Relationships

Many people stay married when the relationship is fraught. The reward is longevity--a form of aging that produces notable even profound vintages of human beings. Nuns are married to Christ. "Marriage de convenance" is French for the kind of utilitarianism in which love plays a small part. Fungibility characterizes these transactions where even an itinerant or pro forma kiss might be monetized. You read about bad and abusive relationships all the time and wonder why people stay together when one or both are so unhappy.

read "Francis Levy Divine Comedy," Exquisite Corpse

Selma

 Edmund Pettus Bridge

Do people name their daughters Selma anymore? Do you know any Selmas born after April 30,1975, the day the US embassy was evacuated in Saigon? Names like Jan, Alexis, Aubrey, Avery and Billie are given to both men and women. Collies, Beagles and Cocker Spaniels can be Linda, Larry Maurice, Fred and Don, but have you ever heard of a German Shepherd or St. Bernard named Selma? Selma was usually the name of your mother's friend. It was that or Muriel. Doris Kearns Goodwin is a famous historian but did any Selmas write about the Roosevelts? Can you imagine Selma Kearnes Goodwin, Selma Day O'Connor or Selma Obama? Selma can be the name of a town. Take Selma, Alabama.

read "Frankel" by Francis Levy, Vol 1 Brooklyn

and listen to "Barbara" by The Temptations

Schenck v. US

Mario Savio, Sproul Hall (1966)

Get the fuck out of there is what you're going to do when someone cries "fire" in a crowded theater. That's the reason Oliver Wendell Holmes delivered the famous Schenck decision, cautioning on the limits of free speech. It's a free country. The Bill of Rights allows for the single individual to stand fast against the will of the many. The problem comes  when one deals with limits. Danger to life is an obvious parameter but whaf if there really is a fire? People are likely to be killed not only because of the  smoke and flames, but the stampede which results when the alarm goes off. 

read "Frankel" by Francis Levy, Vol 1 Brooklyn

and listen to "Boogaloo Down Broadway" by Johnny C

Schopenhauer

What do you want? Classically the question arises in developmental stages where love and work are concerned. "Plastics" was the iconic quote from The Graduate. Plastic is a word for a substance as well as emotion or personality. Everyone graduates though not every graduate has the good fortune of being seduced by Anne Bancroft. In another way of thinking the end of study itself is biological. Esse est percipi. You only stop when you can no longer be perceived. Thus eschatologically one can never know until one takes a last breath. Desire is the arbiter until the story is over. Die Welt aus Wille und Vorstellung is Schopenhauer's great tome. Steven Greenblatt's Will in the World, may refer to both the Shakespearian and Shavian "life force."

read "Francis Levy's Divine Comedy," Exquisite Corpse

and listen to "Duke of Earl by Gene Chandler

Phillippe Petit

Phillippe Petit, Allentown, 1974

Free solo is one of the most dangerous sports. Ultra marathons, UFC fights which allow kicks to the legs and choke holds. Diana Nyad braving shark infested waters in 90 mile swims to Cuba and Phillipe Petit scaling skyscrapers or tightrope walling between them and the crew of the dirigible who perished on the way ti the wreckage of the Titanic, the astronauts who never seem to be returning (like the riders in Boston's MTA in the famous folk song), film director Ian Cameron's explorations of The Mariana Trench and the riders of the Tour de France braving ever more difficult courses at record breaking speeds,  Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Judge--does the thrill derive from knowing you can't compete with these daredevils or is it vicarious? Does it lie in imagining what it would be like if you could?

read "Frankel" by Francis Levy, Vol. 1 Brooklyn

and listen to "Make America Great Again" by Pussy Riot 

Harris v Trump Heavyweight Title Fight

Joe Lous v Max Schmeling (1938)

A jab in boxing is both a defensive and offensive move. It keeps your opponent off while inflicting damage on them at the same time. Lennox Lewis won fights with his lethal jab. Tonight's debate is the equivalent of a heavyweight fight, even though the two contenders are not in the same weight class (Harris being the heavy and Trump super light, verging on laughable). Harris needs to put Trump on the defensive by constantly making him pay every time he comes close. When she sees him start to weaken and try to throw a wild punch out of frustration, let her feint, duck and unleash a combo--in this case a mixture of attacks on his inanity, lying and general moral turpitude while showing forth the power and legitimacy of her agenda.

read "Frankel" by Francis Levy, Vol. 1 Brooklyn

and listen to "Make America Great Again" by Pussy Riot 

Fear

Fear can lead to championships. Adrenalin fuels the competitive instinct (in that case it's not clear what comes first the cart or the horse, but most likely the cart since it's apprehension that produces the chemical reaction). Interestingly priapism which creates necrotic tissue is treated with Adrenalin. You don't find too many sprinters running the hundred yard dash with a tent in their crotch.

read "Frankel" by Francis Levy, Vol. 1 Brooklyn

and listen to "Make America Great Again" by Pussy Riot