[LAF] Ananrchists and bombs

[Ian Gregory]

On Wed, Aug 10, 2005 at 01:48:14PM -0700, stevphen shukaitis wrote:

> anyone know anything more about this alleged genre of "dynamite romance?"
> when i search for it mainly comes up with postings of this article.

Well it is a "forgotten genre" so what do you expect:-) But then how
does the author of the piece know about it? Travelled back in time
or something?

This made me think about creating rumors, and I was just seraching
the web to find an anectote from the life of Hunter S. Thomson to
illustrate what I mean. But I can't find it so it could just be a
rumor that it happened:-) Anyway, the story goes that during a US
Presidential election campaign, a famous news anchorman became furious
when he heard that Hunter S. had accused him of being high on acid
during a live broadcast. When confronted by journalists Thompson said
something like "I never said he was high on acid, I said that
there was a rumour he was high on acid - and I should know
because I started the rumour."

When you think about how easy it must be (for those who have no
compunction against lying) to make shit up and get it published
as fact when it is pure fiction then you realise how important it
is not to trust what you read in the papers etc

The last thing I will say, getting back to the subject of "dynamite
romance" is about Percy Bysshe Shelly. I know it was about 100 years
earlier than Conrad and Chesterton, but am I right in thinking that
Shelly was into blowing things up? If anyone has seen "Dread Poets
Society" with Benjamin Zephania you will know where I got the
idea. Byron, Shelly and Keats are sent forward in time and end up
on a train to Birmingham with Benjamin. While boasting of his
achievements Shelly said he had "blown up half the school at Eton".
Again I failed to find anything to support the idea by searching
Google - anyone happen to know?

Just one more thing:-) Tom Armitage mentions Chesterton's "The Man
Who Was Thursday" and says it "plays up the more absurd elements of
anarchism, parodying the conventions of passwords, disguises and
secret meetings." It is quite a while since I read "The Man Who
Was Thursday" but I remember thinking it was excellent. Anyone
else read it and have an opinion good or bad?

Ian

-- 
Ian Gregory
http://www.zenatode.org.uk/ian/