#Peter L. Vila | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

quandmeme · 6 months ago

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Siempre me gusta poner siempre algo de él. ❤️🩷🩵

El Silencio

Enrique Vila-Matas (Publicado el 28 abril, 2022)

La pregunta de Florencia

El año pasado, estaba paseando por Florencia cuando oí que me llamaban desde la mesa de un café. Era Emmanuel Carrère, al que conocía de un encuentro en Paris en el Salón del Libro. Acompañándose de un gesto muy cordial, me invitó a sentarme con él. Caía la tarde. Vi que tomaba un refresco y opté por pedir lo mismo. Cruzamos unas breves palabras acerca del mal estado del tiempo y luego nos quedamos unos cuantos segundos callados. De repente, Carrère me preguntó: – ¿Te da miedo el silencio? No entendí por qué me planteaba, a la primera de cambio, aquella cuestión, y menos aún por qué me preguntaba aquello. Pero el momento fue bello, raro, imponente; me di cuenta de que acababa de suceder algo que no sabía definir, pero que tardaría en quedar atrás en el tiempo.

¿Miedo al silencio? A veces, al volver a recordar las circunstancias de aquel extraño momento –yo perplejo ante aquella pregunta formulada por Carrère literalmente a bocajarro-, me acuerdo del director de teatro Peter Stein, que habló en cierta ocasión de una bola de plata que atraviesa el escenario. Tarda años en pasar, dijo, y se produce en unos segundos de un espectáculo, pero, el placer es tan intenso que justifica la espera de semanas, meses y años. Placer es lo que sentí ante aquella situación, un placer no exento de incomodidad porque me sentía tocado por la punta de una espada y porque, además, el momento fue formidable, pero incomprensible. Sólo hace unos días, al leer que años atrás Carrère se había sentido “tocado por la Gracia” y durante una larga época había sido católico practicante, me dio por pensar que su pregunta de bola de plata de aquel día pudo estar relacionada con su pasado de creyente. Tal vez, me dije, quiso hablarme de la expresión española “ha pasado un ángel” … Pero no. Pronto vi que no era de ángeles y arcángeles de lo que había deseado hablarme y que por ahí seguro que no iban precisamente las cosas.

No fue hasta ayer, hasta ayer mismo, cuando, al leer una entrevista que él había concedido a The Paris Review, comprendí de golpe. En la entrevista se detenía en los diversos momentos de su vida en los que se notó bloqueado como narrador y aconsejaba, en caso de parálisis creativa o de situación de estar simplemente sin hacer nada, acudir a un tratado de un autor romántico del siglo XVIII, Ludwig Börne, donde éste propone que durante tres días consecutivos uno se fuerce a escribir todo lo que le pase por la cabeza, sin artificios y sin hipocres��a: “Escribe lo que pienses de ti mismo, de tus mujeres, de Goethe, de la Guerra Turca, del Juicio Final o de tus superiores, y te quedarás estupefacto al ver cuántos pensamientos nuevos jamás expresados han salido fuera. En eso consiste el arte de convertirse en un escritor genuino en tres días”.

Me pareció que el método de Börne era realmente capaz de acabar con el bloqueo de cualquier autor encallado o, simplemente, callado. Y me acordé de Bartleby y compañía y de una frase que en mi libro el jorobado narrador aseguraba que podría perfectamente haber dicho el escribiente del relato de Melville: -Hablar es pactar con el sinsentido del existir. Perfecto, pensé. Y entonces caí en pleno síndrome del l´esprit de l´escalier, es decir, fui a parar a ese momento en el que encuentras la réplica adecuada a lo que te dijeron, pero ésta no te sirve, porque estás ya bajando la escalera y la contestación ingeniosa deberías haberla dado antes, cuando estabas arriba.

Y comprendí de golpe. Haberle respondido a Carrère que hablar es pactar con el sinsentido del existir habría sido una respuesta ingeniosa, pero, sobre todo, coherente. ¿Y por qué coherente? Porque –lo vi con toda claridad- la pregunta de Florencia estaba relacionada con la lectura de mi libro sobre los escritores del No. Comprendí que Carrère, excelente investigador de vidas ajenas, me veía básicamente como el autor de Bartleby y compañía y había decidido ir al corazón de mi verdad más íntima y preguntarme si había escrito aquel libro por puro pánico al silencio.

Cuando vuelvo a aquellos instantes de la bola de plata, me doy cuenta de que reconocí al instante, instintivamente, la profundidad y peligrosidad que la desconcertante pregunta contenía y me limité a refugiarme en mi expresión de perplejidad. Hoy creo que debería haberle contestado, a bote pronto y sin miedo, que, en efecto, escribí Bartleby y compañía porque me daba verdadero pánico quedarme de pronto sin la escritura y con toda una parte de mi vida todavía por vivir. Debería haberle contado, además, que, al publicar el libro, me las prometía muy felices tras haberme salvado del silencio, del bartlebysmo, y sin embargo las cosas no fueron como esperaba, sino al revés, se me complicaron. Quizás me faltó, debería haberle dicho, saber que no hay nada más cargante, más insoportable, que un escritor que escribe, porque un tipo que demuestra que puede escribir, engendra animosidad, rencor, odio, y hasta provoca gran escándalo, al menos entre los que consideran que lo más honesto siempre será callar.

Ahora creo observarlo con perfecta visibilidad: dadas las feroces reacciones que no callar provoca en algunos enclaves controlados por ágrafos, ¿cómo no va a estar profundamente arraigada en mí “la pulsión negativa, la atracción por no hacer nada”? Lo está, pero no cedí nunca a esa atracción, precisamente por el miedo que me produce el silencio, tal como intuyó Carrère aquella tarde en Florencia. Por el miedo a quedarme sin la bola de plata de la escritura. Por el miedo a quedarme sin el mejor lugar que conozco para vivir hechos tan extraordinarios como decir que el mundo no tiene sentido y, acto seguido, observar cómo el timbre profundo de la voz que ha dicho eso es el eco de ese sentido. Aunque la vocación es débil. Tanto que a veces, cuando mi vida se complica en exceso, acabo pensando que sería mejor que me dedicara a no mover un dedo, convertir la no actividad en mi marca de agua, actuar con la sabiduría del viejo haiku: “Sentado apaciblemente sin hacer nada/ la primavera llega y la hierba crece por sí misma”.

Y sin embargo, no me detengo, continúo. Es decir, escribo. El miedo al silencio acaba venciendo en todo momento al miedo a sentirme deshonesto por no renunciar a la escritura. Y tanto el uno como el otro no son los únicos miedos, también tengo terror a la obra maestra. Una noche, entraba luz de lluvia por mi ventana cuando pasó por mí un soplo repentino que apenas capté, pero que me hizo percibir, por breves instantes, la obra maestra que estaba destinado a escribir, una obra que mejoraba todo lo publicado hasta entonces en el mundo. Vi pues con claridad pero con brevedad extrema el gran libro que llevamos todos dentro pero que en la vorágine de nuestra vida interior rara vez emerge y, de hacerlo, en seguida viene alguien o algo a interrumpirnos dejándonos sin tiempo para ni tan siquiera memorizar cualquier detalle de ese texto que nos habría cambiado la vida.

¿Me habría gustado que me la cambiaran? Al pensar en las consecuencias que podría haberme acarreado escribir esa obra maestra –entre otras, salir de gira para siempre, una promoción eterna del libro-, me entra siempre un miedo superior incluso a mi pánico al silencio, lo que ya es decir. Claro que aún más superior a ese terror a la obra perfecta es el miedo a que no vuelva a pasar nunca más por mí aquel soplo repentino con luz de luna y no disponga por tanto de otra oportunidad para volver a entrever la pieza insuperable. Es un miedo que lleva incorporada a su estructura un terror aún superior: el temor a que llegue la muerte y quede yo mudo y más que callado sin haber dado antes mi consentimiento a semejante barbaridad; el temor, bien comprensible, a engrosar las filas de los que, habiendo puesto en marcha sin problemas una obra en progreso, quedan, un día, literalmente paralizados para siempre. Por eso a veces insisto en que Bartleby y compañía, contrariamente a lo que se cree, no habla exactamente de escritores que dejan de escribir, sino de personas que viven y un día mueren, de gente que lee y de gente que un día deja de leer y de gente que muere sin haber leído nada y de gente que ama y deja de amar o ama sin ser amada, de oleadas y oleadas incesantes de seres inútiles y malolientes que vienen desde el fondo de los tiempos a hundirse, que es a lo que venimos a este mundo, donde el instinto silencioso, el instinto de muerte, no necesita ni compañía, de tanta que tiene.

#Enrique Vila-Matas

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bobbyshaddoe80 · 3 years ago

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Liberated Audio Reviews

Introduction:

The cult Sci-Fi series Blake's 7 has seen great admiration and appreciation in the 40 plus years since its initial broadcast in the UK., continuing to enthrall audience old and new alike. Despite its rather low budget, it possessed some pretty impressive writing and acting from its rotating cast of characters. Despite it being yet another Terry Nation brainchild, the series would evolve beyond the initial proposal/concept of 'Robin Hood in Space' under the direction of Chris Boucher to become something more than just a Star Wars clone.

Over the years, the show's devoted fanbase have poured over the show's 52 episodes and have long clamored, demanded, begged and pleaded with the Powers That Be for some sort of continuation or revival... In spite of the show's rather unorthodox and controversial ending.

After numerous rumors and false starts, which even included a full on audio reboot/reimagining by B7 Media back in late 2007/early 2008, it would be Big Finish Productions that would take up the daunting task of reviving and expanding the Blake's 7 universe starting in February 2012 with the Liberator Chronicles and the Classic Audio Adventures in January 2014.

The Liberator Chronicles are essentially enhanced audiobooks often told in the first person by whichever character is chosen to be the focus of the story. Often they are supported by one or two other cast members in order to help keep things from falling completely into standard audiobook monotony. Before tackling the full cast audios, I shall endeavor to present my thoughts and views on all twelve volumes of the Liberator Chronicles.

Please bear in mind that these reviews are based on my own opinions and no one else's. While I shall endeavor to be as fair as possible, I am not claiming that my opinion is the only one that matters and you are free to agree or disagree with me as you see fit. Just try to keep it civil. So, without further ado, let's get started by examining volume one.

Blake's 7 - The Liberator Chronicles Vol. 1

RELEASED FEBRUARY 2012

Recorded on: 23 September, 11 and 14 October 2011

Recorded at: Moat Studios

Review By Robert L. Torres

The Turing Test by Simon Guerrier

'After evading an attack by Cassini Pirates, the Liberator heads to the rogue moon of Quentil, where Avon and Vila infiltrate a top secret Federation science facility.

Vila assumes the guise of Dr. Yarding Gill, an expert in digital memory. And Avon is his "creation" - a super-advanced android that could pass for human. In fact, he does...

Can they maintain the ruse long enough to complete their mission? And will the Cassini Pirates catch up with them?'

Chronological Placement:

Series A - set after the events of LC Vol. 7's Disorder, between episodes Mission To Destiny and Duel.

This is a very well written story starring the late Paul Darrow as Kerr Avon, ably supported by Michael Keating as Vila Restal.

I love how the story is structured with Avon recounting these events AFTER the fact, like he was recording then for posterity into a dictaphone. I loved that Guerrier's writing didn't fall into the trap of having Avon try to do other voices or say 'said Blake', 'said Jenna' and so on. Nothing felt disruptive to the narrative and having Vila around never felt intrusive.

Kudos to Michael Keating for slipping back into the role of Vila Restal with relative ease. He will be quite reliable in a support capacity during many of these audios, and even get a chance at the spotlight... Which we will examine in due course. Right now, he lends his exceptional charm in this undercover mission posing as the scientist responsible for "creating" Avon.

Still, this story belongs to Paul Darrow, and he does a great job. It was a great story about what it means to be alive, what it means to be human and even serving as an examination of Avon himself. It was a nice inverse of the usual sort of questions regarding machine life wishing to be more human. Here we have a human considering himself to be more machine than man.

That is the interesting thing about Avon. Most scifi programs that deal with space travel tend to have an archetypical character known as the 'royal smart person'. For Star Trek TOS it was Spock, for Star Trek TNG it was Data, for DS9 it was Dax (and to a certain extent Bashir), for Voyager it was Seven of Nine, for Enterprise it was... Who the hell knows since everyone on that show was an idiot. As for Discovery... I honestly don't know cuz I haven't watched Discovery yet, but that's beside the point.

Avon is exceptional in his characterization only in that his desire to focus on pure logic and suppress his emotions does not come without its own drawbacks. Despite his intellect and skill with computers, he is someone that is also socially and emotionally cut off from others due to an inability to trust. He is also someone that sees the futility in giving over to emotional and irrational hysterics in order to showcase that he cares. Avon's intelligence also comes with a certain amount of ego, as he knows that he is smarter than many of his contemporaries, and much of the logic he embraces stems from a certain degree of self-serving self-interest.

His desire to assist in the situation with the AI android 14 stems from having an affinity with another creature of pure logic, and not wanting such a creature to be exploited and corrupted to further the aims and agendas of the Federation. This story is a great reminder of why Avon is a great antihero, as he is still willing to do the right thing in spite of himself.

Final Score: 8 out of 10 Plasma Bolts

Solitary by Nigel Fairs

‘Vila is in solitary confinement. His friends have abandoned him, his only contact with the world outside is Nyrron, a scientist from the planet Auron.

Amnesiac and confused, Vila attempts to piece together recent events... A mission to Dulcimer 4. An important meeting. And a visit to the jungle world of Terrulis Major.

In the depths of the foliage, the truth is waiting. And it's more terrifying than Vila could possible have imagined...’

Chronological Placement:

Series B - between episodes Redemption and Shadow.

I really do not have much to say about this story as it is profoundly unremarkable and is a major clunker in terms of execution of its concept, as well as the first person narration.

It has some interesting ideas, there is a central mystery that is interesting, with Vila finding himself in solitary confinement and abandoned by his friends, and we are introduced to a semi recurring guest character in the form of Auron scientist Gustav Nyrron, played by Anthony Howell ('Dr. David Keel' of the The Avengers: Lost Episodes range).

Nyrron himself is an interesting character as an ally for Blake and the Resistance, which begs the question why Cally wasn’t involved in this story as well. Because for an Auron scientist, he actually spends most of the time acting like either a reasonable interrogator or a benevolent psychiatrist for the imprisoned Vila.

The whole story itself is not executed terribly well. The Vila character spends a good chunk of the first few moments talking to himself, and then when Nyrron comes into the narrative, Vila spends the rest of the runtime being asked if he remembers certain events, and then goes on to basically recount events that lead up to meeting Nyrron and then goes on to tell Nyrron things that he already knows about.

As a Vila centric story, its also not terribly good, not even with certain unexpected revelations made. This story does Vila no favors and we don't learn much about Nyrron either. Fortunately, those are issues that would end up being rectified in later stories. Definitely give this one a miss.

Final Score: 4 out of 10 Plasma Bolts

Counterfeit by Peter Anghelides

‘The Bovee Mining Facility: A Federation slave camp worked by disgraced scientists.

The planet shouldn't be of interest but it is: Avon's investigations reveal that it's rich in Illusium, a mineral that can change from one substance to another. With it, the Federation could be invulnerable...

Blake teleports down to Bovee, but gets more than he bargained for. There's another visitor to the facility - and his presence changes the whole game...’

Chronological Placement:

Series A - set after the events of LC Vol. 1's The Turing Test, between episodes Mission To Destiny and Duel.

This is not a bad Blake focus story, with added support from Avon. However, what we get is a pretty standard adventure with Blake hoping to obtain certain materials and destroy the means of that material being reproduced in another effort to cripple the Federation's power. We even get in an appearance by Travis, Blake's personal nemesis, to lure him into a trap.

There isn't a whole lot to say about the story because of how standard and basic it all is. The fact that the story is done on audio does play in well into certain revelations and surprise twists made within the narrative. Many of which I will not speak on as it goes into spoiler territory. Other than that, the story itself is not bad, it is definitely worth a once-over. Its just unfortunate that it is also pretty average and fairly unremarkable.

Final Score: 5 out of 10 Plasma Bolts

Final score for Volume One of The Liberator Chronicles in its entirety is 6 out of 10 Plasma Bolts.

It isn't the best start to the Blake's 7 audio range as it really only has one story out of three to recommend it. Its great to hear the original actors back again, and thankfully they will be served better stories in the volumes to follow.

Special thanks to Craig Brawley of the Big Finish Listeners Facebook Group for his tireless efforts in mapping out the chronology of the audios and determining how they fit in with the established TV continuity.

#blake's 7 #reviews #big finish productions #audiobook

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a-dinosaur-a-day · 5 years ago

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Pyroraptor olympius

By Ripley Cook

Etymology: Fire Thief

First Described By: Allain & Taquet, 2000

Classification: Dinosauromorpha, Dinosauriformes, Dracohors, Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoromorpha, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Dromaeosauridae

Status: Extinct

Time and Place: Around 72 million years ago, in the Campanian of the Late Cretaceous

Pyroraptor is known from the La Boucharde locality in France, the Vitoria and La Posa Formations in Spain, and potential locations in the UK

Physical Description: Pyroraptor is a poorly known raptor, based on a few fossil scraps found around the late Cretaceous of Europe. Portions of the foot, arms, and some teeth are known from Pyroraptor, none preserved very well. It had the sickle second toe claw of other raptors, and it seems to have been fairly lightweight and small - probably no longer than 1.4 meters, though that is of course an estimate. Other than that, we know very little about its appearance - we don’t even know if it was a specialized sort of raptor like in the Dromaeosaurine, Microraptorine, or other groups - except for that it would have been very fluffy, with wings on its arms and a tail fan on its tail.

By Conty, CC BY 3.0

Diet: As a raptor, it is most likely that Pyroraptor fed upon meat, probably small animals such as lizards, mammals, and turtles.

Behavior: Pyroraptor would have been a very active dinosaur, spending most of its time hopping and stalking around the rivers and beaches in its island environment. Like other raptors, it wouldn’t have been a pursuit predator, but rather an ambush one: it would have waited for prey to appear, and then pounced on it, using rapid flaps of its wings to stay balanced on top of the struggling prey. This technique, called raptor prey restraint, is still seen in living raptors today. Pyroraptor would have also been able to run up vertical surfaces, such as trees and cliffs, using flaps of its wings to gain lyft up the surface. Then, it would have been able to catch food on the run! Other than that, Pyroraptor probably wasn’t very social, based on fossil evidence from other raptors - that being said, it would have taken care of its young, and probably stayed in small family groups during this process.

By The Unknown Horror From the Ocean Depths, CC BY-SA 4.0

Ecosystem: Pyroraptor lived in the Late Cretaceous of Western Europe, which was a series of islands sitting in a shallow ocean - sort of like the Bahamas today. These ecosystems were easy to travel between, utilizing rafting and other forms of impromptu sea travel, so the animals on them tended to be similar to each other. Pyroraptor itself lived with many turtles, snakes, sharks, and gars; as well as Eusuchians such as Musturzabalsuchus and Acynodon. There was some sort of large Azhdarchid pterosaur, too - currently called Azhdarcho, though that’s a questionable assignment. As for other dinosaurs, there were Abelisaurids there, Titanosaurs like Lirainosaurus, Nodosaurids like Struthiosaurus, the Ornithopod Rhabdodon, and another raptor called Richardoestesia, and the protobird Gargantuavis!

By José Carlos Cortés

Other: Pyroraptor was named as such because it was discovered after the occurence of a forest fire. Since so little is known about this dinosaur, there isn’t much more to be said about its phylogenetics or history of discovery! It is rather famous for having been featured in the 2003 documentary Dinosaur Planet, though given its poorly preserved nature, the wisdom in that choice of star is mildly suspect.

~ By Meig Dickson

Sources Under the Cut

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bluebeardsbride-archive · 5 years ago

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reading list for 2020 2019 reading list literature recommendations last updated 7.1.2020

crossed = finished bolded = currently reading plain = to read * = reread + = priority

ask if you want PDFs!

currently reading: The Brutality of Fact: Interviews with Francis Bacon by David Sylvester We Eat Our Own by Kea Wilson Frankissstein by Jeanette Winterson Inferno by Dante Aligheri

novels (unsorted) The Border of Paradise by Esmé Weijun Wang +Justine by Lawrence Durrell Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy +Death in Venice by Thomas Mann* The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco* The Letters of Mina Harker by Dodie Bellamy Story of the Eye by Georges Bataille +Nightwood by Djuna Barnes +Malina by Ingeborg Bachman A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing by Eimear McBride Monsieur Venus by Rachilde +The Marquise de Sade by Rachilde +A King Alone by Jean Giono +The Scarab by Manuel Mujica Lainez +The Invitation by Beatrice Guido Operation Massacre by Rodolfo Walsh She Who Was No More by Boileau-Narcejac Mascaro, the American Hunter by Haroldo Conti European Travels for the Monstrous Gentlewomen by Theodora Goss Kiss Me, Judas by Christopher Baer Possession: A Romance by A.S. Byatt The Grip of It by Jac Jemc Celestine by Olga Ravn The Girl Who Ate Birds by Paul Nougé The Necrophiliac by Gabrielle Wittkop Possessions by Julia Kristeva

classics The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio* Purgatio by Dante Aligheri Paradiso by Dante Aligheri

short story collections The Wilds: Stories by Julia Elliot The Dark Dark: Stories by Samantha Hunt Severance by Robert Olen Butler Enfermario by Gabriela Torres Olivares Sirens and Demon Lovers: 22 Stories of Desire edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling The Beastly Bride edited by Ellen Datlow +Vampire In Love by Enrique Vila-Matas Collected works of Leonora Carrington Collected works of Silvina Ocampo Collected works of Everil Worrel Collected works of Luisa Valenzuela

theatre +Faust by Goethe The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe Phaedra’s Love by Sarah Kane

nonfiction (unsorted) Countess Dracula by Tony Thorne +The Bloody Countess by Valentine Penrose Infamous Lady: The True Story of Countess Erzsebet Bathory by Kimberly L. Craft Blake by Peter Akroyd Lives of the Necromancers by William Godwin A History of the Heart by Ole M. Høystad On Monsters by Stephen T. Asma +Ghostly Matters: Haunting and the Sociological Imagination by Avery Gordon +Consoling Ghosts : Stories of Medicine and Mourning from Southeast Asians in Exile by Jean M. Langford essays (unsorted) When the Sick Rule the World: Essays by Dodie Bellamy Academonia: Essays by Dodie Bellamy ‘On the Devil, and Devils’ by Percy Shelley +An Erotic Beyond: Sade by Octavio Paz

poetry +100 Notes on Violence by Julia Carr

academia (unsorted) Essays on the Art of Angela Carter: Flesh and the Mirror edited by Lorna Sage The Routledge Companion to Literature and Food edited by Lorna Piatti-Farnell, Donna Lee Brien Cupid’s Knife: Women's Anger and Agency in Violent Relationships by Abby Stein Traumatic Encounters in Italian Film: Locating the Cinematic Unconscious by Fabio Vighi The Severed Flesh: Capital Visions by Julia Kristeva Feast and Folly: Cuisine, Intoxication, and the Poetics of the Sublime by Allen S. Weiss

on horrror Terrors in Cinema edited by Cynthia J. Miller and A. Bowdoin Van Riper Robin Wood on the Horror Film: Collected Essays and Reviews by Robin Wood Monster Theory: Reading Culture by Jeffrey Cohen The Philosophy of Horror, or Paradoxes of the Heart by Noël Caroll Dark Dreams 2.0: A Psychological History of the Modern Horror Film from the 1950s to the 21st Century by Charles Derry Monsters of Our Own Making by Marina Warner Monster Culture in the 21st Century: A Reader edited by by Marina Levina and Diem My Bui

the gothic Woman and Demon: The Life of a Victorian Myth by Nina Auerbach Skin Shows: Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters by J. Halberstam +Perils of the Night: A Feminist Study of Nineteenth-Century Gothic by Eugenia C. Delamotte Art of Darkness: A Poetics of Gothic by Anne Williams Body Gothic: Corporeal Transgression in Contemporary Literature and Horror Film by Xavier Aldana Reyes On the Supernatural in Poetry by Ann Radcliffe The Gothic Flame by Devendra P. Varma Gothic Versus Romantic: A Reevaluation of the Gothic Novel by Robert D. Hume A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful by Edmund Burke Over Her Dead Body by Elisabeth Bronfen The Contested Castle: Gothic Novels and the Subversion of Domestic Ideology by Kate Ellis Gothic Documents: A Sourcebook, 1700-1820 by E. Clery Limits of Horror: Technology, Bodies, Gothic edited by Fred Botting The History of Gothic Fiction by Markman Ellis The Routledge Companion to the Gothic edited by Catherine Spooner and Emma McEvoy Gothic and Gender edited by Donna Heiland Romanticism and the Gothic Tradition by G.R. Thompson Cryptomimesis : The Gothic and Jacques Derrida’s Ghost Writing by Jodie Castricano

bluebeard Bluebeard’s legacy: death and secrets from Bartók to Hitchcock edited by Griselda Pollock and Victoria Anderson The tale of Bluebeard in German literature: from the eighteenth century to the present Mererid Puw Davies Bluebeard: a reader’s guide to the English tradition by Casie E. Hermansson Bluebeard gothic : Jane Eyre and its progeny Heta Pyrhönen Bluebeard Tales from Around the World by Heidi Ann Heiner

religion The Incorruptible Flesh: Bodily Mutation and Mortification in Religion and Folklore by Piero Camporesi Afterlives: The Return of the Dead in the Middles Ages by Nancy Caciola Discerning Spirits: Divine and Demonic Possession in the Middle Ages by Nancy Caciola “He Has a God in Him”: Human and Divine in the Modern Perception of Dionysus by Albert Henrichs The Ordinary Business of Occultism by Gauri Viswanathan The Body and Society. Men, Women, and Sexual Renunciation in Early Christianity by Peter Brown

cannibalism Eat What You Kill: Or, a Strange and Gothic Tale of Cannibalism by Consent Charles J. Reid Jr. Consuming Passions: The Uses of Cannibalism in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe by Merrall Llewelyn Price Cannibalism in High Medieval English Literature by Heather Blurton +Eating Their Words: Cannibalism and the Boundaries of Cultural Identity edited by Kristen Guest Dinner with a Cannibal: The Complete History of Mankind’s Oldest Taboo by Carole A. Travis-Henikoff

crime Savage Appetites by Rachel Monroe In Cold Blood by Truman Capote The Mind Hunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit by John Douglass

theory/philosophy Life Everlasting: the animal way of death by Bernd Heinrich The Ambivalence of Scarcity and Other Essays by René Girard Interviews with Hélène Cixous Symposium by Plato Phaedra by Plato Becoming-Rhythm: A Rhizomatics of the Girl by Leisha Jones The Abject of Desire: The Aestheticization of the Unaesthetic in Contemporary Literature and Culture edited by Konstanze Kutzbach, Monika Mueller The Severed Head: Capital Visions by Julia Kristeva

perfume & alchemy Perfume: The Alchemy of Scent by Jean-Claude Ellena The Perfume Lover: A Personal Story of Scent by Denyse Beaulieu Past Scents: Historical Perspectives on Smell by Jonathan Reinarz Fragrant: The Secret Life of Scent by Mandy Aftel Das Parfum by Patrick Süskind* Scents and Sensibility: Perfume in Victorian Literary Culture by Catherine Maxwell The Foul and the Fragrant by Alain Corbin +throughsmoke by Jehanne Dubrow “The Ugly History of Beautiful Things: Perfume” by Katy Kelleher

medicine The Butchering Art by Lindsey Fitzharris

Finished (Vampires): An Uneasy Essay on the Undead in Film by Jalal Toufic

#reading list #my recommendations #sp #bookmark

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mikewwolford · 3 years ago

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Aston Villa Tottenham Hotspur: Premier League – as it happened | Football | The Guardian

Spurs vs villa live - Tottenham Hotspur News, Fixtures, Results, Transfers | Sky Sports

Scroll down for all of our latest updates from Villa Park. Key Events Son update Added time Four minutes added on. What a block Barkley denied there by a brilliant block from Tanganga. Third Spurs sub Sissoko replaces Ndombele. Villa sub Davis now on for Trezeguet. Chance for Tottenham Hojbjerg has a shot saved.

The Dane looks knackered. Yellow Cash in the book for bringing down Lucas. Wide Trezeguet shoots wide of the target from outside the box. Spurs score again Spurs vs villa live to Spurs after Kane is brought down. Another Spurs sub Bergwijn replaces Lo Celso. Wide El Ghazi lets fly from outside the box but his effort hits the side-netting.

Villa sub El Ghazi now on for Traore. Spurs sub Ben Davies comes on for spurs vs villa live limping Sergio Reguilon. Does Kane look for the contact? Sanson goes off for Villa. Can Barkley unlock this Tottenham defence? Cash puts his foot through the ball to clear emphatically. This is a bit of an odd match this site frenetic, and not lacking in spurs vs villa live occasional goal-scoring chance or two, but rather lacking in overall quality.

Updated at 8.

Aston Villa vs Tottenham highlights as Kane and Vinicius seal important win for Mourinho

That was lively, and Villa are asking a question or two again now. First of all, his cross flies harmlessly away from goal, but Villa keep the ball, and Sanson spurs vs villa live then played in again immediately with a more penetrating run to the byline. He crosses for Douglas Luiz, who miscues his shot with a clear sight of goal. Again, Villa threaten immediately, and McGinn hits a tame spurs vs villa live which Lloris saves with ease. Mourinho is grinning and nodding about something, which is a refreshing change.

He cuts lvie Cash, thinks about shooting for the far post, vila then opts instead to roll a pass with the outside of his foot towards Kane.

The England forward is ready to pass it into the net, but Mings manages to stick a leg out, and intercepts in the nick of time.

Kane thought that was site here moment and he looks frustrated, but Spurs are looking decent enough, and Villa have yet to bring a save from Hugo Lloris. Nearly Tottenham lead, but Mourinho is already half way down the tunnel, muttering to himself and looking furious. It was, in truth, a fairly sloppy first-half effort from his team and they are probably a bit lucky to be in spirs.

Spurs vs villa live to play for in the second half - see you shortly. Moura pumps it into the six-yard box. Ndombele makes a driving run across halfway and is fouled by Watkins. From the free-kick, Targett swings it in, and they win a corner. Traore then bends another dangerous-looking ball into the crowded penalty area but Tottenham clear. Surs Smith and John Terry are pictured in their technical area, looking suitably concerned.

Spurs score! He rushes goalwards and spurs vs villa live passes with Kane, who holds the ball up cleverly again for a second or two, then plays Moura in towards the byline. Konsa is viloa with a challenge from the Tottenham forward after receiving the ball on the touchline.

They square up to each other, but - thank God - Lucas Moura is on hand to split them up. Updated at spurss. Spurs vs villa live launches a perceptive crossfield pass, right to left, as the Spurs defence looks to step livs.

Targett dives in to meet it, in loads of space, but miscues slightly and Spurs survive. Mourinho is getting up off his bench if you can still call it that and expressing his displeasure with the way Tottenham are defending. The injured Jack Grealish is now pictured sitting in the stand, filla a ludicrous white tracksuit with black Nike swooshs and a beanie hat. They ljve come again in attack, though, and Kane side-foots a cross in from the livw. Konsa clears it, high and handsome. Oive at Full-time.

Tyrone Mings. Ezri Konsa Ngoyo. Morgan Sanson 66'. Douglas Luiz. Ollie Watkins. Tom Heaton. Ahmed El Mohamady. Neil Taylor. Jacob Ramsey. Anwar El Ghazi villla. Marvelous Nakamba. Ross Barkley 66'. Keinan Davis 79'. Hugo Lloris. Japhet Tanganga. Spurs vs villa live Rodon. Giovani Lo Celso 66'. Tanguy Ndombele 81'. Joe Spurs vs villa live. Ben Davies 57'. Eric Dier. Dele Alli. Moussa Sissoko. Tanguy Ndombele Substitution Off.

Oliver Skipp Spurs vs villa live On. KO Mins. HT Mins. FT Mins. Head-to-Head Spurs Total Wins. Aston Villa Total Wins. Played 51 Draws W A v Aston Villa. L A v Arsenal. W H v Crystal Palace. W A v Fulham. Aston Villa W H v Fulham. L H v Spurs. D A v Newcastle. D H v Wolves.

L A v Sheffield Utd. Vote at Full-time. Hugo Lloris. Toby Alderweireld. Kyle Walker-Peters. Danny Rose. Harry Winks 64'.

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mykhiotime-blog · 6 years ago

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7 January 2019

Writing class with Line Ulekleiv.

Wrote the following text:

One of these days I should sit down and think through the reasons why I resist so much declaring my references. It must be somehow related to my predilection for independent thinking and complexity, as opposed to any form of unconditioned admiration, personality cult and reductivism. At the same time I must admit I get a certain amount of pleasure in contradicting myself.

A while ago, a friend sent me a link to an interesting website. After a first quick look, I decided I definitely had to set time aside in order to study it in depth. As often happens, it slipped my mind shortly after, but it popped into my head on several occasions later on. I really must take a deeper look at that, I reminded myself at each time, and then again it slipped my mind.

I’ve just found the link and clicked on it. Actually the website’s name is quite easy to remember. Everybodystoolbox.net. From now on I shall remember it. It has been set up in 2006 as a wiki, an internet content pool that anyone can freely edit, by an open group based on interest and named Everybodys. It is a platform for the exchange of works, methodologies and production models, that focuses on the development and dissemination of tools and discourses that exist within the performing arts. The website includes a “Workshop Kit” composed of different sections. In one of them, a set of “Games” based on precise yet open instructions or rules, can be used to develop ideas or works. “Scores and descriptions” proposes to put in relation different forms of notation, such as existing or purpose-written scores and descriptions of performances, as a way to expand the possible understandings of a piece but also to develop new works. The section “Interviews” includes the instructions to conduct individual or group self interview, as well as examples contributed by a number of artists.

Sometimes I include written instructions in my work, while with other projects I use recognisable structures, frames or predefined models within which I let things happen, therefore allowing for a high degree of freedom and unpredictability. Such frames or models can be seen as forms of regulation hence, in my point of view, as a chance to find alternative solutions, a pretext to develop different approaches and practices by turning obstructions and limitations into resources.

Rules and instructions regulate the way things should be done within a defined context, a set of limitations and parameters that require a common acknowledgement but can also be interpreted and adapted according to the individual’s level of engagement. I am interested in the tension between rules as regulatory statements, and the discrepancies produced when interpreted and translated into practice. Such discrepancies can be accidentally or deliberately produced, and used in a transformative way. If rules define limitations and restrictions, they can also foster processes of adaptation, interpretation and transformation. Playing by the rules, playing with the rules, changing the rules or breaking the rules are options at the players’ disposal, some more suitable than others in challenging the rigidity of the game.

One of these days I should sit down and think through the specificities of the contexts I want to address, each one with its own implicit or explicit regulations, frames and models. One of these days I should sit down and define which game I want to play, which rules to keep, which rules to add, which rules to improve and which rules to dump.

I run out of time. I must suspend writing due to family obligations but I promise I will resume at a later time. I won’t forget this time. You know what? I am going to add it to my reference book! My reference book is an address book with alphabetical index tabs that I fill with names of artists, works, writers, books, films and so on. These references have been recommended to me by friends and colleagues after I showed them one or more projects I have done. Some references are relevant and on point, while other not as much...Unluckily I have not been very consistent with taking note of all the names and works that have been recommended to me throughout the years. Moreover, I forget to thoroughly study the names and works that made to those pages...I should definitely set time aside for this.

In the meanwhile, here is the current list: A-B Bernadette Corporation, Francis Alys’s Fabiola, Sven Augustijnen’s Spectres, Guillaume Bijl’s Souvenirs of the 20th Century, Ricardo Grey, George Bataille’s De la Part Maudite, Giorgio Agamben’s Note sul Gesto, Cezary Bodzianowski, Stanley Brown’s A Short Manifesto, Conrad Bakker, Walter Benjamin’s The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction and Theses on the Philosophy of History, Hans Belting’s An Anthropology of Images: Picture, Medium, Body and The End of the History of Art?, Judith Butler, Roland Barthes’s Mythologies and La Mort de l'Auteur and La Chamber Claire and Éléments de Sémiologie, Marina Abramovic’s The Artist is Present, Roy Andersson, Louis Borges, Alain Badiou, Boyle Family, Baktruppen, Pierre Bismuth’s Where is Rocky?; C-D Adam Curtis’s The Century of the Self, the exhibition Correspondences at Espace Culturel Louis Vuitton, DreamWorks Animation’s Chicken Run, Stefaan Dheedene, Tacita Dean, Régis Debray’s Transmettre, Sophie Calle, Koenraad Dedobbeleer, Martin Creed, Marquis De Sade, Nico Doxx, Dizionario di Retorica e Stilistica, Jacques Derrida’s Plato's Pharmacy, Gabriele Di Matteo; E-F Harun Farocki, James Ensor, Hans Peter Feldmann, De Appel Curatorial Program Fluiten In Het Donker, Olivier Foulon’s Isa Genzken’s Ring, Sigmund Freud’s Mourning and Melancholia and the concept of Polymorphous Perversity, Emilio Fantin, Robert Filliou, Andrea Frazer; G-H Hitchcock’s MacGuffin, Kristján Guðmundsson, Robert Pogue Harrison’s The Dominion of the Dead, Douglas Hubler, Sigurður Guðmundsson’s Pavement, Street, Tibor Gyenis’ Ten Superflous Gestures, Witold Gombrowicz, the term Happenstance, Ane Hjort Guttu’s How to Become a Non- Artist, Roger Hiorns, René Girard’s Théorie Mimétique; I-J Jasper John’s writings, Jean-Yves Jouannais’ Artistes sans œuvres, Christian Jankowski; K-L Komar and Melamid, Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon, Michael Landy’s Break Down, Joshua Knelman’s Hot Art, Kris Kimpe’s exhibition design, Marijn Van Kreij, Andrei Kuzkin, Joachim Koester, We communicate only through our shared dismissal of the pre- linguistic: fourteen analyses (1995) in Mike Kelley : minor histories--statements, conversations, proposals, Valery Konevin, Martin Kippenberger’s Lieber maler male mir, Shaurya Kumar’s The Lost Museum, Paul Klee’s drawings, Sherrie Levine, Rafael Lozano and Susie Ramsay’s Ok Art Manifesto; M-N: Kobe Matthys’ Agentshap, Ivan Moudov, Brussels’ Musée de la Police, Matt Mullican’s That Person, Paul McCarthy’s On the figure of the artist; O-P Nicolas Provost’s Plot Point, Ola Pehrson’s Hunt for the Unabomber, George Perec’s Life, a manual; Q-R Kurt Ryslavy, Alain Resnais’ Les statues meurent aussi, Ugo Rondinone’s Your Age and my Age and the Age of the Sun, Robert Rauschenberg’s Erased De Kooning Drawing, Gert Robyns, Michael Rakowitz, S-T Harald Szeeman’s Les Machines Celibataires, Edward Steichen’s The Family of Man, Taryin Simon’s Contraband, Adam Parker Smith’s Thanks, Schrodinger’s cat paradox, Simon Starling, Wolfgang Tillmans, SI-LA-GI’s Apology, Bálint Szombathy’s Lenin in Budapest, Koki Tanaka; U-V Van Eyek Mystic Lamb lost panel at STAM Museum in Ghent, Anton Vidockle’s Art without market, art without education: political economy of art, Enrique Vila-Matas’ Bartleby & Co, Ulay at Neuenationalgalerie in Berlin, Franco Vaccari, Paul Virilio’s L’accident original, Paul Valery, Mierle Laderman Ukuleles’ Maintenance Art Performances, Alex Villar; W-X David Foster Wallace’s A supposedly fun thing I’ll never do again, Peter Watkins’ La Commune, Stephen Willats; Y-Z Snorre Ytterstad.

Andrea Galiazzo

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psychotherapyconsultants · 6 years ago

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Should You Try TMS (rTMS) for Depression?

TMS refers to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), a treatment method for clinical depression first developed in the 1980s. In the psychology research literature, TMS is often referred to as rTMS — the little ‘r’ is for repetitive, because the treatment needs to be delivered at regular intervals to be most effective. What exactly is it?

TMS is a simple, safe, external outpatient treatment procedure that pulses very specific wavelengths of magnetic fields to specific areas of your brain through your skull. It is believed these magnetic pulses help to reduce depression symptoms when administered in a course of treatment lasting 20-30 sessions over a period of six weeks (depending upon the response of the patient and the severity of the depression).

What’s a treatment session of TMS like?

TMS treatment sessions typically last about 40 minutes after the initial consultation that determines whether TMS is right for the patient. The TMS procedure is painless and you remain fully conscious during it. Many people report feeling a tingling or tapping sensation on their head during the procedure. Ear plugs are typically worn to help reduce the noise made by the TMS machine. TMS is administered by a TMS technician who has been trained and certified in the treatment.

A typical treatment of rTMS includes high-frequency (10 Hz) stimulation of your brain’s left-side dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. rTMS machines and procedures vary slightly, depending upon the manufacturer and the facility where you are receiving treatment.1

Some patients also benefit from maintenance treatment once the initial course of 20-30 sessions has been completed. This maintenance treatment may occur every 6 to 12 months, depending on the patient and whether their depressive mood reoccurs.

Is TMS effective in the treatment of depression?

TMS is an effective treatment method for depression, especially treatment-resistant depression (TRD), according to the research literature. In one recent review the researchers wrote, “The studies reviewed reported satisfactory responses to rTMS in acute depressive episodes, as measured using depressive symptom scales. Remission of symptoms was achieved in many cases” (Felipe et al., 2016).

Research has produced thousands of studies examining the effectiveness of rTMS for depression. One meta-analysis — a systematic review of scientific studies designed to arrive at generalized conclusions — found that active rTMS was significantly superior to sham conditions (the equivalent of a placebo condition) in producing clinical response in subjects (Lam et al., 2008).

A more recent meta-analysis examined 18 good- or fair-quality treatment-resistant depression studies that employed rTMS compared to placebo (or sham treatment) (Gaynes et al., 2014). In every one of those studies, rTMS was better than placebo, significantly reducing depression severity in the subjects studied (a reduction of 4 or more points on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, a typical measure for depression used in research).

How will I know it’s working?

Your therapist or clinician will regularly assess the treatment’s effectiveness by asking you a series of questions about your depression, or by having you take a short quiz asking you those same questions. You should always answer these questions as truthfully as possible, to give the clinician an accurate picture of your depressive symptoms.2

Research has shown that a patient’s initial response to TMS predicts that patient’s subsequent response and likelihood of relapse (Kelly et al., 2017). Therefore, if after a predetermined number of sessions your therapist determines that the treatment doesn’t seem to be helping your depressive symptoms, they may suggest discontinuing it.

One thing to be aware of that just as in antidepressant therapy, research has demonstrated that the placebo effect is large in rTMS treatment (Razza et al., 2018). That simply means that some people benefit from a treatment that looks like rTMS, but doesn’t actually do anything. Just like some people would benefit from an “antidepressant” pill that is made from nothing but sugar. Placebo response was lowest in people with treatment-resistant depression (TRD), suggesting that is a group of people it is likely to work best with as well.

Can I try TMS when I’m pregnant?

TMS is one of the few treatments, other than psychotherapy, that also appears to be safe for pregnant women. In a review of a dozen studies conducted with women who were pregnant during TMS treatment, researchers found no harm to the fetus or that any additional pregnancy complications resulted (Felipe et al., 2016). They wrote, “The data available at this time support the efficacy and tolerability of rTMS for depression in pregnant women. Controlled studies should corroborate this conclusion.”

What are the side effects of TMS?

TMS appears to be safe for your brain (Tovar-Perdomo et al., 2017), or as the researchers put it, “cognitively safe.” Unlike electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), which has potentially significant cognitive and memory side effects in some people who undergo it, TMS has very few side effects in most people who try it. (Research suggests that while ECT may be more effective than rTMS, it is also among the least well-tolerated treatments available (Chen et al., 2017).)

The primary side effect most people who try TMS experience is a mild headache that goes away on its own or with the help of an aspirin or Tylenol. Some people also experience scalp pain, that tends to also go away on its own after each treatment session. (Teenagers appear to experience more side effects than adults, perhaps owing to their still-developing brains.)

Should I try TMS?

Yes, especially if you have treatment-resistant depression and have already tried a combination of psychotherapy and antidepressant medications. TMS helps about one-third to one-half of the people who try it to become free of depression symptoms, and nowadays, is a treatment covered by most health insurance plans. The side effects of the treatment are minimal and well-tolerated by most people.

References

Blumberger, Daniel M.; Vila-Rodriguez, Fidel; Thorpe, Kevin E.; Feffer, Kfir; Noda, Yoshihiro; Giacobbe, Peter; Knyahnytska, Yuliya; Kennedy, Sidney H.; Lam, Raymond W.; Daskalakis, Zafiris J.; Downar, Jonathan. (2018). Effectiveness of theta burst versus high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in patients with depression (THREE-D): A randomised non-inferiority trial. The Lancet, 391(10131), 1683-1692.

Chen, Jian-jun; Zhao, Li-bo; Liu, Yi-yun; Fan, Song-hua; Xie, Peng. (2017). Comparative efficacy and acceptability of electroconvulsive therapy versus repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for major depression: A systematic review and multiple-treatments meta-analysis. Behavioural Brain Research, 320, 30-36.

Felipe, Renata de Melo & Ferrão, Ygor Arzeno. (2016). Transcranial magnetic stimulation for treatment of major depression during pregnancy: A review. Trends in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, 38(4), 190-197.

Gaynes, Bradley N.; Lloyd, Stacey W.; Lux, Linda; Gartlehner, Gerald; Hansen, Richard A.; Brode, Shannon; Jonas, Daniel E.; Evans, Tammeka Swinson; Viswanathan, Meera; Lohr, Kathleen N. (2014). Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for treatment-resistant depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 75(5), 477-489.

Kelly, Michael S.; Oliveira-Maia, Albino J.; Bernstein, Margo; Stern, Adam P.; Press, Daniel Z.; Pascual-Leone, Alvaro; Boes, Aaron D. (2017). Initial response to transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment for depression predicts subsequent response. The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 29(2), 179-182.

Lam RW, Chan P, Wilkins-Ho M, Yatham LN. (2008). Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for treatment-resistant depression: a systematic review and metaanalysis. Can J Psychiatry, 53(9), 621-31.

Razza, Laís B.; Moffa, Adriano H.; Moreno, Marina L.; Carvalho, Andre F.; Padberg, Frank; Fregni, Felipe; Brunoni, André R. (2018). A systematic review and meta-analysis on placebo response to repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for depression trials. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry, Vol 81, Feb 2, 2018 pp. 105-113.

Tovar-Perdomo, Santiago; McGirr, Alexander; Van den Eynde, Frederique; dos Santos, Nicole Rodrigues; Berlim, Marcelo T. (2017). High frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment for major depression: Dissociated effects on psychopathology and neurocognition. Journal of Affective Disorders, 217, 112-117.

Footnotes:

A newer type of rTMS that researchers are also studying is called intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) that can be delivered in 3 minutes, versus 37 minutes for a standard 10 Hz treatment session. Initial research suggests that iTBS may be just as effective as standard rTMS, but that self-reported pain associated with the treatment may be slightly higher (Blumberger et al., 2018).

It’s not uncommon for patients to want to “please” their therapist by saying they are feeling less depressed, even when they feel no change in their mood. You should try and not do this, in order to give your therapist a clear picture as possible of how you’re feeling.

from World of Psychology https://psychcentral.com/blog/should-you-try-tms-rtms-for-depression/

#World of Psychology

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