Baseball stuff is on It’s a long season. Everything else, here.Tumblr (3.0; @tsflynn)http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/5e183e3917ab367a5a06fc3f7699f956/tumblr_mmpzmjFP5k1qctzmso1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>Cooper’s Hawk at sup</p> <p>Northeast Minneapolis</p>http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/50321647323http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/50321647323Sun, 12 May 2013 23:39:55 -0500<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/ed1452b7ac7eba4d0360fcd453e32713/tumblr_mmk6xnHMTX1qctzmso1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://instagram.com/p/ZHMsWyRMyl/" target="_blank">Stone Arch Bridge and the Guthrie Theater</a></p> <p>Minneapolis</p>http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/50056183237http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/50056183237Thu, 09 May 2013 20:32:00 -0500“The truth is like a lion. You don’t have to defend it. Let it loose. It will defend itself.”<br/><br/> - <em>St. Augustine (via <a class="tumblr_blog" href="http://allfortheladies.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">allfortheladies</a>)</em>http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/49977233805http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/49977233805Wed, 08 May 2013 20:18:09 -0500<a href="http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2013/05/watch-tom-waits-join-the-rolling-stones-for-little.html">Watch Tom Waits Join The Rolling Stones for "Little Red Rooster" :: Music :: News :: Paste</a>: <p><a href="http://scoutmd.tumblr.com/post/49810486882/watch-tom-waits-join-the-rolling-stones-for-little-red" class="tumblr_blog" target="_blank">scoutmd</a>:</p> <blockquote><p>Here’s the weirdest (yet coolest) thing I’ve seen on the internet today. I especially like the giant Tom Waits on the IMAX-sized screen behind the stage.</p></blockquote>http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/49825528707http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/49825528707Mon, 06 May 2013 21:30:50 -0500<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/926bfa7188c182ac2786ecf86760635c/tumblr_mmb3irkHkw1qctzmso1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://instagram.com/p/Y53POARM3_/" target="_blank">Mississippi River from the Guthrie Theater</a></p> <p>Minneapolis</p>http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/49650368870http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/49650368870Sat, 04 May 2013 22:40:03 -0500<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/af867b2458f1d02873260c129e66bd62/tumblr_mm3ocxQUi81qctzmso1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Maybelle</p>http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/49333276539http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/49333276539Tue, 30 Apr 2013 22:30:11 -0500<iframe class="tumblr_audio_player tumblr_audio_player_49226803752" src="http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/49226803752/audio_player_iframe/tsflynn/tumblr_mm1pewpxsI1qctzms?audio_file=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tumblr.com%2Faudio_file%2Ftsflynn%2F49226803752%2Ftumblr_mm1pewpxsI1qctzms" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" scrolling="no" width="500" height="169"></iframe><br/><br/>http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/49226803752http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/49226803752Mon, 29 Apr 2013 20:57:00 -0500<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/1fd4a66134eb1f924b7506facb6e87d3/tumblr_mlzj5fpMV91qzf03eo1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p><a class="tumblr_blog" href="http://roomthily.tumblr.com/post/49126022611/the-midwest-according-to-100-maps-published-by" target="_blank">roomthily</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p>The Midwest (according to 100 maps published by the following organizations…)</p> <p>via <a href="http://www.radicalcartography.net/index.html?midwest" target="_blank">radicalcartography</a></p> </blockquote>http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/49139411568http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/49139411568Sun, 28 Apr 2013 19:39:54 -0500<iframe width="400" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/LesU4ReRdZE?wmode=transparent&autohide=1&egm=0&hd=1&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&showsearch=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br/><br/><p>A giant has passed.</p> <p>#respect</p>http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/48982654571http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/48982654571Fri, 26 Apr 2013 23:11:40 -0500<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/2074b153f88e709a055e2acb6d02c7c6/tumblr_ml83g7cANs1so8apyo1_500.jpg"/><br/> <br/><img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/6d8344384db53b8aefa8d518e7fd969f/tumblr_ml83g7cANs1so8apyo2_500.jpg"/><br/> <br/>http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/48981900810http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/48981900810Fri, 26 Apr 2013 23:00:29 -0500“Speaking is physically difficult for me. But my feelings are clear: I’m furious. I will not rest until we have righted the wrong these senators have done, and until we have changed our laws so we can look parents in the face and say: We are trying to keep your children safe. We cannot allow the status quo — desperately protected by the gun lobby so that they can make more money by spreading fear and misinformation — to go on.”<br/><br/> - <em><p><span>Gabrielle Giffords</span></p> <p><span>Read the rest: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/18/opinion/a-senate-in-the-gun-lobbys-grip.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0" target="_blank">“A Senate in the Gun Lobby’s Grip”</a></span></p></em>http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/48248841208http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/48248841208Wed, 17 Apr 2013 21:26:58 -0500<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/2ae40523c3fbd369a45db662354f555f/tumblr_ml7ywdIQ9c1qctzmso1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Northeast Minneapolis</p>http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/47909088741http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/47909088741Sat, 13 Apr 2013 19:33:49 -0500<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/70b089ed812a6172cb133495f6b51674/tumblr_ml7yaoTYjb1qctzmso1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Fridley, Minnesota</p>http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/47908171783http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/47908171783Sat, 13 Apr 2013 19:20:48 -0500<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/14a561740727469294e184b911e0cdea/tumblr_ml1i7bym3K1qctzmso1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://news.coinupdate.com/ireland-james-joyce-euro-silver-proof-coin-1925/" target="_blank">http://news.coinupdate.com/ireland-james-joyce-euro-silver-proof-coin-1925/</a></p>http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/47616626022http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/47616626022Wed, 10 Apr 2013 07:47:35 -0500“Baseball gives you a very unique canvas to paint on. It allows for story in a whole lot of different ways. Whether it’s being on the mound in front of tens of thousands of people, feeling completely alone, and telling a story through that lens, or whether you’re up at bat, or the length of the game and the pace of the game … I think baseball is a fantastic analogy, if you will, for the things that we struggle with in life.”<br/><br/> - <em><p>RA Dickey, <span></span><a href="http://arts.nationalpost.com/2013/03/28/the-literary-life-of-r-a-dickey/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter" target="_blank">The National Post</a><span><br/></span></p> <p>(via <a class="tumblr_blog" href="http://oldtimefamilybaseball.com/" target="_blank">oldtimefamilybaseball</a>)</p></em>http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/46572944439http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/46572944439Fri, 29 Mar 2013 00:34:26 -0500<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/ed18d33debd77c7ea020a7cd2e34929c/tumblr_mkel8vPhBC1qzlnswo1_500.jpg"/><br/> <br/><img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/832fa9f8835cb4134431caafd21f9ca2/tumblr_mkel8vPhBC1qzlnswo2_500.jpg"/><br/> <br/><img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/91f9457e9149baeaeb79e699b90da1b5/tumblr_mkel8vPhBC1qzlnswo3_500.jpg"/><br/> <br/><img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/9109b1a12a01fe7f7316ea3f9936388b/tumblr_mkel8vPhBC1qzlnswo4_400.jpg"/><br/> <br/><p><a class="tumblr_blog" href="http://samarov.tumblr.com/post/46565459164/some-covers-of-a-walk-on-the-wild-side-in-honor-of" target="_blank">samarov</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p>Some covers of <em>A Walk on the Wild Side </em>in honor of Nelson Algren’s 104th birthday.</p> </blockquote>http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/46572654996http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/46572654996Fri, 29 Mar 2013 00:29:31 -0500<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/62532671" width="400" height="300" frameborder="0"></iframe><br/><br/><p><a class="tumblr_blog" href="http://liquidchroma.tumblr.com/post/46303684465/down-by-the-river-frankie-lee" target="_blank">liquidchroma</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>“Down by the River” — Frankie Lee</strong></p> <p>Yesssssssssssssssssss.</p> </blockquote> <p>I had a lot of fun at this show. Check out Frankie Lee’s EP, <a href="http://www.frankieleemusic.com/listenin.html" target="_blank"><em>Middle West</em></a>. It’s a good’r.</p>http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/46315951449http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/46315951449Mon, 25 Mar 2013 23:40:35 -0500“People will always tell stories. The publishing industry might vanish, but not stories. There are already new ways of telling stories. The way I think of my work is that I have to think up the way to tell a story, starting from scratch. The changes in the industry concern me in a general way because I think civilization is doomed, and I spend a lot of sleepless nights worrying about the world in which my daughters will live, which will be flooded, to say the least. But as far as storytelling, it’s always about the problem I have at hand, ‘How do I get out of this fucking hole.’ And there are always many holes, until there aren’t.”<br/><br/> - <em><a href="There%20Is%20No%20Real%20Life%20Brad%20Fox%20interviews%20Aleksandar%20Hemon%20%20March%2015,%202013%20The%20MacArthur%20%22Genius%22%20on%20willful%20delusions,%20the%20egos%20limit,%20and%20the%20stories%20we%20tell%20to%20make%20sense%20of%20experience.%20%20%20%20Image%20courtesy%20MTKR%20and%20The%20Creative%20Commons%20%20Aleksandar%20HemonSasha,%20as%20he%20likes%20to%20be%20calledleft%20his%20native%20Sarajevo%20for%20Chicago%20on%20a%20cultural%20exchange%20program%20in%201992,%20just%20as%20the%20siege%20began.%20He%20resolved%20to%20settle,%20mastering%20English%20while%20he%20canvassed%20for%20Greenpeace%20and%20watched%20his%20hometown%20burn%20on%20the%20news.%20Once%20a%20journalist%20in%20Bosnia,%20Hemon%20wrote%20his%20first%20story%20in%20English%20in%201995%20and%20within%20a%20decade%20received%20a%20Guggenheim%20Fellowship%20and%20a%20MacArthur%20genius%20grant%20for%20works%20penned%20in%20his%20new%20language.%20%20His%202008%20novel,%20The%20Lazarus%20Project,%20began%20as%20an%20investigation%20into%20the%20true%20story%20of%20an%20escapee%20from%20the%20pogroms%20of%20Eastern%20Europe,%20who%20was%20shot%20by%20Chicagos%20police%20chief%20in%201908.%20Photos%20of%20a%20police%20captain%20posing%20with%20the%20corpse%20are%20included%20in%20the%20book,%20which%20Hemon%20calls%20an%20Abu%20Ghraib%20novel.%20It%20is%20narrated%20by%20Brik,%20a%20columnist%20and%20Bosnian%20immigrant%20to%20Chicago,%20who%20wins%20a%20grant%20to%20travel%20to%20Moldova%20and%20finally%20to%20Sarajevo%20to%20research%20the%20worlds%20that%20both%20he%20and%20Lazarus%20left%20behind.%20%20Unconcerned%20with%20the%20boundaries%20between%20fiction%20and%20nonfictionTheres%20no%20such%20difference%20in%20Bosnia,%20he%20saysHemons%20work%20investigates%20the%20many%20uses%20of%20narrative,%20from%20jokes%20and%20gossip%20to%20the%20way%20states%20create%20national%20identities%20and%20individuals%20struggle%20to%20maintain%20coherence.%20In%20some%20way%20there%20is%20no%20real%20life,%20he%20says.%20Its%20always%20the%20story%20of%20your%20life%20that%20youre%20living.%20Among%20the%20most%20deeply%20felt%20of%20these%20explorations,%20the%20essay%20The%20Aquarium,%20from%20his%20forthcoming%20nonfiction%20debut,%20The%20Book%20of%20My%20Lives,%20describes%20experiencing%20the%20death%20of%20his%20one-year-old%20daughter%20as%20his%20three-year-old%20acquires%20language%20and%20invents%20an%20imaginary%20brother.%20The%20books%20dedication%20reads,%20For%20Isabel,%20forever%20breathing%20on%20my%20chest.%20%20I%20met%20Hemon%20at%20his%20agent%20Nicole%20Aragis%20apartment%20in%20Chelsea.%20When%20I%20arrived,%20I%20found%20him%20in%20front%20of%20a%20large%20TV%20discussing%20soccer%20coaching%20strategies%20with%20the%20Somali%20novelist%20Nuruddin%20Farah.%20Hemon%20led%20me%20to%20a%20long,%20heavy%20wood%20table%20and%20we%20sat%20directly%20across%20from%20each%20other.%20He%20nervously%20fingered%20a%20plastic%20bottle%20cap,%20bouncing%20it%20off%20the%20tabletop%20over%20and%20over%20again%20as%20we%20talked.%20His%20presence%20was%20large%20and%20looming,%20and%20there%20was%20a%20controlled%20aggression%20in%20his%20posture.%20He%20was%20serious%20but%20laughed%20easily,%20adamant%20but%20occasionally%20self-mocking.%20Theres%20a%20very%20simple%20rule%20of%20writing,%20he%20told%20me.%20Its%20all%20shit,%20until%20it%20isnt.%20%20Brad%20Fox%20for%20Guernica%20%20Guernica:%20What%20do%20you%20make%20of%20the%20story%20that%20Sasha%20Hemon%20came%20to%20America,%20couldnt%20speak%20English,%20and%20then%20two%20years%20later%20sat%20down%20to%20write%20The%20Question%20of%20Bruno:%20Stories?%20%20Aleksandar%20Hemon:%20Thats%20the%20great%20American%20story%20%5Blaughs%5D.%20It%20complies%20with%20the%20story%20of%20immigrants%20who%20came%20through%20Ellis%20Island:%20they%20were%20nobodieshalf-human%20somehow.%20They%20had%20potential,%20but%20of%20course%20they%20couldnt%20do%20anything%20with%20it%20over%20there,%20because%20it%20wasnt%20America,%20so%20they%20came%20here,%20and%20suddenly%20they%20bloomed.%20%20I%20dont%20know%20the%20numbers,%20but%20roughly%20half%20of%20the%20people%20who%20came%20through%20Ellis%20Island%20returned%20home.%20They%20came%20here%20to%20make%20money,%20not%20to%20make%20history.%20%20Guernica:%20But%20you%20didnt%20return%20home?%20%20Aleksandar%20Hemon:%20I%20could%20have%20at%20a%20certain%20point,%20but%20I%20didnt.%20Life%20had%20started%20here.%20Chicago%20is%20not%20a%20bad%20place%20to%20live.%20But%20the%20usual%20story%20of%20immigration%20is%20the%20happy%20fulfillment%20of%20human%20potential%20in%20America%20that%20is%20not%20available%20anywhere%20elseits%20propaganda,%20really.%20Its%20more%20complicated%20than%20that.%20%20Guernica:%20Did%20you%20simplify%20your%20own%20story%20in%20order%20to%20make%20yourself%20easier%20to%20understand?%20%20Aleksandar%20Hemon:%20If%20I%20did,%20I%20didnt%20do%20so%20deliberately.%20I%20hope%20I%20didnt.%20I%20went%20to%20see%20a%20doctor,%20and%20he%20was%20asking%20me%20routine%20questions%20in%20order%20to%20create%20my%20health%20file.%20Everything%20he%20asked%20was%20a%20yes%20or%20no%20question.%20Hed%20ask%20me,%20Do%20you%20eat%20meat?%20Id%20say,%20You%20know,%20I%20dont%20eat%20some%20kinds%20of%20meat,%20but%20I%20eat%20other%20kinds,%20but%20even%20so%20its%20not%20so%20often,%20depends%20on%20the%20day.%20He%20looked%20at%20me%20like%20I%20was%20a%20complete%20lunatic.%20I%20realized%20that%20I%20could%20not%20give%20a%20simple%20answer.%20Everything%20was%20fucking%20complicated.%20I%20realized%20that,%20responding%20to%20anything%20anyone%20would%20ask%20me,%20my%20position%20is%20always,%20Its%20a%20little%20more%20complicated%20than%20you%20think.%20In%20that%20sense%20I%20am%20psychologically%20disinclined%20to%20simplify%20anything%20about%20me%20or%20anyone%20else.%20My%20ex-wife%20once%20told%20meand%20she%20was%20scolding%20meYou%20only%20like%20complicated%20people.%20And%20I%20told%20her%20then%20that%20everyone%20is%20complicated,%20but%20for%20some%20reasonconvenience%20or%20laziness,%20political%20pressure,%20ideological%20pressure,%20identity%20pressurepeople%20like%20to%20simplify%20themselves.%20%20Theres%20this%20instinct%20to%20strive%20toward%20simplicity:%20simplicity%20is%20valued%20in%20this%20country&%20But%20much%20of%20this%20craving%20for%20simplicity%20is%20fake.%20Its%20deliberately%20eliding%20the%20complicatedness%20of%20everyones%20life,%20which%20is%20why%20nationalism%20and%20Bush-like%20fantasies%20are%20so%20comfortable.%20%20Guernica:%20Are%20you%20lazy?%20%20Aleksandar%20Hemon:%20Yes,%20proudly%20so.%20%20Guernica:%20But%20you%20tend%20to%20think%20out%20your%20novels%20a%20long%20way%20in%20advance.%20%20Aleksandar%20Hemon:%20Thats%20a%20nice%20way%20to%20put%20it.%20The%20other%20way%20to%20put%20it%20is:%20I%20think%20about%20it%20until%20I%20have%20to%20write%20it.%20There%20are%20many%20things%20I%20think%20about%20that%20never%20get%20to%20the%20point%20of%20becoming%20serious.%20In%20other%20words,%20I%20try%20to%20talk%20myself%20out%20of%20writing,%20sometimes%20for%20many%20years,%20and%20when%20I%20run%20out%20of%20arguments,%20I%20write.%20%20Guernica:%20Are%20you%20actually%20working%20when%20youre%20thinking?%20%20Aleksandar%20Hemon:%20When%20I%20say%20Im%20thinking%20about%20it,%20its%20not%20that%20I%20sit%20like%20a%20Buddhist%20monk%20and%20focus%20on%20the%20story%20and%20envision%20the%20whole%20structure.%20I%20think%20about%20the%20story%20while%20I%20think%20about%20other%20things.%20This%20is%20an%20important%20part%20of%20the%20process:%20I%20look%20at%20it%20sideways.%20If%20I%20look%20straight%20at%20it,%20it%20produces%20nothing%20other%20than%20what%20seem%20like%20complicated,%20brilliant%20designs%20that%20fall%20apart%20the%20following%20morning.%20In%20some%20way%20stories%20mature%20when%20youre%20not%20looking.%20%20I%20have%20operating%20theories%20about%20this.%20Im%20not%20nervous%20if%20I%20think%20about%20something%20for%20nine%20years%20and%20then%20I%20dont%20write%20it.%20Even%20if%20it%20fades%20it%20doesnt%20concern%20me.%20Itll%20come%20back%20if%20its%20worth%20it.%20Its%20a%20kind%20of%20selection%20process%20by%20means%20of%20laziness%20%5Blaughs%5D.%20Thats%20why%20Im%20proudly%20lazy.%20Its%20a%20method.%20%20Guernica:%20How%20conscious%20are%20you%20of%20doing%20this?%20%20Aleksandar%20Hemon:%20Its%20not%20that%20its%20codified%20or%20replicable.%20Its%20so%20internalized,%20the%20way%20your%20mind%20works%20in%20relation%20to%20anythingits%20a%20process,%20but%20then%20it%20isnt.%20Its%20working%20all%20the%20time.%20%20Guernica:%20Did%20you%20ever%20have%20an%20idea%20you%20thought%20was%20too%20big%20to%20tackle?%20%20Aleksandar%20Hemon:%20I%20just%20let%20them%20sort%20themselves%20out.%20I%20defer%20starting.%20I%20say,%20Its%20too%20big.%20I%20dont%20want%20to%20do%20it,%20or%20I%20say,%20Its%20not%20that%20its%20too%20big,%20but%20I%20cant%20start%20now.%20Ill%20see%20about%20it%20when%20I%20have%20time,%20and%20in%20the%20meantime%20Ill%20write%20soccer%20columns,%20or%20Ill%20write%20another%20short%20story.%20But%20some%20things%20stay%20around.%20I%20constantlyand%20its%20compulsivethink%20up%20stories.%20Im%20on%20the%20train,%20and%20I%20see%20something,%20and%20I%20imagine%20a%20scene%20from%20a%20hypothetical%20story%20in%20which%20this%20person%20is%20doing%20what%20I%20am%20seeing.%20This%20happens%20every%20single%20day%20of%20my%20life,%20in%20various%20ways.%20I%20remember%20one%20better%20than%20others:%20I%20was%20in%20a%20coffee%20shop,%20and%20there%20was%20a%20couple,%20and%20there%20was%20a%20bee%20flying%20around%20the%20womans%20head,%20and%20the%20man%20shooed%20it%20away.%20But%20for%20some%20reasonI%20had%20nothing%20better%20to%20doI%20imagined%20a%20scene%20where%20he%20fails%20to%20protect%20her,%20and%20the%20bee%20stings%20her,%20and%20all%20kinds%20of%20problems%20en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%20you%20of%20Milosevics%20early%20rallies.%20%20There%20was%20this%20willful%20self-delusion%20on%20the%20national%20level.%20We%20were%20lied%20to,%20but%20we%20wanted%20to%20be%20lied%20towe%20liked%20it%20when%20they%20lied%20to%20us.%20It%20showed%20us%20a%20kind%20of%20respect.%20%20Aleksandar%20Hemon:%20I%20think%20that%20in%20the%20first%20sentence%20that%20Bush%20uttered%20after%20the%20towers%20went%20downcertainly%20it%20was%20in%20the%20first%20speech%20that%20he%20gavewere%20the%20words,%20Freedom%20itself%20was%20attacked.%20I%20thought,%20Freedom?%20Fuck%20me!%20If%20he%20can%20abstract%20thisif%20he%20can%20turn%20this%20into%20a%20clich%C3%A9%20within%20forty-five%20minuteswere%20fucked.%20Because%20if%20he%20can%20completely%20ignore%20this%20reality,%20then%20theres%20no%20limit.%20%20This%20propagandistic%20abstracting%20in%20the%20U.S.%20could%20partly%20be%20the%20reason%20why%20the%20Bush%20years%20were%20so%20quickly%20forgotten.%20The%20lies,%20the%20crimes,%20Abu%20Ghraiball%20that%20is%20forgotten.%20It%20was%20like%20a%20happy%20summer%20of%20eight%20years%20when%20everyone%20went%20crazy%20and%20then%20the%20summer%20was%20over%20and%20school%20started%20again.%20Everyone%20forgot%20what%20they%20thought%20or%20did,%20forgot%20their%20drunkenness%20and%20the%20patriotic%20parties%20with%20a%20lot%20of%20Budweiser.%20We%20invaded%20two%20countries,%20and%20there%20was%20this%20blatant%20lie%20and%20there%20was%20a%20torture%20camp%20or%20two%20operated,%20and%20there%20were%20black%20sites.%20The%20government%20ran%20illegal%20programs%20and%20Abu%20Ghraib%20and%20Guantanamo.%20But%20once%20Obamas%20elected,%20its%20school%20again%20and%20not%20a%20big%20deal.%20There%20was%20a%20buffer%20between%20the%20moral%20choices%20of%20patriotism%20in%20the%20early%20aughts%20and%20the%20consequences.%20In%20Bosnia%20there%20was%20no%20buffer.%20The%20people%20that%20chose%20sidesparticularly%20the%20Serbian%20and%20Croatian%20sidesparticipated%20actively%20in%20what%20was%20a%20vast%20crime,%20no%20matter%20how%20distant%20they%20were%20from%20the%20front%20lines.%20Its%20difficult%20for%20me%20to%20understand%20how%20it%20was%20possible%20to%20live%20under%20the%20Bush%20regime%20for%20eight%20years%20and%20then%20just%20roll%20over%20and%20do%20other%20things.%20%20Guernica:%20During%20the%20ten-year%20anniversary%20of%209/11,%20there%20were%20many%20solemn%20tributes%20to%20American%20bravery%20and%20perseverance,%20but%20very%20little%20remembrance%20of%20the%20public%20support%20for%20the%20invasions%20and%20abuses%20the%20attack%20was%20used%20to%20justify.%20%20Aleksandar%20Hemon:%20I%20think%20its%20interesting,%20from%20a%20creative%20point%20of%20view,%20to%20have%20witnessed%20the%20loss%20of%20consciousness%20on%20a%20national%20level%20and%20on%20a%20cultural%20levelBush%20had%2091%20percent%20support%20in%20the%20polls%20after%209/11.%20We%20wanted%20to%20kick%20some%20ass!%20And%20were%20just%20hankering%20for%20an%20excuse.%20There%20was%20this%20willful%20self-delusion%20on%20the%20national%20level.%20We%20were%20lied%20to,%20but%20we%20wanted%20to%20be%20lied%20towe%20liked%20it%20when%20they%20lied%20to%20us.%20It%20showed%20us%20a%20kind%20of%20respect.%20Bush%20and%20company%20used%20this%20hankering%20brilliantly.%20And%20this%20willingness%20to%20believe%20in%20comforting%20mirages,%20to%20accept%20the%20delusion%20of%20power,%20to%20desire%20having%20the%20biggest%20dick%20in%20the%20worldI%20dont%20think%20fiction%20needs%20to%20redress%20this%20ethical%20collapse%20and%20change%20everyones%20mind,%20but%20this%20ought%20to%20be%20interesting%20novelistically.%20How%20did%20this%20happen?%20Someone%20should%20be%20writing%20a%20novel%20about%20this.%20%20Guernica:%20Trying%20to%20stage%20complicity?%20%20Aleksandar%20Hemon:%20Trying%20to%20address%20that%20willingness%20to%20comply%20with%20the%20given%20narrative.%20What%20we%20do%20in%20fiction%20is%20that%20we%20construct%20fictions.%20Here%20was%20a%20major%20piece%20of%20fiction%20constructed%20in%20front%20of%20everyone.%20How%20did%20they%20do%20that?%20What%20did%20it%20do%20to%20us?%20%20In%20some%20way%20there%20is%20no%20real%20life.%20Its%20always%20the%20story%20of%20your%20life%20that%20youre%20living.%20%20Everyone%20in%20Sarajevo%20has%20a%20story%20about%20betrayalevery%20single%20person.%20We%20were%20friends%20and%20we%20shared%20everything,%20and%20suddenly%20they%20turned%20away%20and%20left%20us.%20Some%20became%20outright%20killers.%20It%20was%20a%20complete%20mystery.%20Everyone%20asked%20themselves,%20How%20could%20our%20neighbors%20do%20this%20to%20us?%20How%20did%20it%20happen?%20%20While%20theres%20some%20continuity%20all%20along,%20the%20very%20need%20to%20establish%20or%20restore%20continuity%20is%20related%20to%20storytelling.%20You%20have%20to%20elide%20and%20edit%20your%20life%20so%20as%20to%20fit%20this%20new%20development,%20to%20restore%20the%20continuous%20narrative%20of%20you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,%20theres%20a%20social%20and%20human%20necessity%20for%20some%20kind%20of%20continuity,%20but%20its%20not%20axiomatic%20and%20not%20something%20youre%20born%20into;%20its%20something%20you%20have%20to%20work%20at.%20And%20one%20of%20the%20ways%20to%20work%20at%20itperhaps%20the%20bestis%20storytelling:%20telling%20stories%20about%20yourself%20to%20others,%20telling%20stories%20about%20yourself%20to%20yourself,%20telling%20stories%20about%20others%20to%20others.%20From%20what%20Ive%20read,%20one%20of%20the%20many%20conditions%20that%20have%20to%20be%20met%20for%20a%20brain%20to%20become%20a%20mind,%20and%20therefore%20have%20consciousness,%20is%20the%20analog%20I%20around%20which%20all%20the%20simultaneous%20inflow%20of%20sensations%20and%20stimulations%20are%20reflected%20and%20organized.%20So%20that%20as%20I%20talk%20to%20you%20here%20and%20all%20these%20things%20around%20us%20are%20happening%20simultaneously,%20I%20can%20tell%20someone,%20in%20a%20sentence,%20it%20was%20I%20that%20sat%20with%20you%20and%20talked.%20%20Guernica:%20In%20studies%20Ive%20read%20about%20the%20neurology%20of%20meditation,%20one%20thing%20that%20happens%20is%20that%20key%20brain%20centers%20quiet.%20One%20of%20these%20controls%20the%20function%20of%20physically%20separating%20self%20and%20other%20so%20that%20you%20dont%20bump%20into%20things.%20When%20that%20quiets,%20what%20the%20brain%20recognizes%20as%20self%20becomes%20limitless%20in%20the%20most%20concrete%20senseand%20the%20result%20is%20an%20expanded,%20encompassing%20sensation.%20%20Aleksandar%20Hemon:%20That%20makes%20sense:%20the%20analog%20I%20and%20the%20I%20become%20one.%20Theres%20no%20distinction.%20Because%20the%20moment%20theres%20a%20split%20between%20them,%20you%20dont%20have%20an%20I%20but%20a%20selfnot%20even%20a%20self%20but%20the%20beingness%20of%20me,%20and%20the%20Ithe%20space%20of%20itis%20the%20interiority.%20You%20need%20to%20narrate%20the%20gap%20in%20order%20to%20cover%20it.%20Ive%20never%20meditated%20for%20a%20moment%20in%20my%20life.%20I%20dont%20know%20how%20it%20works,%20but%20I%20suppose%20the%20gap%20is%20closed.%20But%20one%20of%20the%20things%20you%20have%20to%20do%20to%20put%20yourself%20in%20the%20meditating%20mode%20is%20stop%20narrating%20yourself%20to%20yourself.%20%20Guernica:%20Thats%20another%20neural%20area%20thats%20affected:%20the%20language%20center.%20%20Aleksandar%20Hemon:%20You%20have%20to%20suspend%20thinking%20in%20narratives.%20The%20moment%20you%20are%20conscious%20of%20yourself%20the%20gap%20opens%20up.%20And%20in%20this%20gap,%20stories%20are%20generated.%20Pronek,%20and%20all%20these%20other%20people%20Ive%20written,%20are%20striving%20for%20this%20oneness%20that%20they%20think%20other%20people%20have.%20They%20fail%20to%20even%20get%20close%20to%20oneness%20and%20get%20stories%20instead.%20%20Guernica:%20What%20has%20been%20the%20most%20surprising%20thing%20about%20living%20as%20a%20writer?%20%20Aleksandar%20Hemon:%20I%20dont%20know%20if%20surprising%20is%20the%20word,%20but%20I%20learned%20a%20hard%20lesson%20in%20Bosnia%20about%20art%20and%20its%20ennobling%20aspect,%20or%20the%20absence%20thereof.%20But%20despite%20all%20that%20I%20know%20rationally,%20and%20everything%20that%20I%20can%20put%20into%20words,%20I%20can%20say%20that%20I%20have%20difficulty%20giving%20up%20the%20notion%20of%20the%20nobility%20of%20art.%20I%20make%20money%20doing%20this,%20and%20I%20want%20to%20make%20money,%20and%20I%20would%20like%20to%20have%20a%20lot%20of%20money,%20but%20I%20still%20believe%20that%20the%20only%20reason%20to%20write%20is%20that%20somehow%20it%20will%20make%20something%20or%20somebody%20better.%20I%20do%20believeand%20I%20know%20I%20shouldntthat%20art%20transcends%20money%20and%20success%20and%20any%20of%20that.%20You%20can%20still%20do%20it%20if%20youre%20not%20clinging%20to%20the%20notion%20of%20nobility.%20But%20I%20am,%20Im%20clinging%20to%20it%20by%20my%20nails.%20I%20really%20cant%20justify%20it%20intellectually.%20Id%20argue%20against%20it%20rationally.%20Yet,%20if%20it%20wasnt%20for%20thatwhat%20would%20this%20life%20be?%20What%20would%20this%20world%20be?%20What%20the%20fuck%20would%20we%20do?%20Im%20fully%20aware%20that%20its%20something%20that%20cannot%20be%20accomplished%20by%20me%20or%20anyone,%20but%20its%20something%20to%20strive%20for,%20and%20fail%20at,%20daily." target="_blank">Aleksandar Hemon</a></em>http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/46138031159http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/46138031159Sun, 24 Mar 2013 00:15:28 -0500<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/354a73456797cd25ad00cec0e2909f61/tumblr_mk450bgH7c1rv43zto1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/46098620649http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/46098620649Sat, 23 Mar 2013 15:28:07 -0500<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/020fe4f16ba07a3fe6a99249e9cb3420/tumblr_mjtpweyw2m1qz6f9yo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://thisisnthappiness.com/post/45617391177/a-drunken-mans-praise-of-sobriety-william" class="tumblr_blog" target="_blank">nevver</a>:</p> <blockquote><p>“A Drunken Man’s Praise Of Sobriety” — <a href="http://biblioklept.org/2013/03/17/a-drunken-mans-praise-of-sobriety-william-butler-yeats/" target="_blank">William Butler Yeats</a></p></blockquote>http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/45627527584http://tsflynn.tumblr.com/post/45627527584Sun, 17 Mar 2013 18:20:05 -0500