Karl Haley, comet forever
Jul. 5th, 2005 11:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
imomusThe other day I watched a bit of the Fred Astaire musical "Daddy Longlegs". My mother gave me a copy of the Jean Webster book it's based on when I was 12 and I read it at one of my lowest ebbs, when I was miserably incarcerated in an Edinburgh boarding school. "Daddy Longlegs" tells the story of a vivacious orphan, Judy Abbott, who's being put through school by a millionaire philanthropist. The money has one condition attached: that Judy write letters to "Mr Smith" telling him about her life, her intellectual discoveries, her feelings.
Well, it's time to admit that Click Opera has its own "Mr Smith", a patron-philanthropist by the name of Karl Haley. When I've been at my lowest material ebb this year (and this holiday weekend, for instance, I ate only hummus and bread, trying desperately to spin out $60 to last a New York week) Mr Haley has appeared as if by magic to make Paypal donations, quite substantial ones, which have allowed me to carry on. He has agreed to let me make his identity be known here on Click Opera, and has sent me a photograph of himself with his girlfriend Elsa. He also included a picture of Gustav Hertz, the man who pioneered the electrical transmission of energy. Haley, who resembles Hertz, has transmitted plenty himself.
Hertz means "heart" in German, and heart is a term we could perhaps map to "solidarity". Every e mail my benefactor has sent me is signed with the motto "contingency, irony, solidarity", which happens to be the title of a book by Richard Rorty, but is also a nice encapsulation of values Karl and I seem to share.
So who is Karl Haley, patron, benefactor and comet forever?
"I'm a graduate student at McGill University working on my second masters in Library and Information Studies. I lead a discussion section on online information retrieval. My previous background was in contemporary American history, focusing most recently on Ronald Reagan and the rise of the Christian Right in the 1980s. I'm currently trying to publish a section of my thesis on Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority Inc., which ominously resurfaced in recent months. If all goes well, I'll begin my PhD in political science at the New School this Fall. I'm fearful about returning to the United States, especially New York with its batallions of police and soldiers. Yet, I have a beautiful Chinese Canadian girlfriend at Columbia who has somehow coerced me to return. You may have read some of her recent articles in Azure or Metropolis — her name is Elsa Lam.
"As a native Los Angeleno, well-accustomed to living under tight surveillance, I've relished the last few years I've spent in Montreal. I'm sure you'll find that Montreal has improved greatly since 1975. Separatism, once a trigger to violence and cultural division, is now largely a political device used to keep Ottawa in line. As an anglophone with limited French, I haven't encountered a single hostile reaction since moving here. In fact, it seems that Montreal revolves around fashion, sex and food more than questions of "identity."
"Apart from my academic interests, I'm something of an amoeba. I spend most of my time glued to my computer, impartially absorbing data and consumer information. Your journals have opened my imagination — I've resolved to become a world citizen, and have the patience and (borrowed) resources to pursue it. In particular, I've become especially interested in Japan. After living in Montreal, I've learned how to become "foreign." Now I want to carry it to the next level, embracing a life where language, history and values systems are entirely new. I have you to thank for this.
"As for my donations, sometimes I get a bit heady after a bottle of wine and become Peggy Guggenheim. Moreover, I know that I would only spend the money on idle amusements, such as cheap Spanish champagne and foie gras mousse... It's difficult to put a price on the insights I've gained through your writing and music. The only thing I ask is that you remain as you are ...confident, unabashed and hopeful."
Dear patron, dear Longlegs, dear Guggenheim, dear Hertz, dear Haley, comet forever, thank you! You have taken the "starving" out of artist. I shall dine tonight on sake teriyaki and raise a glass of bubbly to you. The best seat in my free cinema now bears your name.
Well, it's time to admit that Click Opera has its own "Mr Smith", a patron-philanthropist by the name of Karl Haley. When I've been at my lowest material ebb this year (and this holiday weekend, for instance, I ate only hummus and bread, trying desperately to spin out $60 to last a New York week) Mr Haley has appeared as if by magic to make Paypal donations, quite substantial ones, which have allowed me to carry on. He has agreed to let me make his identity be known here on Click Opera, and has sent me a photograph of himself with his girlfriend Elsa. He also included a picture of Gustav Hertz, the man who pioneered the electrical transmission of energy. Haley, who resembles Hertz, has transmitted plenty himself.
Hertz means "heart" in German, and heart is a term we could perhaps map to "solidarity". Every e mail my benefactor has sent me is signed with the motto "contingency, irony, solidarity", which happens to be the title of a book by Richard Rorty, but is also a nice encapsulation of values Karl and I seem to share.
So who is Karl Haley, patron, benefactor and comet forever?
"I'm a graduate student at McGill University working on my second masters in Library and Information Studies. I lead a discussion section on online information retrieval. My previous background was in contemporary American history, focusing most recently on Ronald Reagan and the rise of the Christian Right in the 1980s. I'm currently trying to publish a section of my thesis on Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority Inc., which ominously resurfaced in recent months. If all goes well, I'll begin my PhD in political science at the New School this Fall. I'm fearful about returning to the United States, especially New York with its batallions of police and soldiers. Yet, I have a beautiful Chinese Canadian girlfriend at Columbia who has somehow coerced me to return. You may have read some of her recent articles in Azure or Metropolis — her name is Elsa Lam.
"As a native Los Angeleno, well-accustomed to living under tight surveillance, I've relished the last few years I've spent in Montreal. I'm sure you'll find that Montreal has improved greatly since 1975. Separatism, once a trigger to violence and cultural division, is now largely a political device used to keep Ottawa in line. As an anglophone with limited French, I haven't encountered a single hostile reaction since moving here. In fact, it seems that Montreal revolves around fashion, sex and food more than questions of "identity."
"Apart from my academic interests, I'm something of an amoeba. I spend most of my time glued to my computer, impartially absorbing data and consumer information. Your journals have opened my imagination — I've resolved to become a world citizen, and have the patience and (borrowed) resources to pursue it. In particular, I've become especially interested in Japan. After living in Montreal, I've learned how to become "foreign." Now I want to carry it to the next level, embracing a life where language, history and values systems are entirely new. I have you to thank for this.
"As for my donations, sometimes I get a bit heady after a bottle of wine and become Peggy Guggenheim. Moreover, I know that I would only spend the money on idle amusements, such as cheap Spanish champagne and foie gras mousse... It's difficult to put a price on the insights I've gained through your writing and music. The only thing I ask is that you remain as you are ...confident, unabashed and hopeful."
Dear patron, dear Longlegs, dear Guggenheim, dear Hertz, dear Haley, comet forever, thank you! You have taken the "starving" out of artist. I shall dine tonight on sake teriyaki and raise a glass of bubbly to you. The best seat in my free cinema now bears your name.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-05 04:11 pm (UTC)Brain Candy
Date: 2005-07-05 04:13 pm (UTC)NY is not cheap ! I picked up the vibe that you were a little unhappy in your LJ postings of the weekend. I have made a small donation via paypal. If I was still in NY I would have gladly a have bought you dinner. Anyway, thanks for Click Opera ( who needs The Guardian now ). I get a lot out of it like Mr Haley. Perhaps others might feel the same: http://www.imomus.com/ and click on the donation button.
Richard
Re: Brain Candy
Date: 2005-07-05 04:17 pm (UTC)I don't want to give the impression that this is a PBS fundraising telethon, though. I just wanted to thank Mr Haley in public.
Re: Brain Candy
Date: 2005-07-05 04:54 pm (UTC)Richard
Re: Brain Candy
Date: 2005-07-05 05:53 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-05 04:42 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-05 04:48 pm (UTC)Very sweet from him.
By the way, you are the major influence for me too :)
Keep it up.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-05 04:55 pm (UTC)I know of a few Franco-Ontarians who beg to differ. Perhaps only when you actually speak the language certain Quebeckers can pick your French apart. Stopping a speaker mid-sentence is something French-Canadians and 'regular French' people like to do. That and the fact that an American is just not one of us, so he or she technically can't be a tête-carré.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-05 04:55 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-05 05:04 pm (UTC)momasu(at)gmail.com
Dinner one night this week would be splendid: just dined last night with our mutual friend Jorge Colombo (http://www.jorgecolombo.com), who showed me his intriguing new one-minute films (they're on his site).
(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-05 05:49 pm (UTC)Haven't seen Jorge for a while; never heard how his friend Allison Smith's Muster project (http://www.themuster.com/) went.
How's Thursday evening? (And do you like freshly picked blueberries?)
W
(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-06 01:08 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-06 01:37 pm (UTC)a re-type of my previous comment:
Date: 2005-07-05 05:34 pm (UTC)(He is a very patient and theraputic person who had a profound-calmng-effect on me when we were dating for a year... one of the most functional and enjoyable relationships I have ever been in).
He has been reading you and consuming your creations for years now.
He is the one who introduced me to your music.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-05 06:08 pm (UTC)This is a very inspiring (and gracious) post Nick and it has meant a lot to me to read. I hope you're enjoying your trip.
Thanks!
Date: 2005-07-05 09:55 pm (UTC)Re: Thanks!
Date: 2005-07-06 02:16 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-05 11:01 pm (UTC)even more broke than Momus,
John (Fashion Flesh)
www.fashionflesh.com
(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-06 04:33 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-06 05:17 am (UTC)well done
(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-06 06:47 am (UTC)This Hertz also looks like you. He is maybe the bridge between you two.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-06 08:48 am (UTC)Most of us have it, but not always in the same form, e.g., saddle-type nose is another expression.
your July 5th 2005 post
Date: 2018-01-31 10:31 pm (UTC)I was searching online for Karl Haley, who was a student in a class with me as an undergrad at Berkeley. He doesn't have much of a web presence, but I'm sure that your Haley-Guggenheim-Hertz is he. I doubt you've stayed in touch, but if you have any hints of how I'd find him, please let me know. He wrote a wonderful paper in 2000 which I've just stumbled on. I know he did grad work at New School after McGill, and I've found the Elsa Lam who used to be his girlfriend (architectural writer--haven't tried to contact her). Just starting with you, who wrote this charming post over 12 years ago! Regards, Linda Hess, lionda at stanford dot edu