Categories: uncategorized
Date: 02 August 2004 13:16:57
I've been thinking about the sacraments of communion / mass / insert appropriate word for your tradition. Now, maybe I'm way way off the mark (I know I'm not actually, but a semblance of humility never goes amiss!) but it seems to me that the sacraments of the church (not that I go) are highly erotic. 'Take, eat, this is my body broken for you'. Now, to me that sounds like highly erotic symbolism. And it is, it's supposed to be. But we only ever seem to get the sanitised version, certainly in the West. Maybe this is because we are sooo uncomfortable with our physicality / sexuality, and this is (at least) partly because Christianity teaches us to be suspicious of the body and its (supposedly evil) desires. Now, maybe I'm making a big jump here but I learned the other day that oral sex is illegal in 23 American states and all U.S. military bases and installations. Now, here's the big jump, all of the most repressive regiemes of history (Nazi, Apartheid, Stalin era communism, Pol Pot era Cambodia, etc, etc) have had *MAJOR* problems with any sexual activity which deviates from the 'norm' (whatever that is). I mean, how can anyone outlaw different modes of sexual pleasure??? I guess what I'm thinking is that the erotics of the sacraments (though totally de-eroticised by the religious institutions to the point of impotence) show us ways of engaging in eroticised community in ways which lead to a far fuller manifestation of peace than is currently being displayed in the actions of 'Christian' America. There's something to the old (anti-)Vietnam era slogan 'Make love, not war', the sacraments being a way of teaching us how to make love in its fullest sense, including the sexual. Enough to make George Bush choke on that bagel!
Today's lesson. It's really not good to have your mother text you when you're having a meeting with your research supervisor!
Yesterday's lesson. Make really really really sure that data exists in at least 3 places before switching off computer. 2000 words of dissertation introduction are now lost in Cyberia. Aaaaarrrrrggggghhhhhh!
On the stereo this week is 'Aqua'. NO! NOT THAT 'AQUA'!!!! But 'Aqua' the album by Edgar Froese (think that's how you spell it - ex of Tangerine Dream) which is a stupendously bubbly, lush, ultramarine landscape of cascading analogue sonic fragmentation. I think it was released sometime around 1974 (???). I guess nowadays it'd be called chilled or ambient, but I think it's soooo much better than the standard chilled / ambient nonsense which clogs up the compilation section of your local record emporium. It's got such a human / organic feel to it, it's really rather charming. You might need to get some industrial strength speakers for this baby 'cos it is seriously full frequency. Don't say I didn't warn you. Oh, and £5 from Fopp!
Oh, and the film "Rear view mirror" actually turned out to be the classic Alfred Hitchcock 'Rear Window'. I blame my celluloid sister E! Yes, Grace Kelly is still very lovely.