Zeitgeist Spam

In the House of the Hangman 19

Who sent the meat?

I dreamt I jumped into the nozzle of a gun

to fight it out with a bullet.

[Note: Sources:Louise Bourgeois (i. m.), “Fetish”, in Louise Bourgeois (ed. Frances Morris); Peter Orlovsky (i. m.), “Frist Poem”, as found at boppin.com. Also in memoriam the murdered peace activists of the Gaza Flotilla]

In the House of the Hangman 18

Just like all the other cultural effluvia wafting through cyberia

the goddess of music introduces herself with the words “Io sono la musica ...

a world seems to hold together only through the infinite management of its own collapse.”

[Note: Sources: Jodi Dean, “Communicative Capitalism: circulation and the foreclosure of politics”, at i cite; Slavoj Žižek, “UNBEHAGEN IN DER NATUR: Ecology Against Nature”, at Bedeutung 1, as found via Mark Fisher, “Prosopopoeia and geopoetics”, at k-punk, 18 May 010; The Invisible Committee, The Coming Insurrection, as quoted in the intro to W2010]

And it gets even worse ...

This has been one hell of a weekend ...

Middlesex UCU moves into action

[UCU is the largest trade union and professional association for academics, lecturers, trainers, researchers and academic-related staff working in further and higher education throughout the UK.]

From the Save Middlesex Philosophy website, post of 29 May 010, updated 31 May:

We had some great news on Friday: an emergency meeting of Middlesex University’s UCU branch voted to condemn the disciplinary action against staff and students, demand the immediate reinstatement of postgraduate philosophy programmes and recruitment – and go into official dispute with the management if the staff suspensions are not lifted by 12 noon on Wednesday. The text of the motion reads as follows:

“1. This Branch demands that the suspensions of Philosophy staff be immediately lifted as we consider them to be disproportionate, intimidatory and inimical to meaningful negotiations. Unless we have positive confirmation that they have been lifted by noon on Wednesday 2nd June, the Branch instructs the Branch executive to formally go into dispute with the University

2. This Branch calls on the University to immediately reopen provision of, and recruitment to, Philosophy postgraduate study including PhDs.

3. As noted in the EGM of 12th May, this Branch has no confidence in the rigour, appropriateness and consistency of the application of the University’s procedures to determine sustainability. We further believe that flaws in the process are having deleterious effects across the University and any decisions to close or restructure subject provision, programmes and centres made under this process will be unsafe. We therefore call for an immediate review of the decision on Philosophy and a review of the University’s decision-making processes for sustainability.”

The meeting also passed an emergency motion for submission to The UCU Congress which is currently taking place in Manchester.

In the House of the Hangman Interruptions 1 & 2

Interruption Number 1

A man spitting back on his plate:
halfmasticated gristle: gums: no teeth
to chewchewchew it...


Interruption Number 2

Pungent meatjuice, slush of greens.
Swilling, wolfing gobfuls of sloppy food,
their eyes bulging... eat or be eaten.





(Hungry man is an angry man)

[Note: by Omo Bob. In re: In the House of the Hangman 12 & 13. Source: James, Joyce, Ulysses]

Do not go gentle into the Middlesex night ...

“On Friday evening 28 May, in a message to all university staff, vice-chancellor Michael Driscoll confirmed once again the definitive closure of all the Philosophy programmes, squashing recent suggestions that management might be prepared to reach some sort of compromise. He also confirmed that management would continue to try to coerce students & staff into ending their participation in the campaign. The way things are going, this will require a good deal of coercion.”

[Note: Source: Graham Harman, "Latest mesage from Middlesex", at Object-Oriented Philosophy, 30 May 010]

"Only a few ants can build colonies of any imaginable size."

What are super-colonies? Why do ants form them?

Only a few ants and humans can build societies of any imaginable size. Some of the most dangerous species have that capacity, expanding their territories indefinitely to form super-colonies. The ants in each super-colony share a common identity, their own nationality — they are one big, unified society.

That has happened here in California with Argentine ants. They came here about a century ago. Their colonies have the ability to just keep growing in population. There is a colony here in California that stretches between San Francisco and the Mexican border and weighs more than the entire city of Carmel. It is very uninventively called the "Very Large Colony."

You can take an ant here in L.A. and drive it down to San Diego and drop it off, and it would blend in seamlessly with its nest mates there.

What species are in Los Angeles specifically?

The Very Large Colony has taken over the Los Angeles basin. Many of the species that were here originally 100 years ago are being driven to extinction by this ant. There are repercussions to that in terms of biodiversity loss, for plants and animals both.

[Note: Source: Lori Kozlowski, "The 'Jane Goodall of ants': Smithsonian scientist Mark Moffett talks about the insects' social structure, their methods of making war, and why much of California is just one big ant colony", at Los Angeles Times, 29 May 010. For K]

In the House of the Hangman 17

Chrysanthemum

trance-like stream

Out of which the                 no more than everyone.

[Note: Sources: Leslie Scalapino (i. m.), The Dihedrons Gazelle-Dihedrals Zoom, “Introductory Note”, “Float”, “Soft Green”, at Peep / Show 1]

In the House of the Hangman 16

Cf. Petty Officer 3rd Class Patrick Kelley (U.S. Coast Guard) photo

of oil-soaked reddish egret, Grand Isle, La., 20 May 2010

gliding over Gulf water past freeway bridge.

[Note: Source: Tom Clark, "The Cretan", at Tom Clark Blog, 28 May 010]