After the Orgy: Toward a Politics of Exhaustion

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments I would like to thank numerous people who contributed to this book, directly or indirectly, whether during its previous life as a doctoral thesis, or throughout its lengthy metamorphosis into a manuscript. Simon During, Ken Gelder, Mark Dery, David Bennett and Catherine Gallagher all guided my gauche enthusiasm into useful directions. I reserve special thanks for Steven Shaviro and Wlad Godzich, who both went out of their way to help some schmo they didn’t know from Adam. Thanks also to Dan Ross, whose coffee and comments were far too intense to cope with, and to Justin Clemens and David Odell, who have both only begun to influence and intrigue. A host of other people gave support – moral or otherwise – including Eddie Maloney; Paul and Alia Dash; Kim Armitage; Kylie Matulick; Greg Duff; Adam Rainczuk; Adam Sebire; Brittany Dufty; Brigid Magner; Khass and Bianca Yianni; Ben Deacon; John Matthews; Nick Heron; Isabelle Wallace; and the Symes clan. Special thanks goes out to Tash, Saul, Ralph, Mike, and Jindy, who provided support on all fronts. This book would be a totally different – and inevitably inferior – artifact, if it wasn’t for Ken Ruthven, whose insights, suggestions, patience, stamina, and attention to detail are truly a wonder to behold. The Australian Network for Art and Technology provided an invaluable travel grant, as did Melbourne University’s School of Graduate Studies. Earlier versions of certain sections have previously appeared in the Tamkang Review (Summer 2000), the Journal of Millennial Studies (Winter 1998/99) and Zeitsprünge (1999). And finally, many thanks to Joseph Natoli and James Peltz, who both had a big impact on the (much improved) final product. xiii In the midst of the orgy, a man whispers into a woman’s ear: “what are you doing after the orgy?” Jean Baudrillard (1983: 46) . . . and the beast will be huge and black, and the eyes thereof red, with the blood of living creatures, and the Whore of Babylon shall ride forth on a three headed serpent, and throughout the lands there shall be a great rubbing of parts . . . Monty Python’s Life of Brian ...