- Sep 22, 2013
- 4,956
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This culture-haunted vignette symbolic of consumerism-claustrophobia references the pseudo-A.I. toy Teddy Ruxpin (an electronically-operated talking teddy-bear) and the regret-themed Venetian folk tale of the Beggar and the Levantine (an ecstasy tale about a literally displaced human heart).
I wonder who appreciates the consumerism-idealism of 'TrumpUSA' more, President Donald Trump or First Lady Melania Trump...
Many First Ladies were looked upon for cultural/social optimism (e.g., Lady Roosevelt, Lady Kennedy, and in my opinion, Lady Trump!).
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Terry worked at Toys 'R Us for many years but became bored with working and living in America for so many years. In the summer of 2017, he decided to go on a vacation to Venice (Italy). He brought with him a Teddy Ruxpin talking-bear which he carried around with him in Venice to remind him of his normal love of American culture. He met passerby in Venice who liked his Teddy Ruxpin as he explained to them that he was an American tourist who worked at a toy store chain for many years and wanted to see the idyllic waterways and boats/gondolas of Venice.
While on a gondola ride in Venice carrying his Teddy Ruxpin, a strange gondola-driver found his bear-toy interesting and decided to tell Terry about the iconic Venetian folk-tale of 'the Beggar and the Levantine.' The gondola-driver (an Italian named Marco) explained that in earlier Venice, a stonecutter heartbroken by the death of a loved-one would sit begging by the steps of one of his own creations while carving images of boats passing by to remind him of the fond love of his departed relative. One day, a Levantine, frustrated by his cultural claustrophobia, cut his mother's heart out in a pure fit of rage and then despondently threw it into the river where the stonecutter-beggar witnessed the entire incident and made an engraving of it (which people can see!).
Terry remembered Marco's storytelling, as it haunted him about 'cultural claustrophobia' (of the rageful and then despondent Levantine). Terry thought about his own cultural claustrophobia working at the Toys 'R Us store in America and looked longingly at his own Teddy Ruxpin bear-toy and thought more fondly about returning to America. Terry considered the spiritual wisdom of embracing American consumerism-culture, which he thought he grew very bored with and thought about how his Teddy Ruxpin reminded him of the convenience lifestyle offered by the American marketplace and merchants/vendors. When Terry returned to America, he wrote Donald Trump (the President) a sentimental letter:
"Dear Mr. President,
I took my Teddy Ruxpin doll on my trip to Venice to escape my cultural claustrophobia from working at Toys 'R Us and coming to terms with America's unequivocal embracing of consumerism hypnosis (i.e., eBay, Facebook, Wall Street, Burger King, etc., etc.). I realized I had become resentful of America's consumerism consciousness until I met a strange gondola-driver in Venice who relayed to me the tale of a Levantine who cut out his mother's heart in a fit of cultural and social claustrophobia only to regret the evil deed and despondently throw the heart into the river, an act witnessed by an equally depressed stonecutter-beggar who made an engraving of the scene. This Venetian folk-tale made me realize that there is hidden romance in 'dystopian spiritualism' behind merchant mythologies. In other words, maybe I'm happy to be back in America to guzzle more cheeseburgers, so I wish you the best of luck during the reign of your presidential administration..."
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I wonder who appreciates the consumerism-idealism of 'TrumpUSA' more, President Donald Trump or First Lady Melania Trump...
Many First Ladies were looked upon for cultural/social optimism (e.g., Lady Roosevelt, Lady Kennedy, and in my opinion, Lady Trump!).
====
Terry worked at Toys 'R Us for many years but became bored with working and living in America for so many years. In the summer of 2017, he decided to go on a vacation to Venice (Italy). He brought with him a Teddy Ruxpin talking-bear which he carried around with him in Venice to remind him of his normal love of American culture. He met passerby in Venice who liked his Teddy Ruxpin as he explained to them that he was an American tourist who worked at a toy store chain for many years and wanted to see the idyllic waterways and boats/gondolas of Venice.
While on a gondola ride in Venice carrying his Teddy Ruxpin, a strange gondola-driver found his bear-toy interesting and decided to tell Terry about the iconic Venetian folk-tale of 'the Beggar and the Levantine.' The gondola-driver (an Italian named Marco) explained that in earlier Venice, a stonecutter heartbroken by the death of a loved-one would sit begging by the steps of one of his own creations while carving images of boats passing by to remind him of the fond love of his departed relative. One day, a Levantine, frustrated by his cultural claustrophobia, cut his mother's heart out in a pure fit of rage and then despondently threw it into the river where the stonecutter-beggar witnessed the entire incident and made an engraving of it (which people can see!).
Terry remembered Marco's storytelling, as it haunted him about 'cultural claustrophobia' (of the rageful and then despondent Levantine). Terry thought about his own cultural claustrophobia working at the Toys 'R Us store in America and looked longingly at his own Teddy Ruxpin bear-toy and thought more fondly about returning to America. Terry considered the spiritual wisdom of embracing American consumerism-culture, which he thought he grew very bored with and thought about how his Teddy Ruxpin reminded him of the convenience lifestyle offered by the American marketplace and merchants/vendors. When Terry returned to America, he wrote Donald Trump (the President) a sentimental letter:
"Dear Mr. President,
I took my Teddy Ruxpin doll on my trip to Venice to escape my cultural claustrophobia from working at Toys 'R Us and coming to terms with America's unequivocal embracing of consumerism hypnosis (i.e., eBay, Facebook, Wall Street, Burger King, etc., etc.). I realized I had become resentful of America's consumerism consciousness until I met a strange gondola-driver in Venice who relayed to me the tale of a Levantine who cut out his mother's heart in a fit of cultural and social claustrophobia only to regret the evil deed and despondently throw the heart into the river, an act witnessed by an equally depressed stonecutter-beggar who made an engraving of the scene. This Venetian folk-tale made me realize that there is hidden romance in 'dystopian spiritualism' behind merchant mythologies. In other words, maybe I'm happy to be back in America to guzzle more cheeseburgers, so I wish you the best of luck during the reign of your presidential administration..."
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