Fantasexuality is a sexual orientation characterized by the ability to only fall in love with someone irreparably unattainable. It is based almost entirely on ideals of fantasy and the hypothetical - always what could be and never what is. Vee of the Pathological Upstagers defines it by the fantasexual Rule of Three, which states that "At least three insurmountable obstacles must be preventing a relationship before the relationship is officially fantasexual." Such common obstacles include marital or relationship status, age, celebrity, or incompatible sexual preference.
Roots and history of fantasexuality
The idea of fantasexuality is derived from the Greek notion that true romantic love is merely an ideal and can never be realized. [http://fanta.pbwiki.com/#FantasexualityinWesterncultureAbriefhistory] Ancient Greeks believed that the act of coveting was far more rewarding than the relationship itself.
This is supported by other Greek ideas and traditional ideals of courtly love - as in fantasexuality, courtly love presents obstacles that are not easily overcome, such as betrothal or other social inconveniences, and consummation of a relationship is considered detrimental to it. Fantasexuality presents these same obstacles, but often a fantasexual will work to keep them in place, because fulfillment or consummation of fantasexual relationship would mean the end of it.
Fantasexuality in pop culture
The rise of pop culture in the 20th and 21st centuries has contributed significantly to the fantasexual condition. Movies, books, and plays are like a blank canvas for the imagination, encouraging fantasy and idealism.
Some notable examples of fantasexuality in pop culture include T.S. Eliot's poem "The Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock", Bonnie Tyler's famous song "Holding Out For a Hero", and the performance pieces of the Pathological Upstagers.
Quotes
"It seems to me that if you place music (and books, probably, and films, and plays, and anything that makes you feel) at the centre of your being, then you can’t afford to sort out your love life, start to think of it as the finished product. You’ve got to pick at it, keep it alive and in turmoil, you’ve got to pick at it and unravel it until it all comes apart and you’re compelled to start all over again. Maybe we all live life at too high a pitch, those of us who absorb emotional things all day, and as a consequence we can never feel merely content: we have to be unhappy, or ecstatically, head-over-heels happy, and those states are difficult to achieve within a stable, solid relationship."
- Nick Hornby, High Fidelity
"I like too many things and get confused and hung-up running from one falling star to another till I drop. This is the night, what it does to you."
- Jack Kerouac, On the Road
"Some things are better left alone, separated, isolated, floating and suspended just above our otherwise foggy heads, something to look toward to clear away.... Taking comfort in imitations, however poor, because imitations are all they are and imitations have become all I expect.... I close my eyes and smile a smile of satisfactory something, all the while my body is just beyond my reach. I will dwell for eternity in the corridors of my brain, in hallways of memory, channeling aesthetic sensate perfection."
- Vee Levene of the Pathological Upstagers
"I want to counter the notion of the utopian as unreal with the proposition that the utopian is powerfully real in the sense that hope and desire (and even fantasies) are real, never merely fantasy."
- Angelika Bammer, Partial Visions
Roots and history of fantasexuality
The idea of fantasexuality is derived from the Greek notion that true romantic love is merely an ideal and can never be realized. [http://fanta.pbwiki.com/#FantasexualityinWesterncultureAbriefhistory] Ancient Greeks believed that the act of coveting was far more rewarding than the relationship itself.
This is supported by other Greek ideas and traditional ideals of courtly love - as in fantasexuality, courtly love presents obstacles that are not easily overcome, such as betrothal or other social inconveniences, and consummation of a relationship is considered detrimental to it. Fantasexuality presents these same obstacles, but often a fantasexual will work to keep them in place, because fulfillment or consummation of fantasexual relationship would mean the end of it.
Fantasexuality in pop culture
The rise of pop culture in the 20th and 21st centuries has contributed significantly to the fantasexual condition. Movies, books, and plays are like a blank canvas for the imagination, encouraging fantasy and idealism.
Some notable examples of fantasexuality in pop culture include T.S. Eliot's poem "The Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock", Bonnie Tyler's famous song "Holding Out For a Hero", and the performance pieces of the Pathological Upstagers.
Quotes
"It seems to me that if you place music (and books, probably, and films, and plays, and anything that makes you feel) at the centre of your being, then you can’t afford to sort out your love life, start to think of it as the finished product. You’ve got to pick at it, keep it alive and in turmoil, you’ve got to pick at it and unravel it until it all comes apart and you’re compelled to start all over again. Maybe we all live life at too high a pitch, those of us who absorb emotional things all day, and as a consequence we can never feel merely content: we have to be unhappy, or ecstatically, head-over-heels happy, and those states are difficult to achieve within a stable, solid relationship."
- Nick Hornby, High Fidelity
"I like too many things and get confused and hung-up running from one falling star to another till I drop. This is the night, what it does to you."
- Jack Kerouac, On the Road
"Some things are better left alone, separated, isolated, floating and suspended just above our otherwise foggy heads, something to look toward to clear away.... Taking comfort in imitations, however poor, because imitations are all they are and imitations have become all I expect.... I close my eyes and smile a smile of satisfactory something, all the while my body is just beyond my reach. I will dwell for eternity in the corridors of my brain, in hallways of memory, channeling aesthetic sensate perfection."
- Vee Levene of the Pathological Upstagers
"I want to counter the notion of the utopian as unreal with the proposition that the utopian is powerfully real in the sense that hope and desire (and even fantasies) are real, never merely fantasy."
- Angelika Bammer, Partial Visions
Willie Wolf Wind (1913-1995) was a graphic artist and graphic designer.
Born in Pankow, Germany (now Berlin), he showed a talent for art as a child and studied art in school. After the Kristallnacht (November 9-10, 1938), Willie together with his sister Shoshana emigrated from the Nazi Germany to the British Mandate of Palestine, while his brothers Edward and Julius emigrated to the United States, and Hy to Shanghai, China (later moved to the US).
Maria, the youngest sister, stayed in Germany. In June 1942 she found an empty apartment, her parents apparently taken by the Nazis. She and her newlywed husband Abraham Schlesinger were among those saved by Oskar Schindler. After World War II they also emigrated to the US.
In Palestine, Willie joined the Palmach and pursued his art career.
Later in life, Willie moved to Chicago to join his three brothers and sister. Over the next 40 years, Willie worked on a variety of artistic and creative projects, both commercial and religious, in Israel and the United States.
Born in Pankow, Germany (now Berlin), he showed a talent for art as a child and studied art in school. After the Kristallnacht (November 9-10, 1938), Willie together with his sister Shoshana emigrated from the Nazi Germany to the British Mandate of Palestine, while his brothers Edward and Julius emigrated to the United States, and Hy to Shanghai, China (later moved to the US).
Maria, the youngest sister, stayed in Germany. In June 1942 she found an empty apartment, her parents apparently taken by the Nazis. She and her newlywed husband Abraham Schlesinger were among those saved by Oskar Schindler. After World War II they also emigrated to the US.
In Palestine, Willie joined the Palmach and pursued his art career.
Later in life, Willie moved to Chicago to join his three brothers and sister. Over the next 40 years, Willie worked on a variety of artistic and creative projects, both commercial and religious, in Israel and the United States.
WAH () is a recently formed movement which seeks to integrate world history education with American history education. Currently, this movement is gaining support from many historical association as well as several American secondary schools and colleges.
Early Development and Naming
In 2001, John D. Bridgewater, who has been teaching in Brooklyn High School in Brooklyn, New York, decided that separating world history and American history completely is a major flaw in the American education system. As a result, he pressured the history department of Brooklyn High School as well as state educational boards to change the existing frameworks and curricula of history education to integrate the two topics in high school courses. He then developed a course integrating the two topics and named this course "World and American History," and abbreviated it as "WAH". Later, as a nationwide movement began to spread this methodology of integrating the two topics, the term "WAH" began to refer loosely to this movement itself. Today, "WAH" is no longer considered an abbreviation because of its ubiquity among educators and historians as well as as to detach this movement from simply an abbreviation but instead to allow it to embody a concept.
Adoption in American Educational Institutions
Ever since the "WAH" movement began, it has gained unprecedented support from the government as well as from individual schools, colleges. This resulted largely from its effectiveness in allowing students to better understand the United States' role in globalization. In June 2003, the United States Department of Education stated that "the 'WAH' movement is clearly the future path of history education nationwide as learning about other cultures and heritages alongside our own will help our future to better understand the issues that face our world and will help our youth to deal with and to eventually resolve these issues." In fact, the College Board recently announced an interest to develop an AP exam which combines both histories as well as analysis and connections between the two into one exam alongside the traditional examinations which focus either on world history or American history. Additionally, many colleges are restructuring their curricula to cover the two topics together in great depth and to provide more connection between the events in both America as well as elsewhere. Recent trends and analysis suggest that the style of history education prescribed by the 'WAH' movement may soon become the norm in American schools.
Similar Movements in Other Countries
The WAH movement has spurred the development of similar movements worldwide which emphasize both an understanding of World History as well as of national history simultaneously. Such movements include the People's History Movement in China, the Global India Movement in India, and also the Global British Movement in Great Britain. These movements worldwide share the same focus and ideology of the WAH movement, which is essentially to educate students about the role of national history and culture in a global scale.
The Future of the Movement
Despite having accomplished the majority of their goals to a moderate extent and having already influenced many schools, colleges, and textbook publishers, the WAH movement continues to bring new innovations to the way in which people perceive history. The WAH movement has recently established a non-profit organization, The WAH Foundation, in order to ensure that history progresses in developing nations and that this ideology continues to grow both in the United States as well as abroad. Additionally, leaders of the WAH movement have created institutions of higher learning such as WAH University in order to encourage the future generations to appreciate history.
Criticism
Many teachers and historians criticize the philosophy of the "WAH" movement. First of all, it requires a great investment in order to combine the two topics effectively into textbooks and to restructure curricula, and critics believe that these funds could potentially be better spent. Secondly, critics believe that adoption of this new policy would lead to the fall of patriotism and national pride because if American history is combined with world history, not enough time may be spent on American History.
Notes and References
Early Development and Naming
In 2001, John D. Bridgewater, who has been teaching in Brooklyn High School in Brooklyn, New York, decided that separating world history and American history completely is a major flaw in the American education system. As a result, he pressured the history department of Brooklyn High School as well as state educational boards to change the existing frameworks and curricula of history education to integrate the two topics in high school courses. He then developed a course integrating the two topics and named this course "World and American History," and abbreviated it as "WAH". Later, as a nationwide movement began to spread this methodology of integrating the two topics, the term "WAH" began to refer loosely to this movement itself. Today, "WAH" is no longer considered an abbreviation because of its ubiquity among educators and historians as well as as to detach this movement from simply an abbreviation but instead to allow it to embody a concept.
Adoption in American Educational Institutions
Ever since the "WAH" movement began, it has gained unprecedented support from the government as well as from individual schools, colleges. This resulted largely from its effectiveness in allowing students to better understand the United States' role in globalization. In June 2003, the United States Department of Education stated that "the 'WAH' movement is clearly the future path of history education nationwide as learning about other cultures and heritages alongside our own will help our future to better understand the issues that face our world and will help our youth to deal with and to eventually resolve these issues." In fact, the College Board recently announced an interest to develop an AP exam which combines both histories as well as analysis and connections between the two into one exam alongside the traditional examinations which focus either on world history or American history. Additionally, many colleges are restructuring their curricula to cover the two topics together in great depth and to provide more connection between the events in both America as well as elsewhere. Recent trends and analysis suggest that the style of history education prescribed by the 'WAH' movement may soon become the norm in American schools.
Similar Movements in Other Countries
The WAH movement has spurred the development of similar movements worldwide which emphasize both an understanding of World History as well as of national history simultaneously. Such movements include the People's History Movement in China, the Global India Movement in India, and also the Global British Movement in Great Britain. These movements worldwide share the same focus and ideology of the WAH movement, which is essentially to educate students about the role of national history and culture in a global scale.
The Future of the Movement
Despite having accomplished the majority of their goals to a moderate extent and having already influenced many schools, colleges, and textbook publishers, the WAH movement continues to bring new innovations to the way in which people perceive history. The WAH movement has recently established a non-profit organization, The WAH Foundation, in order to ensure that history progresses in developing nations and that this ideology continues to grow both in the United States as well as abroad. Additionally, leaders of the WAH movement have created institutions of higher learning such as WAH University in order to encourage the future generations to appreciate history.
Criticism
Many teachers and historians criticize the philosophy of the "WAH" movement. First of all, it requires a great investment in order to combine the two topics effectively into textbooks and to restructure curricula, and critics believe that these funds could potentially be better spent. Secondly, critics believe that adoption of this new policy would lead to the fall of patriotism and national pride because if American history is combined with world history, not enough time may be spent on American History.
Notes and References
John Lachlan (born April 13, 1968) is a Senior Operational Officer of the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6).
Lachlan's father Andrew Lachlan of Glencoe, Scotland, is a Senior Accounts Manager for BAE Systems Land & Armaments Group, while his mother Jeanne Martinet Lachlan is a Swiss national, originally from Yverdon Canton de Vaud, Switzerland.
He attend Fettes, where he won numerous athletic competitions and twice boxed for the school as a light weight. He also formed the first intermural judo league for the public school circuit. Under an exchange program with Fettes, Lachlan spent a stint at the University of Geneva.
After graduating from Fettes at the age of 17, Lachlan began attending the Britannia Royal Naval College. He later conducted his year of Sea Service with high recommendations from his Chief Petty Officers and Warrant Officers. He applied for and was uniformly recommended for work in Naval Intelligence. Lachlan served as an intelligence officer on HMS Exeter both before and during Operation Granby, and later was able to transfer to submarine service, touring on the HMS Turbulent. Within the year of being assigned to HMS Turbulent, Lachlan volunteered for the Special Boat Service.
Apparently because Lachlan excelled so well with training, he was placed with the 030 Special Forces Unit, rather than deployment as a swimmer-canoeist with the standard SBS Units in Poole. During his three-year tenure with the 030 SFU, Lachlan rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. He saw covert service in Iraq, Somalia, Iran, Libya, and active service in Bosnia. Upon completion of his duties in Bosnia - where Lachlan was credited with saving the lives of nearly 100 men from a Serbian militia in one village - Lachlan was recruited by the RNR Defence Intelligence Group and awarded the rank of Commander.
Lachlan's work with the Defence Intelligence Group at Defence Intelligence and Security Centre, Chicksands, provided vital intelligence during key moments with Libya, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Cyprus, Indonesia, China (during the Hong Kong handover) and North Korea. In Libya, Lachlan was able to secure detailed assessments of the status of the Libyan government's reputed financial ties to numerous terrorist organizations, as well as crucial information related to the settlement of issues related to the Pan Am 103 case. In Iraq, Lachlan was able to monitor Iraqi counter-moves to the UNSCOM (now UNMOVIC) inspections process during one key period. Lachlan undertook a particularly hazardous mission into Afghanistan to rescue a researcher deemed important to Her Majesty's Government who was being imprisoned by the Taliban government. During the S-300 missile crisis in Cyprus, Lachlan helped undermine the Republic of Cyprus government's confidence, and, it is felt, helped bring a peaceful resolution to the matter. During his tenure at the DI Group RNR, Lachlan attended specialized courses at Cambridge (where he achieved a first in Oriental Languages), Oxford and other institutions. Lachlan left the DI Group RNR after recruitment by the MI6 in February of 1999.
Lachlan's first assignment with MI6 was at the British Embassy in Kingston, Jamaica. His duties there included: translation of Haitian, French and Dutch West Indies communiqués, interdiction efforts with gun and drug smuggling between Kingston and London (resulting in a letter of commendation from his superior), and four days of black ops reconnaissance in Cuba, penetrating military compounds.
He then was appointed Senior Advisor at the British Embassy in Rome. Lachlan was promoted to Ops Specialist simultaneous with this posting. Although based nominally in Rome, his duties took him to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Lebanon, France, Spain, China and the United States. He worked back-channel sources to aid in solving the U.S.-China spy plane incident between the U.S. and China. Lachlan worked with his former Special Forces Unit to penetrate and gain intelligence on Iraqi military and suspected unconventional weapons installations in late-2002 and early-2003. Afterwards, Lachlan was posted to the MI6 headquarters in London, where he continues to work as a Mission Specialist (within Black Ops) in such locations as Cuba, the United States, Austria, Spain, Russia, the Ukraine, Uzbekistan, the Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates.
Lachlan's father Andrew Lachlan of Glencoe, Scotland, is a Senior Accounts Manager for BAE Systems Land & Armaments Group, while his mother Jeanne Martinet Lachlan is a Swiss national, originally from Yverdon Canton de Vaud, Switzerland.
He attend Fettes, where he won numerous athletic competitions and twice boxed for the school as a light weight. He also formed the first intermural judo league for the public school circuit. Under an exchange program with Fettes, Lachlan spent a stint at the University of Geneva.
After graduating from Fettes at the age of 17, Lachlan began attending the Britannia Royal Naval College. He later conducted his year of Sea Service with high recommendations from his Chief Petty Officers and Warrant Officers. He applied for and was uniformly recommended for work in Naval Intelligence. Lachlan served as an intelligence officer on HMS Exeter both before and during Operation Granby, and later was able to transfer to submarine service, touring on the HMS Turbulent. Within the year of being assigned to HMS Turbulent, Lachlan volunteered for the Special Boat Service.
Apparently because Lachlan excelled so well with training, he was placed with the 030 Special Forces Unit, rather than deployment as a swimmer-canoeist with the standard SBS Units in Poole. During his three-year tenure with the 030 SFU, Lachlan rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. He saw covert service in Iraq, Somalia, Iran, Libya, and active service in Bosnia. Upon completion of his duties in Bosnia - where Lachlan was credited with saving the lives of nearly 100 men from a Serbian militia in one village - Lachlan was recruited by the RNR Defence Intelligence Group and awarded the rank of Commander.
Lachlan's work with the Defence Intelligence Group at Defence Intelligence and Security Centre, Chicksands, provided vital intelligence during key moments with Libya, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Cyprus, Indonesia, China (during the Hong Kong handover) and North Korea. In Libya, Lachlan was able to secure detailed assessments of the status of the Libyan government's reputed financial ties to numerous terrorist organizations, as well as crucial information related to the settlement of issues related to the Pan Am 103 case. In Iraq, Lachlan was able to monitor Iraqi counter-moves to the UNSCOM (now UNMOVIC) inspections process during one key period. Lachlan undertook a particularly hazardous mission into Afghanistan to rescue a researcher deemed important to Her Majesty's Government who was being imprisoned by the Taliban government. During the S-300 missile crisis in Cyprus, Lachlan helped undermine the Republic of Cyprus government's confidence, and, it is felt, helped bring a peaceful resolution to the matter. During his tenure at the DI Group RNR, Lachlan attended specialized courses at Cambridge (where he achieved a first in Oriental Languages), Oxford and other institutions. Lachlan left the DI Group RNR after recruitment by the MI6 in February of 1999.
Lachlan's first assignment with MI6 was at the British Embassy in Kingston, Jamaica. His duties there included: translation of Haitian, French and Dutch West Indies communiqués, interdiction efforts with gun and drug smuggling between Kingston and London (resulting in a letter of commendation from his superior), and four days of black ops reconnaissance in Cuba, penetrating military compounds.
He then was appointed Senior Advisor at the British Embassy in Rome. Lachlan was promoted to Ops Specialist simultaneous with this posting. Although based nominally in Rome, his duties took him to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Lebanon, France, Spain, China and the United States. He worked back-channel sources to aid in solving the U.S.-China spy plane incident between the U.S. and China. Lachlan worked with his former Special Forces Unit to penetrate and gain intelligence on Iraqi military and suspected unconventional weapons installations in late-2002 and early-2003. Afterwards, Lachlan was posted to the MI6 headquarters in London, where he continues to work as a Mission Specialist (within Black Ops) in such locations as Cuba, the United States, Austria, Spain, Russia, the Ukraine, Uzbekistan, the Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates.