Would you Trust This Man With Your Children?
The Telluride Association Summer Program was Nick’s first venture out into the world of educated people. The program is an interesting phenomenon, with meritocratic and egalitarian associations; invitations are sent to those above a certain PSAT threshold, but the score itself is neither guarantee nor requirement, and while the admissions process is highly selective, it is oriented less towards academic background and qualifications and more towards less quantifiable things like temperament, taste, character, and bent, and the program is not only free but will, if necessary, pay airfare—a decisive factor in my attendence. The general concensus of TASP ‘99 was that while the goal is get a group of extremely smart people together, the process will have failed if the ensuing combination is not also volatile, and individuals are chosen with an eye towards the resulting group chemistry.
The Association was founded by a rather odd fellow called LL Nunn, a mining magnate who wanted, as we were told in our introduction, “rough young men with a deep humanistic education.” He was unsatisfied with the quality of engineer turned out by the Ivy League schools and wanted to encourage independence, student leadership, and, apparently, roughness. This latter aspect is carried on today by Deep Springs college, another Nunn endeavor.
TASP no longer cultivates rough young men in particular, being translated into a somewhat more intellectual exercise wherin two or three dozen high school juniors of diverse intellectual backgrounds (but not especially diverse racial or class backgrounds) are thrown together for a solid chunk of summer, spending three hours a day in seminar with two faculty discussing topics like scriptural interpretation, and the remaining 21 hours playing ping-pong and having obscure arguments.
The trouble with TASP (Science fiction short story, sounds like) is that it utterly spoils you for later education, or so they warned us: college is never so good. And it’s true that I’ve never again encountered quite that much brain and personality packed into a small space. It’s also true that TASP was probably the last time I had an educational experience that required me to stretch and struggle. (cf. YourMother)
TASPers
Joel
Candace
Edymari
Dan G
Rachel G
Kia
Eugene
Maggie L
AJ Martinez
Jamie
John
Matt Morello
Kate
Maggie M
Dan M
Marijke
Nydia
Chris Ph
Alana
Jessica R
Nick
Greg
Jennifer
Deborah
Henrique
Tally
David
Matt
Previn
Dara
Jessica W
Factota
Adam
Liz
h2. Quotes
  • It’s not just writing; it’s intellectual masturbation
  • Wake me up in ten minutes…ten more minutes…what? NT
  • 69? For sure!!! DW
  • Previn, you wanna beat this? MW
  • I don’t want my child to be the sacrificial goat. KM
  • As you all know… ED
  • Yay HS
  • O My Swineherd!
  • You’re cool…for me to poop on. KJ
  • Taking women is like taking land, but land’s a lot more important. KM
  • All I can think of is “anus,” but that’s not a court obligation.
  • I won’t kiss you but I’ll feel you up AA
  • I’m really a girl AA
  • You can’t serve the lord with crushed testes PR
  • Way to shit on the Lord, Marijke. DW
  • At my house we call him Fucko. JR
  • I will stick it in you and pay you with your own money. KJ
  • Did somebody page me? KJ
  • Natalie Portman? I’d boink her. AA
  • I don’t get it. NT
  • Did you say “my bush is the final frontier”? KJ
  • I’m dead-ass. ET
  • If that’s really your name. DW
  • KIA, QUIT BEING SUCH AN ASSHOLE. Absolutely Everyone
  • You know what else is good for your forearms? ED
  • That’s not Poseidon, that’s the floor. DW
  • Crux…that sounds like some obscure sexual position. RG
  • I am the Godfucker that was, is, and will be. Before Christian Slater was, I am. NS
  • If I had dictatorial control…CP
  • How would you like it if my cereal ate you? MM
  • Somebody stole my pheremones. RG
  • Sure, it’s all fun and games until someone launches a military strike. DG
  • In the world of philosophical thought, Transcendentalism amounts to a small blip. DG
  • I didn’t know the military budget was sexually active. KJ
  • Buff as all get-out. MM
  • Oh Canada, we stand on God for thee. DW
  • What’s it called—an oompersand? DW
  • Whole milk. Do I look like someone who drinks skim milk. ED
    h2. Works
  • TASP Thingie the proper name of which eludes me
    h2. Bibliography:
  • Foucault
  • The Bible
  • Various Gnostic texts
  • Havelock Ellis Psychology of Sex
    h2. See also: TASParts, David and Jonathan Club
    h2. Links
  • http://tellurideassociation.org
    category:tasp