During a social evening / event with the MA recently a discussion diverted to sexism & porn and A. mentioned that (still true) feminist tenet that there needs to be education of young men to just how wrong this is. But I think the more dangerous, scary and ultimately much more important problem isn’t really pornography. Porn is the obvious, easy target. What really begs deconstruction is family entertainment. Enter Andy Rehfeldt‘s version of a Conway Twitty song1:

Lyrics2:

I see the sparkling little diamond on your hand
It’s plain to see that you’ve already got a man
I can see you’re not about to fall for any of my lines
I see the want to in your eyes
Deep in your smile there’s a quiet, soft desire
Like the embers of a once raging fire
You know I could light that fire again,
you know it isn’t wise
I see the want to in your eyes

How strong’s a band of gold
Is it strong enough to hold,
when a love has grown cold
and A woman wants a love, sweet
and warm
How many women just like you have
silent schemes.
How many men like me do they sleep
with in their dreams
You can stay or you can go and
although I sympathize
I still see the want to in your eyes
I see the want to in your eyes

Yes, it’s a 1974 song.  But there’s more than enough equally disturbing and wrong perceptions floating around in the accepted and every day. I am not providing further examples as this is not meant to be an in depth discussion. It’s more of a call to closely listen.

And before I will abruptly change the topic I have to highlight my absolute favourite of Andy Rehfeldt’s cover versions: His rendering of Louis Armstrong’s It’s a wonderful world.

Which brings me to that part of the blog that is about summing up event’s in my life. As a memory, as a reminder, as, quite simply, a journal to look back to, eventually.3  Kyriaki committed suicide. Then, not long after, two of my friends had people close to them die, as well. I’ve been to Sweden – got to know and stayed with H. & M.4 – and participated in a writing retreat in Stockholm. My parents tried to reach Portugal’s Atlantic coast on bicycle from Germany, but had to abandon their journey more than 2000 km in, 10 km before reaching the Spanish border, when my father’s bicycle broke down. Damage that wasn’t possible to repair on the go. They took Spanish lessons for months, but are happy enough about the journey, despite not reaching Spain. P. moved out. M. moved in. I bought a chrysanthemum (yellow) and a begonia (red). M. and me rearranged the furniture in the lounge5.

I am trying to dig up background info to Kyriaki’s death. I know, through one of her friends, that she wanted me to have her bicycle. I am trying to retrieve that – as well as a George Perec’s L’espace d’espace and some writing samples I lent her. I’d planned to suggest a project combining Architecture and Writing, so L’espace d’espace was a sensible example. She’d introduced me to Bernard Tschumi’s The Manhattan Transcripts. I’ll miss our shared interest in the abstract and experimental arts – we explored the variety of exhibitions and installations that move through Liverpool so often.

My attempts to collect these things have all failed so far. The landlady never turns up at agreed upon dates and times. I am not too concerned that she will empty Kyriaki’s flat before I can retrieve them; I have lived in the same building for a while and know that she (the landlady) just is far enough on the disorganised side that “next week” often means “sometimes in the next few months”. Still – it’s unnerving. It’s painful sitting in front of that house, waiting.

I think I’ve spotted Kyriaki’s adopted cat vanishing into a boarded up house, once. She fed it, throwing cat food down from the kitchen window to the overgrown garden where this semi-wild cat often stayed during the day. The cat printed on the bag of the brand of cat food Kyriaki bought was a carbon copy of the cat she’d adopted.

I guess I will return to this topic in subsequent entries.

And finally – here’s the beginning of a post that’s been sitting in my draft’s for a long time. As I don’t remember what exactly the point was – I’ll just include it here:

People seem to like posting lists in their blogs. Lists of favourite books, films, movies, food, etc. I don’t really see the appeal – what’s a favourite and what not is changeable. If you’d ask for recommendations I’d give some, specific to what I know you like, something personalised. But to go with something that’s fashionable here is a list: The 115 last books (dvds / objects) I loaned out from university library. Tell me if that tells you anything meaningful.

1. Reporting and writing
2. Manufacturing consent
3. 9-11
4. Reporting for journalists
5. Practical newspaper reporting
6. Global journalism research
7. Essential reporting
8. The journalist’s handbook
9. News, gender and power
10. Associated Press guide to Internet research and reporting
11. Investigative journalism
12. Photography
13. News narratives and news framing
14. Intelligence in an insecure world
15. Rogue states: the use of force in world affairs
16. Broken flowers
17. Revengers tragedy
18. Alien
19. Environmental education
20. Outdoor education
21. The history of British birds
22. Atlas of the breeding birds of Lancashire and North Merseyside
23. Interdisciplinary teaching through outdoor education
24. Outdoors with young people: a leader’s guide to outdoor activities the environment and sustainability
25. The outdoor classroom
26. Mountaincraft and leadership
27. The mountaineering handbook
28. Fearing Sellafield
29. Politics: an introduction
30. Human rights and the environment
31. Chomsky
32. Britain’s nuclear waste
33. Nuclear power
34. NUCLEAR OR NOT ?
35. Management of nuclear waste
36. The human impact on the natural environment
37. Climate change 2001
38. Nuclear energy
39. Renewable energy
40. Global environmental issues: a climatological approach
41. Environmental philosophy
42. The international politics of nuclear waste
43. Adventure therapy
44. Therapy within adventure
45. Theory and practice of counselling & therapy
46. Counselling
47. Exploring islands of healing
48. Whose journeys?
49. Counselling skills and theory
50. The Dangers of Sustainable Development
51. An ozone-free zone?
52. Can capitalism go Green?
53. Who’s Afraid of Global Warming?
54. The competitive destination
55. Global tourism
56. Tourism in the Antarctic
57. Critical issues in tourism
58. Adventure tourism
59. Exploring the boundaries of adventure therapy
60. Tourism and the environment
61. Toproping
62. How to rock climb
63. How to rock climb
64. How to run a marathon
65. Co-operative inquiry
66. Advanced rock climbing
67. Tourism and development in mountain regions
68. Mountain environments
69. Wilderness therapy for women
70. Recreation ecology
71. Habitat conservation
72. Qualitative research interviewing
73. Grounded theory in practice
74. Countryside recreation site management
75. Reflexivity and voice
76. Headset (computer)
77. Introduction to counseling
78. Mountaincraft and leadership
79. EVERYDAY METEOROLOGY
80. Mountaineering
81. The mountain skills training handbook
82. Headset (computer)
83. Headset (computer)
84. Modern environmentalism
85. Teaching green
86. Contested natures
87. The environment in international relations
88. Gamesters’ handbook 3
89. Effective leadership in adventure programming
90. Creative games in groupwork
91. Becoming critical
92. Exploring the boundaries of adventure therapy
93. Experiential learning
94. Effective leadership in adventure programming
95. Social research methods
96. Eco-socialism
97. Environmental education
98. The Penguin dictionary of sociology
99. Ecological applications
100. Environmental sociology
101. Environment and politics
102. Qualitative data analysis
103. Using computers in qualitative research
104. Treatment effectiveness of wilderness adventure therapy
105. The end of nature
106. Woman and nature
107. What is nature?
108. You and the environment
109. Geography: an integrated approach
110. Glaciers and glaciations
111. Fundamentals of the physical environment
112. Glaciers and landscape
113. An introduction to physical geography and the environment.
114. Winter skills
115. Karst geomorphology and hydrology

1. Yes – this is all really only about pushing another youtube musician. With Rehfeldt it’s all about the arrangements and pretty much perfect audio/video synchronisation. [↩]
2. Original song & video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2aeRg_yMSE [↩]
3. I have re-designed my webpage, as you can see. I am not done with that, yet, but I have, in the process, imported all the posts from my two livejournal blogs. At the moment these are still private as I have to sift through them and decide what I am ok with sharing here in this far more public space. But there will be more entries here eventually. Keep checking the archives. The re-design will hopefully also inspire more frequent updates again. [↩]
4. I’ll answer your e-mail, soon. Promise! [↩]
5. Kyriaki helped me move in here, a year ago. [↩]