Can I Do It?

by Marinka on April 17, 2009

It seems like we just got done with Easter, and already Bloomsday is around the corner. Less than two months, people. Of course the stores have their Bloomsday displays up already, which I think is way to early. I mean, wait until early June, at least. And seriously? I’ve had it with the commercialization of Bloomsday. Sick of it. My kids are all “can I get Guitar Hero for Bloomsday?” and “Do I have to wait until Bloomsday to get my itunes gift card?!” It’s like the true meaning of Bloomsday is totally lost on them.

What are your feelings about Bloomsday?

To recap, Bloomsday is observed every June 16th and commemorates the day in which James Joyce’s novel Ulysses takes place. Have you ever read it? Let’s just say that I don’t think that Oprah will be picking it for her next book group. It was assigned to me in college and it was my personal Moby Dick, except instead of pursuing it, I wanted to kill myself and everyone within eyesight to avoid reading it.

And it’s always sort of bugged me. Especially since my father (you know, papa) is a huge Ulysses fanatic and every Bloomsday he says something like “so, did you observe the Bloomsday?” and I always for a second think he’s talking about Judy Blume.

Fuck that, this year. This year I’m going to read Ulysses. And if you’d like to do it with me, I’ll be posting about it every once in a while. We have just under two months to do it, but it’s a hefty work, so don’t leave it until the last minute. Come on, you know you want to. It’ll make us all smart and shit. And kill all small talk forever. For example, “Hey, some weather, huh? What’s up?” “I’m reading Ulysses.” “What?” “I’m reading Ulysses for intellectual stimulation. But yes, it’s very sunny.”
That alone should convince you to join me.

Do they still have Cliff Notes?

One year ago ...

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