Rachel Rivit profile picture

Rachel Rivit

We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.

About Me


My Interests

Music:

rocks, jumps, swings, sways, slides, soothes, propels, carries, lifts, motivates, stirs, saddens, torments, comforts, inspires, purifies, alleviates, restores ...

Movies:

Life is Beautiful, Being There, Desperately Seeking Susan, Clerks, and almost anything with Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, Patricia Clarkson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Rachel Weisz, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jon Favreau, Terry Gilliam, Ted Demme, Stanley Kubrick, Stockard Channing, Sigourney Weaver, Eric Stoltz, Jim Jarmusch, Emily Watson, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Robards, Lauren Bacall, Humphry Bogart, Jimmie Stewart, Audrey Hepburn, Kate Hepburn, Jean Harlow, Gene Kelly, Alfred Hitchcock, Charlie Chaplin, Eddie Murphy, The Marx Brothers, Woody Allen, Nick and Nora, Pee Wee, Babe, or The Muppets.

Television:

Bull Riding, Medium, BIG LOVE, Grey's Seriously, The Lesbian Word, Fraiser, The Twilight Zone, The Muppet Show, and anything so good that they cancel it. Notice they have no space for radio... I listen to NPR all day... This American Life so far is better on the radio too.

Books:

Hegel's.

Heroes:

Just read one of his amazing speeches “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” here or one of his autobiographies as an escaped slave who became a leader of human rights here and you’ll understand why. (I took this picture in Belfast.)

My Blog

more on why I do what I do

I realize that what I gave out before doesn't really explain why I do what I do other than what drew me to philosophy and some things I love about it. Why I do do it is because I love it. And I really...
Posted by Rachel Rivit on Fri, 27 Jul 2007 12:51:00 PST

"goodnight inner child"

A LullabyeThe killer in the doorwayThe monster in the hallThe silence in the darknessThe shadow on the wallThe horse that's in the closetthat makes me want to run is the ghost above my pillowthat I'm ...
Posted by Rachel Rivit on Wed, 18 Jul 2007 12:12:00 PST

1980 (specific date unknown)

Rachel Falkensternroom 68teacher miss mulchaymother1. I Haet my mother2. But Sometimes I Love her and She loves me3. I Love her very much even if she dons'tDaD1. I Haet my DaD2. But Sometimes I Love ...
Posted by Rachel Rivit on Wed, 06 Jun 2007 11:25:00 PST

August 24, 1989 2am

my mouth tasteslike black coffeeshimmers before mewatching the death-sipsof the flydrowning swim danceI detachedly look onand on the tablelies the bookthat I finishedremembering youso long agoonly mem...
Posted by Rachel Rivit on Fri, 01 Jun 2007 10:37:00 PST

Why I chose what I do, do what I do, and love what I do.

A PhD in Philosophy? What're you gonna do with that?!?! Why, hang it on my wall, of course!Well, I've only gotten to the MA part. Anyway, usually, when the "innocent" question is posed, I joke, "I'll ...
Posted by Rachel Rivit on Tue, 15 May 2007 11:07:00 PST

September 24, 2005 1:43 am

What would you do if you were so transparent to yourself? If you knew you were in love with a memory, an idea, a phantom that was just a stand-in for what is really here, and as it ruins your present...
Posted by Rachel Rivit on Sun, 13 May 2007 10:23:00 PST

Clichés can confuse when considered consecutively--

(--but we all love a little alliteration!)...The only thing worth fighting for is love.If you love it set it free.Absence makes the heart grow fonder.Out of sight, out of mind.Love is blind.Love fades...
Posted by Rachel Rivit on Wed, 09 May 2007 12:56:00 PST

It's time to get things started...

Titelmelodie der Muppet-Show:weibliche Muppets: Jetzt tanzen alle Puppen macht auf der Bühne Licht, macht Musik bis der Schuppen wackelt und zusammenbricht.männliche Muppets: Schmeißt Euch in Fra...
Posted by Rachel Rivit on Sun, 29 Apr 2007 05:11:00 PST

"That's not right..."

I guess I'm turning into my parents. Or, really, Kevin Meaney's parents. Whatever. Either way, I say: Put your big pants on!Every time I think I might actually like some new music that involves electr...
Posted by Rachel Rivit on Sat, 28 Apr 2007 11:49:00 PST

"I find TV to be very educational. ..."

[TV:] So, Rachel, how're those papers coming along?[Me:] Shush! I'm trying to watch you without hearing your stupidity![TV:] C'mon, seriously, I want to know. Have you managed to explicate the nuances...
Posted by Rachel Rivit on Fri, 20 Apr 2007 11:59:00 PST