(no subject)

[felis_ultharus]

Elexmas

Well, I took to the streets with thousands of others in ice cold-temperatures (oh, the irony) in support of the Kyoto Accord on global warming. Organizers were expecting only 15000, but Ken Hechtman, who's pretty much in a protest march every other week and has been for decades, says that he could see about 50000 to 60000 people, and parts of the march disappeared off the horizon at either end. All this in minus-4 degrees celsius and a bitter wind.

I marched as part of the NDP. The federal Green Party were there as well, and they kept trying to get in front of us. They're just pissed, I guess, because Greenpeace gave our party better marks than them for eco-policy, and that's supposed to be their one issue.

(Of course, Jack Layton's spent the last 20 years of his career fighting for alternative energies and ecologically clean cities, and the federal Greens have gone over to "eco-friendly business" models, so it's no surprise we're leaving them in the dust, as it were, on environmentalism.)

Oh, and on the subject of the election, the Conservatives keep tripping themselves up. First they re-opened the same-sex marriage debate, and then Harper couldn't bring himself to say he loved Canada (everyone knows love is the only thing that can destroy Harper). Today he announced he'd get tough on drugs, and would not decriminalize marijuana. Because, you know, the War on Drugs has really worked in the US...

School

I collected about 40 articles on Timothy Findley, and I have about 48 hours to become an expert on Carl Jung, or at least those aspects of Jung I need for my essay due on Thursday. Towards that end, I'm reading Alchemical Studies, which deals with the sorts of ideas Findley is working on.

I feel the same way about Jung's stuff as when I dabbled in it years ago -- it feels intuitively true. Like reading John Ralston Saul's stuff, it feels like I'm reading something I always felt, and could never articulate. I wish I had time to go over it properly.

I'd like to bring more Jung into English Lit. Every second critic I read talks about Freud as if he's prophet spouting truth, and Jung is a marvellous antidote. Besides, Findley is obsessed with Jung. Not only did he write a novel with Jung as a major character (Pilgrim), but Headhunter starts with a quote from Jung.

Comments

[em-fish.livejournal.com]

Besides, Findley is obsessed with Jung.

Reason # 457 of 359,012,177 to love Tiff.

Jung is right up there with NoCho and J-Cam in our (as in frog_songs and I) books.

[felis-ultharus.livejournal.com]

I'm guessing NoCho is Noam Chomsky. But J-Cam...?

And you're right. It is another good reason to like Tiff ^_^

(I thought you'd made up the name "Tiff" as a pet name for a favourite writer. I didn't realize his husband used it too ^_^)

[em-fish.livejournal.com]

J-Cam is Joseph Campbell. He was our gateway to Jungian thought in high school.

[felis-ultharus.livejournal.com]

I had to tell montrealais who Joseph Campbell was the other day :)

I've only read a little of his work. I never had any of his work or Jung's in high school -- I was deprived.

[em-fish.livejournal.com]

Neither did we, really - we sought it out (okay so we also had the best librarian EVAR who loved us). You would have loved my HS crowd - we were very funny and irreverent and geeky and thoughtful and devious and loyal and bookwormy and queer-friendly and curious.
I always tell people - "It was like living in an episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, without the mortal peril."

[felis-ultharus.livejournal.com]

It was my high school that got the "mortal peril." No other aspect of it was Buffy-esque.

[zpurplefreak.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, your post here brings back fond memories of my psychology classes in undergrad, where I would fight with the behaviorist and/or Freudians - all they wanted to talk about were Skinner and Freud. I got all bitchy with 'em, being the daughter of a Jungian art therapist. Was quite fun. :-) So many see Freud as the guru, when I think Jung is much closer to guru-material. Never read Findley's stuff, will have to check it out.

[felis-ultharus.livejournal.com]

Jung's is the only psychology I've ever seen improve a human life.

My experience of Freud is mostly having his outdated theories of homosexuality hurled at me by the religious conservatives -- an experience not unlike being hit by a monkey flinging its own offal. He also tends to a major component in many of the more ludicrous PoMo theories I see hurled around.

As for behaviourism, I've seen probably a couple dozen friends go through the behaviourist mill. It always leaves them worse off than before. Then they have to recover from whatever drove them to a psychologist AND the effects of behaviourism.

Findley is obsessed with Jung, which is only a good thing Headhunter leans heavily on psychology and ethics, and it's the Jungian who comes out looking by far the best. And Pilgrim -- which I haven't read yet -- has Jung as a major character.

[zpurplefreak.livejournal.com]

Yes, Freud's stuff is very outdated. his defense mechanisms seem to be the only thing that still holds some validity.

Will add Findley's books to my reading list. :-) Thanks!