Stuff that's too good for the shoutbox but not enough for its own thread

[Gilles de Rais]

You know, I think you're a very particular kind of sadist, like "St Fond" (Juliette)... Most sadists are garden-variety, happy to inflict pain on a single person at a time, a few at the most.

You, you need an entire nation suffering mental rape and massive physical abuse to get interested...

[Zichao]

I've never read Juliette. One for the list.

[Gilles de Rais]

Don't bother - It is significantly crap. De Sade's moral 'reasonings' make no sense - He was just rebelling against what must have been the main view of his age - that God and Nature were fundamentally Good (TM). But instead of just saying that the elements/nature/God are neutral and indifferent, he makes them actively evil - And uses that as justification for all the evil his main characters commit.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have to admit that, when I picked up the book in my late teens, I was quite interested in reading the sexual descriptions - but they turned out to be incredibly dull and truly un-erotic... The plot summary, written by the editorialist, was way more titillating... as would be nearly any modern erotic book you'd find in train station kiosks...

[Zichao]

Hahaha - I remember thinking that Justine was to sex what the Illiad was to war - it somehow manages to remove any interest from what should be an inherently interesting activity.

I like the political philosophy a lot though. I wouldn't quote it in an essay or run my life by it or anything, but it makes me smile.

[Gilles de Rais]

Hahaha - I remember thinking that Justine was to sex what the Illiad was to war - it somehow manages to remove any interest from what should be an inherently interesting activity.

Very apt comparison. Going on a tangent, it seems to me that the Odessey used to be more popular than the Illiad till the Troy movie came out. More stuff happening, the main character's more interesting and the structure (travelling adventurer overcoming hardships) is more common to other myths.

I like the political philosophy a lot though. I wouldn't quote it in an essay or run my life by it or anything, but it makes me smile.

Hence my comparing you to St Fond. I am mostly joking and I can understand the perverse attraction, the fascinated revulsion that soviet cultures evoke, especially when mixed with Asian culture (Cuba or the USSR doesn't appeal in the same way. Bulgaria and Romania are good but not quite as distopian) but you seem... err... a bit too enthusiastic... After all, North Koreans/Romanians are people too...

[Zichao]

Well, it's going to happen whatever I do so I might as well appreciate the narrative as be miserable about it. I dare say that if I could turn NK into a happy, democratic country I would.

[Gilles de Rais]

I dare say that if I could turn NK into a happy, democratic country I would.

You fundamentally moral and good nature shines through! Ouf!

[Zichao]

Fact of the day: I have it on good authority that there are only three people alive today who understand how the French social security system actually works. I presume they have to take seperate flights whenever they go abroad.

[Gilles de Rais]

It works?! I thought it merely existed...

[Zichao]

Badum-tish!

Well played, well played...