Gavage
A gavage is an introduction of material into the stomach by a tube through the alimetary canal. In other words you are force fed what the person in control wants you to eat. This simple method can be life preserving and pain preserving.
Amerca's Aunt Terri was kept alive for 15 years by tube feeding before Uncle Mike pulled the plug. That same method was used on Vladimir Bukovsky.
"The feeding pipe was thick, thicker than my nostril, and would not go in. Blood came gushing out of my nose and tears down my cheeks, but they kept pushing until the cartilages cracked. I guess I would have screamed if I could, but I could not with the pipe in my throat."
This process that put 20 pounds of healthy human tissue on dear dieing grandma Rose put 20 pounds of paper and soap inside Serbian prisoners of Bosnia in 1996.
Chuck Palahniuk was my first gavage.
I remember that throughout the first 9 years of school life I was in love with books. I read anything recommended to me. Here were people truly serving the "created in god's image" aspect of life and actually creating something! But my freshman year changed everything for me.
One day I was reading a small book called "The Satanic Bible" by Anton LaVey in English. I had completed the day's assignment and felt I had earned my right to enjoy the fifteen minutes left in class. This book was not life changing in the sense that I changed my appearance and demeanor but it was life changing in the aspect that the teacher used it as grounds to humiliate me constantly. I was being ridiculed and labeled by those around me who could not reach into my head. A classroom became Rosary Ridicule and I stopped reading. I was young and unable to deal with being labeled by what I read.
I began to fill up the time I spent reading with other activities, much like a person who has parted ways with a lover. I became focused on music and honestly thought that what I wanted was to be a musician. This would go on for 5 years.
It was November 2006 in a bar when I found my redemption. I had been drinking for quite awhile that night because everything was too much. My grandma had been diagnosed that March with Alzheimer's and in a last ditch attempt to keep her wishes alive I had moved in with her. My grandma was a funny ol' gal with stories for everything you could imagine, just like your grandma probably is. She was always adamant about how much she hated retirement homes and when she was diagnosed, that was the first thing my mom and uncle wanted to do. Put her in a retirement home. I moved in and did my best to avoid that outcome. That November 2 things happened. I lost my "very caring" girlfriend, and my grandma was placed in a retirement home because the family decided it was too much for me.
I went to a corner in this bar and on the table was a book. It's name didn't ring a bell but the author's name did. Something about this book screamed read me. A call I hadn't heard in years. I read the first line.
"If you're going to read this, don't bother."
I had to. Some part of me had to know why I shouldn't bother. I had to know at that moment why my Gene Wilder, my personal Willy Wonka was telling me not to bother. Rather than turn in the book to the bar I grabbed it went home and began to read.
Victor Mancini was literally my savior.
Choke taught me things I never wanted to know on my own. This book took me places that I was too scared to enter and I was thankful for this mental rape. Like a horny nun being deflowered by a handsome priest I was thanking god for every moment of it!
After reading Choke cover to cover I had gotten back in touch with myself. I had found who I was. I had spent years chasing the unicorn rock dream with a band where no one got along all because I wanted to tell a story. Music was just a front for what I really wanted to do with my life.
So here I am. I've had 5 articles published and 3 books rejected all around and I've never been happier.
My name is John and for the past minute or so I was your gavage.
A common mistake made by the arrogant is they think everyone thinks as narrowly as they do. Whether they be atheist or Hail Mary Catholic, they all ignore the simple fact that their are ten billion points of view on this miserable marble, and their view is just as insignificant as the rest.
First rate.
THATS SO +3 STILETTO DUDE
I remember seeing some educational special in school once with some doctor back in 16-1700's doing experiments on this guys stomach. And he had a little flap cut in the guys side and was dipping things down into him to see how they dissolved or whatever. Wish I could remember the guy's name.
Anyways, I don't think just reading this would make you a "gavage" to us. Or just reading anything in general. Just doesn't seem to be much of the "forced" part to it. It's gotta be something you absolutely must read and see through to a conclusion to get a label like that, I'd think.
Excellent introduction, but...
Like a horny nun being deflowered by a handsome priest
Neither of these exist, although some cryptozoologists would argue.
...also, it seems we have an influx of Montanans all of a sudden...
Like a horny nun being deflowered by a handsome priest
Neither of these exist, although some cryptozoologists would argue.
aaaaaaaaaaaand contradiction ensues.
THATS SO +3 STILETTO DUDE
I SAID cryptozoologists would argue, because I knew you'd appear!
And now, you've given me the chance to quote St. Theresa! (light some candles and relax, kids...)
I saw in his hand a long spear of gold, and at the iron's point there seemed to be a little fire. He appeared to me to be thrusting it at times into my heart, and to pierce my very entrails; when he drew it out, he seemed to draw them out also, and to leave me all on fire with a great love of God. The pain was so great, that it made me moan; and yet so surpassing was the sweetness of this excessive pain, that I could not wish to be rid of it. The soul is satisfied now with nothing less than God. The pain is not bodily, but spiritual; though the body has its share in it. It is a caressing of love so sweet which now takes place between the soul and God, that I pray God of His goodness to make him experience it who may think that I am lying
oh the stragegies to defeat me! ironman has corrupted you i see! (I love the elaborate details she devotes to describing the SPEAR!)
THATS SO +3 STILETTO DUDE
i was gonna say, another montanan, 'cept ignorant me i was literally gonna say montanian
and, no, nate. once i started reading that, i didnt have a choice but to finish. as kate said, first rate intro.
hey, john. wait until you get to FEEL will baer's work. that dude is a badass. he even instructed an intensive here [at the cult] before he dropped off the face of the earth. his work is infective, more so than chuck's, my opinion. he has three books out and his goodspeed novel (the forth, and not part of the phineas trilogy) will be out one of these years. he also has several short stories over at the velvet (www.welcometothevelvet.com) not to mention his first published story, titled suffer the fool, is here at the cult under author shorts located here: http://chuckpalahniuk.net/features/shorts also, if you havent read guts, you have to; chuck's short story was made up of three sketches from real dudes and they were sketches he researched for choke but never used so he made guts and it hurt people in a very fun way. lotta lore with that story.
there are tons of great books out there. i wouldnt say that lavey's discourse against method was all that interesting. the most interesting thing about my read was buying it and the guy behind the counter couldnt figure out why the store sold it nor why i wanted to spend money on it and read it. really what it was about, blah blah blah god's a hypocrite blah blah blah what is a crucifix but pallidness hanging from a tree. it didnt tell me anything about satan or the rile nature of god, or about old policies the bible got rid of long ago. in other words, it held no secrets. the king james bible told more about satan than lavey's silly book of proverbs.
you will get many recommends here, if that's what you want. that was one of the reasons i came here in the first place. books like house of leaves. the road by cormac mccarthy. clevenger's contortionists' handbook. will baer's omnibus. hempel, mark richard. there are many authors of whom many most of us know intimately. what i'm trying to say is, welcome to the cult
-kabol
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play hard, like it's work to be done.
Ritt: Thank you! I love my hat!
lofivinyl: Thanks!
nathanial parker: I chose the term gavage because I felt that as you read about me I had the power to tell you exactly what I wanted you to know. But perhaps you are right.
monkeywright: You are absolutely right. I've never met a virgin nun.
JKabol: I think the influx of Montanans is due to the fact we stopped using pony express and started using the internet finally.
I'll have to look into this Baer. Sounds very intriguing. Also I have read Guts and it was glorious!
As for Satan, satanism, and silliness I apply some LaVeyan principles to my life as I also apply some Christian principals. It's simply finding how something applies to you that's the trouble.
I can always use more reading. 
A common mistake made by the arrogant is they think everyone thinks as narrowly as they do. Whether they be atheist or Hail Mary Catholic, they all ignore the simple fact that their are ten billion points of view on this miserable marble, and their view is just as insignificant as the rest.
I like your hat.