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hobiejoe

hobiejoe Avatar

Location: Still in the tunnel, looking for the light.
Gender: Male

Posted: Mar 7, 2009 - 6:02pm

dionysius wrote:

Did you ever see Hitler's and Speer's models for what they had in mind for Berlin after a victorious war? "Crude triumphalism" and "pseudoClassical camp" doesn't even begin to cover it. Even Speer, later, disavowed the grandiosity of them.

And everything wonderful about poor, troubled, brilliant Weimar Germany—whether in architecture, art, music, drama, film, physics, vigorous trade unionism, etc.—was crushed into a dreadful, flat, barren conformity after 1933. It was a terrible instance of cultural suicide. Beside war and genocide, Hitler's worst legacy was what he did to his own nation's culture.

Yup, the lure of the classical is hard to resist. Sadly, it, at least here, takes the form of some vaguely classical pediment tacked on to the front of a box by a ringroad.

Yes, saw the plans for that dome Speer designed. Grandiose, but at least it was a dome. Talking of which, have you seen Norman Fosters Reichstag?

At the back of my mind is that the Weimar flourished and then became overwhelmed by financial catastrophe, following which fascism rose, fuelled by desperation and the desire to blame the "other." Long story short, I hope we've learnt the lessons.

Late for me, so

dionysius

dionysius Avatar

Location: The People's Republic of Austin
Gender: Male

Posted: Mar 7, 2009 - 5:27pm

hobiejoe wrote:

I was going to say that some of the architecture had something going for it, with particular reference to Templehof Airport, but a quick double-check reveals it to be a child of the Weimar Republic. So on that basis no. All else is bombast.

But then, there was the Volkswagen - architecture on wheels - and the Wolfsberg factory. And where did Bauhaus end up under the Nazis?

Enquiring minds want to know!

hobiejoe

hobiejoe Avatar

Location: Still in the tunnel, looking for the light.
Gender: Male

Posted: Mar 7, 2009 - 4:52pm

dionysius wrote:

Fascism's worst quality? Well, tastelessness is one of them, anyway. Brings to mind Hannah Arendt's remark about the "banality of evil" (re Eichmann) too. Nazi and Fascist esthetics revolved around repetitive iterations of God, Country, Soil, Blood, Race, etc. and was prone to kitsch sentimentality about Family, Children, Hearth, Home, etc. Kinda frightening to see the same tropes pop up in modern political discourse, as well.

winter

winter Avatar

Location: in exile, as always
Gender: Male

Posted: Mar 7, 2009 - 4:47pm

mnmrosen wrote:

Books I'm still (technically) in the process of reading:

Rainbow's Gravity: Put down about 1979, still has bookmark in it from that day.
Infinite Jest: Put down about 1998, still intend to finish it someday. Maybe.
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood: Started last fall, stopped almost immediately, may pick it up again in 10 or 20 years. But probably not. My feminine side isn't girlie enough for that stuff.
Mein Kampf: In 1974 I checked it out of the school library out of curiosity. Returned it after reading the first chapter. Turns out Hitler was both evil and boring.
Say You're One of Them: Started last fall and is the best book I will never finish. Each story made me more heartsick than the one before.

Loved that book, but it's definitely not everyone's cup of tea.

David Foster Wallace's untimely passing was a loss to literature.

dionysius

dionysius Avatar

Location: The People's Republic of Austin
Gender: Male

Posted: Mar 7, 2009 - 4:41pm

mnmrosen wrote:

Mein Kampf: In 1974 I checked it out of the school library out of curiosity. Returned it after reading the first chapter. Turns out Hitler was both evil and boring.

Inamorato

Inamorato Avatar

Location: Twin Cities
Gender: Male

Posted: Mar 7, 2009 - 10:30am

mnmrosen wrote:

Books I'm still (technically) in the process of reading:

Rainbow's Gravity: Put down about 1979, still has bookmark in it from that day.
Infinite Jest: Put down about 1998, still intend to finish it someday. Maybe.
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood: Started last fall, stopped almost immediately, may pick it up again in 10 or 20 years. But probably not. My feminine side isn't girlie enough for that stuff.
Mein Kampf: In 1974 I checked it out of the school library out of curiosity. Returned it after reading the first chapter. Turns out Hitler was both evil and boring.
Say You're One of Them: Started last fall and is the best book I will never finish. Each story made me more heartsick than the one before.

The beauty of bookmarks is that you could pick up Rainbow's Gravity after 30 years and have it seem like you never put it down.

Inamorato

Inamorato Avatar

Location: Twin Cities
Gender: Male

Posted: Mar 7, 2009 - 10:28am

MrsHobieJoe wrote:

But you might like it! I think Tess and Anna will keep you busy for ages anyhow (must see the film of AoI). Looking forward to the reviews- I grew up in Hardy country by the way (in Budmouth to be precise).

A Dorset girl, oh my! You would probably enjoy the film version of Tess then, which had location shooting, among other shires, on the Isle of Purbeck and at Corfe Castle.

mnmrosen

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Location: Wisconsin
Gender: Male

Posted: Mar 7, 2009 - 6:56am

Inamorato

Inamorato Avatar

Location: Twin Cities
Gender: Male

Posted: Mar 6, 2009 - 1:01pm

MrsHobieJoe wrote:

I hated both Madame Bovary (both the character and the novel). I wouldn't rush to read it. I thought Edith Wharton's "Age of Innocence" (similar subject) was a far more interesting novel. I have to admit to a bias against 19th century female literary characters as portrayed by men- Tess of the D'Urbervilles and Anna Karenina spring to mind (although my love of Tolstoy gives the novel itself a big tick).

Thanks for the insight. After recently enjoying the film version of Age of Innocence with Daniel Day-Lewis and Michelle Pfeiffer, I thought I'd read the novel. Coincidentally, I'm reading Tess of the D'Urbervilles now after seeing the teleplay on PBS Masterpiece and have recently bought Anna Karenina. Given the size of my to-be-read list and the brevity of life, Madame Bovary is off my list. Thanks!

Inamorato

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Location: Twin Cities
Gender: Male

Posted: Mar 6, 2009 - 12:21pm
NoEnzLefttoSplit wrote: 5 out of ten.. the ones I haven't read: ulysses in remembrance of things past the selfish gen the bible dreams from my father in that order. After seeing your score on the recent RP trivia quiz on religion, I figured you were a Bible scholar.

Inamorato

Inamorato Avatar

Location: Twin Cities
Gender: Male

Posted: Mar 6, 2009 - 12:19pm
hobiejoe wrote: I had to read 1984, in 1984. Originality was not my English lit. teachers strongest point. I guess that's better than having to read Animal Farm in a barn.

Inamorato

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Location: Twin Cities
Gender: Male

Posted: Mar 6, 2009 - 12:18pm

dionysius wrote:

Ironically, the only one of these I haven't read (and enjoyed!) is Obama's Dreams From My Father. Think I'd change my mind if I actually did read it?

The political (auto)biography, shill or campaign manifesto is a pretty weak genre. Maybe only Kennedy's (ghostwritten) Profiles in Courage is a classic in the field. But if you can get a heavy-hitter to do it for you, then you got the juice, bookwise. John Kerry had historian Douglas Brinkey write his fine, scholarly, pointed biography Tour of Duty in time for the election, though (alas) not in time for narrative-control during that fiasco. I came away with more respect for the lunking, uncharismatic, long-winded but very honorable Kerry than I ever would have simply by watching him on TV.

I believe your regard for the President is sufficiently entrenched to withstand any assaults on his standing by the President.

John Kerry is long-winded and far from charismatic, but as you also point out, he has a quality long absent from the White House: honor.

I'm impressed with your reading history. Of the works in the U.K. liars' list, the Flaubert, Proust, and possibly the Rushdie are on my want-to-but-haven't-read list.

Alafia

Alafia Avatar

Location: the dojo
Gender: Male

Posted: Mar 6, 2009 - 12:17pm
Never read it when I was younger. Interesting read.

Inamorato

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Location: Twin Cities
Gender: Male

Posted: Mar 6, 2009 - 12:11pm
Leslie wrote: I've ONLY read 1984. I haven't read it, to my slight embarrassment, and I'm old enough to remember when it was futuristic!

NoEnzLefttoSplit

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Gender:

Posted: Mar 5, 2009 - 2:45pm
greg6494 wrote: Probably my 10th time through it...still love his prose (and yes i'm well aware of the accusations against him which unfortunately led to his suicide). Great film too. accusations? guess I'll have to google.

Welly

Location: Lotusland
Gender: Female

Posted: Mar 5, 2009 - 2:43pm

NoEnzLefttoSplit

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Gender:

Posted: Mar 5, 2009 - 2:43pm

Inamorato wrote:

Well, this explains all the picture-only posts in the What are you reading now? topic.

Most Britons have lied about the books they read

LONDON (Reuters) - Two out of three Britons have lied about reading books they have not, and George Orwell's "1984" tops the literary fib list, according to a survey published Thursday.

Commissioned by organizers of World Book Day, an annual celebration of reading in Britain, the study also shows that the author people really enjoy reading is J.K. Rowling, creator of the bestselling Harry Potter wizard series.

According to the survey, 65 percent of people have pretended to have read books, and of those, 42 percent singled out "1984." Next on the list came "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy and in third place was James Joyce's "Ulysses."

The Bible was in fourth position, and newly elected President Barack Obama's autobiography "Dreams from My Father" came ninth.

Aside from a list of ten titles which respondents were asked to tick or leave blank, many admitted wrongly claiming they had read other "classics" including Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Charles Dickens, Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Herman Melville.

Asked why they had lied about reading a book, the main reason was to impress the person they were speaking to.

The study, carried out on the World Book Day website in January and February, surveyed 1,342 members of the public.

Those who lied have claimed to have read:

1. 1984 - George Orwell (42 percent)

2. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy (31)

3. Ulysses - James Joyce (25)

4. The Bible (24)

5. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert (16)

6. A Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawking (15)

7. Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie (14)

8. In Remembrance of Things Past - Marcel Proust (9)

9. Dreams from My Father - Barack Obama (6)

10. The Selfish Gene - Richard Dawkins (6)

Big deal, I have not read all those books three or four times.

5 out of ten..

the ones I haven't read:
ulysses
in remembrance of things past
the selfish gen
the bible
dreams from my father

in that order.

hobiejoe

hobiejoe Avatar

Location: Still in the tunnel, looking for the light.
Gender: Male

Posted: Mar 5, 2009 - 2:38pm
Leslie wrote: I've ONLY read 1984. I had to read 1984, in 1984. Originality was not my English lit. teachers strongest point.

dionysius

dionysius Avatar

Location: The People's Republic of Austin
Gender: Male

Posted: Mar 5, 2009 - 2:35pm

Inamorato wrote:

Big deal, I have not read all those books three or four times.

Leslie

Leslie Avatar

Location: Antioch, CA
Gender: Female

Posted: Mar 5, 2009 - 9:55am
Inamorato wrote: Big deal, I have not read all those books three or four times. I've ONLY read 1984.

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