Date: Mon, 18 Dec 1995 10:00:59 -0500 (EST)
From: "John B. Morgan" <jbmorgan-AT-umich.edu>
Subject: Some holiday cheer, in honor of Dr. Babich's request


It has occurred to me that, during the holiday season, many TRUE Nietzscheans 
on this list no doubt feel left out in the cold as the mass culture goes 
on its merry Xmas way. So I thought to myself: whilst the herd celebrates the
birth of a god, why shouldn't we, the uebermenschen (and let's not leave out 
the ueberfrauen), celebrate the death of God? Why don't we have a truly
Dionysian celebration, for Nietzsche list subscribers only, on Christmas Day?
It may be quite daunting to imagine all the brain power of this list together
in the same room at the same time, but surely this experiment is worth 
the risk of possible spontaneous deconstruction. Slingshots, however, should
be checked at the door. Physical contact will, of course, present its 
problems. As good uebermenschen/frauen, we cannot allow others' aesthetic 
principles to interfere with our own highly evolved and personal 
interpretations. Thus I suggest that the festivities be conducted entirely in
the dark, to preserve each members' own law and to suggest the impossibility of
meaning. Large quantities of liquor should be served, as should cocktail
shrimps marinated in chocolate syrup and ketchup, garnished with broken glass
to prove the stamina of the consumer. For music: start off with a bit from
CARMEN, but then, to engage in a truly LIVING form of music, a concerto for
kazoo, timpanii and water-filled wine glasses punctuated by barbaric yawps from
the audience. For entertainment: a game of charades, which will provide many
laughs as participants refute the meaning of each contestants' antics in 
turn (which of course will be invisible in the dark anyway). The celebration
shall not come to an end until the first light of dawn shines through the
windows, when everyone present will of course turn to dust on the currents of
the early morning air. So what do you think? Let's do it!

Unfortunately, I myself will be unable to attend, as I will be too busy 
asserting the patriarchy by attending as many concerts at Lincoln Center 
and the MET as possible while I am home for the holidays (I'll certainly wave
as I pass by on my way, Dr. Babich!). But I wish the rest of you the very 
best of anti-holidays.


John Morgan                       "I can be respectful when it suits me. 
The University of Michigan         I just don't let it go to my head."  
jbmorgan-AT-umich.edu                                       --Me



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