From the Lists: Pale Fire #53

Pale Fire (1962) by Vladimir Nabokov is possibly the most inventive novel I have ever read. It can be read linearly, literally, and / or satirically. It was not greeted with universal acclaim upon its publication since critics were a bit unsure how to characterize it; however, the novel's reputation has grown in stature over the years. 

On the surface, this novel consists of a foreward by a fictional editor (Charles Kinbote), a 999 line biographical poem by a fictional poet (John Shade), and Kinbote's extensive commentary. The poem itself is pretty straightforward. It does not require more explication than could be provided in minor footnotes. And yet, it is Kinbote's commentary and asides that provide the actual narrative.

Suffice it to say, that if a European, homosexual, exiled royal from an imaginary country absconds with your poem with the intention of editing and publishing it along with his commentary, the original intent of the work may be lost when filtered through the delusions of the editor. I think that Kinbote's character sincerely believes that the poem was originally inspired by the grand tales he related to its author - tales of a land in which palaces are stocked with handsome boys to be used for the king's pleasure, of a palace rivaling the pleasure domes of Kubla Kahn, of a revolution in which the king escaped execution, arriving in cognito in the United States disguised as an English professor. Even though the poem obviously is biographical and has nothing to do with the tall tales shared with Shade, Kinbote's commentary lifts lines and extracts words from the poem's text in a valiant effort to prove he, and his life, was its inspiration. Along the way, his commentary is filled with adventures and quite a bit of university and neighborhood gossip. In many ways he is the Humbert Humbert of literary academia - a man with great self-regard, but with no idea of how he is regarded among his peers.

Herein lies the greatness of this work as a whole. It can be read as editorial satire, or as the rantings and ravings of a disturbed man in academia. Either way, I had great fun reading the poem through the eyes of a truly odd character. And to top this all off, Nabokov was very clever with the ending. He provides enough facts and hints to allow the reader to come to several different conclusions about the strange life of Charles Kinbote. 

Recommendation: This was a fun read requiring two bookmarks as you will want to re-read the lines of the poem being discussed in the commentary. This book was a winner! I think I am going to add more Nabokov to my reading list once I get through the 100 best novels.

Vladimir Nabokov

From the Lists: #50 Tropic of Capricorn

Tropic of Capricorn by Henry Miller copyright 1938 (Paris) - banned in the US until 1961 due to sexual content. Subsequent publication resulted in numerous court cases over censorship resulting in the general availability of the novel in the mid 1960s. The court cases themselves are widely credited with expanding freedoms of expression and restricting the power of censors in the United States.

I have been prone to a bit of navel gazing in this blog (see here and here and here), but this semi-autobiographical novel consists of 100 pages of satire about Miller's lack of direction and motivation during his youth, followed by 200 pages of intense, smutty soul searching. In trying to describe the novel to a friend, I boiled it down to the following:

"Imagine Holden Caulfield from the Catcher in the Rye grew up, got a job, and was surrounded by loose women desperate for company. Then he read Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man and rhapsodically composed 200 pages about the creative process. Mix into that 30 or so pages describing the wide variety of vaginas available to Miller in the 1930's (happy, laughing, sad, mad, angry, stupid, smart, moist, big, tiny, hairy, etc.) and you sort of have an idea about what this book is about."

Henry Miller 1932

My life was not greatly affected one way or another by reading this book that is often credited for ushering in the American sexual revolution of the 1960s. For the most part, I found it quite unlikely that in the 1930's women were so loose. It seems that Miller spent most of his youth fighting off the females and his early adulthood taking advantage of them. He must have been quite a witty fellow, as even in the 1930s he was already looking as if life had been a little rough - but, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Summary: Not much to say here - first third is a sarcastic, satiric portrayal of Miller's childhood, first marriage, hard times, and job at Western Union in 1930's New York City. The remainder of the book consists of soaring rapturous prose about both sex and the creative process. There is really no linear plot, but at times the prose is quite impressive.

Recommendation: Unless you are plowing through the list of 100 best novels of the 20th century like I am, skip it. If you are searching for new adjectives to describe vagina - perhaps give it a shot.

Seen and Heard Around Town

Christmas Guard Dog: 8:00 PM Sunday

Since my last post featuring this little doggie in a window, I have been introduced to Holly Aiken, owner proprietor of Stitch, and to her dog Ray Ray. Blogging does have its perks.

Now if I can just spin this into a discount on a set of three wall hangings....

You Better Run

This was a great weekend for constructive boredom. I have some days off work that have to be taken before the end of the year, so I used one of them Friday. It was great to sleep in, have a big pot of coffee, and a long shower and shave. After a good read, I headed out to meet some of my former lunch buddies for a much anticipated lunch. While I miss these guys and gals everyday, I didn't realize how much until we were all back together, sharing a meal and getting caught up. This a group of friends who all share the same warped sense of humor and are not afraid to laugh at themselves as well as each other - all in friendship of course.

After a tearful goodbye to end our lunch, I headed over to the Harris Teeter to pick up ingredients for a giant pot of chili. Apparently everyone else had the same idea since the shelves were pretty bare of the required fixings. But, I prevailed and got the pot up to boiling by 3:30. Besides my signature ingredients, everyone knows that a good pot of chili requires many hours of simmering, so I curled up on the sofa for a long evening of guilty pleasure television and pot stirring.

Early Saturday morning, the pot of chili went back on the stove to warm up and I prepared myself for a long run in the cold weather.  My friends, Cathy and Arjay, were holding the 4th annual Wandering Beaver: Loose on the Neuse charity 5K / 10K run to benefit the Special Operations Fallen Warriors foundation. This run started out as a fun run a few years ago and has steadily grown over the years. This year approximately 40 people participated in the run, which was followed by a huge spread of carbs, fruit, hot beverages, and chili all chased down by either Arjay's Scottish Ale or Cedar Plank Porter home brew. There was music, a fire pit, great stories, laughter, and general holiday merry making for a great cause. This year, the race raised over $800 for the foundation, which was more than double last year's contribution. Although I have fervently and vocally complained about running in the cold both years that I have participated, this will soon become one of my most cherished Christmas traditions - plus I shaved 5 minutes off my time from last year.

Needless to say, with the home brew flowing, the die-hards who stayed to the bitter end, were brimming with "holiday spirits." When I arrived home, I smelled a bit like a drunk boy scout, just home from a three day camping trip - musky, beery, and smokey. The bed never felt so comfortable as it did Saturday afternoon. The early evening hangover, however, put a damper on the remainder of the evening's festivities and after a hearty dinner of leftovers, I was back in bed dreaming of running through neighborhoods festooned with holiday decorations in the cold winter sun.  Good times!

Seen and Heard Around Town

The holiday season is upon us and for the next several weeks calendars must be consulted before any new plans can be accepted. Most evenings between now and the end of the year have already been scheduled, but I was excited to have a free night to attend J&J Productions staging of Love Drunk in the REP theatre space. This production is the southeastern premier of the play by Romulus Linney, which is loosely based on  Henrik Ibsen's "The Master Builder."  Ibsen is probably familiar to most high school graduates as the author of The Doll's House.

Not having read the source material, I am unable to comment on how closely this adaptation follows the original, but I am pretty confident in saying that there is absolutely no Victorian morality remaining in this script. However, like many of Ibsen's works, this script hammers at the audience's middle class, publicly embraced, morals and values while challenging the accepted norms of gender and sexual desire. Nothing is sacred in this script - abortion, incest, greed, fidelity, agism, lust, and honesty are all fair game in this battle of the sexy and sex starved.

The synopsis of the play states this is "the story of an older man who picks up a much younger woman in a cafe and takes her to his retreat, the tower room of an Appalachian Mountain log house.... What follows is a sexual tête-à-tête full of suspense, humor, fantasies, out-and-out lies, and a few moments of connection and peace." For me what followed was a lot of lies, arguing, sad attempts at seduction, yelling, cajoling, sarcasm, attacks, and mistrust. Both characters are suspicious of each other and are unreliable narrators when it comes to recounting the details of their lives and how they came to meet. Both are working an angle to get what they want or need. Neither is very likable.

There appeared to be a few lighting gaffs during the performance and the sound affects were a little choppy, but the acting was tight and well directed. Jess Jones and John Honeycutt were believable in their portrayals of the troubled 25 year old female and the 65 year old wealthy man.  Unfortunately, the subject matter of this play is not really indicative of your normal holiday fare. Upon the play's conclusion, I felt a bit like a guilty voyeur who wanted to be titillated by something new and sexy, only to be rewarded with a deep feeling of guilt for having watched two sad, lonely people fight so hard to convince themselves and each other to accept what they really wanted - a bit of companionship.

For those tired of the normal happy holiday fare, you have another week to catch this show (December 1-17). Tickets can be purchased online here: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/210573

Based on Sunday night's attendance, you can probably purchase tickets at the door and save the online ticket service fee.

Let's End the Weekend with Another Party! Who's Ready?

Welcome to Muscle Beach

You may have realized that Thanksgiving weekend in S. Florida is the kick-off of the tourist season.  Not only were there house parties to attend, but also major events such as the White Party, the Leather Masquerade Ball, a huge softball tournament, other larg-ish events, all culminating in the Muscle Beach party. And, it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without another expensive event on the sand in South Beach.


On the way to the party Sunday afternoon, we stopped off to visit a friend in Mercy Hospital who had an accident Friday night. He was in the intensive care unit. It was disturbing seeing him tied to his bed with all those tubes and wires attached to his body. He was in an induced coma. Whenever he would start to wake up, he kept trying to pull out the ventilator tubing - hence the restraints. The good news is that the day after we saw him in this terrible state, he was awake, sitting up, eating solid food, and well on his way to recovery.

After our visit, we were off to South Beach for an afternoon of dancing in the sand with a few thousand of our best friends. The day was glorious, about 80 degrees with a light breeze. The venue was on the beach with the South Beach, art deco skyline on one side and the ocean on the other. Good times....

Drink Tent - $5 Beer, Water, Softdrinks / $8 Cocktails
But, it is on the beach!

Party on the Beach - wear your best bathing suit, sunscreen,
and comfortable dancing shoes

The DJs blew it out

The party goes on until 10:00 PM - culminating in fireworks over the ocean



For the past several years, I have alternated spending Thanksgiving day with my extended family with visiting friends in Ft. Lauderdale. I cannot say that I returned home on Monday all refreshed and ready to take on the world after dancing in the sand for 5 hours, but I had a great time playing in the sun with John, Jay, and the rest of the FLL crew. Perhaps I should go ahead and make my reservations for next year.....

Here's to wishing you all a very happy holiday season!
Don't forget to dance and do something you can't tell your mom about.

XOX

Did someone say, "Let's go to a party?"

Saturday morning everyone slept in a bit after the crazy night we had Friday. Once everyone was up and showered, we headed over to Simply Delish for breakfast.  This place has wonderful breakfast items, but the decor is a bit like, how shall I put it - Victorian yard sale chic. Oil paintings of naked rubinesque women, cherubs, collectible plates, and fake greenery festoon this eatery that is only open for breakfast and lunch.

Simply Delish Decor

 Over our eggs and coffee we caught each other up on the events we attended the night before.  Surprisingly, my drinking muscles weren't as sore as I expected them to be after a long night out.  So I was eager to have a great day. The plan was to hang out a bit and then head down to Miami for a birthday party for John and Jay's friend Alex. The party was billed as a birthday / pool / dance / cookout party lasting from noon to 8:00 with approximately 100 invited guests.

When we arrived, we were greeted by an armed North Miami police officer who was manning the door with "the list."  You could not enter if your name was not included on the list. Once we were located (Feldman + 2), we were waved in. Super circuit DJ David Knapp was spinning the tunes and the place was rocking (David's website = free music and pictures), actually "thumping" would be a better choice of words. The beautifully appointed outdoor area was packed with people having a great time, not to mention the full service bar, performers on stilts, jugglers, henna tattoo artist, flaggers, wet men, dry men, and happy people in general.

These people take their parties seriously.  There must be just a bit of oneupsmanship amongst this group, because every party just gets bigger and better.

Man on stilts - see I told you!

He was juggling while balancing on the roller board - I swear!

Pool Area

Like I said earlier, it is not a party until the flaggers arrive.

The grills were fired up around 6:00 for burgers. We headed home about the same time for a little nap - which lasted until Sunday morning.  There is really only so much partying a guy can take in one weekend and we had one more big one to attend on Sunday!


(PS - I apologize for the grainy pictures. I am going to have to upgrade to the iPhone 4s if I am going to keep uploading pictures for this blog. That may be the best excuse I can come up with to do a little Christmas shopping for myself. )