Letters from the Inside, Michael Swango, #66

Ed: What is particularly interesting about this letter is that enclosed with it was a cut-out of a great article by Martha Stout, the author of The Sociopath Next Door. I find it particularly interesting that Swango knows I think he is a sociopath and have questioned him extensively about his nature, and he responds by giving me this article about sociopaths. How fucking meta is that? A sociopath sending you an article about sociopathy...

Martha Stout Article about Sociopaths, Interview Magazine

My Dear Kelly,

Let me start with your two very good pieces of news in your last letter:

>Based on enthusiam alone, I hope you are chosen for the NYC Teaching Fellowship! You made two really good points in your application: that you were one of those hi-risk kids; and that you believe a teacher has to integrate pop cutlure into the curriculum to reach kids raised on the internet, TV & cellphones.

>Great score using Apt Swap on CL. With a penthouse in the middle of Tokyo as a base, this could be one of your best "vacations" ever. I'm sure your blogs from there will be amazing, although regrettably highly self-censored?!!

In my last letter or so, I mentioned Chelsea Handler and her rather colorful way of referring to sexual encourters of the celebrity kind. So imagine my surprise this past Tuesday night when watching one of those "below the radar" television series I talked about, "The Good Wife"--the plot line involved a fictional episode of the real Chelsea Handler show. The hooker who slept with the "good wife's" jailed husband goes on Chelsea's show and tell some tall tales causing problems for husband and wife.

Here's the irony: CBS's audience skews older/and many people who watch CBS drama do not watch Chelea--and I would imagine some don't even realize that she is a real person.

Your absinthe story was cute. Believe it or not, I rarely drank alcohol before I went to Africa. But some of the concoctions there were unbelievably strong. A story or two to follow...

Thanks for the Emily Nussbaum essay on the 3rd season of MAD MEN. She captures the essence of the show quite well. She saw as well how Trudy is the only thing keeping Pete Campbell from crashing and burning.

From Stephen King's short story "L.T.'s Theory of Pets":

"In a marriage, words are like rain. And the land of a marriage is filled with dry washes and arroyos that can become raging rivers in almost the blink of an eye. The therapists believe in talk, but most of them are either divorced or gay... It's silence that is marriage's best friend."

Your thoughts on this, KK?

***
Two items continuing with the teme of "windows" and "willing partners".

>The startling effect of music: Listening to that son "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga & watching the video absolutely raises endorphins. I'm convinced. By the way, regarding the song: Talk about your bad relationships... I want your ugly/I want your disease/I want your psycho...I want your love...Oh yea! No problems here!

Again, just based on talking to many people in the past, I believe the effects are more pronounced than in most. With many different pop/rock songs, as well as classical---only a few of which I've mentioned.
>It is because music & films & books are so individualized to our own nuances & idiosyncracies, that knowing which ones really touch something inside of you can tell you so much about someone. Really. [In the above, the underlinings are actually necessary!]

A note regarding the shootings at Fort Hood, Texas: Did you notice that five of those killed were over 50, well over 50 in some cases: Ages 62, 56, 55, 52, & 51. The 55 year old was a woman.

And another hallmark of today's military--three women were amonth the dead: the woman above/a pregnant 21 y/o/and a 29 y/o sergeant.

DATE FOR YOUR CALENDAR:
Tuesday, February 2
Final Season of "Lost" begins.

* Finally: For you, KK: Ran across this inteview with the author of a recent book. If you don't already own it, I'm sure you will. Please tell me all about and we can discuss if you'd like.


Must wrap this up. Again, my apologies for the significant delays caused by the L-O-N-G weekend.


You take care--stay super healthy for Japan. Thinking of you, & hope to hear from you soon.

Yours,

Michael

P.S. Suddenly, "Threesomes" seem to be all over pop culture: the recent "Gossip Girl" episode/the Brittany Spears song "3"/even that above-mentioned episode of the "Good Wife"...

Certainly some discussion to be had, but not today!