Argh! I don't seem to understand Karl Marx at all. We're supposed to finish reading his The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte by Monday 3.45pm... yeah that weekly quiz again! The full text can be found at: http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1852/18th-brumaire/index.htm. Basically, it is Marx penning his thoughts on the coup by Napoleon III in 1851, which destroyed the French 1848 Constitution and established a dictatorship. This is the book where Marx says "Hegel remarks somewhere that all facts and personages of great importance in world history occur, as it were, twice. He forgot to add: the first time as tragedy, the second as farce" - the first here refers to Napoleon Bonarparte's coup d'etat against the government of the Directory, the second to his nephew's coup. The former occured on the 9 November 1799, which is 18th Brumaire in the year VIII under the French Republican Calendar. Hmm anyway, this text is important cos we're talking about a Left reaction to the French Revolution, the Right / conservative reaction can be found in Edmund Burke's writings.
Well, I don't want to lose myself... neither I want to lose you.. so urm I'll talk about other stuff. I really don't get what Marx is rambling about, really! The stuff above is paraphrased from Wikipedia a bit actually... it's probably a reading where u gotta go to the library and lock yourself in, away from the Internet.
Oh the Commonwealth Games have begun in Melbourne! I was watching the opening ceremony on Channel 9 just now.
For some weird reason, I got teary-eyed when Advance Australia Fair was played. John thinks "I'm destined to be an Aussie". We'll see. I cried when I sang Negara Ku when I was at the opening ceremony of KL 1998 Commonwealth Games too... Yeah... I was there!! I get emotional about such stuff too often sigh.
I thought it was a bit weird when people started singing the Queen Happy Birthday. She turns 80 a far far 37 days later, k! It's probably a way to divert from the whole Republican debate - since her birthday song was (cleverly) linked to singing God Save the Queen immediately after that. Btw, our Queen now heads to Singapore from Melbourne...
Anyways, let's enjoy the Games while we can. And I'll try to understand Marx before Monday.
Oh yah... here's my timetable for this sem, just for the fun of it:
Monday
10am - 10.45am POLS 2214 Lecture @ Arts: Alexander LT
12pm - 12.45pm POLS 2214 Tutorial @ Social Sciences: Political Science Conference Room
4pm - 5.30pm HIST 2246 Lecture-Workshop @ Arts: Lecture Room 5
Tuesday
10am - 10.45am POLS 2214 Lecture @ Arts: Austin LT
11am - 11.45am ASIA 2221 Lecture @ Law: Lecture Room 2
12pm - 12.45pm ASIA 2221 Tutorial @ Social Science: Seminar Room 6
3pm - 3.45pm POLS 2233 Lecture @ Arts: Lecture Room 9
Wednesday
11am - 11.45am POLS 2233 Tutorial @ Social Science: Political Science Conference Room
Thursday
11am - 11.45am ASIA 2221 Lecture @ Law: Lecture Room 2
2pm - 2.45pm HIST 2246 Tutorial @ Arts: Seminar Room G27
3pm - 3.45pm POLS 2233 Lecture @ Arts: Lecture Room 9
Nearly a three day week! If it wasn't for POLS 2233 having only two tute slots - one on Tuesday 11am (which I have a lecture as you can see), and Wed 11am. Jie Chen's opening a new tute on Thursday 11am, but as u can see, it makes no difference to me.