i just got back from a really great lecture on Decadence.
The lecturer, Dr. Elizabeth Richmond-Garza, was phenomenal.. not only was
the subject enthralling..but her presentation was equally engaging.. she used multimedia visuals...clips from the Moulin Rouge, Trainspotting, Velvet Goldmine, and NIN perfect drug video.. and she read poetry and readings from several writers on decadence. she's an absolutely fascinating personality. i have never been so taken with a professor before. I wish I could take a class from her.

I wanted to ask her few questions after the lecture but she was surrounded by people and i had to get to the bus stop. I wanted to know if there can ever be a death of decadence.. can we go so far as to exploit every essense of being? can we exceed our capacity for countering the systematics of living? how long will there be that quest for new sensations? i also wanted to know that as the cycle of decadence continues (death wwI..death wwII, death 9/11) does the perception of what is decadent decrease exponetially? can decadence be measured and if so how..and with what scale?

information about Dr. Richmond-Garza

she dressed in goth to this lecture.. i wonder if she always dresses that way? she did call herself a prop. i think it is so fascinating that a child of academia can be so in tune with a world outside of the refined.. i guess i've been living in texas for too long.