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Gossip Girl: wtf?

Ricky

May 19th, 2009 · No Nonsense

I have a long-running argument with a friend of mine over which of Jean Renoir’s films is better: The Rules of the Game or The Grand Illusion.  To me it’s clear that the latter deals with much bigger issues, and is overall much more pessimistic in its worldview.  It is, after all, essentially a movie that is about two World Wars.  The Rules of the Game, on the other hand, takes reckless optimism as its theme, which is a fairly simple matter considering the fact that all of the characters are rich bourgeois snobs pining over each other.  So what’s the big deal there?

It hit me last night.  After two complete seasons of watching Gossip Girl, I finally see the appeal.

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Written by: Ricky

Tags: Essays

The Body of the Condemned: What Torture Means

L P Hayes

April 30th, 2009 · No Nonsense

The old joke circulating among Lacanians to exemplify the key role of the Other’s knowledge: a man who believes himself to be a grain of seed is taken to the mental institution where the doctors do their best to finally convince him that he is not a grain but a man; however, when he is cured (convinced that he is not a grain of seed but a man) and allowed to leave the hospital, he immediately comes back very trembling of scare [sic] - there is a chicken outside the door and that he is afraid that it would eat him. “Dear fellow,” says his doctor, “you know very well that you are not a grain of seed but a man”. “Of course I know that,” replies the patient, “but does the chicken know it?”

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Written by: L P Hayes

Tags: Essays · Strangeness

Thought of the Day: March 6th, 2009

Thought of the Day

March 6th, 2009 · No Nonsense

Concerning horseplay:

I’m pretty sure that working at a paper napkin factory entails dealing primarily with practical jokes.

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Written by: Thought of the Day

Tags: Thought of the Day

Thought of the Day: March 5th, 2009

Thought of the Day

March 5th, 2009 · No Nonsense

Concerning what she didn’t realize:

There was a copy of Meditations on First Philosophy in my back pocket the whole time. It was half as interesting.

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Written by: Thought of the Day

Tags: Thought of the Day

Thought of the Day: March 4th, 2009

Thought of the Day

March 4th, 2009 · No Nonsense

Concerning the battle of preferences:

My Super Ex-Girlfriend - 1, Orthodontic Surgery - 4

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Written by: Thought of the Day

Tags: Thought of the Day