"booking" info
I've presented the full/3-part "lecture" (see below) at KCAI & only the art portion at Columbia College Chicago, Vassar (twice), UNC Chapel Hill, Duke, Coastal College of Georgia. I've presented on my poetry at UIC.
Email binky.tabby [at] gmail.com to have me at your college/[other]. Thank you for your time/consideration.
Email binky.tabby [at] gmail.com to have me at your college/[other]. Thank you for your time/consideration.
47 Comments:
seems sweet.
I AM VERY EXCITED.
I don't know how to use paypal with gmail. I would like to get the charts and the lecture notes though-- could I send you a check?
@desario71 sweet
@hannah sweet, me too, in a way
@elise yes, thank you, i appreciate your interest/'financial support,' you can mail it here: tao lin / 451 humboldt street, 2b / brooklyn, ny 11211
does anyone want to carpool from st louis?
The "the collected 'learning tools'/'lecture notes'" will be provided at the "'workshop'/'lecture'" as well?
I'm pretty sure I will be there. I live in Lawrence, KS. This is exciting.
Now I wish I lived in Kansas.
Check will be in mail today...
Lise
Hello Tao.
How many additional $ do you need to ship the notes and charts to Europe?
And will this by any chance be videotaped?
Daniel
this would be a dope lecture, i think, unless this is just one of your meta-joke things.....if it is something in "reality" then could you come give the same lecture at bard college later in the spring? i can set it up or hook you up with the people who could set it up.....
@marshall 'learning tools' will be provided at the event but not 'lecture notes,' hope to see you there
@elise thank you
@Steppeulven you can add $2 if you want, thank you, i don't think it will be videotaped
@andrew i'm down for doing this at bard, i encourage you to do things to make that happen, thank you for your interest and help
i would pay extra, i think, for a videotape or online video of this; is that a possibility
sweet topics
damn, sorry, just read prior 'wont be videotaped' comment above
I put some effort into a response re: shitstorm post which seems quasi-relevant here given that part of your presentation covers the topic of “Moral within an existential framework.” So I’m going to paste that below (not expecting anyone to read it entirely although there are some salient points). Having said that, I’ve never used paypal before—but I will try to figure it out for your sake.
_____________________
@Aaron: I don’t find your comments pointless. And boredom is the ground for all greatness. So nothing to worry about there. And yes, I will react—perhaps negatively and with substantial amounts of caprice—when provoked or told to “shut the fuck up” without good reason justifying the words “shut the fuck up.” Of course, I am not offended by this “shut the fuck up” that was posted earlier. These words, given the right context and put next to other funny sounding words, are definitely-almost significant and necessary. Tao does a masterful job of doing this. Other people, not so much. Your post—where you begin it with ‘things’—might or might not be indicative of the latter point. I might have put the quotes around: “seem”: “things ‘seem’ to have escalated.” Or “things seem to have ‘escalated.’” But I would probably be wrong/unsuccessful in doing so. This skill, I think, is what prevents Tao-imitators from being successful. Let’s look at an example in Eeeee Eee Eeee; it’s one of my favourite passages which illustrates this sophisticated literary maneuver (henceforth “SLM”) nicely:
“It is not impossible to be happy. One song will be about U-turns. ‘Allegorical.’ ‘Profound.’ When Steve comes back from New York they will start a band. They’ll ‘screw around’ for two hours then feel depressed and go to Denny’s [. . .]. They’ll ‘jam’ for ten minutes and feel bored, and fucked. The word ‘jam’ embarrasses Andrew a little. ‘Screw around.’” [p. 41.]
When writing posts without using this SLM properly I suggest that it is inauthentic. And I back-it-up from a Heiddeggeran point-of-view. This is a nice safeguard against elementary philosophical points—points often made against Tao’s writing (see: shit-storm itself).
And this brings me to my next point: I am providing an analysis of what I believe Tao is doing when he puts regular-sounding-words-that-do-not-seem-to-lend-themselves-to-quotations-but-might-be-enclosed-within-quotation-marks-for-the-sake-of-irony-and-humour; and I believe that I have made a reasonable enough case in my previous posts that it is successful because it has to do with a play on authenticity and inauthenticity—although my analysis comes from a Heideggerean perspective which, I know, is esoteric and alienating, etc. I get that.
Yet by connecting this SLM with Heidegger’s account of authenticity and inauthenticity we are now in a position to forcefully deny that Tao’s writing is “gimmicky/awful/really gimmicky/too short/too dolphin-oriented/too non-sequitur’ish/etc.” In other words, we now have a suitable phenomenologically sound foundation to show that Tao’s work is “profound” and “authenticating”—or something. Hence by reading Tao I have implicitly suggested that one becomes more authentic. And I have done this as a fan of his work—that’s all. Thanks for reading.
please someone film this and put on utube
@justin, this is something i posted in an htmlgiant thread four days ago http://htmlgiant.com/snippet/29313/#comments
/
quoting phrases in one's own writing has become somewhat branded as tao lin-esque in a certain circle, but in general i think it is useful, and i think it makes sense given the cultural climate now.. it is like an acknowledgment that everything is cliched now and that being serious, literal, and direct about things in 2010 makes you feel like a dork
it is like an acknowledgment of postmodern irony–and a way to laugh about it–but, 'at the same time' (see what i mean), it is an effort to still communicate 'somehow' (in that sense it seems 'post-postmodern' i guess)
/
also i'm not sure if i agree with yr analysis of why "Tao-imitators" "fail" (not sure if you used that final word but it seemed like it was implied) but i dont feel like writing anything more about it so good job
@justin actually i want to write something about 'Tao-imitators' being 'unsuccessful'
i think yr analysis is not very useful because it refers to 'Tao-imitators' as if there are writers that can justifiably be labeld this way; i dont like that because i think many writers on muumuu house and commenters on this blog have taken significant influence from Tao Lin but i dont think that makes them 'Tao-imitators'; everybody takes influence from other writers to different extents; i dont think its accurate/justifiable/useful/appropriate/kind/constructive to 'reduce' their writing to that; you could possibly (?) defensibly talk about 'Tao-imitation' as something that exists on a spectrum that sometimes shows up in more pure form, but to refer to 'Tao-imitators' seems careless
second',' it seems also un-constructive to say 'Tao-imitators' are 'unsuccessful,' not only because it 'lumps' all Tao-imitators into a category but also because it uses the word 'unsuccessful' without setting any basis for what/who determines 'success,' etc; tao has written about this a lot with regard to who determines what is 'better' in art, ultimately there is just 'different,' etc; i have read comments on this blog that seem just as 'successful' to me (that is, i laugh, i feel 'impacted,' etc) as anything i've read from 'tao himself,' that's not a criticism of tao 'himself' but a compliment to the commenters on this blog
the only thing that seems generally 'less successful' to me when non-tao-lin writers use lin-esque phrasing/punctuation/etc is that i have the context of knowing that it is emerging as a part of this larger 'phenomenon,' and so i feel like less interested in that particular writer, like i dont jump to believing they are 'themselves' a 'genius' or anything; i dont know; that is about the only thing that i think of
dope.
good luck, Tao.
I think Tao-imitation without Tao-Weltanschauung will fail.
@Steve:
I appreciate your comments and taking the time—presumably—to read over what I said. There are a few things I want to mention and believe that they apply to your comments en masse. There seems to be—in this cultural climate—the need to maintain a sort of normativitivity (things "ought" to be this way; or things "ought not" be this way) when it is convenient for oneself and to shirk it when it is inconvenient. To wit, you say that in 2010 “being serious, literal, and direct . . . makes you feel like a dork.” And then you acknowledge that there is still a need for communication. So being serious-literal-direct is no longer an effective vehicle for communication? Maybe.
From there, you say of my analysis that you think it is not very “useful” and that to make the conclusions I have might be “careless” and even “unconstructive.” Again, what we see here is, ultimately, the very un-postmodern need to be in a position where one has the privilege of normative arbitration; that is, that one can be an arbiter of what is “right” and “wrong.” Some of Lin's readers/friends (?) seem to think this way, maybe even Lim himself, that there that is no "real" value to backing up one’s comments with an “opinion” which is supported by “reasons” and sustaining those reasons by offering an “argument.” This is what caused a shit-storm (see: Tao's previous post).
What I’m getting at is that we need to decide beforehand whether we or not we are going to commit ourselves to a sort of naïve relativism—the kind that many of Lin’s readers have already—where what is not important for “me” is, ipso facto, not important for anyone else. Or we need to admit that there is some kind of foundation—philosophical or otherwise—that will allow these arguments to have some sort of significance. Otherwise I’ll just be tempted to conclude that we’re all like bears that are endlessly/fruitlessly arguing about who hates life the most. (Apologies for typos/bad grammar/horrifying punctuation. In a rush. to get out of a very boring-not-so-significant class.)
@marie:
I totally agree.
oh, the layout has changed. startling. i thought, something's wrong, then refreshed the page several times.
i also wish this lecture thing would be taped.
i read somewhere you talking about frederick barthelme and wondering fred or rick and i can confirm rick. though on certain pieces of paper he writes fred. and his classes he sometimes calls (called) FRED 433, and he'll talk about this fred as if talking about some other person. this was on muu muu house, i think. a funny chat, but no way to comment.
lets all care about stuff
this thread is getting intense
good luck with the lecture, tao
@Justin R Morris: 'Shut the fuck up' is the new most beautiful phrase in the English language. Cellar door, shut the fuck up
@Jeff Tigchelaar:
Providing provocative comments without providing substantive content/justification for your remarks aligns you with the likes of Sarah Palin. Do you want to be like Sarah Palin? You seem like Sarah Palin. (Albeit an angry "you fucked with Trig" version of Sarah Palin.)
Anyway. Tao’s lecture looks interesting and significant and authenticating. And maybe it might provide some answers which were brought up in this discussion but have yet-to-be substantially fleshed out.
@Justin: Oh my. It seems like you might have misread my tone and intent...I wasn't meaning to be confrontational or anything like that. Sorry. I had read your comments about Aaron saying shut the fuck up, or something, and then I was thinking about how the phrase (stfu), while generally mean-spirited, has sort of a nice ring to it, at least aurally; and then I meant to compare it to 'cellar door' which I've heard called the loveliest phrase, or something like that. Did I clear the air? Sorry about the nonsubstantiveness...
No, I'm defintely not going for Palin alignment. Ouch. Dang. I hope I can shed that...
Yes: the lecture looks very interesting. I trust it will be.
@Jeff
I misunderstood. I didn't read/see/get the 'cellar door' part. Making me look uncivilized/uncultured/and severely lacking in other relevant respects of my life. In fact, you seem nothing at all like Sarah Palin. As for me, my reading comprehension borders on "Palin'esque'" at times (apparently). Again, my bad.
i'm bored.
justin i think you should address andy's concern
I really wish I could be there for the first two days.
I wish I could be there for the third day.
www.sawnoffshotgun.blogspot.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqHhQGI-5KY
"I think I recognized Adam," said Sam. "Yeah, I saw him on The View, on YouTube. The people on The View made fun of him for being serious. It was funny. When they made fun of him for being serious he was still serious."
@Steve. Great find, always been meaning to find it. Thanks
Hard to read. But cool idea. Good job awesome high five!
There might be an arrow/line from Carver to Hempel.
Definitely an arrow from Hempel to Chuck Palahniuk (who seems to be missing).
Otherwise - thumbs up.
surprised to find these comments chilling here like gold/treasure laying on the side of the road by this little creek that i run by on a daily basis. not expected, but really precious.
towit, cool.
@justin @jeff : justin, i am impressed yet again of your overall knowledge of heidegger/post-modernism/western thought, you must have studied quite hard. just wanted to clear something up though: i never said "shut the fuck up" or anything along those lines. believe that was someone else.
kansas eh?
hey tao, this is neat, glad you're doing this. i would say james joyce could be put in there with an arrow to samuel beckett and john barth. from joyce, you could go to (a 'bunch of people') but definitely ford madox ford who goes to jean rhys. and you could put in henrik ibsen with an arrow to joyce. also, a fairly big influence on lydia davis, besides beckett, is russell edson, the grandfather of the prose poem.
were i unemployed, more affluent, and free of familial responsibility that day, I would make the drive to KC.
any chance you'll ever do an event in Chicago? you belong in Quimby's.
I think maybe Ionesco would also fit somewhere in the chart....
A workshop is a fantastic arena for spirited discourse! It is my prediction that this affair will stimulate all involved brains. Good luck to both the teacher and the pupils!
this is awesome, tao! i hope all your hard work pays off
I enjoyed this a lot and it was cool meeting you.
This event was amazing
i read the lecture notes sunday night, and i really appreciated them. way to go, tao
viewed presentation, really impressed. kept thinking, 'this is some next-level shit.' seems transcendent, like maybe german's 'index' (or taylor's interpretation thereof). like methodical, detailed explanation/analysis of art as art in and of itself. laughed re claire danes picture. super excited.
My mom went to that school. Tell them you know me. Or don't. I don't care.
did you get a video of you doing your presentation. that would be sweet.
@andy there is video, a dvd may be forthcoming
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