David Kross – The Reader (2008)

I have a fascination with science. As a child, it use to be a deep love. I really wanted to be a paleontologist,  digging up bones, though admittedly much of the fantasy came out of the movie Jurassic Park. Either way, I had some interest in the world. The only problem was that it was never really fostered, and thus I began to hate it by the time I got into High school. There were many factors to it, one being that fact that there were many science classes to study in, the other being that the teachers weren’t fit to be alone with a room full of teenagers (oh the stories there…). By the time I reached college, I had really fallen out of interest, though I would pick up a popular science magazine here and there, reading what I thought to be hard science. It was rather naïve, and knowing that now I struggle to try get back into it. There is a barrier there between the public and the science – a manufactured one. Manufactured by who? There isn’t one specific factor in it but it is more of a series of factors which include media, politics, culture, religious beliefs, etc. In any case, what does this have to do with literary theory?

I was thinking upon my fascination with science and how it relates to my study of literature. In much of the same way, English majors are suppose to study literary pieces in a rigorous manner using tools to decipher meaning out of these pieces. You could definitely make an analogical connection between the two, but there has always been a degree of separation. Many writers have attempted to write on the connections of science and literature, how they could connect. While a very interesting subject, I still think it underlines how separate the two really are. Literary Theory is by no means objective, and the attempt to make it so seems to be rather feeble.

The thing that always fascinated me was the want, the NEED in fact, to make English into an objective subject. Here I am not talking about Linguistics, which is the study of language itself, which holds more basis in objectivity, but I’m speaking here of the art of literature itself.

I’ve probably written quite a few English papers by now, dissecting one piece or another by one tool or another. It is almost monotonous. In fact many of the papers usually end up being the same, depending on the professor. It is a repetition of the opinions of other papers, usually mixed in with some personal opinions, but nothing that strays too far from the opinions of the sources or the professor. You want to earn an A, right? And looking back at it, none of those papers really satisfied me. There are several reasons for this. The major being that most of these papers usually wind up being an interpretation of the authors intent, but we never really looked at what the author personally had to say for any of these pieces.

***************

Recently I read a review of a book, John Keats: A New Life by Nicholas Roe, from Standpoint Magazine (written by David Womersley). It was a hell of an article – quite enjoyed it. The only issue I could take away from it was my own education of Keats, specifically from a British Literature class I took quite a while ago.

I remember the class well. It was a time when I was finally coming out of my shell as a person, willing to reveal the person I am. I’ll admit, I am (or was… who knows) a shy type of guy. Could it have been the massive anxiety I get around people? Yes – that’s mostly it… Still, it was a good time. I was making a couple of friends, finally, and most of them were through those English classes. The professor was an interesting fellow as well, with likely the most interesting name I’ve heard in my life (no, I’m not going to reveal – sorry). In any case, I was learning a lot through that class. Most of the pieces were terribly boring – Oronoko and the poems Wordsworth were the most torturous – but it wasn’t really about the writers when I come to think about it now. It was more about the theory. In fact, I can only think of a handful of English courses that were not about the theory over the pieces themselves. I don’t remember all the theories taught in that particular class, but it was specifically organized around those theories. The top three I could remember was Marxist, Freudian, and Feminist – though I could be wrong (and I’m not looking back at the notes).

We eventually went to the Romantics, where things began to lax a bit. We were given more control on how to interpret the works, including Keats, specifically his odes. And they were definitely interesting classes, with interesting pieces. I wasn’t fully immersed into poetry yet, that would come in the summer semester of that year, but they definitely got my interest. In retrospect, after reading the Standpoint article, I could see that there was rarely anything about the man himself discussed. No, it would be more accurate to say that we were discussing the “aestheticised Keats” with some nuggets of Psychoanalysis. There was a big focus on beauty, which the odes definitely cover, but it was almost as if Keats was painted in the same lightness of his portraits – not a physical man, but something of an angel. In fact, I would dare say Keats was almost presented as child-like. My guess it was because the man died close to the age of most of the people in that classroom.

Was it the right way to teach the guy?

***************

I guess the issue comes down to Authorial Intent, what the author meant by writing his piece. It is more fashionable now, in academia, to not really give a shit about it. They argue, though this is rarely brought directly to the students mind you, that the intent of the writer is irrelevant to the reading of a literary piece. Yes, this train of thought started about a hundred years ago (with the Modernists). In some cases, it is definitely true – yet I’ve always had a hard time to assert it to all pieces of Literature. When reading the Odyssey, the intent of Homer matters little – especially with the fact that it is likely the epic was refined over the years by other authors. Yet authorial intent begins to matter (to me) when we are given direct evidence by the author (letters, diary entries, notes).

It is kind of weird to say that someone could interpret my pieces, for example, to mean something incredibly different than what I intended. If an author cannot be trusted with their opinions, why the hell should we (the readers) trust the piece? Also, what validates a person’s opinion over an authors?

It is a very strange game being played here between the Writer and the Reader.

***************

The second question (what validates a person’s opinion…?) is the main point I wanted to bring up here, and why I brought up science to begin with. It really comes down to supporting subjective opinions with some objective evidence, but usually about things that have nothing to do with the piece or the author. The job of the student/the critic/the intellectual/the academic seems to be little more than dissecting society/politics/culture through the lens of literature. There is nothing outwardly wrong about this, in fact there are many strong papers out there, but it feels as if Literature Academics are attempting to validate themselves among the other more objective schools of thought.

I’ve always seen Academia as attempting to build a vast Borgesian Library to help better society. It is important to maintain the structure, but always store and update the information it contains. The issue, for me, is that it is becoming apparent that Literary Academics (not all…) seem to be wandering the halls a bit and maintain their shelves with hammers made of brittle fingernails. It isn’t working and no one is taking the room seriously anymore. The books are piled everywhere and the public don’t want to use a shovel to find one good book or one good thought.

So that is my problem overall. When I look at literature, as writer/reader/student, I am still a part of society overall. I’m still a normal guy with insomnia, who likes coffee and tea, who idolizes Maldoror, who is still fond of Super Mario, who enjoys a bad movie, etc. etc. It feels as if I have to separate my literary-minded self and my normal self, as Keats is separated from his “aestheticised” self and his actual person, and I can’t do that. Literature is a part of me and a part of society. While Literary Theory is definitely a tool, one with many advantages and faults, I simply can’t take it that seriously anymore. Not until it can somehow focuses on and fixes the relation it has with the rest of society.

Take care,

Isa.

Standpoint Article Link: http://standpointmag.com/node/4766/full

Warning you now, There are spoilers.

Ok. So basically this movie had potential, story wise. The problem was, it was too evenly split between young Michael Berg (David Kross) and older Michael Berg (Ralph Fiennes). What I mean is, there should have been more about the war trial and keeping the secret, and less about him sending books to her years later, or vice versa. Both of them are almost complete stand alone storylines that stem from the initial affair. Both of them are interesting, but they should have picked one to focus more on. Also, the characters were a little sloppy. The motives behind their decisions are muddy. Why did Hanna (Kate Winslet) start the affair? Why didn’t the college age Michael say anything about her illiteracy? Why didn’t older Michael write her back? Why really did Hanna kill herself? Just really unclear decisions, and I honestly don’t really know if it’s the writing or the acting, it may be both. Also, this may be a technical thing, but I just had a really hard time believing that Michael and Hanna would look relatively the same after eight years (58-66). But add 10 more and all of a sudden he’s Ralph Fiennes and she has a complete head of gray hair. Now. All of this being sudden, this is a really intriguing story, especially the part that takes place in the 60s with the war trials. The process of how they charged these people was really interesting, and the part where Michael walked through an abandoned concentration camp was haunting. Also, David Kross is really good as the young Michael, his transition in the eight year gap from a teenager to an older law student is really well done. Also, Kate Winslet was fantastic as well, although, to be honest, I saw her chest more than I cared to see. So, although this isn’t a horrendous movie, there are better Oscar winning films out there.

6/10

It’s a big problem with me that I’ve been so hard with idealizing an actress. But English beauty Kate Winslet won my heart. But unfortunately she’s not single L

First I saw her in blockbuster romantic movie Titanic but she didn’t impress me much. But when I watched her some other movies like Little Children, Jude, Holiday and The Reader then I got crush on her

Kate Winslet is really suitable actress for movies with romance and drama. I’ve no favorite Hollywood actress but Kate has attracted my all romance and sense of beauty

Up next on the reading list: The Lord of The Rings Part One. I need a good adventure to escape into.

At school

They taught us

‘You’ were a second person.

Trapped in singulars and plurals,

Future and the past

They still know not, Alas!

You were the first person,

You are the last!

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The Reader – Bernhard Schlink
Translated from the German by Carol Brown Janeway

The Reader is not an easy book, nor is it a pleasant one. I found part of it compelling, parts of it repulsive, parts of it a little bit too repetitive, not always completely engaging, and yet rather addictive. In short I cannot quite reduce my opinion to any one single feeling, but I think this is in part what the book means to do. If anything, it will invoke strong reactions in readers, and I think would make a perfect book to discuss among a group of readers.

In The Reader we encounter Michael Berg, a fifteen-year-old teenager who upon meeting Hanna falls in love with her, and starts an affair with her, even if she is many years older. Their relationship is far from perfect, with a lot of tensions beneath the surface, and yet Michael seems caught up in it as if in a dream. However, one day Hanna suddenly disappears. In part 2 and 3 of the book, the reader finds out the how and why of this disappearance, and suddenly a very different light is shed on Hanna and Michael’s relationship.

WARNING: I cannot discuss this book without spoilers, so only read ahead if you are not bothered about them or if you have already read this book.

I had a rather strange experience with this book. First, I was puzzled by my reaction to the subject matter. Here is a description of what is supposed to be a very erotic relationship, between a woman and a minor. Basically, it is p_doph_lia. And yet, I didn’t have as strong a reaction to it as I might have expected, as I rationally knew I should have. As upon reflection I did have. But while reading, I only felt a strange compulsion to read on.

Now, before you judge me about that, I think that is rather interesting in light of what the rest of the book portrays, which is Hanna as a nazi prison guard who lets girls read to her before they are deported to Auschwitz. I, like most people, was repulsed by the idea of the relationship between Hanna and Michael. But I think the confused feelings I experienced (and in no way did they involve actual romantic or erotic feelings, the most I got from their encounters was this strange obsession, that I somehow equate with how teenage relationships can be) were meant to be there. For when you think of Hanna’s superiority to Michael in age, and her (more dangerous?) superiority as a prison guard to those reading girls, there is a strange overlap. Just as, as some have noticed, there might be a comparison implied between Michael’s “love” for Hanna and Germany’s “infatuation” with nazism?

I don’t know. I think all of this *could* be read into the book. I am not exactly sure how I feel about that. Still conflicted, I think, because it is a strange and somehow unbalanced(?) comparison to make, on the one hand. And yet, it sheds a different light on the theme of WWII and nazism that I have encountered too many times in books, and which usually makes me avoid them. As I’ve said, this books left me SO conflicted, but I feel it would be an interesting one to discuss. Perhaps even in history class?

Because what fascinated me about the book beyond this strange confused feeling I had throughout my reading, and upon finishing, the book, was the book’s preoccupation with generational memory and dealing with trauma’s. I could give you a number of quotes that appeal to this conflict, this not knowing what to do, not knowing how to approach people who were part of that generation; are they accomplices, innocent bystanders? Do we blame them? Forgive them? Is there an in-between? And what about the next generation, are they still guilty, by association, for not speaking out? Etc.

I could tell you it is all summed up in these questions following Michael’s confusion upon realising that Hanna was guilty, and why she kept silence in court upon one thing that she was accused of but actually couldn’t have done:

“I wanted simultaneously to understand Hanna’s crime and to condemn it. But it was too terrible for that. When I tried to understand it, I had the feeling I was failing to condemn it as it must be condemned, there was no room for understanding. But even as I wanted to understand Hanna, failing to understand her meant betraying her all over again. I could not resolve this. I wanted to pose myself both tasks – understanding and condemnation. But it was impossible to do both.”

But most of all I wanted to include the following, because it expresses so much of what I feel is very much a part of the history and commemoration of traumatic experiences, and that makes me wonder if there is ever going to be a “right” approach. There is the question of letting the “facts” speak for themselves, whether presenting them “raw” makes them have more or less impact. It breaches the importance of collective memory for keeping history alive and yet “deal-able”, but also how this sometimes takes away the very directness and awfulness of an episode, the pain, so to say:

“When I think today about those years, I realize how little direct observation there actually was, how few photographs that made life and murder in camps real. We knew the gate of Auschwitz with its inscription, the staked wooden bunks, the piles of hair and glasses and suitcases; we knew the building that formed the entrance to Birkenau with the tower, the two wings, and the entrance for the trains; and from Bergen-Belsen the mountain of corpses found and photographed by the Allies at the liberation. We were familiar with some of the testimony of prisoners, but many of them were published soon after the war and not reissued until the 1980s, and in the intervening years they were out of print. Today there are so many books and films that the world of the camps is part of our collective imagination and completes our ordinary everyday one. Our imagination knows its way around in it, and since the television series Holocaust and movies like Sophie’s Choice and especially Schindler’s List, actually moves in it, not just registering, but supplementing and embellishing it. Back then, the imagination was almost static: the shattering fact of the world of the camps seemed properly beyond its operations. The few images derived from Allied photographs and the testimony of survivors flashed on the mind again and again, until they froze into clichés.”

It is for its reflection on history and memory, on its exploration of the trouble of dealing with dramas, inhumanity, and traumas years after the fact, that fascinated me, even if I am not exactly sure whether or not I agree with, or if I even understand exactly, what Schlink is telling us. Perhaps I am clinging on to this aspect of the story as something that interests me, because I am even more unsure about what the other parts of the novel are telling me. What do I do with the fact that Hanna becomes almost, or possibly even wholly, humane? I think in part she is never forgiven, as is portrayed in the rejection (in part) of one of the survivors of Hanna’s money-donation. And yet the book moves towards a sort of dangerous, uncomfortable zone with the whole narrative. Perhaps uncomfortable because it is so very true that monstrous things can be done by (relatively)  regular people?

Discomfort is truly the keyword here. Which is again, exactly what it means to do, I think. I don’t think it is wrong, per se, in doing that, but I also cannot wholeheartedly say that I loved this book. Like the detachment that Michael describes when he speaks of war stories, that is the sort of detachment I felt for parts of The Reader. A strange sort of detachment, which was compelling and puzzling at the same time, but detached I was.

Please help me snap out of my long tumble of thoughts and share your thoughts and opinions of Bernhard Schlink’s The Reader?

I read The Reader by Bernhard Schlink as part of Lizzy and Caroline‘s German Lit Month, in which they feature German literature for the whole month of November. Please click over to their blog for more German lit.

Other Opinions: Erin Reads,  A Guy’s Moleskine Notebook,  Boston Bibliophile, 1morechapter, Vulpes Libris, Hey Lady, MariReads, Nishita’s Rants and Raves, Mad Bibliophile, BermudaOnion’s Blog,  Steph & Tony Investigate!, S. Krishna’s Books, My Friend Amy, Leeswammes, The Octogon, Chick with Books, A Novel Menagerie, bean bag books, Park Benches & Book Ends, Caribousmom.
Did I miss your post about this book? Please let me know and I will add your name to the list.

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Even if it looks a little far from the actual concern in the Library,
I advice you to watch this beautiful movie in which reading is seen from another side.

The Reader

by Bernhard Schlink

The synopsis: For 15-year-old Michael Berg, a chance meeting with an older woman leads to far more than he ever imagined. The woman in question is Hanna, and before long they embark on a passionate, clandestine love affair which leaves Michael both euphoric and confused. For Hanna is not all she seems. Years later, as a law student observing a trial in Germany, Michael is shocked to realize that the person in the dock is Hanna. The woman he had loved is a criminal. Much about her behaviour during the trial does not make sense. But then suddenly, and terribly, it does – Hanna is not only obliged to answer for a horrible crime, she is also desperately concealing an even deeper secret.

I read this for a book group and I have to say first off that the fact this book begins with a child being groomed by and adult and they referring to it as an erotic love affair made it incredibly hard for me to read the rest of the book.

He was fifteen she was in her thirties. All obvious and disappointing jokes to one side, if this were a fifteen year old girl and a man in his mid thirties would it be ok?

How about if it were a fourteen year old boy and woman in her early thirties or a thirteen year old boy and woman in her late twenties.

Or a fifteen year old boy and a man in his mid thirties – not so funny or erotic now huh.

However.

I did read the rest of the book as was required and with the exception of the above noted scenes it was a good, though provoking book.

It left a lot of things unanswered and, for me, it had some pretty huge plot holes which I’m told are conveyed better in the film.

I don’t feel as though I can offer any more of a review than that; for me the book was tainted by its opening scenes.

Viruses only have a core genome consisting of
a single kind of nucleic acid (RNA or DNA)
contained within a protein shell / coat called the
capsid made of protein subunits called capsomeres
which is in many cases surrounded by a lipid -
containing membrane. They cannot grow or divide
by themselves. They must take over a living cell,
and force the cell to create copies of the virus.
The cell often dies in the process. The new viral
copies then invade other cells. When enough
cells are killed, the victim becomes sick and
may die.

Viruses were first discovered by a Russian botanist,
Dmitri Iosifovich Ivanovsky (1864-1920) in 1892 in
Tobacco Plant Disease. The Dutch microbiologist and
botanist, Martinus Willem Beijerinck (March 16, 1851
– January 1, 1931) independently replicated Dmitri
Ivanovsky’s experiments in 1898, gracefully
acknowledged Ivanovsky’s priority of discovery,
asserted that the newly found infective agent was
somewhat liquid in nature, and first called it
“contagium vivum fluidum” (contagious living fluid).
The name “virus” was later coined by
Beijerinck himself deriving it from the Latin word
“virus” referring to poison and other noxious
substances, first used in English in 1392. Virulent,
from Latin “virulentus” means “poisonous”.
The adjective viral dates to 1948. The term virion
(plural virions), which dates from 1959, is also used
to refer to a single, stable infective viral particle
that is released from the cell and is fully capable of
infecting other cells of the same type.

Unlike bacteria, viruses cannot stay on
inanimate objects, called fomites, contacted
by infected organisms and thence get into
other organisms coming into contact with such
fomites later.

The term “fomite” gained popularity after being
used in the 2011 film Contagion, although its use
led people to believe that the term referred to
germs spread through touching such objects,
instead of the objects themselves.

Seen the 2011 Sci-Fi / Medical Thriller / Disaster /
Pandemic movie, Contagion, by James Cameron,
which ran houseful for months in 3222 Screens in
the U.S. and world over – starred The Titanic (1997
- highest Box Office Grosser of the time, beaten
later by Avatar 2009, also by James Cameron) movie
- famed Kate Winslet as Dr. Erin Mears, an Epidemic
Intelligence Service Officer, who herself falls a
victim to the virus? Remember Kate won the
Academy (Oscar) Award for Best Actress for playing
Hanna Shmitz, the illiterate but book – loving Tram
Conductor, later turned Nazi Schutzstaffel SS agent,
and still later tried for Nazi War Crimes and
sentenced to life imprisonment and ultimately
killed herself in the prison, in the 2008 Stephen
Daldry directed movie, The Reader?

The word Fomite comes from the Latin “tinder,”
- a fomite is an object, such as a toilet seat, flush
handle, soap dispensers, tissue papers, stall
doors, bathroom exit handles,
Kitchen dishcloths,
cutting boards, sponges, and sink handles, cups,
books or items of clothing ) that, in themselves are
not harmful, but are able to harbor pathogenic
micro – organisms and thus may serve as agents
of transmission of infection.

Viruses were probably the earliest inhabitants
of our earth. Our Universe started in a rapid
expansion about 13.7 billion years ago -
The Big Bang – of everything, the building blocks
of all life and has evolved since that time. It is
thought that all of space was created in this first
moment. Viruses, the earliest inhabitants of our
earth started more than 6 billion years ago. Virus
self-assembly within host cells has implications
for the study of the origin of life, as it may support
the hypothesis that life could have started as
self-assembling organic molecules like the viruses.

The Bacteria arrived next about 4 billion years ago.
Anatomically modern humans arose in Africa only
about 200,000 years ago, and reached today’s
behavioral modernity barely 50,000 years ago!

More on viruses in the next page!

Alternatif lain? Nonton sendirian. Been there done that. Tapi lama-lama ngerasa garing sendiri. Agak-agaknya nggak lucu harus menye-menyean nonton Twilight Saga, plus pukul-pukul pegangan kursi pas lagi nonton The Expendables. Untung nggak salah pegang tangan orang hahaha.. Anyway, belum lama gw iseng buka-buka folder film lama di hardisk. Trus random pilih-pilih film apa yang harus gw tonton. Pilihan film pun jatuh pada X-Men First Class. Hmm, semacam prologue cerita sebelum tim X-Men terbentuk. Tapi tetep aja gw ngerasa kurang seru, bosan nonton superhero yang ceritanya cenderung itu-itu aja. I want something non-mainstream. Then my mouse scrolled into The Reader Movie folder.

Film yang dirilis tahun 2008 ini meraih banyak penghargaan, terutama untuk Kate Winslet sebagai pemeran utama. Hihi waktu jaman awal-awal kerja dulu, salah satu teman baik di kantor cerita soal film dewasa yang adegan seksnya sangat steamy. Tapi beliau nggak tau judul filmnya. Dan gw baru ngeh sekarang, ternyata film yang dimaksud adalah The Reader. Film ini udah lama ada di hardisk gw, tapi nggak pernah gw puter karena takut ketiduran pas nontonnya. But one day I forced myself to watch this movie, and gladly found an incredible story inside..

Bercerita tentang pengacara bernama Michael Berg yang pada masa sekolahnya memiliki affair dengan wanita dewasa bernama Hanna Schmitz, petugas tram. Kejadian yang tak terduga membuat mereka bertemu terus menerus dan melakukan hubungan intim. During their time having sex, Michael always read Hanna the books he carried. Suatu hari Hanna memutuskan untuk meninggalkan Michael diam-diam karena naik jabatan. Michael sangat terpukul dan berusaha mengubur keras cinta pertamanya. Beberapa tahun kemudian, Michael masuk sekolah hukum dan sedang melakukan pengamatan kasus di pengadilan tinggi. Dan tanpa diduga, dia kembali bertemu dengan Hanna yang duduk di kursi sidang. Hanna diduga bersalah karena tindakannya sebagai penjaga di perkemahan Nazi. Hanna terjebak dalam situasi yang mengharuskan dirinya mengakui kesalahan laporan yang tidak dibuatnya. Dan di tengah suasana tegang tersebut, Michael baru sadar bahwa Hanna menyimpan rahasia yang bisa mempermudah kasusnya (Hanna adalah seorang buta warna huruf). But unfortunately, he didn’t tell anyone. Akhirnya Hanna divonis penjara seumur hidup, sementara tersangka lainnya hanya dikenakan hukuman 4 tahun saja. Meanwhile, Michael akhirnya menikah, memiliki anak, setelah itu bercerai. Ketika dia sedang obrak-abrik koleksi bukunya, Michael memutuskan untuk mengirimkan kaset serta tape player untuk Hanna. Dan Hanna mulai eksplor buku-buku yang sudah dibaca Michael untuk dirinya, then Hanna started learning to read and write herself, kemudian membalas setiap kiriman dari Michael (tapi Michael tidak membalasnya). 20 tahun berlalu setelah masa hukuman seumur hidupnya, Hanna mendapat remisi untuk dibebaskan. Petugas sosial di penjara berusaha menghubungi Michael dikarenakan hanya Michael yang berhubungan dengan Hanna selama masa tahanan. Sang petugas menjelaskan Hanna butuh masa depan dan tempat tinggal meskipun usianya tidak lagi muda. Seminggu sebelum hari kebebasan Hanna, Michael menemuinya dan menceritakan sedikit tentang update kehidupannya. Tapi Michael menjaga jarak dengan Hanna dan menghadapkannya pada apa yang dapat dipelajari dari masa lalunya. Hanna terlihat kecewa dan sebelum hari kebebasannya, dia bunuh diri. Michael yang sudah siap menjemputnya merasa sangat sedih. Hanna menitipkan kaleng uang dan surat wasiat kepadanya untuk diserahkan kepada anak salah satu korban kasus perkemahan Nazi.

Waktu awal-awal nonton, gw agak sangsi dengan film ini karena di awal cerita gw ngerasa kayak lagi nonton film bokep hahaha.. Tapi ternyata, nggak cuma sekali gw dibikin nangis gara-gara nonton film ini. Terutama di bagian Hanna mendengarkan tape kaset pemberian Michael, dan ketika Hanna bertemu lagi dengan Michael menjelang hari kebebasannya. Untuk sebagian orang mungkin akan merasa bosan karena setting filmnya yang dibuat menyerupai tahun 1940-an, dan juga tata bahasa yang cukup rumit. But I must say, this movie is one of the best historical drama I’ve ever watched. Jarang lho, film yang bisa bikin gw mewek sesunggukan. Hihi agak anomali sih, gw nggak mewek nonton film drama romantis, tapi bisa nangis sesunggukan gara-gara nonton film kolosal macam Downfall, Troy dan trilogi Lord of the Rings.

Abis ini nonton film unik apalagi yah?

I was told about her a bit during philosophy class. Because her life and thought are so impressive to me, i couldn’t wait to read this book.

She is a German-American political theorist and philosopher(at least i think of her as a philosopher). She emphasized active life(vita activa) which was underrated over traditional philosophy more than contemplative life(vita contemplativa) like her teacher Marx.  Also she emphasized the importance of political act as ‘homo politicus’.

As a Jewish, she was interested in anti-Semitism and totalitarianism. as a part of her philosophy, this book ‘Eichmann in Jerusalem’ was highly controversial. Because she excluded all her emotions as a Jewish, only wrote facts that she saw and heard in the court as a reporter. Moreover she criticized some Jewish leader as well, this caused a considerable controversy and even animosity toward Arendt in the Jewish community.

She described Eichmann with the phrase ‘banality of evil’. It means, with ‘thoughtlessness’, Everybody can be like Eichmann under particular environment or circumstance. it was not meant to glorify what he had done. That part is what i agree with her thought the most. After reading ‘Se questo e un uomo’ written by Primo Michele Levi, i asked a lot of questions to myself. What is human being? what is our common disposition? Some people who are referred as devil are different people from us? How people are sacrificed for certain ideology? She helped me out to find the way to settle my thoughts.

Watch the video at our CB&R YouTube, and in the meantime, some video stills for your enjoyment:

]]> http://shafiqhaidervirk.wordpress.com/2012/11/17/dance-with-me-to-the-end-of-the-sky/ Fri, 16 Nov 2012 22:38:46 +0000 Shafiq Haider Virk http://shafiqhaidervirk.wordpress.com/2012/11/17/dance-with-me-to-the-end-of-the-sky/

If thou knew

The world would soon end

And we both would perish

When this moment is spent!

This jiffy would die

And with it our spirits

Would burn and fly.

Would thou care, my love

To dance with me

When we have time

Dance to the end of the sky!

Let’s dance, my love

Before dreams are lost

And longing is rusted

In our hearts and eyes

For the dead dance not

Nor ashes cry!

Before Lights are out

And the doors are closed

Wild hearts are muted

No more pine and sigh

Here before the World ends

Dance with me, my love!

Dance to the end of the sky!

Or would thou not dance with me?

Clasp thy hands in mine…

Nor hold my arms

Or look into my eyes?

Just because you are betrothed

Or belong to another man, aye!

A man very special

Though no much different

As Ranjha from Romeo

Able from Cain and he from I….

Would thou not, my love?

See what I see

Or feel what I feel

Even for a moment,

That we have?

And suppose thou don’t…

The world would end

Our bodies desecrated

This moment would fly

Dance with me, my love!

One last dance!

To the end of the sky!

Let me see what thou see

And feel what thou feel

Let me put my arms

Around thy form

Hold thou close

And feel once warm

Before eyes are stoned

Hearts are muted

Bodies turn cold…

And thou bid me goodbye

Let this world end, my love!

Dance with me to the end of the sky!

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Charley’s First Night, by Amy Hest, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury

Charley is small and golden, with a little round belly, a waggling-snip of a tail, velvety ears, and earnest brown eyes.  He is Henry’s brand new puppy.  The first, very first night, that Charley comes to live with Henry, it is snowy and cold.  Charley is so small and Henry is such a tender-hearted owner that he scoops Charley up in his wonderful old baby blanket and carefully carries him home.

At home, Henry introduces Charley to the household and gets him nicely settled.  In the kitchen.  Mom and Dad have been perfectly clear about the Rules governing Charley, including the no-sleeping-in-Henry’s-bedroom rule.  But that’s okay, because  Henry clearly thinks of everything to make Charley feel safe and cozy for his first night in the house.  He bends over backwards to help Charley drift off to sleep happily.  He tiptoes upstairs only after his charge is fast asleep.

Then — in the dark stillness of night, Henry hears a pitiful crying sound.  It’s Charley!  Henry lovingly works to get Charley back to sleep, and finally succeeds.  Phew!  Back to bed goes Henry.  But wouldn’t you know it, a while later, that plaintive crying starts again!  What is Henry to do?  How will this little boy with a marshmallow heart manage Charley’s long first night?

Oh my goodness — this story line, these illustrations, that familiar puppy’s-first-night experience that many of us can recall so vividly!  It all comes together in this gem of a picture book.  Henry is utterly charming, so taken with this puppy you can just about feel his heart bursting with love and adoration beneath his blue striped pajamas.  Charley, so adorable, so small, you can just about feel his warm little tummy and smell his sweet puppy breath.  The connection between these two, Henry’s devotion, the comfort Charley takes in Henry’s care — it’s all there, ready to be lapped up by anyone ages 2-100 who shares a love for dogs.

Hest’s tender story, paired affectionately with Helen Oxenbury’s perfect paintings  are a dream come true.  Don’t miss this one!

The Reader, by Amy Hest, illustrated by Lauren Castillo

Another boy-and-dog story by the same author; I normally avoid this in my lists-of-five, but there you go.  Amy Hest has crafted two phenomenally-appealing stories and teamed up with two of my favorite illustrators.

“The reader” is a little, stouthearted boy, armed with a “sturdy suitcase” an old-fashioned red sled, and accompanied by a friskity, frolicsome, puppy.  These two are on some kind of trek.  What can it be?  Where are they headed so determinedly?  While the puppy bounds joyously, “the reader” trudges through snow, plods ever onward, pulling that heavy sled, up, up, up to the top of the hill, while snow swirls and cold winds blow.  Uff da.  Can you feel how ambitious this is?!

Finally, they arrive.  Hurrah!  All alone, with snow curtaining off the rest of the world, they enjoy some well-deserved goodies — cocoa and toast.  Mmmm!  It’s so quiet; a blanket of snow hushes all the world.  Then…snap! click!  go the hinges on the important brown suitcase and out comes…a book.  It’s the culmination of the whole trip.  Amid the dreamy snowfall, on the top of the world, the boy settles in and reads a story to his dog.  Because, he is a Reader!

Ahhhh!  What a superb thing to be.  An independent reader!  Amy Hest captures the proud sweetness of this in her understated, yet strong, joyful story.  Lauren Castillo has fabulously illustrated it, of course.  Her solid, rosy-cheeked, plucky boy and his energetic pup win our hearts from page one, while the snowy landscape,  the jolly red accents of boots and buttons and sled against the white-and-gray icy chill set a perfect stage for this small drama.  I adore the utterly natural postures and footprints of this capable duo.  Pour up some hot chocolate, build a blanket fort, squinch inside, and make your own bit of magic by Reading this book!

Old Robert and the Sea-Silly Cats, by Barbara Joosse, illustrated by Jan Jutte

Dear Old Robert.  He’s an old salt who has lived a long time on his very own ship, becoming firmly grounded in his own ways of doing everything.  Life is all in perfect, regimented order:  Sail by day; dock by night; same supper at the same table with the same familiar things surrounding him — a clock, clean socks, a dish, a spoon.  He doesn’t require or want much except to follow his steadfast routine.

Robert’s ordinary habits, however, take a lurch when he hears a strange sound one evening.  It sounds like the wind, but…not exactly.  What could it be?  Turns out, it’s a cat.  A dancing cat, in a “pale pink dress light as a whisper, soft as a secret.”  Robert is entranced, so…even though this is quite a disruption to his staid life, Robert rigs up a wee hammock for this little cat and welcomes someone new to his ship.

Oddly enough, another cat comes by the very next night.  It’s a singing cat.  And the following night, a cat who juggles appears.  As Robert continues ushering these new friends aboard, his life begins to get just a bit mussier and louder and…well, livelier!  Just how far will this go?

This is a merry, fantastical story in praise of companionship and the zest that friends bring to our lives.  Jan Jutte’s illustrations in ink, watercolor, and acrylic, carry a hint of Tintin and a splash of Mother Goose; there’s plenty of the fanciful, yet the scenes also convery an ease and restfulness, soaking up the warmth of camaraderie.  It’s a happy, friendly kind of story that will be read again and again.

The Tale of the Pie and the Patty Pan, written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter

Here’s one of the funniest of Beatrix Potter’s little tales.

It all starts when a cat named Ribby invites her friend, a dog called Duchess, to tea.  Duchess is…mostly happy to accept the invitation.  She does love to dine with Ribby, but she is just a teensy bit vexed since she herself was just about to invite Ribby to come her way for tea and that would have avoided one very crucial problem:  Just what is in the pie that Ribby is serving for tea?!  Because it might be….horrors!…mouse.  And Duchess decidedly does not want to eat mouse.  If she had succeeded in hosting the tea party herself, she would have served up a delicious veal and ham pie and avoided this complicated problem altogether.

Duchess sets to thinking about how to avoid eating that pie of Ribby’s, which she is more and more convinced will be mouse, without committing any social faux pas or hurting Ribby’s feelings.  At last she seizes on an idea, a swapping of pies, to be done hastily and covertly while Ribby dashes out for more party fare.  How Duchess accomplishes the switcheroo, then obliviously snarfs down Ribby’s mouse pie, is overcome with alarm over her fear that she’s swallowed a little metal patty pan, discovers the horrible truth of the pie, utterly throws Ribby into a tizzy of confusion…all this and more awaits you in this tremendously comic story.

I love Beatrix Potter, her wry humor, her forthright, unsentimental stories, her lovely vocabulary and style which stretch young minds, her elegant paintings and drawings that adorn the charming, tiny volumes in her collection.  This, one of her lesser-known  tales, is one of my favorites.  It’s a bit longer than some of her other stories, and requires readers/listeners to follow a tricky story-line, so it’s best reserved for slightly older children, perhaps ages 6 or 7 and up.  I’m afraid that Potter’s marvelous stories are falling off a lot of reading lists, and want to highly recommend them.  Unforgettable characters and hilarious social commentary shine through this one. Give it a try!

Archie, a (nearly) wordless story by Domenica More Gordon

Archie has just received a marvelous package.  It’s a sewing machine.  A nice sturdy model.  It sits in all its shiny black splendor on the table and inspires Archie to create something.  A piece of olive green fabric, some lovely swishing strokes with the scissors, and voila!  Archie’s little dog has a sporty green coat.  Doesn’t he cut a dashing figure as Archie takes him on a walk?

Along the way, they meet a friend with her little pug.  Oooh, but she thinks Archie’s handiwork is splendid.  Before you know it, Archie’s machine is whirring as he creates a simply darling floral number for the pug.

But now, as they walk their debonair dogs together, other dog owners and their charges are smitten with Archie’s creations.  Archie’s phone is ringing off the hook as orders pour in for his one-of-a-kind doggy styles.  Finally, when Archie has outfitted everyone in town, he settles in for a nice rest.  

But….ring ring!  There’s more in store for Archie.  This time, it’s matching doggy-owner outfits that are in demand, and wowzer does Archie ever come up with some brilliant pieces!  When all the orders are filled, Archie really, really needs a rest.  This time, he’ll voyage off to Greece, he thinks, beyond the reach of his phone, when…ring ring!

Oh my!  You will never guess who’s looking for Archie’s talents at the other end of the line!

Wordless except for a  few onomatopoeic entries, this story is masterfully illustrated.  Archie’s personality leaps from the pages.  His brilliant fashions cheerily parade across ample white space, and simple black lines convey necessary ideas clearly.  I love this happy, creative story from an Edinburgh-based artist, with its jolly good, surprise ending!

Here are Amazon links for all these arf-fully purr-fect stories!

Charley’s First Night
The Reader
Old Robert and the Sea-Silly Cats
The Tale of the Pie and the Patty-Pan (Potter)
Archie

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November 16

Author of the internationally bestselling teen novels, Matched,Crossed, and Reached, Ally Condie will be coming to Omaha’s The Bookworm for a book signing.  The trilogy follows Cassia in a society where the government makes all choices for society, including what they read, watch, believe, and even who they marry. Matched  was chosen as one of YALSA’s 2011 Teens’ Top Ten, named as one of Publisher’s Weekly’s Best Children’s Books of 2010, selected as the #1 Pick on the Winter Kid’s Indie Next List, and received starred reviews from Kirkus and Publisher’s Weekly. The book has also been optioned by Disney/Offspring and foreign rights have been sold in 30+ countries. http://www.thereader.com/index.php/site/comments/pick_allie_condie/

If you want to be a giver, your responsibility will be to give 20 copies (free) of one of the WBN books to those people who don’t regularly read in the community. To apply you have to give a bit of information about yourself, who you intend to give the books to and why you want to give that specific book. Why? Givers will be picked to give books which they think the book might inspire their chosen receivers to read.  The aim of the game is to spread the love of reading and encourage reading as a pleasurable experience.

Follow the news on WBN at @WorldBookNight and hash tag  #worldbooknight to share your stories. Also click here for the official WBN website, and here for the application page.

Story Source: The Bookseller Reveals WBN Titles
Image Source: WBN Timeline, All book covers