Essay
Happy Birthday!!!!
Happy Birthday to me! I am a person that does not want to be the center of attention not even on my birthday or really anytime. Oh, I had birthday parties back then, but for some reason I just wanted it to be like any other kind of summer picnic. There were presents and cake and ice cream but as a treat. I am now 61 years old, and I had a very quiet birthday just reading and writing and that was fine by me. Birthdays are our days to what we want to do. I had a quiet day.
By Mark Graham9 months ago in Critique
July 1, 1964
July 1 is Canada Day sort of Canada's Independence Day, I believe, but actually July 1, 1964, is my birthday. This is the month of the dog days of summer as well as our Independence Day. Believe it or not I chose the image of the flag and soldiers for I was born the month that Americans started to be sent to the Vietnam War and all those issues Vietnam caused. Canada Day is Canada's day of freedom and for those who need to make some serious choices in their lives. Thank you soldiers for protecting the baby I was.
By Mark Graham9 months ago in Critique
Sociological Imagination
This place is odd. I am at a café in Allentown. I like the loft area. I am Phantom of the Opera here. Hiding in the shadows of a dead and vacant café. There are no people here; just as there were none on the street. The things around me that feel most alive are, ironically, the things that are most dead. To my left is some sort of wooden crank machine. To my right, an old, ornate full-size mirror. Up here, closer to the ceiling, one is better able to appreciate the ghosts of this building. Often the ceiling is the last thing to change through all the iterations of businesses and residences. These things feel more alive than the phone by my side, the clothes that are on me, the bag that I carry, but not the books that are within that bag. Marcel Duchamp coined the term the “infrathin” to give a word to the phenomenon of the residue left by humans on objects. It is the marks left behind, such as the warmth on a seat after someone has left, or the smell of tobacco in a room. These objects around me relate, but they are a more permanent version. They have taken in the marks of history and the dead. There is a possession to them. The phone, my clothes, my bag have touched no one but me. Save for the passing brush or the hug of family and partner. But this is not imprintation. Some of my books have not known the touch of another reader, but not most. I love used books. This possession of books is intensified by the marks of prior human contact. It is a connection with a separate mind that is thinking and interpreting the same words as you. In a way, this is a comradery. It cuts through the loneliness of thought. It adds life to thinking with the dead. Roland Barthes discusses in his essay “The Death of the Author” that the author should be one that disappears into the work. Ultimately, the reader becomes the author. It is the reader that is the end interpreter of the work, and it is the reader that gives meaning to the work. Without the reader, there is no author, and there is no author if they are not themselves a reader. Even without used books, there is an aliveness that comes from books that is ultimately unalive. It is this uncanny paradox that makes books the quintessential source of intelligence. Freud discussed this element in his essay on the uncanny by stating that the uncanny arose from “doubts whether an apparently animate being is really alive; or conversely, whether a lifeless object might not be in fact animate”. In this understanding, it can be argued that books generally hold this uncanny quality. They are both alive and dead and also neither. However, it should be accepted that the uncanny stems more from the doubt than the paradox. This aliveness is the continuation of life through ideas. Discussing, and somewhat opposing, Michel Foucault and Roland Barthes, Kate Zambreno, in her To Write as if Already Dead, speaks of the desire to write with the solitude and peace of someone dead, and yet to place oneself within the work in order to be seen, respected, acknowledged. Although the reader may give the ultimate meaning to the work, the words themselves are a certain continuation of the self. The words matter, but maybe so also the importance of its generality, which Hamlet may well have implied with his epizeuxis, Words, words, words. More than the café in which I now sit, with its wooden crank machine, ornate mirror, and historical ceiling, books contain the history and space in which one can think.
By Daniel J. Guercio9 months ago in Critique
Why Everyone Suddenly Loves 'Quiet Luxury'—and Why It’s a Lie
In recent years, a new trend has quietly taken over the fashion and lifestyle world—something called “quiet luxury.” It’s become the buzzword on social media, the darling phrase in magazines, and a must-know term for influencers, designers, and shoppers alike. But what exactly is quiet luxury, and why has it gained such a sudden surge of popularity? More importantly, is it really what it claims to be, or is there something deeper beneath the polished surface?
By Muhammad Asim9 months ago in Critique
Social Media and the War: Are We Watching the Truth or Propaganda?
In today’s digital world, war doesn’t just happen on the battlefield. It happens on our screens. It plays out in tweets, videos, and live streams. As missiles fly between Israel and Iran, another battle is happening in real time — the fight for truth and control of the narrative.
By Mehmood Niaz9 months ago in Critique
Who remembers ......
One early morning I was channel surfing, and I found an old rerun of an old television show I used to watch before going to elementary school. This show always had many lessons to learn as well as just enjoying watching many stories of a boy and his dog. Even watching this show now as a grown person I can still hear my mom saying breakfast is ready, then it was off down the road to catch the school bus for I watched these episodes right before leaving for school. Who remembers the great show known as Timmy and Lassie?
By Mark Graham9 months ago in Critique
History, Identity, and Power: Who Gets to Write the Truth?
History is not merely a record of what happened. It is a powerful tool, shaped by those who write it, often reflecting the agendas, traumas, and aspirations of nations. In our post-colonial world, history is contested terrain. Nowhere is this more evident than in the ongoing debate over the origins of the Jewish people, the identity of modern Israelis, and the broader question of who has the right to claim historical legitimacy.
By David Thusi9 months ago in Critique
How CW failed Wally West
The introduction of Wally West to The Flash Season 2 brought excitement to fans because they finally got to see the beloved Kid Flash join the Arrowverse. His story began with potential as he fought against his sister Iris' excessive protection while learning about his speed abilities before becoming a hero. The show began with a promising narrative for Wally but it evolved into a story that failed to deliver on its potential. The show eliminated Wally's development into the confident speedster from the comics by minimizing his screen time and then removed him from the show without providing any conclusion. The Flash series failed to deliver on its potential for one of DC's most significant speedsters.
By Melvin Savage9 months ago in Critique
The Sabotaging of Sam Wilson's Captain America
Today we will talk about the undermining of Sam Wilson's Captain American. a lot of people are being very dismissal of the character's progression; not welling to give Sam Wilson a chance. They're are many ways the character Is being sabotage.
By Melvin Savage9 months ago in Critique
