Negative Capability (2 of 2)

The letter itself is a progression of ideas which form in a spontaneous and organic way.  In the first paragraph, he describes going to see a painting, Death on the Pale Horse, which was, for the time, equivalent to seeing the new movie out in theaters, we’ll say.   He described it, saying, “There is nothing to be intense upon; no woman one feels mad to kiss, no face swelling into reality-The excellency of every art is its intensity, capable of making all disagreeablse evaporate, from their being in close relationship with beauty and truth.  The idea of needing a point we can fix upon, while also dealing with uncertainty also suggests a sort of intelligence which is also capable of respecting multitudes and multiplicity.  (Continue below the fold…)

Negative Capability (1 of 2)

“What Poetry Is Not (Which May Lead Us to What It Irriducibly Is); and Why People Say They Don’t Understand It; or Everything You Need to Know About Poetry You Already Know (Or Keats Can tell You)”  –Title of the packet distributed by Matthew Zapruder in his craft session yesterday

Negative Capability is a term invented, ostensibly by John Keats, in a letter to his brothers, dated December 21, 1817.  He had moved to London, to become an apothecary.  His intentions, however, were really to be a poet.  At this point, he had met the people who were “the scene.”

I’ll get to the letter, but first, we need context.

A Few (Crappy) Photos from Amherst

Offered with minimal comment:

More below the break…

Where else but the internet?

This is why I like the internet.  Where else can you find this:

Image Header Design Contest

OK.  For the 3 regular readers, and anyone who stumbles across this.  It is time for a contest, to design a custom image header (or, the default image has to go).

Submit, in .jpg or .gif format an image that is 770×140pixels.  Quality b+w images are prefered, however, color will be considered.  Submissions may be e mailed to crebele (AT) gmail (DOT) com.

Now, you may ask, I do all this work for you, but am I getting anything in return?

My answer, of course, is gratitude, and the chance to be a guest blogger here at do not assume.  I mean, it’s not like I can pay you, or give you schwag or anything.

Funniest Thing Ever. EVER!

I was over at HuffPo, and I read this article, responding to US Military Research into “Gay Bombs,” psychic teleportation and a bunch of other wacky stuff.

An excerpt:

• Invisible, waterproof scoliosis toast
• Michel Gondry bomb that turns enemy weapons into sticks and drawings of weapons and the bullets into pieces of paper that when you unwrap them say “war?”
• A plane with artificial intelligence piloted by Jamie Foxx that when it lands on the ground turns into a wolf with wolf intelligence and lasers for teeth. Also, it is invisible. (only when it’s a plane.)

Check out the comments for the dreaded “Pork Bomb.”

More Proof Gravel is just as Crazy as WALNUTS! McCain

You have to wait for it at the end.  He walks THE WHOLE WAY!