tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492889481663521911.post5108101193562755068..comments2023-12-03T20:07:04.781+11:00Comments on Lexicon Harlot: Self-portrait with yellow beltAlexis, Baron von Harlothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04675225579658733004noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492889481663521911.post-11841479459773355322008-12-19T12:46:00.000+11:002008-12-19T12:46:00.000+11:00Does she ever. I have a complicated relationship t...Does she ever. I have a complicated relationship to la Garner. (While she has no relationship whatsoever with me, so I guess she won't bat an eyelid at my saying this.) I've read two books of hers this year - <I>The Spare Room</I>, which I admired for the narrator's ugliness - and - very belatedly - <I>Joe Cinque's Consolation</I>, which infuriated me, for the way it tried to train us away from empathy with Anu Singh. And (of recent decades) she's constantly exposing the badness or pettiness or manipulativeness of women, while figuring men as occasionally foolish but fundamentally decent. It feels like she's apologising for feminism. Still, I'd like to see her fence. She's sharp where it matters.Alexis, Baron von Harlothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04675225579658733004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492889481663521911.post-37615947969996755982008-12-19T12:35:00.000+11:002008-12-19T12:35:00.000+11:00So would I. The Feel of Steel. She has it.So would I. <BR/><BR/>The Feel of Steel. She has it.Ampersand Duckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12245377686193859488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492889481663521911.post-71410616390897295782008-12-16T17:52:00.000+11:002008-12-16T17:52:00.000+11:00Aw, thanks, team. You have invigorated my faith in...Aw, thanks, team. You have invigorated my faith in violence. (And Helen Garner fencing! I'd like to see that.) Kingsley, you show uncanny wisdom for a callow youth.<BR/><BR/>Mark, you stopped at just the right time. The green belt is such a lovely colour.<BR/><BR/>Copperwitch, if ever I need to raise guerilla forces in a hurry, I'll know who to turn to.Alexis, Baron von Harlothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04675225579658733004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492889481663521911.post-25773822853186400432008-12-16T00:16:00.000+11:002008-12-16T00:16:00.000+11:00'a nutcracker effect', I like the sound of that bu...'a nutcracker effect', I like the sound of that but I'd be inclined to take it further south than the forehead.<BR/>If you don't do anything else, you could flick and take someone's eye out with the natty yellow belt.JahTehhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02007730071564639411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492889481663521911.post-87907939265276744442008-12-15T13:13:00.000+11:002008-12-15T13:13:00.000+11:00I'm with ze Duck on this 'un, since gratuitous and...I'm with ze Duck on this 'un, since gratuitous and highly specific violence amongst those who come prepared for such is an underappreciated joy in these here sanitised times, and should be enjoyed by all and sundry, irrespective of gender. Violent psychopathologies are useful and can be quite fun, provided you also cultivate compartmentalization and a healthy appreciation for context, so that you don't start to believe that hurling people by their eyelids into the street is an appropriate way to, say, punctuate moments of overly polite political tension during the G8 conference or negotiate the trickier moments of a romantic night-out with your lifeform of choice.Martin Kingsleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12840272238196893071noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492889481663521911.post-4151712106784648912008-12-15T10:15:00.000+11:002008-12-15T10:15:00.000+11:00Congratulations on the yellow belt and commiserati...Congratulations on the yellow belt and commiseration on the conflicted feelings about karate. If only you could personify them and then give them a swift kick in an area not protected by a genital box.<BR/><BR/>Your post brought back similar memories of when I did karate as a lad (I stopped at 15 just before my blue belt grading), especially the sense of better understanding the mechanics of one's body. Before I stopped I ended up really liking the discipline of learning fast, exact and powerful movements combined in a complex sequence. <BR/><BR/>I tried taking it up the same style (Soo Bahk Do) again at university but the instructor put a heavy emphasis on sparring over forms and combinations and I stopped after two lessons.<BR/><BR/>Good luck with those Bacon-denying crowds!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492889481663521911.post-91513735489239788062008-12-14T21:26:00.000+11:002008-12-14T21:26:00.000+11:00Nothing evil! Why should the boys have all the fun...Nothing evil! Why should the boys have all the fun? <BR/><BR/>I haven't been so excited by recreational sport reportage since I read Helen Garner writing about fencing.<BR/><BR/>Go girl!<BR/><BR/>[DB: uningit, which I think is the unbecoming of gitness]Ampersand Duckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12245377686193859488noreply@blogger.com