tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395948500312534280.post6917651189441563021..comments2024-02-25T01:48:45.848-07:00Comments on Mr. Center's Wall: Sunday Poetry XI -- TIGERS: GRRJoseph Centerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00090686611405364311noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395948500312534280.post-1919664174261530482011-01-17T10:45:59.703-07:002011-01-17T10:45:59.703-07:00And right there: a direct link to your post: http:...And right there: a direct link to your post: http://unmoderatedcaucus.blogspot.com/2011/01/civility-sin-and-david-brooks.html <br /><br />Making monsters of kittens is not a malady. And maybe more of the country needs such an internal response to pressure.Joseph Centerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00090686611405364311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395948500312534280.post-38915868403512470732011-01-17T10:15:57.576-07:002011-01-17T10:15:57.576-07:00I can't tell you how many times I've made ...I can't tell you how many times I've made monsters out of kittens.Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11708022607046379611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395948500312534280.post-39060376868293295732011-01-17T10:03:33.985-07:002011-01-17T10:03:33.985-07:00I don't think you contradict Borges at all. I...I don't think you contradict Borges at all. I think he's speaking precisely of that gap you mention between imagination and reality. I think also we often make, to inaccurately echo another trope, monsters out of kittens, even baby tigers. I imagine something coming up and it gets more and more monstrous as I dwell on it and dread it. When I see it in reality it's really just a kitten. Maybe a baby tiger. Maybe even a real tiger, because even a real tiger isn't as bad as the monsters I cook up.Joseph Centerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00090686611405364311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395948500312534280.post-59317401493769137142011-01-16T22:08:31.965-07:002011-01-16T22:08:31.965-07:00I really enjoyed this post. I think that what tig...I really enjoyed this post. I think that what tigers, monsters, and sirens have in common is that they're all exotic. Sure a tiger is real, but how many of us will actually encounter one in the wild instead of within the confines of a zoo? Also, I think that the tigers of our imagination often surpass ones in real life. I know that this goes against what Borges is saying, or at least what he appears to be saying, but I think it's consistent. I would guess that he's probably able to imagine a fairly realistic tiger, but what he wants to imagine is a fierce, majestic, and awesome (traditional sense of the word) tiger, the kind of emotion lurking in the background when you think of one, and it's just really hard to put that into a picture or words. I think it's kind of an example of the gap between what someone feels and what someone can express--even express to himself in this case.Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11708022607046379611noreply@blogger.com