PINK BIRTHDAY !

Vampiros Emocionais

A vida metropolitana pode trazer com ela muitas riquezas: intelectuais, econômicas, culturais, etc. Mas talvez a maior seja a que consiste em poder estudar a condição e natureza humana (se é que essa realmente existe) sem muito esforço e sem ter que ir muito longe.

Ha' varios tipos ou categorias de personalidades, categorias nas quais as pessoas se encaixam mais ou menos bem, obviamente. Existe, por exemplo, o (a) Bohêmio (a), o Palhaço, o Mulherengo, o Poeta (e seu primo pobre, o Pseudo-Poeta), o Sensìvel, o Atleta-Meio-Burro, o Malandro, o Intelectual (e seu tio, o Filosofo de Bar) enfim, traços que dominam numa personalidade e que fazem com que a pessoa em questão tenha a reputação de sua atividade preferida.

Eu tenho ca' com os meus butões (!), entretanto, que a categoria mais importante de todas, e a que mais deverìamos estudar, é a do Vampiro Emocional. Esta personalidade pode ser detectada à kilometros de distância se soubermos pra' quê estamos olhando. Ela não consegue se esconder por muito tempo, logo mostra à que veio, não consegue viver sem a dose quase diaria da energia alheia.

Os sintomas

São quase sempre os mesmos em homens ou mulheres, novos ou de mais idade, com estudo ou semi-analfa, e atinge, segundo eu, o estrato socioeconomico médio e alto-médio, na maioria das vezes.

Eles são, por cima:

• dificuldade em ouvir o que seu (dele) interlocutor esta' dizendo, ainda que seja em seu proprio interesse;
• tendência à obsessão com um ou dois aspectos de sua vida;
• mania de grandeza combinado com uma pitada (ou mais!) de complexo de inferioridade (não, não é mutuamente exclusivo);
• completa ou semi-completa falta de empatia para com os sentimentos/problemas dos outros;
• completa ou semi-completa falta de piedade pelos problemas alheios;
• piedade exagerada pelos proprios problemas;
• tendência à se auto-engrandecer às custas dos outros (esta é bem evidente logo de cara);
• falta de noção do tempo que "aluga" alguém com suas mazelas;
• volatilidade extrema

Logico que todos temos um ou dois destes "sintomas" - de vez em quando - mas o Vampiro Emocional tem quase todos, quase o tempo todo, ora um atras do outro, ora dois ou três juntos. Além disso, ele(a) não percebe que sua personalidade é poluìda dessa forma e tende a se sentir perseguido ou injustiçado quando os outros começam a se afastar.

Aì é que vem a temida "fase 2": a inveja, a infelicidade, a depressão, enfim, a derrocada total e inexoravel.

A literatura nos ensina muitas coisas sobre a condição humana, mas acho que ainda não conseguiu chegar muito perto dessa personalidade; talvez por meio de metafora (vampiros etc) mas não de maneira mais realista e digna de crédito. Ou talvez eu não tenha lido o suficiente!

À todos os citadinos: observem !

Au régal des amateurs de littérature

Here's a book that's creating some controversy here, for several reasons.

The coolest of which, according to me, is that Marc-Édouard Nabe has completely circumvented the entire publishing Establishment- which has been boycotting him since the mid-80s - by financing his latest book entirely and selling it on his website.

Then there's the question of why he's been boycotted for such a long time, despite being arguably the greatest French writer alive. He says things that one doesn't often hear on television/radio. He writes things one doesn't often read anywhere. In short, he puts freedom of speech to (good) use, instead of rehashing the same tired postmodern/BernardHenriLévy-friendly school of thought that we're fed day in, day out.

I still haven't read this book because since it's gone on sale it has sold out within a month and I was not aware he'd released this book. I've ordered it but don't know when it'll be available.

I have read his tracts though, which he wrote and stuck to the walls all around the city, amazingly, and which are all available for free on the website set up by his readers.

Books

Last year, in early February, I made a list of books I wanted/had to read and, miraculously, I managed to keep to the list and even add a few throughout the year...and read a few that weren't listed. I know, I'm wild.

This year I want to do the same thing but before I do so, I'd like to see if I still remember the books I read last year (in no particular order...)

Edward W. Said Culture&Imperialism and Orientalism

Ibn Warraq Defending the West: A Critique of Edward Said's Orientalism

Mohsin Hamid The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Noam Chomsky Language and Responsibility

Chomsky & Foucault On Human Nature: Justice vs. Power

Alain Soral Chute! and Misères du désir

John Le Carré A Most Wanted Man

Goethe Faust

Stendhal A Life of Napoleon

Mungo Park Travels in the Interior of Africa

Stephen King Duma Key

Byron Childe Harold Canto III

Catherine Sanderson Petite Anglaise

Michel Onfray La raison gourmande, philosophie du goût

Nick Davies Flat Earth News

That's all I remember.

Now this year I want to read a lot more fiction, preferably in French and contemporary. (Feel free to recommend something). I started the year reading Atonement, despite having watched the film, and even though the first 2 chapters made me think I would be bored stiff I carried on. It's pretty good once the plot appears in earnest.

I still haven't got many to add to this year's list (it could be something to do with the fact that I spent two months reading very little and not talking about books at all...) so what I'll do is list a few now (if I can think of any) then add to it during the year.

Books i feel i ought to read this year:

I really should read a few classics this year, but where to start? And from where? France, Russia, Brazil, Portugal?

The ones I can see on my (husband's) bookshelves have become too familiar somehow, and everytime I look at them I have the same feeling I used to get when I was a child and trying to fall asleep when I wasn't sleepy and didn't want to go to bed but had to, and so I'd just stare at the bookcase in the bedroom, where the grown up books were kept, and would wonder what the books were about from the title. It was very boring; I'm sure I should just have opened any of them and started to read, but I was supposed to be asleep, and I did not know that reading is a good way to fall asleep (sometimes...depends on the book).

The books that belong to me have either been read or are non-fiction/reference books. I could just go by a best-sellers list but that seems depressing as I just *know* that most people read rubbish most of the time, especially books from those lists. Self-help books. Nails on blackboard.

So! OK, back to the list (or, rather, to the list!):

Stendhal La Chartreuse de Parme and The Red and the Black

Claire Castillon Les Cris

Luis Fernando Verìssimo any

Ruben Fonseca any

...to be continued

(continued)

Marc-Édouard Nabe L'homme qui arrêta d'écrire

Franz-Olivier Giesbert Un Très grand amour

Alain Soral Vers la Féminisation?