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Friday, January 18, 2013

Edgar Allen Poe

12-21-2012, bread.  Photo by Michael McKinney.

1-17-2013, bread.  Photo by Michael McKinney.

12-29-2012, bread.  Photo by Michael McKinney.
Man I love Edgar Allen Poe.  I think he's a fantastic American writer.  The first really vital writer of pulp fiction, the first to immerse himself in the language of fantasy, without any recourse to comparisons, metaphors and literary allusions.  Classic macabre tales of fright.  The kind of literature that makes B-Movies and comic books, somehow translated to craftsmanship and excellence sufficient to be studied throughout the world for decades. 
The whole of American Literature could be said to have formed from the writings of seven or eight pivotal writers around Poe's era, including Poe himself.  From Thoreau's writings against government intervention and discourse on our nation's ecological responsibilities to Emerson's demand for self sufficiency, the major literary genres could be elucidated from their contributions.  Surely throughout the nation there were other writers employed at the time, through various means, but those writers one must certainly study in their education can definitively be described as foundations of American writing.
That being said, I can't say strongly enough how certain I was that despite having absolutely no interest in the Lance Armstrong affair, upon hearing that his crime of advanced doping was enabled through the master of macabre, Edgar Allen Poe, I knew that my disinterest had flared from passing contempt to one of misappropriated indignity.  How dare the anal retentive jocks of lycra and aero helmets adopt the writer of such classics as The Raven in order to more successfully cheat?  How incredibly indulgent and pedantic of them.  Truth to be told, I would quaver in fear of daring to upset the ghost of Edgar Allen Poe for one's own ends, despite the sickness one struggles with on their own time.  Which reminds me of my bread recipe.
The cranberry cinnamon wheat oat honey organic flour loaf I've been working on has revealed one sure secret, one proof, that needs more analysis.  After utilizing Red Star Yeast as the rising agent, I've noticed that this recipe has a tendency to just be too heavy to properly rise.  In the future I will attempt to use fewer ingredients and allow a more thorough rise.  As certain as I am that cycling will somehow bypass the convergence of Edgar Allen Poe's influence and competition, I'm certain this bread recipe will pull through with a little work on the rough edges.

Recommended reading, A Dog in A Hat, Joe Parkin.




Saturday, January 12, 2013

United Crushers

Last week, I stopped and took a couple of pictures while riding through Minneapolis. I had been wanting an opportunity to take a picture of some buildings near the University of Minnesota, along the InterCampus Connector bike trail, being a bright and cloudless day, it seemed nearly providential.
United Crushers must be the local grain millers union, I can't imagine how or why a graffiti artist would go to the trouble.

Also last week - cleaned the apartment, solved a couple sudoku puzzles, watched some ice climbers and finally read Firestarter, by Stephen King.

Here are my raw, unedited reading notes on Firestarter:

The realist versus Stephen King.

The Shining - Detoxification.
Firestarter - Custody battle.
Cujo - Rabies.
It - Sandusky.
The Stand - AIDS.
Carrie - Harlotry / zealotry / austerity of religion versus hierarchy of society.

As per Firestarter:
- Steig Larson
- Mystic River
- Road to Perdition
- Gladiator
- Jacob's Ladder
- Leon (The Professional)
...continued
- RD Laing and experimental psychology, as per acid.
- Huxley and Doors of Perception.
- Shop as various unethical industries, Charlie as any innocent child whose potential may "...light the world on fire..." and her father's passion to protect her.
- Possible research into The Psychopath Test and history of deprivation experiments designed to trigger psychological madness, psychopathy and undermining of "...acceptable..." human behavior given response and behavior to controlled stimuli - eventually the discussion could obviously revolve around to Nurture Versus Nature and James Kakalios.

Besides the killing of horses, dogs and people, a fictional premise based on fictional military history suburban kids use to demand government accountability for their own drug experimentation, a bad attempt at an old story.

There could also be a Richard Harris / Hannibal / Red Dragon tie in with the anecdote a young Hanibal Lecter relates to somebody, (Clarice?) about a young college student he destructively manipulated into hurting himself, while the undergrad was under the influence of drugs - as a revenge tactic. Relates to Andy's ability to "push", the power of suggestion and "dominant personalities in psychology", which probably ties into the media, PR and sales.

Naturally, the more emphasis placed on validating Andy's psionics, (the ability to "...push..." a person through suggestion), the more non-fiction the story becomes and one may be led into the same pasture as The Shining, wherein a strong argument for alchohol withdrawal induced hallucinations, madness and psychosis converge with cabin fever in the mind of Jack Torrance and bad things happen to good people- slightly more plausible than the devil inhabiting the furnace of the hotel, or the hotel being the devil, (or whatever), though in the case of Firestarter the English Professor, (Torrance was also an educator), is presumably not actually presenting psionic powers but rather massive, undiluted psychosis, narrated through the lens of the same, while undergoing some marital discord...the killing of Vicky is a frequent catalyst throughout the book, utilized before and after its description as well as in and out of chronological order.

The weather has turned, an acceptable snowpack is now melting and re-freezing into icy sidewalks and brown golf courses. Meh.