I was able to use a email software rather than the web based email account to download the emails I’d been receiving for the last two weeks but could not access on the web. So feel free to continue sending to the dietsoap email address, however if you want to reach me right away on Thurs, Friday, Sunday, or Monday try this email address: dietsoap@yahoo.com.
Does anyone know why the web based email stopped working even though it doesn’t register as full?
I had not received any submissions in about two weeks which seemed odd to me so I sent myself an email to the dietsoap.org email address and the email did not arrive. At this point I have to assume that nothing sent after 01/10/08 arrived.
The last story I received was from Tim Lieder. I plan on reading the backlog I have now and responding by the end of this week. So if you’re waiting for a response to a story and you sent it on the dietsoap address before 01/10 then you won’t be waiting long. However, if you sent me a story after the tenth then you will need to send again. I’ll post a new email address to send to tomorrow. Sorry for this.
Today’s Propaganda:
The Partial Character of the Revolutionary Theory
What happened in May ? Was it a spontaneous and incoherent uprising of various sections of the population, or a coherent step on the part of a determined revolutionary movement ? Was it a blind eruption of accumulated complaints and dissatisfactions, or a conscious attempt to overthrow a social order ? Did the student movement which set off the explosion have a coherent revolutionary theory, and a strategy based on the theory ? If it had a theory, to what extent was it communicated to the action committees, to the workers ?
There were unquestionably elements of revolutionary theory at the origin of the movement. This is illustrated by the fact that students in Nanterre began a struggle against the American war in Vietnam and were able to relate the activities of their own university to this war. This does not mean that the “majority” of the fighting students explicitly grasped the connection between their own daily lives and the war in Vietnam. Most students undoubtedly grasped the war as a distant struggle between David and Goliath, they grasped it as a spectacle in which they had sympathy for one side. But a small number of students acted on a much more profound understanding the moment they engaged themselves in a struggle to unveil the connection between the university, the capitalist system, and the war in Vietnam. To these students the war in Vietnam ceased to be an “issue” and became an integral part of their own daily lives.
Interesting article from the Mises Institute on Class Warfare and Wal Mart. A lot of well-worn ground here, but I particularly liked the discussion of how of different retailers that are essentially similar in their business practices (e.g., Target and Wal Mart) receive different levels of popular/political opprobrium based on the target audiences they market & cater to:
“One can buy discount paper towels and dog food at both Target and Wal-Mart at similar prices while being served by minimum wage workers. Yet, few would confuse the two stores. One is simply more charming than the other from the point of view of those who are prone to have contempt for discount retailers, so Target becomes a place where a congressman’s twenty-something children (if not the congressman himself) might actually shop. In their minds, however, Wal-Mart remains relegated to the realm of the impoverished and unstylish. The fact that Wal-Mart is perceived as useless by those with money and power has, not surprisingly, led to political problems for the retailer.”
Thanks to the tireless efforts of our crack Web designer Robin Catesby, the Diet Soap site has a cool new look. We’ll be adding new features and content soon, including our first online issue, with brand new fiction, interviews, and art.
In other news, Diet Soap got a nice little mention in Rich Horton’s blog. He calls us “A distinctive and intriguing little magazine.” Yay!
So Doug and I have been quite remiss in keeping this blog current. But no more! Be it resolved that you shall have fresh, sudsy Diet Soap news on a much more regular basis in 2008.
Pursuiant to that goal, here is a roundup of the reviews/mentions already garnered by Issue #1:
More news as it happens.