Blogs being passé, college kids have turned towards high brow erotica to express themselves in their ivy covered, gothic chapels of knowledge. By Google's account, Vassar's Squirm was first out of the gate. Followed by Harvard's ridiculously titled H Bomb and BU's even more puerilely titled Boink.
So this week debuted U of C's version of this skin-rag trend sweeping liberal arts campuses: Vita Excolatur. I love the name. Only a UofCer would latinate the pÆ0nate.
I thumbed through the inaugural issue - for the articles. With due recognition for their first attempt, I want to congratulate the founder and editor for getting this off the ground. They have to be commended for seeing the trend and making sure not to acknowledge Harvard. Having said that, how do the UofCers manage to make sex so unhot; so unsexy. An essay [entitled, "Psychoanalyze this: Sexual Overcoding as Discursive Limitation"] starts off footnoting "free association" and drags us through Deleuze. Another examines the racism inherent in White on Asian fetish [what if it is a South Asian on East Asian fetish?]. Another tells us about o.g. cookie [don't]. While calls for future submissions enlist "pro-choicers to pro-Foucaultians". Sexy? uh, no. Intellectual? uh, no. P0Æn should be p0Æn, not your hum sequence reading assignment. The aforementioned essays try to titillate mind and body and end up annoying. While the tasteful art photography is just that.
Responses from a random sample of UofC folks (having lunch with me) were mixed. They appreciated the effort and enthusiasm but critiqued the lowering of intellectual standards. I quote:
Only on the U of C campus, people. Only on this campus.
In related news: tsk informed me that CM is blocked on Chicago Police's ISP as a p0Æn site. Uh, after this post, I expect my readers from .gov and .mil will need a mirror.
COMMENTS
sven | December 03, 2004
your nothing until youve been blocked! tell us more about ookie gookie cookie!
sepoy | December 03, 2004
You are evil. This Blog brings light and truth to the oppressed masses of the world. Getting it blocked would be like the SUN itself is blocked. And, from what I hear, ookie gookie cookie needs never be explained. ever. certainly NOT at lunch.
sven | December 03, 2004
even after some ice cream?
Morcy | December 05, 2004
Christ, ookie cookie is the great urban legend of prep school. So many times mentioned, joked about, but never done. Actually, if it's about prepschool, maybe it's a pastoral legend. In any case, it's such an urban legend that it was almost made to be the centerpiece of the Scavhunt last year, from what I hear. The lady judges were all about it, but the boy judges were horribly squeamish. So, instead, a guy ate his own umbilical cord inside a Twinkie. Ah, UofC.
detrimental postulation | December 10, 2004
new games journalism, new erotica Two new fads in writing today. First, the so-called 'New Games Journalism'; second, high-brow erotica. It's almost the perfect d.p. post... As anyone who's slashdotted today will know, the so-called New Games Journalism is getting a bit of cover...