Tuesday, November 30, 2010

State of the Code @UFlorida


Fall 2010 Semester

Guest Lecture by Argentine Author Pola Oloixarac "State of the Code New Military technologies for old literary problems."

Wednesday, December 1, 2010 Pugh Hall Conference Room 120 Presentation starts at 7:00 p.m.

Pola Oloixarac (1977, Argentina), is an Argentine contemporary writer, essayist, and cultural critic. Recently, she has appeared in the prestigious Granta's list of "Best young Spanish writers." She has become internationally known for her experimental novel Las Teorias Salvajes (Entropia, 2008), which stirred the Argentinean and the international literary circles in the past two years. This novel, published in Argentina and Spain, has been described as recklessly intelligent and "without love," crossing disciplines and genres, and intersecting heterogeneous spaces such as video games and the institutionalization of postmodern warfare. Her talk "State of the Code New Military technologies for old literary problems" will address the effects these ruptures have on our society and their relation to contemporary literature.

Wednesday December 1st 2010 - Group Discussion (morning)


Pugh Hall Conference Room 210


9.30 am -Welcome and Coffee


9.45 am - Presentation and excerpt reading from the author


10.15 am- Impressions and commentaries of themes in Las teorías salvajes by graduate students and invited faculty.


10.45 am -Workshop (open roundtable for Q & A on literary motifs and critical readings(


11.30 am- Closing remakrs by Prof. Carina González


12.pm - 2pm Lunck break


Wednesday December 1st 2010 - Presentation (evening)


Pugh Hall Conference Room 210


7pm am - Open reception


7.15 am - Presentation of Pola Oloixarac by Gerardo Muñoz. “With whom are we at war? On Pola Oloixarac’s dialectics of politics and desire”.


7.30 am- Pola Oloixarac’s academic presentation “State of the code: New military technologies for old literary problems”


8 pm - Q & A from the audience


8.15 pm - Refreshments and conversation


8.30 pm Dinner with the author and participants who RSVP


In Gator Land

llego de noche a gainesville, florida, y rápidamente me siento a gusto, por la amabilidad de mis hosts y porque los alligators son ubicuos y quizás llegue a ver a alguno pasar junto a mi habitación de hotel, pero está oscuro -ellos son enormes. acá cerca es el pantano Fakahatchee, donde mora la Orquidea Fantasma que comparten Charlie Kaufman y Susan Orlean; de acá es el pastor que hizo a mi amiga Ghada vestirse de redneck en Iowa (es un vecino más que se pasea en Cadillac). para llegar acá, pasé por seguridad en JFK detrás de Kim Kardashian -sus botas de cuero taco aguja over-theknee en la bandejita pre-moi-, en el avion viajé junto a una hipóstasis del Coco Basile en forma de banquero de citibank que me prestó su ipad para ver sus versiones pirateadas de Cazadores de Utopías y Montoneros Una historia, de Andrés di; antes de combinar a Gainesville un argentino de bigotes, personal del aeropuerto, me ayudó a destrabajar mi maletita y resultó ser un colimba de Infantería Marina durante 76-77, me contó que estaba en Puerto Madryn y lo llamaron para derrocar a Isabel y de compañeros de colimba muertos por guerrilleros solo por ser colimbas y también vio cómo tiraban de los helicópteros a los cautivos encapuchados al río, en Zárate. en el avión, leo sobre la maravillosa voz, que no escuché, de la soprano rusa Marina Poplaskaya, la nueva diva de la ópera -el New Yorker cubre su concierto con Baremboim en el Colón- y me encanta usa pero quiero, necesito 1. dormir 2. volver a buenos aires!


Cumbia baby

la señorita Carolina Luna, una lectora, me (nos) manda este videito

Vuelvo y voy

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

War, desire and the contemporary @Florida


Desativar humanos!

pela Pola Oloixarac reporteira na Silicon Valley pra Revista Alfa
traduçao: Ronaldo Bressane

Na varanda de uma mansão à beira do Oceano Pacífico, e
m uma das áreas mais sofisticadas de São Francisco, um mago anão de largas barbas brancas conversa com um homem de óculos cuja roupa parece um computador — o assunto é uma professora que provou que seu papagaio pensava. Freakolândia? Nada disso. O primeiro sujeito é James Randi, o mágico que desmascarou o vidente Uri Geller, uma espécie de superpadre Quevedo dos anos 70; o segundo é o inventor Steve Mann, conhecido como o “primeiro ciborgue” por seu trabalho com câmeras adaptáveis ao corpo; a professora é Irene Pepperberg, autoridade de Harvard em cognição animal. Ali por perto há uma biblioteca com o alfabeto essencial dos mestres da ficção científica: Isaac Asimov, J.G. Ballard, Arthur C. Clarke. Do terraço, o olhar se perde em uma vista magnífica do Exploratorium, o museu de ciências onde Kim Novak e James Stewart passearam para as lentes de Alfred Hitchcock em Um Corpo Que Cai. Dispersos pelos três andares da residência, papeando e bebendo champanhe, esquisitões multidiplomados se misturam a homens de turbante, nerds entusiasmados e milionários californianos — entre eles está ninguém menos que Larry Page, fundador do Google. O dono da mansão é Peter Thiel, criador do PayPal, empresa pioneira na transferência financeira pela internet e um dos primeiros investidores do Facebook. Tudo parece fantasioso. Mas está acontecendo. Aqui, agora.



Sunday, November 21, 2010

Monday, November 15, 2010

Invita Tony


Friday 19 November: Granta 113: The Miami Book Fair Launch Party
Join novelists Pola Oloixarac and Carlos Yushimito and editors John Freeman, Aurelio Major and Valerie Miles to celebrate the US launch.

Gemma Lounge, 529 Lincoln Road, Miami, FL 33139, 8 p.m.

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Saturday 20 November: Introducing The Best of Young Spanish-language Novelists: The US Launch
Pola Oloixarac, Carlos Yushimito and editors John Freeman, Aurelio Major and Valerie Miles ask: Why this list? and Why now?

Miami International Book Fair, Room 3314 (Building 3, 3rd Floor), Miami Dade College, 300 NE Second Ave, Miami, FL 33132, 4 p.m.

How to make your friends paranoid!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Bravo Michel!




Enfin ! Décernant leur prix à Michel Houellebecq, pour La Carte et le Territoire (Flammarion), les jurés ont mis un terme à une longue histoire de rendez-vous manqués, de polémiques et de malentendus. (tout)

...reading in NYC !!


/


\\//
The University of Iowa’s International Writing Program and Granta present:

One-Way Street:
An Evening with Pola Oloixarac, Billy Kahora, and H.M. Naqvi

Sunday, November 14th, 2010
6:00 pm
BookCourt
163 Court Street (between Pacific & Dean)
Brooklyn, NY

The IWP and Granta come together in New York City to celebrate the affiliations of three of this year's IWP's writers-in-residence with the UK literary journal/giant:

Pola Oloixarac (Argentina), was recently named one of the "Best Young Spanish Language Novelists," and will be featured in the forthcoming issue, release on November 11th.

Billy Kahora (Kenya), Editor of the journal 'Kwani?,' has published a number of pieces for Granta online.

H.M. Naqvi (Pakistan), will also read, author of the novel 'Homeboy,' recently shortlisted for the $50,000 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature

Please come out to the event, or tell your friends to (!), an early Sunday evening marking the literary crossing of international proportions... RSVP!

runaway day

Monday, November 8, 2010

Spotted on Cambridge



catch by Maryia Martysevich, with love from Byelorussia in the snow!

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Neorrealismo porno chileno


"No crean que vamos a mostrar una tremenda orgía en pantalla. Lo que queremos hacer es ocupar todo esto de los mineros y hacer algo simpático, pero también con una crítica social. Todo esto se enmarca en la celebración de los diez años del porno chileno", dijo el director a un diario local, y agregó: "Nosotros no vemos a los mineros como héroes, sino como víctimas de un sistema que está mal hecho y que provocó todo", agregó. (full story)

Blood for maps

A Nicaraguan military commander recently invaded Costa Rican territory, and ordered troops to take down a Costa Rican flag and replace it with Nicaragua's. The incident was caused by an error in Google Maps. (full story)

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Happy Carl Sagan day!


"a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam [...] the Earth is where we make our stand."

"Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. "

a present from ek :)

We're busy doing nothing


from anja :)

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Dating for the aesthetically challenged

Nombre:


Razonamiento/Misión:
  1. the ugly bug ballHalf of UK daters aren’t pretty so instead of fishing in a small pool of prettiness and getting nowhere dive into an ocean of uglies and have more choice.

  2. Ugly people are a better calibre of human - pretty people generally aren’t very nice and tend to be a bit shallow

  3. Ugly people have had a tougher life and therefore tend to be more considerate and more loyal. A recent TUBB survey also proved that they try harder in bed.

  4. Once with an ugly partner it is unlikely that anyone will try and take them from you meaning you can let yourself go completely once you’re together.

  5. In these straightened times TUBB is cheaper as a) We don’t charge much as the pretty sites and b) Ugly people have lower expectations – for a first date A Family Bucket will usually do the trick.
Los seres:


from clara

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Eminenciales. Mostración pública del Uno y Trino, y Josefina

Hydra (con holgura, la mejor editorial argentina de 2010) presentará el primer libro de su Serie Clásicos: Elementos filosóficos. Del ciudadano, trad. y prólogo de Andrés Rosler, Buenos Aires, Hydra, 2010.

El encuentro será coordinado por José Luis Álvarez López (Centro Cultural Rector Ricardo Rojas, U.B.A.) y Sebastián Abad (Hydra Editorial) y tendrá como presentadores al Dr. Jorge Dotti (Profesor Titular de Filosofía Política, U.B.A.) y al Dr. Andrés Rosler (Profesor Titular de Filosofía del Derecho, U.B.A.).

El libro Del ciudadano, como comúnmente se lo conoce, aunque originalmente pensado como parte de una obra mayor, se publica por separado en 1642. El contexto político de aquel momento obligaba a publicarlo antes de lo previsto. Este dato nos advierte que Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) despliega sus argumentos en el marco de una disputa por la conquista del sentido de términos como «pueblo», «persona» y «libertad» contra el sentido común republicano de la política. El autor expone a lo largo de este texto aquellas categorías de la reflexión política que quedarían para el resto de la historia de la filosofía cargadas de sentido hobbesiano: Estado, soberanía, obligación política y derecho natural.

Del ciudadano se presenta al público traducido y prologado por el Dr. Andrés Rosler, Profesor Titular de la Cátedra de Filosofía del Derecho de la Universidad de Buenos Aires y Doctor en Filosofía por la Universidad de Oxford. Destacado estudioso de la obra de Hobbes, Rosler ha publicado numerosos escritos donde analiza la naturaleza del conflicto político y su relación con el derecho

4 de noviembre 19.30 hs en el Centro Cultural Rojas.

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El rector de la Universidad de Buenos Aires, Dr. Rubén Hallu, el decano de la Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Dr. Sergio Caletti, y el decano de la Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Dr. Héctor Hugo Trinchero, invitan a la ceremonia de entrega del título de Profesor Honoris Causa de la Universidad de Buenos Aires a la distinguida crítica y docente Josefina Ludmer.

El acto se llevará a cabo el jueves 4 de noviembre a las 19 hs. en Arenales 1371, sede del Rectorado de la UBA. En esa ocasión, Josefina Ludmer dará una conferencia titulada "Lo que viene después".

Como saben, Josefina ejerce sus poderes magistrales en el Birreinato, y ahora se la repatria para los magisteriales (ella estaba en Yale, y después en Sociales, es como el conurbano del pensamiento). Felicitaciones, Josefina!!!
Qué ganas de brindar, y de ver a Dañel... a Ariel... al Uno y Trino... a todas las personas maravillosas cuyas presencias añoro y compongo entre visiones bibliotecarias en Middle America, ardillitas, Winchesters, carrot cakes y corn, en este día de comicios electorales en Iowa.

pd: crucial! Sebastián Freire inaugura Formas de vida!!


Monday, November 1, 2010

One Autumn with Writers

by writer Ian Rosales Casocot, on FB

It's the last Sunday of November. I have been feeling rather down today -- perhaps I am just tired from the previous night's frenzied partying -- that not even a splendid hay ride in a beautiful Iowan farmhouse can mitigate it, and everything to me now seems to run with forbidding shadows. Some things are even hateful in varying degrees. The full capacity of this cafe, for example, when on ordinary days I delight in seeing the constant traffic of interesting faces. And the fact that it's cold outside. There's also my use of the word "mitigate," which I find utterly pretentious, and I hate it. So is my use of the word "utterly." It seems that in this down time, I have learned how to perfectly cannibalize myself with little irritations.

I use a lot of excuses, don't I.

The real reason is the fact that there is something inevitable that stares me at me now: going home. How do you go home after Iowa? After the International Writing Program? But I am, all of us are. We are leaving in barely three weeks, and I don't think I'm ready to go back to my old life just yet. And yet, there are already missives from and of home that are reminders of this inevitability: emails from family and friends, announcements from work, and the constant moans by O Thiam Chin every single day that this is his "last Friday in Iowa City," his "last Saturday in Iowa City," his "last Sunday in Iowa City." I keep mum, always in that posture of denial, but in my head I tell him: "I am counting out my last days, too, and I am sad."

Amilcar is already gone. So is Najwan. You can see how sad most of us are. We try to hide this silly sentimentality, of course, with smiles and small talk and good cheer and drunken parties -- and sometimes, for some of our men here in the IWP, with a slinky black dress or women's lingerie for a Halloween night's excuse to let our hair down. Last night, at the ghoulish gathering at the Merinos', you could feel that pull for camaraderie among many of the writers in the IWP. There was an acknowledgment in the air that we were indeed counting out our days, that we were saying our drawn out goodbyes in whatever form we want them to take, that we were probably not going to see each other again but that we were glad that, for more than two months, we were blessed with their friendships, their capacity for taking us into their lives and making us part of them.

I will miss Ghada's smile, for example, and her constant protests about her cheerfulness. I will miss Pola's wildfire presence, the way she comes into every room and commands everybody's attention. I will miss Touche's playful gravity, and his conviction that he is always the most beautiful person in the room. I will miss Andrea's sudden bouts of laughter, and his mission to photograph himself in every single spot in the United States. I will miss Mr. Kim's quiet and calming presence -- and his totally terrifying Jigsaw Halloween mask. I will miss Edgar and the way he walks around with the security blanket that is his bag. I will miss Coco's quiet air, the way she talks to you like you are the only person in the room. I will miss Solvi's tallness -- and his wig and lingerie. I will miss Christopher's anecdotes, and the animated way he tells them. I will miss Chandrahas' impeccable sartorial sense and his capacity for elegantly working the room. I will miss Milosz's secret rock star wish and his electric guitar. I will miss being a visitor in Marjia's universe, and the way she can belt out every single song in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I will miss Laura's delightful accent, and her Gabriel. I will miss Turusbek's dancing, and his booming voice. I will miss Billy’s hand gestures when he talks passionately about something. I will miss Farhad's Cambridge accent, and the whiplashing wit he carries around with him like a weapon of mass distraction. I will miss Michael's giggles and his mission to see birds, of all sorts. I will miss Thiam Chin's hyper nature and his pickiness. I will miss Phoenix's gushing about film. I will miss H.M.'s swagger, and his allergy to the afternoon sun. (Or just the sun, period.) I will miss Amilcar's silence, the way his smile seems to just say everything. I will miss Hinemoana's quirkiness and deep soul and Halloweena costume. I will certainly not miss Ismail's milkshake addiction, and his obsessive fascination for Twinkies and bookstores. I will miss Albana's groundedness, the way she makes you feel at ease around her instantly. I will miss everything about David, that darling man.

There are the other writers, of course, all thirty-eight of us, each with a piece of memory of each other. Truth to tell, we only have these scant impressions of each other to work with, because two and a half months are never really enough to know anybody. But it is enough to say that given the little time that we've had, we gave the world to each other -- and made Iowa City in the beautiful autumn of 2010 an impossible place and time to forget in all our lifetimes.