THREE DREAMS: 1) I am at what was billed as a conference on marriage, but has, so far, been just a lot of household tips, like Hints from Heloise. I am very, very bored. Finally the last speaker gets up–I’m pretty sure he was a Hispanic guy whose first name started with a G.–and gives a speech about how gay marriage is the result of a quest for Heideggerian authenticity*. He’s against it–he argues that gay marriage, like all attempts to re-ground transcendence in desire rather than the other way around, will necessarily fail. (I think he meant “fail at its own professed objectives” as well as “fail to be good.”)

Afterward, another participant argues that the parent-child bond is evidence against G.’s claim that transcendence can’t be rooted in desire. G. mulls this over, and agrees.

*eta: Actually, his problem was with the language of “commitment,” not the language of self-expression.

Then there’s a lot of swimming, and a thing shaped like a pineapple.

2) A guy I knew in high school argues with me that “meta-emotions”–what we feel about what we feel–actually cause much more angst and problems for people than the emotions themselves. E.g. shouldn’t I be grieving more? Why don’t I feel happier?

3) I forget who said this, but I have a vaguely diva-ish impression of the person (a man): “I’m just so tired of all these post-fathers. If you’re going to be post- something, be post-art.”

…Yeah, it’s a carnival in here, I’m telling you.