tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57205662024-03-07T15:38:58.890-07:00the cynic librarian"mega data mega kaka" --A digital documentary of social, political, and cultural events. Commentary in the form of irony, lampoon, and diatribe.
"If it's not just people themselves, but their fathers and grandfathers and pretty well all past generations that have been led astray, it's not easy to root out their mistaken opinions today, however strong one's arguments" - SenecaFaustus and FrankenKittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02389715823183207761noreply@blogger.comBlogger943125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-59901574384706446592011-04-09T08:37:00.001-06:002011-04-09T11:05:09.440-06:00The News of the Times From Fukushima to Tahrir, the days take on apocalyptic fervor. The last days will come like a thief in the night, Jesus said. For some, Fukushima is simply an accident to either bad-aid or encase in concrete. Tahrir is more promising since the freedom of people we see inspires and motivates. Yet our lives - in the west - become more and more digitalized. Is there something essential that could Faustus and FrankenKittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02389715823183207761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-4706028850557344362010-01-29T18:23:00.000-07:002010-01-29T18:23:16.801-07:00Getting to Santa feMy first journey to SF in '79. Didn't know not to fly into SF airport. I guess I had figured that I could get a taxi - it was an airport after all - to get up to school. Well, afte deplaning I was somewhat taken aback by the lobby - if you could call it that - being greeted by a coyote, some lizards, and a roadrunner. Seriously, though. The place was just a museum of old planes or something. AndFaustus and FrankenKittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02389715823183207761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-1162850056682653682009-03-15T14:54:00.002-06:002009-03-15T08:38:17.822-06:00Torture and the Human ImageUpdate 3/15/09: The NYTimes has released transcripts of interviews of those tortured at US "black sites."The following published 06: I've meant to write about the decision by the US Congress last month to effectively legalize the torture of people. I haven't done so yet because of personal emergencies and time constraints. I've also been trying to weed through the various angles taken by the Faustus and FrankenKittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02389715823183207761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-69529669301558923122009-03-15T08:10:00.004-06:002009-03-15T08:35:07.535-06:00Letter in Support of Shirin EbadiTo:Supreme Leader Ali KhameneiPresident Mahmoud AhmadinejadAyatollah Shahrudi,Head of the JudiciaryMohammad Khazaee,Ambassador and PermanentRepresentative of the Islamic Republicof Iran to the United NationsI want to add these words in support of the recent letter asking you to help stop the attacks on Shirin Ebadi and the organization she heads. If the stories of these attacks are true, they Faustus and FrankenKittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02389715823183207761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-61166460429069974562008-12-06T07:20:00.005-07:002009-03-15T08:36:42.625-06:00Dick on Ideas That Live UsVery interesting short talk by the author Philip K Dick on ideas--"realizing" them, understanding them, and living them. I'm in the midst of reading several of Dick's 60s and 70s novels. He's not only a very good writer--many notches above pulp hacks--but also a thinker, in the way that Heidegger writes about.In philosophical terms, this speech might be an interesting, perhaps poppish, version ofFaustus and FrankenKittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02389715823183207761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-1814526113885065902008-11-28T20:17:00.001-07:002008-11-28T20:17:49.171-07:00The REAL Maverick: Present Economy worse than DepressionBe afraid... be very afraid. Unfortunately, I find this man's opinion difficult to believe, since he has not understood Wittgenstein. He has also a lot of money from his theories. That Mandelbrot sits alongside him and speaks little says something, perhaps, about how seriously we should take this. As they say, a grain of salt. But then I am looking to move whatever money I have to under my Faustus and FrankenKittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02389715823183207761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-57493956890762240132008-11-23T18:33:00.000-07:002008-11-23T09:02:03.780-07:00Once upon time in the west - Final showdown
Is Obama the Charles Bronson figure in this film, come to exact vengeance for the rapes, pillaging, and murders perpetrated by Bush and his gang?
To be continued...Faustus and FrankenKittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02389715823183207761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-13810143392569402572008-11-14T22:49:00.001-07:002008-11-14T22:51:00.771-07:00I heard several commentators expressing their awe and feelings of transcendence they are experiencing now. The quasi-religious expressions and emotions felt have been striking. I myself do not feel this–even the sense of the historical has of yet escaped me. I thought it might be that I believe this should have happened years ago–that the time is well-nigh for a black person be elected to higher Faustus and FrankenKittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02389715823183207761noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-3587496011579570672008-11-12T23:00:00.002-07:002008-12-06T07:40:05.262-07:00PromisesThe US News & World Report, seen at a newsstand as I waited for the train in Penn Station, read: Promises to Keep." A picture of a young and intelligent Barack Obama graced the cover as well.And I thought, "Promises from a man of promise, a man gifted with youth, eloquence, and intelligence. It is easy to think that he can keep the promises. Anyone older, less graced with handsome vigor would notFaustus and FrankenKittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02389715823183207761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-2494422045938343652008-11-12T17:26:00.000-07:002008-11-12T16:32:17.704-07:00ABC News Updated Milgram VideoFaustus and FrankenKittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02389715823183207761noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-26628943840632046842008-11-12T15:16:00.000-07:002008-11-12T17:00:45.143-07:00Disneyland in IraqI refused to give in to peer pressure and family and child pressure when it came to taking my children to Disneyland or Disney World. While I have been the beneficiary of Mickey Mouse coulture and used to watch the Mickey Club as a child, as I grew older and educated myself about culture, I came to despise everything associated with what the East German playwright Heiner Muller once derided as Faustus and FrankenKittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02389715823183207761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-40836939710433670362008-11-12T14:37:00.000-07:002008-11-12T16:58:42.372-07:00They're Such Nice BoysFrom an article by Conn Hallinan trying to explain why occupations fail:Israeli psychologist Nofer Ishai-Karen and psychology professor Joel Elitzur interviewed 21 Israeli soldiers who served in the Occupied Territories. They found that the soldiers routinely engaged in murder, assault, threats and humiliation, and many of them enjoyed it.“The truth is that I love this mess—I enjoy it. It is likeFaustus and FrankenKittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02389715823183207761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-55662674524170186312008-11-12T14:31:00.000-07:002008-11-12T16:08:13.594-07:00Henwood on Economic Crisis Left economist Doug Henwood and guests on the recent US economic crisis.Faustus and FrankenKittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02389715823183207761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-43603023389535210282008-11-12T13:56:00.001-07:002008-11-12T16:39:13.182-07:00One Nation Under Urizen (God)Of the primeval Priests assum'd power,When Eternals spurn'd back his religion;And gave him a place in the north,Obscure, shadowy, void, solitary.Eternals I hear your call gladly,Dictate swift winged words, & fear notTo unfold your dark visions of torment. -- Blake. "Urizen"I missed a posting on William Blake's 250th birthday a few weeks ago. Sadly, because I cut my prophetic teeth on Faustus and FrankenKittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02389715823183207761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-1140123615989824452008-11-12T13:56:00.000-07:002008-11-12T16:09:15.296-07:00Civilization@RiskIs there anything that provides a grimmer testament to human frailty than the Abu Ghraib pictures now available on the web? When you see these pictures, many react with disgust, anger, horror, or perhaps pity. Maybe you even react dumbly and uncomprehendingly. After all, they are pictures of men stripped naked and put into positions that make no sense. You have to think the brute reality of Faustus and FrankenKittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02389715823183207761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-12754537398051888052008-11-12T11:55:00.000-07:002008-11-12T17:04:26.111-07:00Driven to Distraction (1)What does it mean to be distracted? Are we as Americans more distracted than people from other countries or perhaps than others in different times and places? What does it mean if we are distracted?On a recent radio show I heard someone talk about Americans being distracted. The person making these remarks appeared somewhat skeptical of the view that Americans are distracted--voiced perhaps by Faustus and FrankenKittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02389715823183207761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-53529100876725092122008-11-12T11:08:00.000-07:002008-11-12T16:59:49.287-07:00Where Does Your Heart Lie?Reading the obituaries to my home-bound mother, I discovered the following as part of the final memories of a deceased woman:"She loved shopping."The statement speaks for itself. With all due respect, I wonder what it is that would place this in the obituary writer's mind as the most important thing to think about when someone has gone to the other side. The answer probabkly refers to informationFaustus and FrankenKittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02389715823183207761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-58059178012282297392008-11-12T11:04:00.000-07:002008-11-12T16:37:38.067-07:00Freud Converts the Masses This BBC video, "The Century of the Self," explores how Freud's theories influenced propaganda efforts, especially through his nephew Edward Bernays. I believe that Bernays was a type used by Dos Passos in his USA trilogy.One fact I did not know is that Bernays' spearheaded the translation of Freud's works into English. Does this mean that Freud's works would have remained a blip in the history Faustus and FrankenKittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02389715823183207761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-39767402157606841992008-11-12T10:49:00.000-07:002008-11-12T17:03:45.537-07:00Driven to Distraction (2)Are we distracted? Does the outside world distract us from some important truth or reality that we should otherwise be looking at or doing or both?Right off, there seems to be something wrong with this notion of a passive viewer. It assumes a lot about consciousness and the way that I engage the world and what's "out there." (And I think of the motto for one of my favorite TV shows, the X-Files: Faustus and FrankenKittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02389715823183207761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-5335511498159370712008-11-12T10:47:00.000-07:002008-11-12T16:54:52.339-07:00New country (Iraqi song)This video is very powerful. It made a big emotional impact on me. I can only imagine how it affects someone living in Iraq who knows what the "impure footprints" dredging ruts of sand have meant in their lives. The video comes from Last of the Iraqis blog. According to his blog posting, the song in the background is so popular that 80 % of Iraqis have saved it in some digital form. Check out theFaustus and FrankenKittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02389715823183207761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-50818319998612004042008-11-12T09:18:00.000-07:002008-11-12T16:55:36.774-07:00Facing the Animal In UsAn example of the way that theories of human nature impact our lives and predispose us to see life in a certain way, coinciding with stereotypes of human behavior, came in an ordinary way the other day. I am trying to introduce my dog into a home where an older dog has made its home for many years. The owners of this dog believe that their pet will simply accept my dog, acting like the wonderful Faustus and FrankenKittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02389715823183207761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-64841260277624685192008-11-12T09:16:00.000-07:002008-11-12T16:11:10.769-07:00Kierkegaard Carnival IIIWelcome to the December 23, 2007 edition of The Kierkegaard Carnival. After a long hiatus, I am proud to present the most recent issue of the Kierkegaard Carnival. This edition continues in the tradition of the past two installments. The blog postings are diverse in their range of topics and include academic postings to those from non-academic bloggers, from pastoral to the everyday. The subjectsFaustus and FrankenKittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02389715823183207761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-88706246814404372812008-11-12T09:05:00.000-07:002008-11-12T16:34:44.575-07:00Left Behind: The Reality ShowMike Davis' work on world poverty, "Planet of Slums," is perhaps the most revolutionary work written in the last half-century. It ranks with many works that describe the horrendous conditions in which most of the world's population lives.In the following interview, Davis discusses some of the important political aspects of his work:powered by ODEORemember, though sounding like something from Faustus and FrankenKittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02389715823183207761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-46245576044656773632008-11-12T09:03:00.000-07:002008-11-12T17:02:51.870-07:00XXXXXX = Freedom in the US of AIt seems that American citizens must begin to reflect not only about the neighbor/enemy half-way across the world. They should also begin thinking about those neighbors next door--the ones with the slaves in their own homes.There's a Swiftian irony at work here; something breaking thru the world of imagination and hurling its sadness onto the shows of unsuspecting bystanders. While the US spouts Faustus and FrankenKittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02389715823183207761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-51196057102139862112008-11-12T08:52:00.000-07:002008-11-12T16:38:25.503-07:00The Genesis of Atheism, on Video and TapeThe Huge Entity links to a series of videos outlining the history of modern atheism. I say modern atheism, since I think that there are ancient versions of it, as well, though perhaps Huge and others think it's a manifestation of modern science alone. Ancient forms include the Indian Carvaka and Hellenistic Epicureanism. I'd also include various forms of Buddhism, though I think Houston Smith Faustus and FrankenKittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02389715823183207761noreply@blogger.com0