UlyssesPodcast

"Remember that the most beautiful things in the world are the most useless; peacocks and lilies for instance."-John Ruskin, The Stones of Venice------------------------------------------------------ ------The Ulysses Podcast was created in a small room in Eugene, Oregon by a world traveller who was wondering what the exact point for her existence was. She still isn't sure but like bubble gum stuck to the bottom of one's shoe, the Podcast has travelled with her to San Francisco, Perugia Italy, Tropea Italy, back to Oregon, and back to SF again. She hopes that it'll end up with her either in Oregon, Italy, or England. During nearly a year of reading Ulysses, she has grown to love that cherry-flavored text and the discussions evoked therein. ------------------------------------------------------------ --What is the point of Ulysses? Like Peacocks and lilies it is beautiful, but is it necessary? The only reason that I began reading it is because the text itself needs to be read aloud in order to appreciate the beauty of the sounds (and I wanted to catch up to a reading group. I never did, but shared the with them the famous last pages and a few precious scenes). That is why, I believe, that so many people try to read Ulysses and fail; they're reading silently a text that demands audio, like reading a symphony silently in a room without ever touching an instrument. It fails to exist in the way that it was meant; Ulysses was meant for the voice. -----------------------------------------------------------B ut is it necessary? In my undergrad years, I took a psychology class where we learned that some people suffer physically due to a lack of beauty. I could relate; for years I had to take the bus to school then walk a mile in downtown San Rafael, CA to get there. My route lacked trees and skirted daily traffic and heavy black fumes. Eventually I was forced to change my trek solely for the beauty of the trees and, perhaps, my life and general well-being. I could no longer take the grey buildings, the cement streets, and the daily exhaust. I could understand the crippling hardness of life without beauty, and I could appreciate the need for beauty in our world. I'm also a hopeless enthusiast for lofty ideals, like the movement towards beauty and the evokation thereof in our everyday lives. That, ultimately, is why I read Ulysses. It needs to be read aloud with passion by someone who loves sounds and can cultivate her own passion for the text and share it with others, for free. It is, ultimately, for you. -----------------------------------------------------------E ven if you've never listened before, don't fret but dive in! That's the whole point of Ulysses: beauty. It doesn't matter where you start, you're not missing a terrible lot, and often just one phrase, one line, is enough to touch your heart and move you in some way. I've had listeners write in to share how Ulysses changed there lives in some small or significant way, and often it was just a line, a word, a moment or pause that caused them to reflect on their own lives and the beauty of their existence. Luckily they chose to drop me a line and share their thoughts.Feel free if you'd like to contact me: Isispal @ gmail.com, and you can hear the podcast for free on iTunes (just do a search for Ulysses Podcast) or online at paigerella.libsyn.com. And... Ciao tutti! It's time for Joyce :).