I’m not as well schooled on the Vietnam era as I am on other things, though I know more about it than most people my age, if only because I find it more interesting than shopping for Jim Choo’s — they are out of my price range and my legs look quite fine without heals because they are fairly long.

I gather, from what I’ve read on McNamara’s passing, that people think he owns Vietnam, or he should. So they’ve assigned it to him. Understandable, but I’m not convinced he should be sole owner. It’s as convenient, and right, to blame Vietnam on the likes of McNamara as it is to blame Iraq on Bush and friends (liars), a congress unwilling to listen to the sense of Robert Byrd (cowards), and complicit or incompetent journalism (caught in the middle with you). Next time it will be our fault.

History has changed things. So has the internet. We saw that with the presidential election, we are seeing it in some way now with Iran’s Executives of Construction Party dismissing the vote and siding with the opposition. Next time we will be to blame. As the internet continues to grow, and access to real and substantive sources of information increases, there will be fewer excuses for complicit apathy by way of intentional ignorance. Yes, it is still a free country, and everyone should be free to practice both ignorance and apathy as they see fit. No one should be denied their preferred intent. This is merely a reminder that we should enjoy the scapegoats while we can.

I’ll have to do more reading on Vietnam. Not immediately, as I have my second summer session, work, and Infinite indiJestion, along with My Sister My Love, will consume most of my summer reading time. I’m am up for general or academic reading suggestions on Vietnam though.

Speaking of Infinite Jest. I haven’t been an end note virgin for years, but now I am an end note whore, having given myself up to my first 9 8.4 page end note experience. Isn’t this a rite of passage? Shouldn’t there be gifts and parties, or at least a dinner out, for this?

Wonderland or Not.

Infinite Jest:

This is for anyone considering an attempt at this gargantuan novel. With more characters on the first two pages than in the last ten books I’ve read, this is novel of a future dystopia (or five future dystopias, it’s hard to tell at p. 120, but I fear the worse) that only a genius who has forgotten to take his Adderall could have written. Reading Infinite Jest has made me realize it may have been a mistake not to have taken up a friend’s invitation to check out the Tibetan Meditation Center situated the mountains not far from here. I was not completely unprepared, having resumed my Yoga classes in May, but be forewarned, reading this book requires the taking or doing of something to sedate thoughts and mollify the spirit. No getting through it otherwise.

The neither here nor there:

There is much we should know, and even more we should be spared. Sanford Calls Mistress His ‘Soul Mate’, and anything written after such a title, is in the later category.

I’m one of those non twittering twitterers. Most of my life occurs offline, and I prefer it that way. I’ve never really felt the need to twitter, but when a bandwagon full of such a diverse variety of virtual humanity called I was more than willing to jump on it for a short test ride. I got off qucikly the first time but jumped on once more when the wagon got larger. It’s still too difficult to manage to fit into my real life, but this twitter for busy people might be just the thing to help with that problem.

Check out the new theme and post your complaints. You can open the menu and the footer with the tabs at the top right and bottom left. Let me know if you prefer them permanently open, as that can be managed. I can also remove all the posts from the first page and make it just as a regular blog, though those who read me from their reader won’t really be affected by this. I aim to please. Especially on Tuesdays.

Peace

Wonderland or Not.

Continuing on the theme of women, as a prelude to International Women’s Day, I’m going to stick with the authors and activists, or author/activists, as the aforementioned Dorothy Parker and Zainab Salbiof fit that category.

Today it’s Octavia Butler.

Butler was an American novelist, short story writer, and essayist, as well as a subliminal activist. Though she has a huge fan base still, and there was heartfelt op-ed memorializing when she died, much too early, from a fall and head injury in 2006, the man on the street is not all that familiar with her work. Her work doesn’t often make the book club discussions list of the garden party class. That is unfortunate because not only was she a multiple award winning science fiction writer, in a world where most science fiction was written by men, she was African American author in a world where African American authors were ignored.

Photo, NikolasCo’s .

Butler once called herself “comfortable asocial” ‘a pessimist if I’m not careful, a feminist, a Black, a former Baptist, an oil-and-water combination of ambition, laziness, insecurity, certainty and drive.” She was somewhat of a hermit, did not like to lecture — if she had to be up front she preferred to answers questions and wasn’t likely to be caught on a talk show. She was also a genius, writing social commentary on feminism, racism and society while masquerading it as science fiction, yet making it genuine, brilliant science fiction and splendid social commentary.

The purpose of these posts is not to give book reviews but to introduce or reintroduce people to some women. In the case of Olivia Butler I was lucky enough to have been introduced to her in tenth grade English in a month long series we did on Women Writers. It’s a rare thing though for Octavia Butler to be introduced in a high school class not particular to science fiction or African American writers, and that my friends is a shame. So for those who did miss out, check out her work.

Exploratory Links Octavia Butler:

NPR ESSAY — UN RACISM CONFERENCEBy Octavia E. Butler Reflections on Octavia Butler
official site Octavia Butler
Octavia Butler, 1947–2006: Sci-fi writer a gifted pioneer in white, male domain
Books by Octavia E. Butler
Oh, Octavia

previously on Women’s Week
Zainab Salbi
Dorothy Parker

Wonderland or Not.