Lenin’s Tomb
Oh bugger, you're in the same slot as Tariq Ali and Mike Gonzales. I'll listen to your lecture, Seymour, but given the opportunity costs involved anything less than seeing you physically assault an inebriated Hitchens will leave me disappointed.
Btw, will the book be on sale at the Fest? I checked at Waterstones and they didn't have it, and they didn't have any Finkelstein books either. Very irritated, I was.
How many other Tomb lurkers are doing their turn at Marxism? Is Grim and Dim on the timetable somewhere?
"Oh bugger, you're in the same slot as Tariq Ali and Mike Gonzales."
There's not much to do about it but that's the price paid for having it over a weekend instead of a week, you get good meeting pile-ups. Some meetings suffer. I chaired a brilliant meeting in 2005 on Algeria. Everyone in the audience agreed it was fantastic, but its easy to reach a consensus among 4.
Roobin - true, and anyway recordings of most of the meetings are usually available soon afterwards. My comment was really just an attempt to goad lenin into a bare-knuckles fist fight with Hitchens, which I think could be interesting. (As part of the same plan, I also intend to inform 'The Hitch' that lenin insulted his mother, twice, while pleasuring himself to al-Qaeda's latest recruitment tape and wiping his arse with a picture of Richard Dawkins).
JamieSW - the book was supposed to be out on 1 July, but regrettably some printer problems have meant it's going to be delayed by a few weeks. There will, of course, be forms to pre-order. Not much of a substitute, but it's a genuine problem and nothing can be done.
If anyone thinks they're going to miss me to see Tariq Ali, may I remind you that his meeting will be packed anyway. Far better to come to mine and just listen to his on CD.
I also intend to inform 'The Hitch' that lenin insulted his mother, twice, while pleasuring himself to al-Qaeda's latest recruitment tape and wiping his arse with a picture of Richard Dawkins
Well, I don't know about slagging off his mother. The poor woman topped herself, and it really isn't her fault that both of her sons turned into sour bigots. But the Al Qaeda/Richard Dawkins thing is eerily accurate, and at least I now know who put the webcam in my bedroom.
"... recordings of most of the meetings are usually available soon afterwards."
Trouble with the tapes/CDs is I spend a lot of the time going "know him, know her, don't know him, HA, he always says that..." and so forth.
"...and at least I now know who put the webcam in my bedroom."
Damn! That'll teach me to boast about my evil plans, Bond villain-style...
You told me you put it there yourself. I want my money back.
How many other Tomb lurkers are doing their turn at Marxism?
The Italian fellow who posts as Savonarola will be speaking on Saturday...
Grumble. I'll be stuck in the US of A (len, did you say you'd come over to rpomote The Book?), after being in Europe during Socialism 2008. Talk about bad planning...
IT - I think he's clashing with me, the bastard.
you'll probably find me and dave s introducing ourselves to you at some point len, you'd better look forward to it
JD: I confess - lurkin an appearin.
I'm there, but I can't look at the timetable without wanting to tear out chunks of hair in frustration; every meeting I really want to go to clashes with at least two others I really want to go to. And that's before they added all the new ones. Ah but I am really looking forward to it.
Does anyone scribble amusing/allegedy amusing comments in the timetable? My favourite this year is What Did Lenin Stand For...? Because there were no chairs left.
JD - are you also speaking at Marxism? If so, I will attend your meeting you know, a review by 4 people does not say a lot - 5 will do. You know the Cliff thing of 12 people voting for someone who claims to represent thousands of members only to turn out that only 7 did really vote for him.Looks like this year is going to be pretty big as well. So, if anyone wants to take me for a drink, best say it now or for-ever hold your peace!
In all honest, I believe this will be the best Marxism ever. I know nothing beats one being there and putting a face to a name, but the CD recording of the meetings are pretty good. Those who want to see faces can always ask the speakers and contributors to join their facebook!
With due respect to previous Marxism, the first best for me in the 4 that I have attended since joining SWP was last year. Maybe it is because the first 3 years I was angry and mad. But last year, I just fell in love with len len after attending his meeting on Conspiracy theories. I believe what made this meeting stand out was the fact that len len did not dwell on rhetoric. He presented his talk in the present tense, not the crap where emphasis is put on what past thinkers said, because to me what that says is that those speaking are not capable of thinking for themselves.
I love to attend meetings on past thinkers and revolutionaries, like last year's one by Chris Bambery on Gramci. I will certainly attend the one on Lenin with John Molenuey - hic sic spelling. What I don't like is a meeting where everything is explained by what Marx or lenin said when the title of that meeting is to explain what life today is like. For instance, a meeting on building the Party is one where strategies applied by Vladmir are worth mentioning. The problem is that idiots then use this meeting to criticise what lenin did or did not do, when in reality they should be building on what we learnt from lenin, learning from Lenin's mistakes and coming up with own own strategies relating them to capitalism today.
Hope to meet as many of len's bloggers as possible - see I don't join many things - so I am not a member of facebook.
Its me again anonymous hihihihihi!
is there a way to find all of china's articles on the tomb?
sorry its off topic
By the way, sorry to be out the loop, I don't know who Grim and Dim and Juvenile Dwarf are in real life...so I can't know which session to go to to catch them.
Independent French-based IS blogger Le Poireau Rouge will be attending this year's Marxism after a long interval (30 years). Looking forward to putting a few faces to those silly names (apologies to Florence and Michael whose names aren't silly at all). Perhaps we should wear badges with our blogger names to save time.
brooker - I think if you just search for 'China' they should come up. These are the ones I remember:
http://leninology.blogspot.com/2...shyness-
of.html
http://leninology.blogspot.com/2...of-
weather.html
http://leninology.blogspot.com/2...e-
restored.html
http://leninology.blogspot.com/2...ng-to-
plan.html
http://leninology.blogspot.com/2...water-
what.html
By the way, sorry to be out the loop, I don't know who Grim and Dim and Juvenile Dwarf
the clue is where grim and dim's name links to stuff he's written
I will be appearing on a paper sale on Saturday, so look out for my views on such vital questions as 'Do you want to sign this petition for the 4th time?' and my favourite 'Why's that Spart still banging on about the Red Army to that student who's just here to get her exam results?'
P.S. rubber truncheons are so last decade.
"I don't know who Grim and Dim and Juvenile Dwarf are in real life"
That presupposes, Michael, that I am in "real life". I'm far from certain that I'm in any such thing.
Mortality permitting, I shall be appearing on Monday afternoon in a special annex reserved for what the Guardian recently described as the "wheezing and arthritic" veterans of 1968.
Alternatively you could just click on "homepage" under my name.
I've got a photograph in 'Left in Vision 2' (although I'm not sure when/where the first one was). Its in the SOAS staff common room for the duration of Marxism. Does that count?
I'll be attending the event this year for the first time. Was just wondering what the usual turn out is and how easy it is to get between venues? Looks pretty straight forward on the map, but just wondering if there are practicalities that may help?!
Also, I've noticed there are obviously hour long gaps between talks and shorter ones each day... just wondering if there's much that goes on around the talks to get up to or is it more about giving people to eat, drink and pee (not necessarily in that order)?
Cheers!
I'm on on Friday - anyone who fancies arguing against Sparts very welcome.
Alas, because I'm working I'll miss 3 days of Marxism but i will be there on the weekend wearing the red shirt of the vanguard team.
p.s that left list logo needs to be changed, we have been reborn as the Left Alternative!
Oh god there's the new name then. Right at the top:
http://www.respectcoalition.org/
You're right Futurecast. It's a bobbins name.
or "I can't believe it's Left".
Also what do you mean "out of the mainstream and not normal"? Like the bloody compass group! no thanks.
The Left Alternative is exactly what it says on the tin, an alternative to nulabour. (admittedly there is a lot of work to do...)
Oh grim and dim
not at all grim or dim
I can say that now
cos i know it's him.
I really wish I could go. I've always listened to the lectures via the Resistance MP3s Site.
Are the cd recordings of the Marxism lectures better quality than the ones posted to Resistance Mp3s? Unfortunately some of them are not clearly audible, and I have some minor hearing issues to begin with heh.
Len, since I cant go could you give me a ring. I'll invite some friends over and we will put you on speakerphone. :) Or better yet come to Belgium and we will drown you in Trappist beer.
I was at Len's one last year, I have commited a lot of it to memory and used the basic arguments to pwn loads of Conspiracy-heads in arguements both online and in RL, including last week were I give this German guy loads about how the conspiracy theory leads to inaction, "What have you ever done for the movement? Sat in your room and atched Loose-Chane on your lap top? like that makes a difference!" - that showed him.
Yes, there'll be a good crowd of us comming over from the Belfast branches, myself included. I understand about only having limmited time ut it seems that fr the last couple of years for some reason all the high-profile speakers seem to be on in the last session on the saturday. I don't know if it is deliberate but it always seems to be the case. Strange stuff.
I'm looking forwards to it, and I'll probably make it to Lens. i'm only sorry China Meiville isn't doing one this yea, his are always great. I ended up doing an MA dissertation based largely on one of his I heard at M2005.
Mieville is amazing, both as a writer and cultural Marxist. (His 2005 'Marxism and Monsters' is probably his best one, I imagine that was a fairly painless dissertation. :)
On a totally unrelated note, BBC news and Harry's place are claiming Chavez has banned democracy:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/ameri...cas/
7471817.stm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
wp...8062901480.html
http://ap.google.com/article/
ALe...i4uumQD91DD2GG2
"Are the cd recordings of the Marxism lectures better quality than the ones posted to Resistance Mp3s?"
I wouldn't imagine so - I think the bad recordings aren't sold and are only downloadable. Sometimes fiddling with base and treble on your speakers, or some of the more advanced volume options on your computer can help.
thanks len, someone wanted them for his wikipedia page
I suppose most people have found out by themselves, but ResistanceMP3 has had an upgrade
That link in full :
www.resistancemp3.org.uk
Michael - I'm doing a meeting on the Saturday morning graveyard shift, "Theories of Neoliberalism", which I have no doubt will be a real crowd-puller.
I'm doing a meeting on the Saturday morning graveyard shift, "Theories of Neoliberalism", which I have no doubt will be a real crowd-puller.
i may come to heckle
Is America moving to the left...? Yes, at about 6 inches a year.
But I AM in another country.
Yeeeh Juvenile Dwarf - I will join Keith to come and heckle you and blow bubbles to make you laugh and lose concentration. Jokes aside Jacob, good luck and will try my best to come and listen and ask you as many question as I can fit in now that I know you!
Alas i can't go as i've just moved to a new flat, so i'm skint basically, add to the fact that i reside on a piece of rock between Wales and the U.S. and you get the picture. Good luck anyway on friday Len.
*Wields rubber truncheon*
*Thwap!*
*Thwap!*
*Crunch!*
I have an installation on Malet St. that's called, "What the fuck happened with Respect then?"
It's a twelve foot tub of snot built from injection-moulded plastic replicas of John Rees' knickers.
Do pop by.
"Is America moving to the left...? Yes, at about 6 inches a year."
Here's a more nuanced analysis: http://socialistworker.org/2008/...y-working-
class.
I imagine/hope that there will be a post on it once/if the MP3s get uploaded but I suppose that in the interim this is as good a venue as express admiration of Lenin's fine, tight speech.
"fine, tight speech"
You were perilously close to saying "bum", weren't you?
The speech went down surprisingly well, given that my preparation was all over the place and I spent a lot of the time rambling at the end.
I failed to get a proper look. ;)
So do I escape the rubber truncheon as I'm going to be there today? Sorry I couldn't make it for yours, len, but I had to go and ogle my way round central London yesterday.
All is forgiven, kris, but I recommend Gary Younge's meeting if you can make it.
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