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Blog - see all 19
wow... Aug 13
it has been too long since I've posted anything on this blog so I just want to put something up real fast. Really just a message that says "wow its been awhile", but also something that says that I've got a whole lot of stuff floating around in the ol' noodle right now that i'm trying to write out into post format. Philosophy things. And some of them are even based on things that I thought of and not in response to comments or thoughts from other people. Here's some keywords to really titillate you, and of course by you I mean no one:
Transformers
The Matrix
Richard Dawkins
Charles Darwin
evolution
trans-humanism
post-humanism
regular-humanism
space
time
space-time
morality in an infinite universe
morality in a finite universe
There will also be some expansion on my previous post about the consequence of emotion in an evolutionary world. Mostly because that came up in a conversation that I was having with someone far smarter than me and I hadn't thought about it in a while and because I realized during the course of that discussion that there was substantial room to go into that more.
Now, please note that not all of those topics will be in the same discussion, or overlap at all, but being jobless as I am, I'm totally in a Bukowski thing here and reading far more than I should and writing far too little, so things may get weird.
PS, this is what the alphabet would look like without Q and R were eliminated (ha ha, hedberg gets me everytime), but seriously though, I am the last 20 something white male in the world to read slaughterhouse five and for that I am sad because it is one of the most profound and broad works of fiction I have ever read. I, in all my wisdom, advise you to pick up a copy immediately and then send me an email so that we may meet and discuss it.
So it goes.
Whicha What? Mar 25
From ABC news' website:
'When Clinton was challenged by a reporter that this revised account calls into question her foreign policy credentials, Clinton said, "No, I went to 80 countries, you know. I gave contemporaneous accounts, I wrote about a lot of this in my book. You know, I think that, a minor blip, you know, if I said something that, you know, I say a lot of things -- millions of words a day -- so, if I misspoke, that was just a misstatement." '
Millions of words a day? Not likely.
...so, if I misspoke, that was just a misstatement? Uh huh, and if I misstep and stumble slightly, that was just a trip.
When the hell did this woman become Bush?
Thoughts on "The Audacity of Rhetoric" Mar 25
As long as my brain is running today, here's a little something more. Thomas Sowell posted an article on Real Clear Politics today and there's just a couple of parts that I feel warrant comment, probably from someone better, but they're not here now so you get me.
"[Obama's] voting record in the U.S. Senate is the furthest left of any Senator."
Umm...I'm gonna have to call shennanigans on this one too. I'd do the digging, but I already know this is wrong from looking into the same claims made against Edwards.
"Barack Obama's own account of his life shows that he consciously sought out people on the far left fringe."
Wait..wait...wait, you mean someone who's own political views could be classified as "left" actually sought out the company of other like minded people? This could be the most preposterous statement ever made. (Today's episode was brought to you by the letter sarcasm).
"..members of the left, anti-American counter-culture."
I'm not including this comment because of how it fits into this post, but because it upsets me more generally.
I've gotten pretty tired of this idea, that being on the left somehow automatically makes you anti-American. Can someone please tell me where that came from? Counter culture? Really? What culture is it exaclty that the left is counter too? And what about the right-wing anti-American counter culture? This statement and its underlying sentiment really hinge on the question of what this America thing really is. For members of the right-wing nut jobbers apparently America is an ultimately powerful executive branch, a weak Congress, a Supreme Court that has a complete ideological hegemony, and a rabid flag waving nation of 300 million people who look, talk, and think the exact same way, which is to say, that they don't think, they listen to talking points and argue those positions without end for no reason other than they're told to. That America sounds more like a Stalinist Russia or a Mussolini-ist Italy, which doesn't sound like America at all really. So really I guess that those who are on the left aren't really anti-America are really more anti-YourAmerica. And don't get me wrong, you can complain about that all you want, but the least you can do is get it right.
"There is no evidence that Obama ever sought to educate himself on the views of people on the other end of the political spectrum, much less reach out to them. He reached out from the left to the far left."
What evidence would there be? Sit downs with right-wing family members? Checking out library books by Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson? And how would you know if there was no evidence? Did you dig through his library records? The answer, quite humorously, is no. You can't prove or disprove that Obama or anyone else ever educated themselves on anything. Sowell could ask him, but given the obvious tone, I doubt that he'd believe him. The really funny thing is that what's in question is being educated on the "views of people" on the other end, not on actual conservative (see neo-fascist) ideologies, not on what it is to be conservative, but what people who call themselves conservative think.
Agreement here
Disagreement here
things i listen to...
sujan stevens, the arcade fire, peter bjorn and john, ladytron, beirut, m. ward, tv on the radio, rogue wave, grizzly bear, the postal service, weezer, snow patrol, british sea power, badly drawn boy, !!!, cocorosie, the shins, hot hot heat, frou frou, colin hay, death cab for cutie, aqualung, bloc party, the zutons, jai agnish, ben folds (five), mos def, jurassic 5, placebo, royksopp, flunk, spitalfield, taking back sunday, brand new, the early november, the decemberists, zero 7, yeah yeah yeahs, dogs die in hot cars, pete yorn, pain (ska not metal), bright eyes, rachel yamagata, emiliana torrini, the who, stereophonics, paul oakenfold, sasha and digweed, jack johnson, portishead, the crystal method, damien rice, m83, explosions in the sky, lindsay rae spurlock, mogwai
Recent Songs (VirbTunes) - see all
- Silverchair - Israel's Son
- Norah Jones - Turn Me On
- Guster - Empire State
- Five for Fighting - 100 Years
- Loudon Wainwright III - Daughter
things i watch that are long...
garden state, i heart huckabees, baseketball, sin city, the last samurai, stranger than fiction, robin hood (disney), princess mononoke, accepted, grandma's boy, let's go to prison, super troopers, akira, thx 1138, castle in the sky, nausicca of the valley of the wind, spirited away, dodgeball, starship troopers, the departed, little miss sunshine, hitchiker's guide to the galaxy, a beautiful mind, gladiator
things i watch that are short...
south park, the daily show, the colbert report, frontline, nova, robot chicken, voltron, thundercats, gi joe, silverhawks, cowboy bebop, criminal intent, home movies
things that keep me busy...
not working, music, happy drinks, peanut butter, things that click or beep, graduating, other assorted college basics, couches that don't convert into beds, people watching, talking just to hear myself, quoting movie lines excessively, support groups for freecell, napping, conforming, whatever, saying 'whatevs' instead of whatever, making lists, reading people's blogs, nicotine, link chasing in wikipedia, making mix tapes, starting things but not finishing them
Top Artists (VirbTunes) - see all
- Loudon Wainwright III - 24
- Sufjan Stevens - 20
- The New Pornographers - 18
Top Songs (VirbTunes) - see all
- Late - Ben Folds - 5
- Grey In L.A. - Loudon Wainwright III - 4
- Daughter - Loudon Wainwright III - 4