Tuesday, November 15, 2005
(7:51 AM) | Adam Kotsko:
Tuesday Hatred 3.1415926535898
[THIS JUST IN: Infinite Thought has posted a translation of a statement by Badiou's group L'Organisation politique regarding the riots in France. Translation of a statement by Negri is promised in the future.]
[UPDATE: I'm glad Bitch PhD posted this link, because I don't spend nearly enough time with cats.]
I hate that I once had a job boring enough that sometimes the only possible form of mental stimulation was to see how far I could get memorizing π. (I used to know it further out than that -- for instance, the last 8 that I have is "really" a 7 rounded up -- but you really have to keep up with it if you're serious about memorizing what might as well be a completely random string of numbers.) I also tried to do e, but my heart really wasn't in that one (2.718281828459... is as far as I got, and really, that's pretty easy).
I hate how time flies. I hate canned asparagus. I hate artificially induced melodrama, especially when it takes place over the Internet. I hate that fiscal austerity measures are going to have me eating a whole lot more Ramen over the next couple months.
I hate not seeming to have as much time to work on languages now that the end of the semester approaches. I hate how much I procrastinate. I hate the graffiti on the fence at our apartment building.
I wouldn't say I hate it, but I am a little nervous about having to settle down on some exam areas within the next few months for my course of study -- I know one will be Ancient and Medieval Christian Thought, but other than that it's kind of up in the air (I have to do three others of my own choosing, and currently a required exam each in 20th Century Theology and Methods and Models in the Human Sciences, though the latter is not necessarily an immutable feature of the PhD program at CTS). Reading Homo Sacer, I thought that something like "Theories of Totalitarianism and Empire" would work -- plus it would conveniently keep me from having to read any Anglo-American political philosophy, because they don't talk about that stuff! YES! But I think that about everything I read -- "Ooh, maybe this would make a good exam area."
I hate that Jean-Luc Marion has changed his one course at the Div School next semester from something that seemed like it could be very helpful to me (Intro to Phenomenology) to something that doesn't seem all that urgent (What is Onto-Theology?). He's also team-teaching a course with David Tracy in the spring on Augustine's On the Trinity -- I'm already registered for a course at CTS on "Augustine, Niebuhr, and Malcolm X," so by that time I'd presumably be done with the Augustine part of the course and have something of a decent overview so that I could start looking more closely at On the Trinity, which is relevant to a paper I'd like to rewrite. But two courses on Augustine in one semester? Perhaps I could look into something at DePaul, but I have yet to figure out where on their website they keep their current course listings. Alternatively, I could just sit back, relax, and take three courses instead of four. That would still put me halfway through the 14 required courses by the end of my first year, which is "on pace." So many crucial decisions.
[UPDATE: I hate that some bastard gave me a set of Schubert's last piano sonatas "as a gift" and then later "borrowed" them back from me, apparently for the rest of eternity. They're playing on the radio now, and each note is like a knife in my heart.]
Overall, though, I feel pretty happy.
