cultured

Firstly, here is our kombucha. Its a kind of bacteria yeasty thing that lives in tea and makes you a drink to make you better. Ralph's friend sophie sent it to us from japan and we have been looking after it. I tried it last night and I think it could have stayed for longer as it's still quite sweet, it's very nice and have started a new batch. The mother kombucha has made a baby kombucha and soon when we have more we can follow the tradition and send them off to people. Unsuspecting people, like an odd stinky chain letter.


Secondly, a while back we went to see some talks at the south bank as part of the literary festival. Jeanette winterson and slavov zizek. I really have left it far to long to accurately comment on the talks so forgive any broad statements I may make. Rubbish, defeats the point really.

Here is a photo of the mostly numpties that are the audience at the zizek talk. It became apparent very quickly that the people around us had come along to hear some quirky guy talk, who they'd heard was good. There was tittering the whole way through, every time he said a crude word or used flippant comments to emphasise points. Little laughs and chuckles to your party. It's so frustrating when people seem incapable of grasping the serious nature of a point made in this way. Afterwards ralph and I had a lengthy discussion about this and I think the conclusion we came to was a scenario similar to the way that art is both engaged with and embarked upon. A kind of barrier is set up so that the laugh at the comment can stand in for a consideration of that point. Afterwards the feel of the talk could be described to all ones friends and we can all say what a great speaker the man is. People were singing along and swaying in time with the sound of music clips he showed, maybe they were singing along in order to fully appreciate each word that was said. I think that the laughter also masks a desire to not have to try to fully take on board ideas that could warrant some kind of opinion or thought.

So here is the talk, I went off to find it and it's on the literary festival site.



In searching about I came to this, what seems to be a blog solely devoted to not really talking about anything, just acknowledging that some things exist, and that we are really cleaver to know that they are there. Oh you know it's there too? Oh great, isn't it great? It's quite a long piece on the zizek talk but with all those words it manages to say nothing apart from "the sound of music".


loserville slavoj-zizek-trendy-wendy-or-das-real-ding

You can also read about some people going to get their hair done in bethnal green and some signs found in the exotic countryside.

In this picture zizek is demonstrating what to do to the person sitting next to you who is singing 'the hills are alive'. Ha ha ha, I made a joke!

Ok, back to being serious, jeanette winterson.

Mostly the audience was women, seeming either 'women of a certain age', or women in their early 20s. They were, going on the questions asked, mostly what I would describe as being "total wetsies". I believe I coined this phrase on the trot out of the hall after an uncomfortable wait for anyone with any real ideas to ask a proper question. I know I didn't as I haven't read most of her work, I've heard her talking on the radio and found her to be insightful (and we were totally on a culture stint that week). But, although I had some thoughts and disagreements with some of what she said, they were not really issues to question her on, mostly a differing veiwpoint I'm happy to hold. But people just talked rubbish, how can one find time in this challenging multi media world to set aside a few minutes to write, I mean I try to but I'm so busy? I cried a little when you described sitting on the library steps. Do you love your mum? A guy, and then I think his friend next to him, tried to ask about the theoretical interpretations that can arise from considering her writing from a queer perspective. He was really serious, I think an academic or someone studying, and she really just dismissed his question out of hand. Her argument was, I think, that any king of theorising about literature was harmful or at least pointless as people just write what they write and they are good stories. But she was really forceful about this and even when the second guy tried to ask again about this, very thoughtfully, she didn't engage with his point, and really put he foot down on him.

I didn't like her talk. I found it to be too knowing and smug. I had heard little soundbites, taken exactly, in an interview on the radio that week, and I felt a bit cheated to be hearing them again, in the talk we had paid to go to. I do not agree with her view that art is, but shouldn't be elitist, that things should be nicely given to the public. I found her view of the arts to be limited, as you expect to hear in popular culture "literature, poetry, music, theatre, painting". It's almost cringe worthy when someone states "painting" and I think it really does endorse the narrow view of, I don't even know what to call it, visual arts doesn't seem to really cut it either, art. I was disappointed. I thought she was sexist towards men and very self congratulatory with her audience of cooing, pseudo-serious women who she had helped to a feeling of empowerment. Again it seems people can't manage by themselves.

I really did enjoy reading sexing the cherry, I do not read much at all so I'm not well versed at talking about literature. I might sound very simplistic here whilst I work out my thoughts. I liked the historical-fantastical, how the impossible was taken as given. I liked the way time seemed to be isolated moments (in my mind I have a star map). Hmmm, I'm trying to remember now why I found it so interesting. I think maybe it has the same hue as the last gormenghast book. I might have to come back to this. Anyway, I have to say the oranges are not the only fruit does not really appeal to me.