Time Travel : Part Un

A lofty topic I will take on in parts. My goal here is merely to flesh out my nascent thoughts on the subject. But first, a preface:

At the age of 9 I discovered Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, and, subsequently, the twin paradox. The source was my very own volume of encyclopedias, my only reference tool in those pre-internet times, which I poured over incessantly. For some reason I was particularly enamored with this one-sheet thought experiment and so in a frame and on my wall it went.

I was still incredulous when it came to "TV" time travel, which went way beyond the simple premise (stated by the theory of relativity) that the faster you travel through space, the slower you travel through time.

My interest in the subject was left off here and my opinion remained the same (until recently) - that it may be possible to slow the speed at which one moves through time. I decidedly did not believe in "time travel" because Einstein's theory does not allow one to "go back" in time, and Back to the Future's unfortunate dearth of scientific backing left me unswayed. Although I was relatively intrigued by the idea that the future was so sensitive to a minor change in the course of events.

This brings us to the present noise on time travel, harmonious in the acceptance of one major principle: One cannot alter a course of events that has already taken place: sorry Doc, no disappearing from pictures or setting off chain reactions that revoke Marty's existence. (I mean that concept right there is really illogical in and of itself - that one can "unexist.")

Here's to you Mr. Salinger

"That's the whole trouble. You can't ever find a place that's nice and peaceful, because there isn't any. You may think there is, but once you get there, when you're not looking, somebody'll sneak up and write "Fuck you" right under your nose." ~Holden Caulfield

The disgraceful exploitation of J.D. Salinger is eerily reminiscent of the tombstone Holden imagines for himself: It'll say "Fuck you." I'm positive.


The news of J.D. Salinger's death was sad enough, but works posthumously published against his wishes would be tragic, and indeed a big F-you to the beloved author (whether or not he loved us back is not the issue at hand).


Now that he's dead, the litigious Mr. Salinger doesn't stand a chance against the vultures now circling as they prepare to gluttonously tear into his cherished works.

I'm sorry to disagree with Salinger's Franny, but everything everybody is doing (at least those involved in the race to capitalize on and cheapen the literary results of Mr. Salinger's genius) is wrong, mean, and stupid. But she was right about one thing, it is indeed quite "sad-making."

Please look to the right for related links

Stop the madness (or at least the sale of it)

Drug companies in the U.S. seem to be hearing Jack Nicholson's command from As Good as it Gets : Go sell crazy someplace else, we're all stocked up here!

Ethan Watters published an article for the New York Times on the Americanization of Mental Illness (you will find a link to it to the right). Not only is America claiming 20-25% of its residents present with a mental illnesses (a term I inherently hate, for the record) of some form, but it is constantly coming up with new disorders with which to infect its countrymen. The DSM-III, which came out in 1980 had over 100 new mental disorders (some of which are still being contested), and now the DSM-IV (to come out in 2012) is said to have more new disorders, some of which include "compulsive shopping." No, apparently it's not just a movie according to our highly trained mental health professionals (see the article in Slate posted to the right).

Apparently diseasing 1/4 of Americans with movie-inspired illnesses is not enough for the drug companies. They're going on holiday to recruit new cultures for participation in their disease mongering. Mental illness used to have strong roots in culture, including “symptom repertoires” and treatment methods. The exportation of mental illness is being done on a grand scale and selectively so, depending on which countries may be more "vulnerable" to which disorders (for example, Japan is lapping up depression, according to Mr. Watters).

The point is that our method of diagnosing mental disorders and treating them are both strongly contested by highly knowledgeable people in the industry as being horrifically "misguided." So not only is our way not the best (to put it kindly), it is certainly not the best for other cultures.

My narcissism's showing

Back to the US's exportation of mental illnesses in a moment, but first, the first poem written about me ;) :

Once there was a girl from New York City
I never met her, what a pity...
Was too busy writing stories,
all clever and witty.
Untouchable as a liger,
not a kitty.

manufactured drugs for manufactured diseases

"the routine human condition...is increasingly being re-defined as disease..."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1369125/

more to come on this shortly in regard to drug companies not only disease mongering in the US, but also exporting mental illnesses abroad

Synesthesia and Kandinsky

I have always been in awe of Synesthesia. It is the only psychological disorder that is not treated as those who present with it do not view it as an impediment to daily life. Most people who possess it are surprised to find that everyone does not see/hear/feel the world as they do.

Kandinsky was one artist who was inspired by his synesthesia:

http://painting.about.com/b/2006/06/12/kandinsky-and-synaesthesia.htm

His work is currently being shown at the Guggenheim until Wednesday (sorry for the late notice)
http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/exhibitions/on-view-now/kandinsky

Kandinsky has been a major figure in the history of the museum and his work even inspired the design of the building itself.

Anish Kapoor: Memory

Kapoor is responsible for Cloud Gate in Chicago, which I enjoy, but was not the sole reason for my visit to the Guggenheim today; however, I will say I found "Memory" rather impressive. I myself don't have much of a penchant for sculpture and abstract art but this exhibit really stakes its claim in person. When reading the review I had my doubts about the concept but it won me over, well done Kapoor...again.