Once again, reality tops The Onion
Kierkegaard Comes Up
Lance Armstrong is a big fucking asshole. That seems to be the emerging consensus in the wake of his confession. One of the experts on the subject is Mike Anderson, a former mechanic and personal assistant to Armstrong. In Anderson’s recent interview with Sports Illustrated, what may be of interest to readers of Korrektiv is that Anderson mentions Kierkegaard.
SI: Is there anything Lance can say to Oprah that would be meaningful to you or that you make you contemplate forgiveness?
Anderson: I’ve thought about that a lot in the last few days. I was reading [philosopher] Soren Kierkegaard. Part of what he talks about is forgiveness and guilt and anxiety and the roots of it all. … I still have these notions of forgiveness and turn the other cheek. But I wonder, what are the reasons? Who benefits from forgiveness. Me? To unload bitterness I have against Lance and Bill Stapleton and people who lied and ridiculed me? Or is it for Lance? The sinner, conceptually, if you will. Or for both of us? I just don’t know if it will do me any good whatsoever to say lets let bygones be bygones. The cynicism I have about the whole thing, there’s no contrition in Lance Armstrong’s heart. It’s a calculated effort. For what purpose, I don’t know. I don’t see it as at all meaningful.
I’m curious about that ellipsis (…) following “forgiveness and guilt and anxiety and the roots of it all.” Did Anderson say more about his reading of our man K that the SI editors deemed too philosophical for their brain-damaged readership? Here’s our chance for some real investigative reportage, K-team. Get on it!
See also: “[Catholic mom] Betsy Andreu always knew that Lance Armstrong doped”
The Korrektiv Almanac
Brian Jobe, author of Bird’s Nest in Your Hair, was born on this date in 1964. Jobe studied Classics at the University of Washington and at the University of California at Santa Barbara. His writing was published at National Review Online, Korrektiv, Letter X Magazine, and Dappled Things. He lived in Seattle most of his life, with brief sojourns in Japan, Boston, and/or Hell. Bird’s Nest in Your Hair was the first of seventeen novels he published before his life came to a dramatic end when he drove a fortunately empty articulated Metro bus off the Ship Canal Bridge. Jobe was ninety-nine years old at the time of his death and it is believed that the accident was precipitated by the receipt of a text message from Steven Spielberg offering to purchase the rights to adapt Bird’s Nest to the big screen. (Yes, they still had text messages and movies back in 2064 and Spielberg was still going strong due to the supplement situation he had set up for himself.)
Bird’s Nest in Your Hair by Brian Jobe: a novel about bartending, old-time religion, and the twilight years of commercial pornography. Plus, poetry!
The Institute of Living
From the New York Times comes this story about Marsha M. Linehan, a psychologist at the University of Washington here in Seattle. It reads like a real-life inversion of Chekov’s terrifying story, Ward No. 6. It also has implications that readers of a certain novel published by Korrektiv Press might find interesting.
It was 1967, several years after she left the institute as a desperate 20-year-old whom doctors gave little chance of surviving outside the hospital. Survive she did, barely: there was at least one suicide attempt in Tulsa, when she first arrived home; and another episode after she moved to a Y.M.C.A. in Chicago to start over.
She was hospitalized again and emerged confused, lonely and more committed than ever to her Catholic faith. She moved into another Y, found a job as a clerk in an insurance company, started taking night classes at Loyola University — and prayed, often, at a chapel in the Cenacle Retreat Center.
Moved into the Y, found her faith: no Will Barrett she. Read the whole thing.
Employees must wash their hands before returning to the work of the Lord…
(Sacristy towel rack at Cathedral of St. Joseph the Workman, La Crosse, Wis.)
Friday Mailbag
The following email landed in my inbox on Tuesday:
To info@mail.com
From: Mohamed Musa (tsutsui@nvlu.ac.jp)
Sent: 02 October 2012 21:46:22
To: info@mail.comTo your attention I want you to read this message very carefully and that you keep the secret until further notice. You do not need to know or who I am or where I come from. I was paid an advance of $50 000 to eliminate you. My sponsors one of which is what we can call a friend gave me the reasons I noted. I am more than ten days and now I know that you are innocent of what you are accused. Do not try to warn or send this message to the FBI or the police because I know that I’ll have to do the job for which I was paid. Note that this is the first time that I betrayed my employer. Look, I’ll do everything I can so that we can meet before but I need $20,000. You have nothing toafraid of me, I can come see you in your office or home, it is up to you to decide. Never attemptrecording or filming our upcoming meeting. It will pay $20,000 to the account I will tell you, this before our first meeting.Once payment is made, I will give you the file that contains the names and queries sponsors. This is agood evidence that can be used to sue if you wish. The balance of the payment will be settled later. For the moment this is not the trouble I give you my phone number because you will cooperate.I have your picture and other important information about you. I was involved with my team in the Yemen Arab Republic. You must not ask me any questions. Quickly confirm for your good. Mohamed Musa
I blame Surfing with Mel.
Why the NRA reminds me of Planned Parenthood and Vice Versa
Kirsten Powers, writing for The Daily Beast, says it well:
“The abortion clinic of alleged killer Kermit Gosnell was not illegal. But any talk of more government regulation unleashes an NRA-style assault from the abortion rights contingent.”
More here: Abortion Rights Community Has Become the NRA of the Left
Ms. Powers’ double-edged approach here reminds me of our man Walker Percy’s NYT piece back in the day: “A View of Abortion with Something to Offend Everybody.”
Are you offended?