“ Children of her type contrive the purest philosophies. Ada had worked out her own little system. Hardly a week had elapsed since Van’s arrival when he was found worthy of being initiated in her web of wisdom. An individual’s life consisted of certain classified things: “real things” which were unfrequent and priceless, simply “things” which formed the routine stuff of life, and “ghost things,” also called “fogs,” such as fever, toothache, dreadful disappointments, and death. Three or more things occurring at the same time formed a “tower”, or if they came in immediate succession, they made a “bridge.” “Real towers” and “real bridges” were the joys of life, and when the towers came in a series, one experienced supreme rapture; it almost never happened, though. In some circumstances, a certain light, a neutral “thing” might look or actually become “real” or else, conversely, it might coagulate into a fetid “fog”. When the joy and the joyless happened to be intermixed, simultaneously or along the ramp of duration, one was confronted with “ruined towers” and “broken bridges.”
The pictorial and architectural details of her metaphysics made her nights easier than Van’s, and that morning -- as on most mornings -- he had the sensation of returning from a much more remote and grim country than she and her sunlight had come from.
Nabokov, V. Ada, or Ardor (New York: McGraw-Hill)
The Real Bridge and Tower Club is named after ideas from celebrated synesthete Vladimir Nabokov’s book, Ada, or Ardor. (See quote to the left.)
The idea behind RBTC is to encourage people to share the peculiar combinations of experiences and sensations that they find especially captivating, even if they seem silly. Love shuffling across the carpet in stocking feet while listening to Wagner and eating pears? Come to RBTC and bring the noise! If we can get enough people together to share their Real Bridges and Real Towers, we'll have outings where we each participate in each other's Real Bridges and Real Towers (as long as they're within the group's comfort zone). Then we'll go to a bar or cafe, because good drinks + good people + good conversation is the original Real Tower.
RBTC is in conjunction with The Portland Synesthete Association. My original idea was to try to recruit synesthetes first, and then try to form the RBTC. I later realized that it would work much better to start with the RBTC where we can investigate and share common sensory experiences, hopefully attracting synesthetes and spurring conversation about synesthesia To this end, information about synesthesia will be handed out at each event.
Date: TBD (We need at least 7 people to RSVP for this to be affordable)
Location: Research Club HQ -- 1687 SW Montgomery Drive, Apt A
Come enjoy a few drams of Ardbeg Uigeadail while watching the sunset from high in the Southwest Hills and listening to polyphonic vocal music on some rather nice speakers.
2009 whisky of the year, Ardbeg Uigeadail is my favorite whisky in the whole world-- Scottish or otherwise. I’ve never tasted anything so complex, exciting, and enjoyably strong. Ardbegs are known for their unusual camphor aroma, and are among the best of the peaty, smoky, smooth Islay whiskies. Uigeadail is unquestionably their best whisky, named after the lake that provides water for this and only this malt.
Sunsets are known throughout the world as the premium destinations for departing cowboys, teenage nostalgia, and lovers who have to seek their own path. My window faces northeast, providing a great show as the shadow of the west hills creeps across downtown and then southeast in stages.
Polyphonic music is exhilarating, often creepy, and, most importantly, many-voiced.
Together, we can experience the many flavors of the whisky, the many stages of the sunset, and the many voices of the music emerge, retreat, mix, and clatter. Also, if it's chilly enough, we'll have a fire in the fireplace.
Cost: $10-15 for the whisky, depending on how many people attend.
Note: If you're not a whisky drinker, feel free to bring a complex drink of your choice (in which case there is no cost to attend).
Ride the OHSU tram up to the hills as the sun sets, listening to Marianne Faithful’s tear-jerking, comforting, and exhilarating song, “As Tears Go By”, while sipping spiced chai and thinking of past glories, vanished lovers, and your fondest dreams (optional).
Important: You must bring your own music player. We can loan you a copy of the song in the format you prefer if you RSVP, but we can’t loan out iPods (though we’ll have spares in case one or two people forget).