Chambers Online Reference

Chambers Online Reference: "Benjamin, Walter 1892-1940
German literary and Marxist critic

Born in Berlin, he was educated at the Kaiser Friedrich School, and at the Friedrich-Wilhelm Gymnasium in Thuringia. He was influenced initially by the Cabbalistic tradition. His early work includes the 1925 study Trauerspiel (Eng trans The Origin of German Tragic Drama, 1977), an attempt to understand the 17th century from a German standpoint, and the so-called 'Arcades Project', which focused upon post-Napoleonic France. Towards the end of the 1920s, Benjamin, encouraged by his encounter with Bertolt Brecht, turned towards Marxian materialism, producing essays like 'The Work of Art in an Age of Mechanical Reproduction' (1936), and 'Theses on the Philosophy of History', both of which are included in the posthumous 1969 collection, Illuminations (ed Hannah Arendt). Benjamin's reputation was revived by these and the aphoristic and autobiographical Reflections (published first in English, 1978), making him a central figure in neo-Marxist and materialist criticism, and an icon of heroic resistance against totalitarianism. He committed suicide.

Bibliography: P Wolin, Walter Benjamin: An Aesthetic of Redemption (1982) "

It is interesting how the most interesting life can still be summated and concluded with the final line: "He committed suicide." From that line, the greatest theorist and the greatest philosopher is defined in relation to his ideas.

Labour, Literature, Lithography

"I am conscious... of how in reception the parchment has been penetrated, of grease stains, thumb marks, erasures, drops of sweat, places where images have been kissed away by devout lips, holes of various animal eating places."

Any guys want to take me to this? You'll win my heart

A Masterclass in Evil

I need a generous, English buff boyfriend to take me to this for my birthday. *sighs* I'd spend my birthday money on it but who can I convince to come for $58.20 Student Price?!?

Australia? I don't know who she is anymore.

This is what I wrote last night when I heard the election result. Margo Kingston expresses what I feel exactly, in much better words than I could muster.

"The punch in the face Australians delivered to Latham tonight would be hard for any person, no matter how tough, to cope with. Latham sold himself and his life journey, and the people not only didn't buy, but gave him no encouragement to keep trying."

Perhaps our country will be richer as a result. Perhaps we will be more secure. What we need to ask ourselves is whether this is the ultimate goal, the ultimate "good", the founding principle. People don't understand why last night's election result came close to making me cry.

We live in a democracy and as such, I must accept the decision of my country. But when I see my country support the death of its own principles, the massacre of its integrity, and the decay of its dignity, how can I not weep for our future. God gave His people free will, and He is every day grieved by their choice to sin. Australia has been given a democratic government, and it grieves me that we choose the ultimate power of the economy over basic issues of humanity, independence, and freedom.

"If a nation values anything more than freedom, it will lose its freedom; and the irony of it is that if it is comfort or money that it values more, it will lose that too" William Somerset Maugham

20 Questions to a Better Personality

Guide to a Better Personality

Wackiness: 36/100

Rationality: 60/100

Constructiveness: 78/100

Leadership: 40/100 

You are a SRCF--Sober Rational Constructive Follower. This makes you a White House staffer.

You are a tremendous asset to any employer, cool under pressure, productive, and a great communicator. You feel the need to right wrongs, take up slack, mediate disputes and keep the peace. This comes from a secret fear that business can't go on without you--or worse, that it can.

If you have a weakness, it is your inability to say "no." While your peers respect you, they find it difficult to resist taking advantage of your positive attitude and eagerness to take on work. You depend on a good manager to keep you from sinking under the weight and burning out.

Of the 38920 people who have taken this quiz since tracking began (8/17/2004), 7.5 % are this type.

Berry Frappé

In light of my abnormal and indeed - "unaustralian" - adversion to summer, if you have a blender, you may want to try this.

Juice of 1 orange
Small tin of canned peaches
Frozen berries and lots of them (250g)

Throw it all into a blender and voila! Serves 2

Mix and match, use mangos instead of peaches or add some strawberries. But if you want a FRAPPÉ you'll need some frozen berries in the mix. Or else get rid of the orange juice and make a smoothie or thickshake instead.

Who needs Boost Juice when you have your own blender?