I remember / je me souviens
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For those limbic bursts of nostalgia, invented by Proust, miniaturized by Nicholson Baker, and freeze-dried by Joe Brainard in his I remember and by Georges Perec in his Je me souviens.

But there are no fractions, the world is an integer
Like us, and like us it can neither stand wholly apart nor disappear.
When one is young it seems like a very strange and safe place,
But now that I have changed it feels merely odd, cold
And full of interest.
          --John Ashbery, "A Wave"

Sometimes I sense that to put real confidence in my memory I have to get to the end of all rememberings. That seems to say that I forego remembering. And now that strikes me as an accurate description of what it is to have confidence in one's memory.
          --Stanley Cavell, The Claim of Reason


Monday, June 19, 2023

I remember being surprised and skeptical when we were told in 7th grade Latin that videtur meant seems -- our book claimed that seems means is seen [as].  I thought (and still think), that seems is a weaker form of the categorical is.

A judgment which reminds me now that we did "The Emperor of Ice Cream" in high school -- what reminds me of that is the line in that poem: "Let be be finale of seem."  I remember being impressed by Mr. McCormick's showing us the sexual imagery in the poem: "the concupiscent curds."  I think I remember that he explained what a deal dresser was.



posted by William 4:25 PM
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Saturday, June 17, 2023

I remember another routine from Rowan and Martin's Laugh In: "Here comes the judge."  At least once it had this rollicking rhythm, which has stayed with me: "Here comes the judge; here comes the judge.  Order in the courtroom!  Here comes the judge."



posted by William 8:07 PM
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Thursday, June 01, 2023
I remember that my parents had a party at our apartment for their friends and they had pizza! But what was really amazing is that the leftover pizza turned put to be in the freezer the next day. A lot of slices. The same pizza we always went out to Phil's pizzeria for. Over the next few days I ate all the frozen slices -- frozen. They were surprisingly fine that way. Then they were all gone.


posted by William 6:02 PM
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