Part 36 (2/2)

The fact that Gareth van Meer and Hannah Schneider have the same sentence underlined -”When Manson listened to you it was like he was drinking up your face/' on p. 481 of their respective copies of Blackbird Singing in the Dead of Night: The Life of Charles Milles Manson- Blackbird Singing in the Dead of Night: The Life of Charles Milles Manson-probably doesn't mean as much as Blue would like to think. The most she should take from this tidbit is that they both found the behaviors of lunatics fascinating. T/F?

The Night.w.a.tchmen still exist, at the very least, in the minds of conspiracy theorists, neo-Marxists, bloodshot-eyed bloggers and champions of Che, also individuals of all races and creeds who take pleasure in the thought that there may be teaspoons of, if not justice, justice, per se (justice tends to hold up in the hands of men the way Chabazite does in HC1-disintegrating slowly, often leaving slimy residue) then a simple leveling of a tiny section of the world's playing field (currently without referee). T/F? per se (justice tends to hold up in the hands of men the way Chabazite does in HC1-disintegrating slowly, often leaving slimy residue) then a simple leveling of a tiny section of the world's playing field (currently without referee). T/F?

The Houston police photograph of George Gracey is unquestionably unquestionably Baba au Rhum; Blue can conclude this simply from the man's unmistakable eyes, which are like two black olives pushed deep into a plate of hummus -no matter if the rest of the head, in the grainy picture, is obscured with facial hair denser than the neutron (1018 kg/m3). T/F? Baba au Rhum; Blue can conclude this simply from the man's unmistakable eyes, which are like two black olives pushed deep into a plate of hummus -no matter if the rest of the head, in the grainy picture, is obscured with facial hair denser than the neutron (1018 kg/m3). T/F?

Each of the impromptu films Hannah played for her Intro to Film cla.s.s, movies that-as Dee revealed to her sister, Dum-never appeared on the actual syllabus, had subversive themes, evidence of her freaky flower chile politics. T/F? appeared on the actual syllabus, had subversive themes, evidence of her freaky flower chile politics. T/F?

Hannah Schneider, with the help of other Night.w.a.tchmen (rather sloppily) killed a man, to the infinite exasperation of Gareth van Meer; while he took pleasure in his role as Socrates (the job fit him like a bespoke suit from Saville Row)-touring the country, lecturing new recruits about Determination and other compelling ideas detailed in countless Federal Forum Federal Forum essays, including ”Viva Las Violence: Transgressions of the Elvis Empire” -Gareth essays, including ”Viva Las Violence: Transgressions of the Elvis Empire” -Gareth still still preferred to be a man of theory, not violence, the Trotsky, rather than the Stalin; you may recall, the man eschewed all contact sports. T/F? preferred to be a man of theory, not violence, the Trotsky, rather than the Stalin; you may recall, the man eschewed all contact sports. T/F?

In all probability (though admittedly, this is the conjecture of someone with little more than a remembered photograph to go on), Natasha van Meer killed herself upon learning that her best friend, with whom she attended the Ivy School, had been having a hot-breathy affair with her husband, a man who adored the sound of his own voice. T/F?

One can't really believe it, but Life is, rather confusingly, both sad and funny at the same time. T/F?

Reading an obscene number of reference books is greatly advantageous to one's mental health. T/F?

Section II: Multiple Choice 1. Hannah Schneider was: A. An orphan who grew up at the Horizon House in New Jersey (which required its children to wear uniforms; the house seal, a gold pegasus that could also pa.s.s for a lion if one squinted, was st.i.tched into the jacket on the breast pocket). She wasn't the most attractive of children. After reading The Liberations Woman The Liberations Woman (1962) by Arielle Soiffe, which featured an extensive chapter on Catherine Baker, she found herself wis.h.i.+ng (1962) by Arielle Soiffe, which featured an extensive chapter on Catherine Baker, she found herself wis.h.i.+ng she'd she'd done something that bold with her life, and in a moment of gloomy restlessness found herself hinting to Blue that she was, in fact, that fearless revolutionary, that ”hand-grenade of a woman” (p. 313). In spite of these efforts to align her life with something a bit more majestic, she was nevertheless in jeopardy of turning into her worst fear, one of The Gone, if it weren't for Blue writing about her. Her house is currently #22 on Sherwig Realty's ”Hot List.” done something that bold with her life, and in a moment of gloomy restlessness found herself hinting to Blue that she was, in fact, that fearless revolutionary, that ”hand-grenade of a woman” (p. 313). In spite of these efforts to align her life with something a bit more majestic, she was nevertheless in jeopardy of turning into her worst fear, one of The Gone, if it weren't for Blue writing about her. Her house is currently #22 on Sherwig Realty's ”Hot List.”

B. Catherine Baker, equal parts runaway, criminal, myth, moth.

C. One of those lost civilization women, poorly lit but with astonis.h.i.+ng architecture; many rooms, including an entire banquet hall, will never be found.

D. Flotsam and jetsam of all the above.

2. Miss Schneider's pa.s.sing was really: A. A suicide; in a sloppy moment (and she'd had many), when she'd danced too long with her winegla.s.s, she'd slept with Charles, an error in judgment that began to corrode her from the inside out, prompting her to spin fantastical stories, hack off her hair, end her life.

B. Murder by a member of The Night.w.a.tchmen (Nunca Dormindo (Nunca Dormindo in Portuguese); as Gareth ”Socrates” and Servo ”Nero” Gracey hashed over during their emergency powwow in Paris, Hannah was now a liability. Ada Harvey was digging too deep, was weeks away from contacting the FBI, and thus Gracey's freedom, their entire antigreedian movement, was at risk; she had to be eliminated-a difficult call ultimately made by Gracey. The man in the woods, the person Blue is positive she heard as surely as she knows the b.u.mblebee Bat is the smallest mammal on earth (1.3 in.), was their most sophisticated b.u.t.ton man, Andreo Verduga, decked in s.h.i.+fTbush Invisible Gear, Fall Mix, the accomplished hunter's dream. in Portuguese); as Gareth ”Socrates” and Servo ”Nero” Gracey hashed over during their emergency powwow in Paris, Hannah was now a liability. Ada Harvey was digging too deep, was weeks away from contacting the FBI, and thus Gracey's freedom, their entire antigreedian movement, was at risk; she had to be eliminated-a difficult call ultimately made by Gracey. The man in the woods, the person Blue is positive she heard as surely as she knows the b.u.mblebee Bat is the smallest mammal on earth (1.3 in.), was their most sophisticated b.u.t.ton man, Andreo Verduga, decked in s.h.i.+fTbush Invisible Gear, Fall Mix, the accomplished hunter's dream.

C. Murder by ”Sloppy Ed,” the member of the Vicious Three still at large.

D. One of those muddy events in life, which one will never know with certainty (see Chapter 2, ”The Black Dahlia,” Slain, Slain, Winn, 1988). Winn, 1988).

3. Jade Churchill Whitestone is: A. A phony.

B. Beguiling.

C. Irksome as a stubbed toe.

D. An ordinary teenager who couldn't see the sky through the air.

4. Making out with Milton Black was like: A. Kissing squid.

B. Being sat upon by an Octopus vulgaris. Octopus vulgaris.

C. Doing a jackknife into Jell-O.

D. Floating on a bed of frontal lobes.

5. Zach Soderberg is: A. A peanut b.u.t.ter sandwich with the crusts cut off.

B. Guilty of lion s.e.x performed in Room 222 at The Dynasty Motel.

C. Still, Still, after a myriad of explanations and Visual Aids presented to him by Blue van Meer as they toured the country for a summer in a blue Volvo station wagon, somewhat disturbingly unable to grasp even the most rudimentary concepts behind Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. He is currently learning to recite pi out to sixty-five decimal places. after a myriad of explanations and Visual Aids presented to him by Blue van Meer as they toured the country for a summer in a blue Volvo station wagon, somewhat disturbingly unable to grasp even the most rudimentary concepts behind Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. He is currently learning to recite pi out to sixty-five decimal places.

D. An Oracle of Delphi.

6. Gareth van Meer abandoned his daughter because: A. He had had enough of Blue's paranoia and hysterics.

B. He was, to quote Jessie Rose Rubiman, ”a pig.”

C. He finally had the guts to take a stab at immortality, follow his lifelong dream to go play Che in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; this was what he and his sham professors across the country had been organizing in secret; this was also why countless African newspapers were found strewn around the house in the immediate aftermath of his departure, including Inside Angola. Inside Angola.

D. He couldn't bear to lose face with his daughter, Blue, Blue who always thought The World of him, Blue who, even after learning he was an intellectual outmoded as the Great October Soviet Socialist Revolution of 1917, a disaster-p.r.o.ne dreamer, a s...o...b..at theorist (and only a very minor one), a philanderer whose illicit affairs caused the suicide of her mother, a man who doubtless will will end up like Trotsky if he isn't careful (ice pick, head), end up like Trotsky if he isn't careful (ice pick, head), still still can't help but think The World of him, Blue who whenever she is running late to her lecture, ”American Government: A New Perspective,” or pa.s.sing by a park with trees that whisper overhead as if they wish to let slip a secret, can't help but wish to find him sitting on a wooden bench, in tweed, waiting for her. can't help but think The World of him, Blue who whenever she is running late to her lecture, ”American Government: A New Perspective,” or pa.s.sing by a park with trees that whisper overhead as if they wish to let slip a secret, can't help but wish to find him sitting on a wooden bench, in tweed, waiting for her.

7. Blue's detailed theory of love, s.e.x, guilt and murder scrawled across fifty pages of a legal pad is: A. 100% Truth, as things are 100% Cotton.

B. Preposterous and delusional.

C. A frail web spun by a garden spider, not in some sensible porch corner, but in a ma.s.sive s.p.a.ce, a s.p.a.ce so huge and far-fetched one could easily fit two Cadillac DeVille Stretch Limos in it, end to end.

D. The materials Blue used for her boat, in order to pa.s.s without serious injury through a harrowing patch of sea (see Chapter 9, ”Scylla and Charybdis,” The Odyssey, The Odyssey, Homer, h.e.l.lenistic Period). Homer, h.e.l.lenistic Period).

Section III: Essay Question Many cla.s.sic films and published academic works do their best to s.h.i.+ne tiny lights on the state of American culture, the surrept.i.tious sorrow of all people, the struggle for selfhood, the generalized bewilderment of living. Nimbly utilizing specific examples from such texts, structure a sweeping argument around the premise that, while such works are enlightening, amusing, comforting, too-particularly when one is in a new situation and one needs to divert the mind-they can be no subst.i.tution for experience. For, to quote Danny Yeargood's exceptionally brutal memoir of 1977, The Edgycation of Eyetalians, The Edgycation of Eyetalians, life is ”one blow after another and even when you're on the ground, you can't see nothin' 'cause they hit you on the part of the head where sight comes from, and you can't breathe 'cause they kicked you in the stomach where breathin' comes from, and your nose's all blood 'cause they held you down and punched you in the face, you crawl to your feet and feel fine. Beautiful even. Because you're alive.” life is ”one blow after another and even when you're on the ground, you can't see nothin' 'cause they hit you on the part of the head where sight comes from, and you can't breathe 'cause they kicked you in the stomach where breathin' comes from, and your nose's all blood 'cause they held you down and punched you in the face, you crawl to your feet and feel fine. Beautiful even. Because you're alive.”

Take all the time you need.

I am deeply indebted to Susan Golomb and Carole DeSanti for their tireless enthusiasm, criticism and sound advice. Many thanks to Kate Barker, and also to Jon Mozes for his feedback on those early drafts (making the imperative suggestion that I replace high heels high heels with with stilettos). stilettos). Thank you to Carolyn Horst for meticulously dotting the i's and crossing the t's. Thank you to Adam Weber for being the most big-hearted friend on earth. Thank you to my family, Elke, Vov and Toni and my amazing husband, Nic, my Clyde, who graciously watches his wife disappear daily into a dark room with her computer for ten to twelve hours at a time and asks no questions. Most of all, I thank my mother, Anne. Without her inspiration and extraordinary generosity, this book would not be possible. Thank you to Carolyn Horst for meticulously dotting the i's and crossing the t's. Thank you to Adam Weber for being the most big-hearted friend on earth. Thank you to my family, Elke, Vov and Toni and my amazing husband, Nic, my Clyde, who graciously watches his wife disappear daily into a dark room with her computer for ten to twelve hours at a time and asks no questions. Most of all, I thank my mother, Anne. Without her inspiration and extraordinary generosity, this book would not be possible.

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