Tuesday, November 28, 2006

My Damn Book Meme

The original tag-yourself meme came from Bardiac. But this is--

My Damn Book Meme

My Rules:

1. I [g]rab the nearest chosen book.
2. I [o]pen the book to page 123.
3. I [f]ind the fifth sentence.
4. I [p]ost the text of the next 4 sentences on your my blog along with these instructions. Do not post the instructions again.
5. Don't you dare I dig for that "cool" or "intellectual" book on the shelf in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest.

****

This circumstance could only be exacerbated by black corporatism, in which some organization would claim the right to speak for all, regardless of gender.

Third, given the persistence of prejudice toward homosexuality within the black population, corporatism would likely further marginalize the legitimate political interests of black nonheterosexuals, a subpopulation seeking equal civil status under already difficult circumstances. When framed within the prevailing "official" conception of a domestic family unit (that is, a group of 2 or more persons residing together who are related by birth, marriage, or adoption), the interests of this doubly stigmatized group are often neglected, because few nonheterosexual partnerships are recognized civil unions with the same rights as traditional marriage contracts. The marginalization of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons is exacerbated by religious proscriptions against "homosexual acts," and worsened yet still by the HIV/AIDS crisis within the population that disproportionately affects and further stigmatizes gay men and, increasingly, heterosexual and bisexual women.

Shelby, Tommie. We Who Are Dark: The Philosophical Foundations of Black Solidarity. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2005.

8 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

OK, I wanted to use the poetry collection I am supposed to present, but it only has 116 pages, so I followed the Bardiac rules, and picked up the next d*** book, and these sentences are dry, but here they are:

North of Rosario, the road continues to Guemes, 148 km, where it forks: Route 34 continues to Jujuy and the Bolivian Frontier; Rouge 9 branches off W, through the mountains to Salta. About 80 km N of Rosario de la Frontera, at Lumbreras, a road branches off route 9 and runs 80 km NE to the Parque Nacional El Rey, which extends over 44,160 ha, a wildlife reserve set among 900-1500m
hills with clear streams (good fishing). Vegetation ranges from cloud forest to Chaco type semi-desert. It can also be reached from Salta (196 km) where there is a Park office, [on] Spain [Street] 366, 3rd floor (helpful).

--Ben Box, South American Handbook. Chicago: Passport Books, 1997.

My having done this probably bores all readers, since it is a dry and eccentric quotation. However, it was a great wake-up call for me: my South American Handbook is almost 10 years old, I need a more recent one!
;-)

Tue Nov 28, 08:43:00 PM  
Blogger Mister said...

"...It was driving with a destination, but with nothing required of us when we got there."

"The way you can drive in California!" he said. "I used to love that about it."

I reached for a bottle of almond-scented oil.

-- from the story "Offertory" in Amy Hempel's short story collection "The Dog of the Marriage"

Tue Nov 28, 09:12:00 PM  
Blogger The Combat Philosopher said...

"When the first reel ran out, I consulted my pressure gauge and, although a good third of the air had already been used (the normal point which signals a return), I decided to press on a short way further. My assumption was that Roger would now abort, because he was using cylinders which were slightly smaller than mine.

About thirty meters later, the passage already having leveled off, a steep gravel bank loomed up ahead. In a rash bid for air I sped up the slope, reaching a vertical wall after eighteen meters."


- Martyn Farr (1991), The Darkness Beckons: The History and Development of Cave Diving, Cave Books, St. Louis, pp. 123-4.

This passage describe's Farr's exploration beyond sump 4 of Agen Allwedd in Wales, in 1974. His dive partner, Roger Solari did not make it out. His body was found in October 1986.

Not the happiest of passages, but a great book!

The CP

Tue Nov 28, 09:26:00 PM  
Blogger Bardiac said...

I like it! But I'm too tired after my night class to fish out a fun book; tomorrow!

Wed Nov 29, 11:13:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Okay this one actually WAS on my desk as I was looking something up. Incredibly long sentences.

"This is found in the nature of things, that one never tries to avoid one difficulty without running into another, but prudence consists in being able to know the nature of the difficulties, and taking the least harmful as good.

A prince must also show himself a lover of merit, give preferment to the able, and honour those who excel in every art. Moreover he must encourage his citizens to follow their callings quietly, whether in commerce, or agriculture, or any other trade that men follow, so that this one shall not refrain from improving his possessions through fear that they may be taken from him, and that one from starting a trade for fear of taxes; but he should offer rewards to whoever does these things, and to whoever seeks in any way to improve his city or state. Besides this, he ought, at convenient seasons of the year, to keep the people occupied with festivals and shows; and as every city is divided either into guilds or into classes, he ought to pay attention to all these groups, mingle with them from time to time, and give them an example of his humanity and munificence, always upholding, however, the majesty of his dignity, which must never be allowed to fail in anything whatever."

Okay, that's interesting and scary. Read this years ago and decided to re-read it, thus it being on my desk.

"The Prince," Machiavelli

Thu Nov 30, 01:24:00 PM  
Blogger G Bitch said...

Slate, I see why you're reading that again. Eerie. It's (somewhat?) satirical, no? Not really a manual, like Rove sees it as. ?

Thu Nov 30, 11:24:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Prince, satirical, yes. This is its great merit. Great choice, Slate...

Fri Dec 01, 12:42:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

G Bitch, yes. Somewhere long ago, so can't cite source, I read that Machiavelli, who was imprisoned and tortured, wrote this as a satirical piece on Pope Julius II (I think the second). He wrote it to mock what he saw. Unfortunately, he didn't put in an intro saying that's what he was doing, so yes, Rove reads it once a year as a manual, and the term Machiavellian has become synonymous with "the ends justify the means."

Hey, the good news is at least they remembered (they being our illustrious "leaders") that a good "festival or show" helps things out! Maybe we should all wear beads over our Florentine officials robes with a sign saying mission accomplished on the back for Mardi Gras this year.

Fri Dec 01, 08:16:00 AM  

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