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Les Guérillères (pt. 2)

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Oppression & technology The previously mentioned example is not the only instance of the co-existence of both a lack of, and a distinct awareness of, knowledge regarding a particular object or subject. For example, there’s also how technology is treated in these prose tales. Initially there’s the occasional reference to commonplace technology, although sometimes the…

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Les Guérillères (pt. 1)

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(“The Warrior Women”) by Monique Wittig translated by David Le Vay (first reviewed April 2005) Wittig’s book, quite frankly, puzzles me — or perhaps it’s simply the hype which I find misplaced. I picked it up because I read it was, in 1969, one of the first appropriations of the Amazonian utopia legend by the…

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Truthseeker (part 2)

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I also understand the human psyche or spirit is sometimes baffling in its complexity. I have both read about, and experienced situations, where what seems like a simple and beneficial command to oneself (such as “stop being afraid of riding in elevators” or “lose 30lbs.”) can be unwittingly short-circuited by other equally strong internal desires…

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Truthseeker (part 1)

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This will be a quick review, I think. I’ve just finished reading a book by C. E. Murphy titled Truthseeker. On the whole, I enjoyed the book: Murphy writes well, with vividly described backgrounds, protagonists I can usually identify with on one level or another, and an often interesting fantasy/spiritual basis for the plot-producing strangeness…

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Sway: the Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior (pt. 2)

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There’s a fascinating chapter on the pleasure center and altruism center of the brain. The pleasure center fires up when we’re, say, gambling — greed appeals to it, for example. Apparently these centers can’t both run at once, though… and the altruism center is always overridden by the pleasure center if we get conflicting input….

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Sway: the Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior (pt. 1)

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I have a new book club! I’m very pleased; I hope it works out well. The club is reading Sway: the Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior by Ori Brafman and Rom Brafman. Very readable! I don’t know if the examples of studies given are all completely accurate (I’m not going to research the book that…

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Diploma *squeeeeeeee*!! ;-)

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So my master’s diploma finally arrived in the mail today, and it looks absolutely gorgimous! Fantabulous! Tongue-twisting-excitimus!I m seriously squeeeeeing over this one! :) Add to that lovely arrival the fact that the PhD program I applied for at CIIS has accepted me for the upcoming semester — and I’m bouncing along on cloud nine…

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The Birthday & Labyrinth Weekend

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Saturday’s wonderful events weren’t over yet, although I initially thought they were since we’d finished the planned ones. As an aside: I love celebrations! I love the planning, the decorating, the parties, and the gift-giving, where you choose something you feel is perfect for a dear friend. I deeply enjoy celebrating birthdays and the turns…

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The Sweat Lodge Weekend (pt. 2)

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I’ve never been in such a super-heated, sensuously rich feeling, thick- and heavy-aired place before; nor have I ever literally poured off sweat like this — and I’ve lived in Texas, Oklahoma, and Florida. At one point I have to keep wiping my face over and over every minute or so, for the amount of…

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The Sweat Lodge Weekend (pt. 1)

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[Fair warning: many parts of the sweat lodge ceremony are a sensory blur of memory to me; I’m writing the mental images I recall, but their order and accuracy is not a given. Further, if there are any errors noted here in how a sweat lodge is run, they are assuredly mine. Also, once more:…