When inspiration runs low and creativity comes to near halt, one must redirect one's stimuli in order to rejuvenate the processes of mental fluidity. Such being my present situation, I am currently enduring the dubious pleasure of two texts simultaneously.
COMMUNISM (From Marx's MANIFESTO to 20th-Century Reality) by James D. Forman must be absorbed with at least a handful of knowledge of current world events and recent history. First published in 1972, much has changed in both the tangible world as well as the attitudes therein. However, historically speaking, it opens a fantastic discourse on where, why and how Eastern Europe has developed and currently finds herself. COMMUNISM is one of a series of texts Mr. Forman has published describing the history and mechanisms of the world's socio-economic management systems. I tried to read CAPITALISM but found it completely uninspiring and depressing. Informative yes, but far from the mark i was aiming in opening its pages in the first place. SOCIALISM, ANARCHISM and FASCISM are yet to be entertained.
Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco. I guess you can say I like to mix it up. Reading this novel stems from a two-week old incident. I had encountered the author from crossword puzzles, but never had the pleasure of his works' acquaintance. While at a friend's house looking through her library, I commented I was looking for something different and new to me. Both she and another friend insisted that I should read Eco. When I inquired why, the response was simple: because I would not be able to. Dare I say, is that a challenge? Thus here I am. At the beginning of chapter four, little has happened, though much is afoot. With a style of language that can be attributed to the text having originally produced in Italian by an intellect akin to the Renaissance thinkers, and a vocabulary the requires a capable and not concise dictionary, I look forward to proving my colleagues wrong.
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