Monday, December 1, 2014

"This Be The Verse", Philip Larkin

They fuck you up, your mum and dad.   
    They may not mean to, but they do.   
They fill you with the faults they had
    And add some extra, just for you.

But they were fucked up in their turn
    By fools in old-style hats and coats,   
Who half the time were soppy-stern
    And half at one another’s throats.

Man hands on misery to man.
    It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
    And don’t have any kids yourself.

Friday, November 14, 2014

"The Soiling of Old Glory"

This picture is described on page 118, "He was aiming the pointed staff of an American flag and charging at a black lawyer in a suit." I first saw it in a 7th grade history class.


What's horrific about this picture is not only that the man would use a flag pole, flag still attached, as a weapon, but that racial violence could still exist so far north in a "liberal" state, when we often prefer to think that racial violence remains in the south far away from us.

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Body Ritual among the Nacirema

I was reminded the other day while talking about American culture of this article... http://www.sfu.ca/~palys/Miner-1956-BodyRitualAmongTheNacirema.pdf

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Secret Asian Man

This is one in a series of syndicated comics by Japanese-American Tak Toyoshima. The strip stopped running in 2013, but most of the strips are still available on Toyoshima's website and/or blog.



http://www.secretasianman.com/home.htm
http://secretasianmancomics.blogspot.com/