stories. The American view in detective fiction is that the closer to the grit you are the better you are at solving mysteries, as in the Colombo or Sam Spade mysteries. But in TARZAN OF THE APES, Burroughs takes the British view to its extreme.

Well I'll be damned.

I'll be damned indeed.

BustoRhymes · 09-17-2009, 08:09 AM

Yup those English dudes are arrogant as hell

diebitter · 09-17-2009, 08:26 AM

Because I was watching the Discovery channel - how damn close Britain came to losing its entire standing Army in the days just before the Evacuation of Dunkirk. I never realised exactly how fine that little strand of fate was in determining the outcome of WW2.

Wynton · 09-17-2009, 10:23 AM

There is a story out about scientists curing color blind monkeys with gene therapy

As a color blind person, this intrigues me.

jakethebake · 09-17-2009, 10:34 AM

I was watching The Office a minute ago and realized that Dwight and Angela are Frank Burns and Margaret Houlihan.

Landonfan · 09-17-2009, 11:27 AM

I read your gospel and it moved me to tears
But I couldn't find the hate and I couldn't find the fear

-The Hold Steady, Constructive Summer

Craig Finn explains my relationship with religion better in two lines than I probably could with an entire book. I like moments like that, where I'm struggling to put something into words, and then I come across a line in a song or book or movie that does it way more eloquently than I could ever hope to. Sorta frustrating cause it reminds me how much I suck with words, but still pretty cool cause it's an aha moment.

Dominic · 09-17-2009, 12:39 PM

The only insight I've had lately is that I have no idea what's going on and don't think I ever will.

jakethebake · 09-17-2009, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dominic

The only insight I've had lately is that I have no idea what's going on and don't think I ever will.

...and I probably don't really want to.

Blarg · 09-17-2009, 01:09 PM

Start small. I was dicing a peach yesterday and realized that if I held my finger or thumb on a just sliced piece for only a moment, my knife would have a second to break its bond with and stop sticking onto to each new piece and then tugging it up every slice. It's irritating when a slice of this or that comes along for the ride and makes a mess, but I never really thought much about how to stop it before.

Not exactly a lot of genius involved there, but I'm going to keep it in mind now when slicing stuff that wants to follow my blade every slice.

GeraldGiraffe · 09-17-2009, 01:38 PM

I've been looking at stuff today that makes me think "Science is awesome".

lastcardcharlie · 09-17-2009, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blarg

Start small. I was dicing a peach yesterday and realized that if I held my finger or thumb on a just sliced piece for only a moment, my knife would have a second to break its bond with and stop sticking onto to each new piece and then tugging it up every slice. It's irritating when a slice of this or that comes along for the ride and makes a mess, but I never really thought much about how to stop it before.

Not exactly a lot of genius involved there, but I'm going to keep it in mind now when slicing stuff that wants to follow my blade every slice.

This reads like something out of Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre imo.

Wynton · 09-17-2009, 02:35 PM

I never look at my horoscope, but for some reason I did today. This is what appears on my MSN homepage.

Quote:

Your logical mind might try to make rational sense of the strange metaphysical ideas, dear Scorpio, that are popping in and out of your head today. Some of them might be conclusions drawn from books you've been reading, but others might actually be messages from the other side.

You think this might be a reference to 2+2, or the Lounge?

Blarg · 09-17-2009, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lastcardcharlie

This reads like something out of Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre imo.

But I am neither shocked nor despairing that dicing peaches is, unalterably and damnedly, dicing peaches and nothing more forever.

thirddan · 09-17-2009, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wynton

I never look at my horoscope, but for some reason I did today. This is what appears on my MSN homepage.

You think this might be a reference to 2+2, or the Lounge?

you should go into rgt...there is some dude trying to convince everyone that he is a medium...