photograph by: andreas sturm

I seem to be falling behind on simple posts…on top of that my photo viewer is still being born.
Much to do.

Lately, I’ve been going back and forth from a few books that I have had on hand
and settling on one seems to be too difficult.
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand (re-reading for perspective)
;i>The Parallax View and The Neighbor by Slavoj Žižek (both new reads)
A Thousand Plateau’s by Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari
(disjointed writings on capitalism and schizophrenia)

I’ve been collecting from each book, words that have had significance for me at present.
I always hesitate where Ayn Rand is concerned because there always will be a floating comment or a quick-tongued-judgement and generally on the negative end. I do not hold any of her books on a pedestal or reference them like a “Bible.” I find what she writes remarkable though. Even someone who does not agree with her philosophy can settle on that at the very least.

I remember when I was with a friend at the library a couple years ago and he was checking out Atlas Shrugged (per my request) and the librarian scanning his books, (who I should also let it be known was his acquaintance), had stopped at Atlas Shrugged and said, “Now there’s a selfish book…”

I immediately thought, “what an unnecessary stark comment coming from a librarian. Of the people I would expect a voiced judgement from, that would be the last.”
The librarian saw my expression and the only thing I could do was turn, walk away, and wait til they were both finished.
Additionally, I found same judgement on public transportation and in the form of peering-gazes. In order to deter negative judgement through looks, I reduced my self to book-covers because I almost felt ashamed at what people saw me reading.
That right there says a great deal about Ayn Rand (and maybe even myself).
I certainly don’t hold myself as equal to the protagonists in Atlas Shrugged or Ayn Rand’s other writings, but I would still like to be able to read a book, generate my own opinion, without being judged in the process.

As for Slavoj Žižek, he is well known for referencing Jacques Lacan in popular culture.
Its tough to nail down an exact subject when referencing his work because he seems to dissolve the planes of difinitiveness. And I’m still developing my opinion on him so in some sense it would be too soon to tag. I seem to be on an Atheist-authors kick though, for me its refreshing considering the multitudes of religious discussions that are ongoing.

I found this quote intriguing…

“The parallax Real is thus opposed to the standard (Lacanian) notion of the Real as that which “always returns to its place” – as that which remains the same in all possible (symbolic) universes: the parallax Real is, rather, that which accounts for the very multiplicity of appearances of the same underlying Real – it is not the hard core which persists as the Same, but the hard bone of contention which pulverizes the sameness into the multitude of appearances.”

The Parralax View

photograph by: linus lohoff