Saturday Show #81: Why I Transformed Myself Into a Nightingale by Wolfgang Hildesheimer
Summary: As you might expect, this episode opens with a discussion of Pyrrhonean Skepticism and its ancient Greek opponent, Dogmatism. The group discusses the parallels between that dynamic and the current dynamic between Modenism and Postmodernism. We then discuss the short (very short) story, “Why I Transformed Myself Into a Nightingale” by Wolfgang Hildesheimer. We then tear to shreds a short story by a group member. Good times and good wines had by all.<br> Further details and approximate time stamps are below. Please purchase <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Infinite-Ending-Stories-Frank-Marcopolos-ebook/dp/B00Q8QDTM6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419131349&sr=8-1&keywords=frank+marcopolos" title="IE" target="_blank">INFINITE ENDING: TEN STORIES by Frank Marcopolos as an e-book, paperback, or audiobook by clicking this very link. Thank you.</a><br> 0:00 Frank’s introduction to the podcast<br> 1:47 Group discussion of Philosophy, including Pyrrhonean Skepticism, Dogmatism, Modernism, Postmodernism, epistomology, Socrates, the Sophists, corrupting the youth, being a contrarian, the Socratic method, arguments being as good as your questions, knowing or not knowing what reality actually is, putting people to death for knowing truth, Margaret Sanger, anarchists, the true meaning of anarchy, decentralization, and democracy vs. anarchy.<br> 7:16 Group discussion of “Why I Transformed Myself Into a Nightingale” by Wolfgang Hildesheimer, including not hating it, being intrigued by the narrative, animals keeping your attention, turtles, plot summary, the superiority of animal life to human life, the Self, wanting to changing others and changing yourself, Egotism, waiting on line in the supermarket, Laertes, Ophelia, Polonius, Gildenstern, Romeo & Juliet, William Shakespeare, changing things back to their original form, sparrows, suspension of disbelief, Moralism, the purpose of art, Ayn Rand, Ghandi, Up with People, Pay It Forward, Abe Lincoln, Sentimentalism, David Foster Wallace, YouTube, academia, carnival barkers, the postmodernist’s dilemma, suicide, hating one’s boss and employee, fairy tales, comedy, toy fox terriers, animation, aesthetic preferences being incorrect, rotoscoping, Keanu Reeves, Spirited Away, a 15-year-old’s approach to art, Kafka, Metamorphasis, Adam 12, plotless postmodernistic stories, left-brained and right-brained, fantasy, Kafka on the Shore, Haruki Murakami, Schenectady, Lost in Translation, American academia and postmodernism, The Yellow Wallpaper, public domain, German translation, annoying neighbors, flying away, Neo, Conrad Lorenz, caging different kinds of animals, Metamorphasis as political, rule-based systems, speciesism, stpry arc, Richard Ford, Rock Springs, the Goldmine, the Monkey, the ethics of animals, extolling the choices of non-agencies, total and complete natural freedom, Thoreau, living in nature, absolute power, packing a lot into 4 pages, numenal-phenomenal Kantian drawings, the writing group’s forthcoming Facebook page, Margaret Atwood, Hair Jewelery, adding dimension to the story, Raymond Carver, and magic realism vs. real life.<br> 38:30 Group discussion of a member’s story, including Frank Marcopolos’s “fans” who don’t actually exist, the habits of strippers, court-reporting school, too much going on, where the story begins, simplification, everything being based on a true story, Story Bible, confusing the story Bible with the story itself, Victorian novels, plot summary, too much telling, not enough showing, novel pacing vs. short story pacing, the sound of stories, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Infinite-Ending-Stories-Frank-Marcopolos-ebook/dp/B00Q8QDTM6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419131349&sr=8-1&keywords=frank+marcopolos" title="IE" target="_blank">“Conversing” – Story #2 in INFINITE ENDING by Frank Marcopolos</a>,
