The Dino-Aspie Ex-Café (for Those 40+... or feeling creaky)

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The Fishing King topic

Jeepers, Cosmiccat and Sleepydragon, I never heard of this guy (Richard Brautigan). Gotta get it!

Thanks for your concern, cosmiccat. I can get so into these literary protagonists that I take them literally. I sort of project myself into their characters, but not empathizing. Literally, James did not have a panic attack or he might not have avoided those animals.

A strange ability. But it is not a constant situation, thankfully. Getting so inside them that our two personalities merge, like a Vulcan mind meld. Then I can see things from their eyes. I have never told anyone of this because I thought I would appear kooky. It is a hyper focus thing, I guess.

Do not worry. I am not one of those indigo kids.

:Quoting Sartresue

I guess it's a lot like acting or what very good actors do to get into character. A gift, a talent, certainly enjoyable in my opinion and I would say only considered "kooky" by those who can't do it themselves or have no desire to. The ability to focus to that extent is a tremendous asset. I'll bet your good at meditation as well.

my gawd, were we ever that young?


Merle

Done the same. I suspect the other people's reaction comes from a logical inconsistency. Many people who wouldn't steal directly from other people are happy to do it if the money takes a detour through an institution that feels impersonal. I think that's why so many people are happy to steal through tax evasion, insurance fraud, or stealing from a shop when a cashier makes a mistake. It's not a victimless crime, the harm is merely delayed and spread out, but someone still has to pay. You did what everyone should do.

Drink driving used to be socially acceptable. In many places, the culture has changed to make it unacceptable. You did your bit to change the culture to make it unacceptable if someone uses that sort of opportunity for accidental theft. And culture matters. Here is some relevant research.

Might as well also give a link to a discussion on social phobia and shyness.

Co-operant conditioning topic

Dear Gromit: I lifted this from research link

In societies where the modern ethic of co-operation with unrelated strangers is less familiar and the rule of law is perceived to be weak, revenge is more common and co-operation suffers, the study found.


I have a question for you: Is is possible people may not return an article that they inadvertently took out of a store that the cashier erroneously forgot to ring in because they are consciously or even unconsciously punishing the cashier/store/society?"I will not rectify this mistake because it is not mine and the cashier needs to be taught a lesson. Ha Ha."

Since there has been posts about both Brautigan and Honesty, here are some brief excerpts combing each from a few sources that I find very interesting. I've bolded certain words intentionally. Brautigan was also described as being very child-like.

Excerpt from a review regarding a magazine venture of Brautigan and Loewinsohn in 1963;
Loewinsohn said the magazine lasted for only one issue because of the difficulty working with Brautigan. " He wasn't reliable or stable . . . and if you criticized him he would clam up and wouldn't talk to you for six months, which is what happened."

"My Brautigan: A Portrait from Memory" Don Carpenter, who often said he considered Brautigan his best friend, provides more details about Change.

CHANGE was the name of their magazine
a bold announcement of what was about to happen to the world of art and letters. CHANGE was mimeographed on cheap 8X10 paper. It was priced at one dollar per issue and four dollars for a year's subscription.

Don Carpenter said that it sounded like a good deal to him.
"That's just it," Richard said, looking at me fondly. "We would like to offer you the position of first subscriber."

I didn't know whether to be flattered or insulted. Had they combed North Beach and discovered that I was the only person they knew with four dollars? Maybe so, but I decided to be flattered.
"Thank you," I said, and forked over the money.

Some time later I got my copy of CHANGE, Volume One, Number One.
Volume One, Number One was, of course, the only issue of the magazine to appear.


There is more to life than editing other people's work, Brautigan and Loewinsohn must have decided. As for me, their only subscriber (it turned out), they owed me three dollars. At that time, three dollars was a hell of a lot of money, and I frankly never expected to see it again.

But no. These were honorable men. About three months after I had forgotten all about the whole thing, Richard came up to me on the street.

"Ah," he said, "I've been looking all over for you. Where have you been keeping yourself?"

I explained that I had a wife and family over in Noe Valley, and that domesticity and work kept me out of the Beach, often for days at a time.

Not hearing the sarcasm, Richard pulled out an envelope and handed it to me. "This is yours," he said. "Your refund from CHANGE."

I was very pleased. In the world of poetry, in the North Beach of then, money was a scarce item. This bit of businesslike honesty was endearing to me. I liked Brautigan better than ever.

The fact that the envelope contained three-cent stamps instead of cash was irrelevant. People can always use stamps.

Brautigan is Rich topic

The more I am reading about this guy, the more he is a wealth of interesting info! And so are you, cosmiccat. I will bet that only issue of CHANGE is worth a lot more now than the dollar it cost to print it! Actually, priceless.

The article at physorg.com was great!

I remember waitressing, a long time ago. I was new to this work, and found it difficult to hold information about prices in my head. One busy day, I managed to quote the wrong price of our foot long hot dogs, selling them for almost a third of what they were worth. Most of the customers would look startled, ask "Are you sure that's the price?" And then pay what I quoted, without correcting me. One guy finally said, "Maybe you should double check that." I was so embarrassed when I realized my mistake, and furious that so many people had taken the easy way out.

Lurking and stimming waiting for the warm weather to come.....
I am weary of dreary....

I had a dream a couple of weeks back where I went to church and they had just bought a new bible program.

Basically, a computer system was used where the image of the Almighty was going to be projected onto a screen while the bible was read and the image on the screen was supposed to look like he was reading the bible to us.

Now, keep in mind that while I was sleeping, I had the local University's baseball game playing in the background.

So, the system developed a glitch. Instead of reading us the bible, the man on the projector started to give the play-by-play.

And, in dreams like that, no one is ever able to turn off anything.

So the thing just kept going and going.

Yeah, it's very cold, bitter in fact, here in Philadelphia. I hope it warms up a little for the St. Patrick's Day Parade on the weekend. I love marching bands. Especially when they include bagpipes.

My favourite bit of Trout Fishing in America:

This is, itself, a parody of a passage from Melville's Moby Dick.

Thanks for those links, Gromit. Go with the flow, or swim against the stream? Choices, choices...

Sleepy Dragon, now look what you've done. You got me thinking about Spoon River Anthology and now I'm lost in it again and loving it even more than I did twenty five years ago.


Frank Drummer
OUT of a cell into this darkened space--
The end at twenty-five!
My tongue could not speak what stirred within me,
And the village thought me a fool.
Yet at the start there was a clear vision,
A high and urgent purpose in my soul
Which drove me on trying to memorize
The Encyclopedia Britannica!

Knowlt Hoheimer
I was the first fruits of the battle of Missionary Ridge.
When I felt the bullet enter my heart
I wished I had staid at home and gone to jail
For stealing the hogs of Curl Trenary,
Instead of running away and joining the army.
Rather a thousand times the county jail
Than to lie under this marble figure with wings,
And this granite pedestal Bearing the words, "Pro Patria."
What do they mean, anyway?

Spoon River Anthology On Line Book

Frank Drummer

OUT of a cell into this darkened space--
The end at twenty-five!
My tongue could not speak what stirred within me,
And the village thought me a fool.
Yet at the start there was a clear vision,
A high and urgent purpose in my soul
Which drove me on trying to memorize
The Encyclopedia Britannica!
________________________
Spoon River Anthology

now, ain't THAT an Aspie if I ever heard one?

edit: oh, wait! didn't Nan just write that in the post ahead of mine?!
I swear I didn't even read it, I read the other one.

and here I am wandering in the graveyard of Spoon River. I used to drink, and when I drank I went to the graveyard or cemetary in so many places to do my wandering, reading headstones and noticing the different sections, etc.
I am at home in a graveyard, and not for the halloween style effects, either. It's peaceful and nobody bugged me about drinking, and no one asked for any of mine, either


Merle

Merle

Last edited by sinsboldly on 07 Mar 2008, 9:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.

American (Edgar Lee) Masters topic

This guy is really interesting, as well. I love writers, and their biographies. He had quite the idea, with writing about people based on their names he found on gravestones in a cemetery.

Lurking and knitting, knitting and lurking.

Spring is here and the crocuses and daffodils are blooming. I'll try to blow Spring your way, Richie and Cosmiccat.