Tea Cups & Ice Cream, Pit Bulls & Terrorists

 tea cups & ice cream, pit bulls & terrorists   
            gentility & the madding crowd            
 crying theater! theater! in a crowded fire
                       (song & furry)

    “Without Contraries is No Progress.”
                                                     Wm Blake 
 
We know that theoretically, as academics. But it’s
not part of our practice, our work-out program,.
let alone Service project to turn this up. Put it
in play.  
 
Clash & Collide: Bump & Grind: how  emergent
values and  phenomenon  rise up from our
conflicts  of interest  and  converse action
(put into play)

   (The play’s the thing. Otherwise,  never mind)
 
Knowing this, we all do—teaching dialectical theses
& antitheses , protagonism & antagonism in all
our  courses I dare say—gender studies and literature,
history  and  economics,  philosophy and religion,  
socio as well as anthropologic, chemistry and biology
and environ mental studies:  what unlike things must
meet and mate and wrestle with the angels Art &
Science?.
 
(Ah, er, um…
on the one hand but
hmm, hem hem …
also on the other hand
and no one loves the sound
of one hand  slapping. )
 
Knowing this (I say, we all do) : it’s Agony or Agon,
depending  how we frame it.   But actually putting it
into practice and work-out programs so as to get
better and good at it in our service project ongoing
performance going on: that’s of course another collar
 
We’re no good at that, correct me if I’m wrong. 
I beg to differ daily.  Just asking for it, or what’s
a college for?
 
It’s not easy to  practice what we teach—turning up
calling up the opposition, putting it in ludic  game-frame.
We don’t  have the environment for it, a shared attitude
& outlook that sanctions & encourages  argumental  
studies and leadership. Empowermentalism Rise.
 
Gymnasium.  “Naked training.” Crucified  egos, call it.
I’m rubber & you’re glue and  whatever mean stuff
you say bounces off me and  sticks on you. Ha!
Improve my terms.
 
It may be impossible.  IT, I say.
 
Messy. The process goes round and round like hackysack:
balls in the air and on the ground,  call & response ability,
cerebral and affective ping  pong,  rugby, whiffle ball—
digressive. transgressive, indeterminate, contingent,
surprising, improvisational, un-scripted,  exposing,
unveiling,  upside down flamingo & hedgehog croquet.
Live. Alive. Oh.
 
Don’t we all want to win  and  shine and yet at the  same
time build up a common edification snapping towels in
the locker room—ouch, hurts, ooo smarts —all in the
unpostponed joy of Mind at Play? I know I do and
bet I'm not the only one.
 
A show called The FIVE at FIVE is Fox’s replacement
of Glenn Beck ( howdydoody bobble head who never
the less is not to be sneezed at).  Great fun, good spirit,
perfect example of argument-for-argument’s sake  and
a good  time had by all. 1 liberal against  2  conservatives
and 2 libertarians.
 
Hilarious. Hysterical  As close to modeling  jovial &  
jocular in-the-groves-of-academe as I’ve seen.  IT’s
possible.   IT I said.

xxxooo, Sam