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The Borges Library
(zix-42 Branch)
bEk: beskonistE'
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Beskoniste'
(Bosnian: "infinity", "an infinitist", the absurd, the original, the NOT a copy - unless an AUTHENTIC (and certified as such) bona fide' forgery; see also: "The Book of Sand" by Jorge Luis Borges).
On this page: {BeskonistE' - A non introduction} (trop non pause)
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BeskonistE' - A non introduction
(trop non pause)
Many questions have arrisen concerning certain confusions
among the various terms:
the absurd, an absurdist
pataphysics (as well as 'pataphysics and pataphysics' - which are only necessary in the original Phrench)
reductionism, a reductionist
etc
It is hoped that this non-introductio will clear some of these
up (or in the semi-quoted words of the late, great Douglas Noel Adams
"to set the record straight, or at least firmly crooked."
Absurdism is of course the concept that grew out of the German
proto-absurdists during the period 1900-1912 (although at the
time of course they couldn't know that they were actually
absurdists (specifically: PROTO-absurdists), so they
probaly just thought of themselves as outcasts.
When i can find the reference - part of the book was lost
in the move - i'll give it here. Something like "soderbach".
One of the plays was "the strong box" by a chap of the name
sternlight or something (stern being German (DeutchE') for
"star" - the glowing in the night sky type, not the day
type thing which (oddly enough) IS actually a star as well).
Regardless, absurdism is the idea (mostly literary or at
the very least artistically) that life is strife without end.
And that while "no one was poor" (or again as DNA would put
it "well, no one important"), many seemed to suffer, and
many, many more seemed to suffer A LOT - and quite apparently
(despite statements from those who were definitely NOT POOR,
that "well, they just want to be homeless. they could get
a job if they *really* wanted" - but for them, the sky has
just has never been the exact, right shade of blue or
"the sea wasn't just the right shade of pink" - again DNA quote).
Anyway, many of the people who were poor (and suffering; and
hence indeed in a *great* deal of STRIFE - possibly without
even a semblance of that greatest of all "wonderful 'oh'"'s
-- hope (James Thurber ref). They were REALLY NOT DOING WELL.
Unfortunately, i can't find any examples, of what was setting
these theatre/artist types "off", so drawing from the current
set of diatribes of the useless:
(ref: to zurich "global world" photography and
journalism project) the 5 korean women living
in almost poverty in an apartment not 2 km
(about 1 mile) from the actual G'Vinchy factory
making fake g'vinchy's to be sold to A-list wanna
be's for $150 rather than $1_500 - ($ ALTARIAN),
the old chinese man who lies almost dead - but
broken down, since he was paid to carry rocks,
people cost less than gasoline to run trucks
-- such is the cost of HUMAN-BUILT CITY IN THE STARS.
... Oh, well, that's just those damned Democrats
complaining again! - we were interrupted by a report
of some lunatic (John Edwards apparently) asking that
the next president being honest, having integrity and
other such absurdities -- clearly he's been drinking
or smoking something.
That's just the sort of thing that set them off.
As such, many of the more sensitive sorts started writing what
was first taken as NIHILIST (don't let me get side-tracked, but
those are people that stick to the claim that life is meaningless,
not worth living, and so forth - and (again oddly enough), these
people too are definitely NOT POOR).
So, an absurdist is not an nilhilist. Why this should be so,
i can for the life of me think as to why it might be. But, i
do know that a LOT of it has to do with falling down (whether
in an in-ebriated or just a very old and frail state - and
how that as nice gravity is, at times it's rather cumbersome.
Thus, in traditional theatre there is the so-called "reversal
of fortune"; eg, the rich man becomes poor (see for example,
the film "Life Stinks" by Mel Brooks (or perhaps Mel Brookes).
In absurdist (as well as much of SF'ist - Science Fictionist)
literature - the reversal of fortune is taken as "read" - ie,
already having occured. The author (especial the absurdist
author) usually must make this clear. For example, in one of
the (prime) examples of absurdism by Samuel Beckett (i'm
pretty sure he uses two "t's" in his name, being French-Irish
and such) has Didi (or Gogo) in the play "Waiting for Godot"
-- which although Irish (originally written in French) is
pronunskiated "gahw doh" not "gaw det", etc) anyway Gogo says,
what has happened to us? when they opened the Eiffel Tower,
we were among the first to go up. now they wouldn't even
let us near it. - not an exact quote, probably.
The above description was written in a pataphysical and mostly
a "stream-of-conscious" fashion.
'pataphysics (although as previously stated, the ' mark is ONLY
required in the original French (Phwrench') and not in the
tranmogrification into the English Language. (This is per one
of the earliest proponents of all things pataphysical Alfred
Jarry (whose, last name is prounounced "JAR eee" despite that
he was French - apparently something called a "Britone").
In his various expositions (of which the interested leader of
these things things may google upon) concerning pataphysics',
one thing was that the way that we interpret events is any
many cases based on the usual flaws:
- perception
- language
- expectation
- one's up-bringing (family, cultural, socieital, national, animal/mineral/vegtable/fractal/etc-al)
- one's own experiences
- one's read/2nd-hand/etc experiences
- etc.
Thus, the way that life unfolds (which is does with or without us
-- although Q/M (Quantum/Mechanics) tells us that the very act of
*observing* an event changes both the event and the observer), is
to a large extent RELATIVE rather than ABSOLUTE.
Of course, this last is a difficult thing to compensate for (if it
can indeed be compenstated for entirely or at all - a friend of
mine's father grew up in Russia (during the Cold War, refered to
as "the Soviet Union") and on display was an American (vintage)
train. Noting the nice comfortable cushions (and possibly asking
a question abou them), he was told that "well, only the wealthy
rode these trains, and they must have their comfort". Later,
when he was examining the locomotive (the first car in the train
with an *engine* - or pataphysically speaking 'that which causes
the motion'), he noticed the EXACT SAME comfortable cushions in
the chairs of the workers who ran the locomotive ('they that
cause the correct actions which in turn cause the locomotive
functioning of the object as per its intended design, use,
and affect'). Thus, the BIG LIE was destroyed by a single
cushion (or at least one).
Now, as to beskonistE' - being somewhat of an outsider,
and hardly infinite (except on rare occaions during dreaming)
i would hardly go so far as to comment as to what it IS.
However, i would go so far as to say what it ISN'T.
(and rather than waste the reader's time any further,
will dispense with things like "it is not a rabbit's foot",
"it is not a type of gerundive or even a dangling participle",
etc - we take those as read)
BeskonisteE' (or bEk as i have chosen for a short-form but
defintely NOT an abreviation; ie,
(eg) bek., bkE'., etc).
is not a form of mediocrity - that is a complacency borne of
lazy ness or even a need for
a square meal. For the most part, all attempts by infinitists
in the past to pass off second rate creations as real manuforms
of infinitist theory, propaganda, or even a "reasonable facsimile,
there-of" have FAILED.
As such, it's usually just better to get a day job and or live
off (ahem) your parents until you an get your act together, get
certified (through the long and (ahem) expensive bureacratic
process that has resulted from the (supposedly) well-meaning
"No Child Left Behind" project) as a teacher and "get a job".
That many infinitists "have a job" - well a calling, or at the
very least a wise and sage appreciation for phrases such as
"rabbit's foot" - especially if it is STILL attached to a
"certain" white rabbit who (story-wise) is related to a
"certain" girl named (in actual fact, as well as in actual
fiction - both written, filmed, aud'd (ie, a sound-only
record; eg, an LP (Long Playing) record, cassette tape
(again AUD only, at about 7/8" per second, past a magnetic
recording/play-back head constructed in a prescribed,
technically specified (electronic and mechanical) manner)
(named) "Alice". And as such, would hardly think of
carrying such a thing "for luck". The kiss of a
"certain" princess to the hero of the story being far
more desirable - even ifthe "hero" in such a case is
lizard-like creature (homonid) named "Grig". Well,
one of them.
So, where does that leave us?
Exactly.
It leaves us where we started: That the infinitists
(or Beskonisteians if you will) seek to go beyond the
norm - and not "merely" (that horrible critical word
for both the artist and the quantum physicist, jazzist,
etc) for the sake of being different.
After all you can be different to the point, where
by being so - you are really just being differently
the same.
If this has helped make clear the agenda of the movement,
group, Linean classification of "beskonistE'", then i am
at least a bit pleased.
If it has only served to make things LESS clear, then
well: Consider the source!
You should have asked Sally over there (no, not her
- the one with the "pointy-stick", picking up rubbish
in the park.
(goes over to check on rice cooking,
googles "rice cooking"
{Go back up to TOP (table of contents)}
Special thanks for this section are due to "The Overture to Candide"
written by "a certain" "Lenny", performed by the New York Philharmonic
Orchestra, conducted by Lenoard Bernstein.
^^^^^^^ (this "alignment" was just a co-incidence; believe me!)
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