tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57205662011-11-05T15:05:04.609-06:00"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 FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.comBlogger9431100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-59901574384706446592011-04-09T08:37:00.001-06:002011-04-09T11:05:09.440-06:00

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 FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-4706028850557344362010-01-29T18:23:00.000-07:002010-01-29T18:23:16.801-07:00

My 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. And

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-1162850056682653682009-03-15T14:54:00.002-06:002009-03-15T08:38:17.822-06:00

Update 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 FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-69529669301558923122009-03-15T08:10:00.004-06:002009-03-15T08:35:07.535-06:00

To: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 FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-61166460429069974562008-12-06T07:20:00.005-07:002009-03-15T08:36:42.625-06:00

Very 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 of

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-1814526113885065902008-11-28T20:17:00.001-07:002008-11-28T20:17:49.171-07:00

Be 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 FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-57493956890762240132008-11-23T18:33:00.000-07:002008-11-23T09:02:03.780-07:00

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 FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-13810143392569402572008-11-14T22:49:00.001-07:002008-11-14T22:51:00.771-07:00

I 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 FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-3587496011579570672008-11-12T23:00:00.002-07:002008-12-06T07:40:05.262-07:00

The 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 not

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-2494422045938343652008-11-12T17:26:00.000-07:002008-11-12T16:32:17.704-07:00

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-26628943840632046842008-11-12T15:16:00.000-07:002008-11-12T17:00:45.143-07:00

I 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 FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-40836939710433670362008-11-12T14:37:00.000-07:002008-11-12T16:58:42.372-07:00

From 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 like

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-55662674524170186312008-11-12T14:31:00.000-07:002008-11-12T16:08:13.594-07:00

Left economist Doug Henwood and guests on the recent US economic crisis.

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-43603023389535210282008-11-12T13:56:00.001-07:002008-11-12T16:39:13.182-07:00

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 FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-1140123615989824452008-11-12T13:56:00.000-07:002008-11-12T16:09:15.296-07:00

Is 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 FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-12754537398051888052008-11-12T11:55:00.000-07:002008-11-12T17:04:26.111-07:00

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 FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-53529100876725092122008-11-12T11:08:00.000-07:002008-11-12T16:59:49.287-07:00

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 information

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-58059178012282297392008-11-12T11:04:00.000-07:002008-11-12T16:37:38.067-07:00

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 FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-39767402157606841992008-11-12T10:49:00.000-07:002008-11-12T17:03:45.537-07:00

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 FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-5335511498159370712008-11-12T10:47:00.000-07:002008-11-12T16:54:52.339-07:00

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 the

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-50818319998612004042008-11-12T09:18:00.000-07:002008-11-12T16:55:36.774-07:00

An 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 FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-64841260277624685192008-11-12T09:16:00.000-07:002008-11-12T16:11:10.769-07:00

Welcome 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 subjects

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-88706246814404372812008-11-12T09:05:00.000-07:002008-11-12T16:34:44.575-07:00

Mike 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 FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-46245576044656773632008-11-12T09:03:00.000-07:002008-11-12T17:02:51.870-07:00

It 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 FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-51196057102139862112008-11-12T08:52:00.000-07:002008-11-12T16:38:25.503-07:00

The 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 FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-71469022487827840722008-11-12T08:43:00.000-07:002008-11-12T16:35:23.419-07:00

Interview with Philip Zimbardo about his Stanford experiment on prison torture and its conditions.

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-32787462532243475642008-11-12T08:39:00.000-07:002008-11-12T16:35:59.981-07:00

Following up on the Milgram experiments, Zimbardo tried to see how normal people would react to being guards and prisoners. His findings surprised everyone, including himself.

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-9381617291335182152008-11-12T08:32:00.000-07:002008-11-12T16:31:28.935-07:00

Not only are we acculturated/hardwired to follow authority, many also have a strong need to conform.

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-32678312077519520142008-11-12T08:14:00.000-07:002008-11-12T16:56:33.090-07:00

In case you forgot, here's a short video ramble down memory lane.

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-6777337177515265522008-11-12T07:46:00.000-07:002008-11-12T16:33:52.144-07:00

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-30976107531972401612008-11-12T07:10:00.000-07:002008-11-12T16:37:02.499-07:00

This seems to contain information that does not appear in the segment that is available at ABCNews. What's interesting about this segment is the report of the McDonald's case. That is very odd.NOTE: Whoever recorded this and uploaded it to the web left in the commercials. The experiment segment starts at 2:26.part 3 of 3 of the series

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-83448332626832248912008-11-12T06:54:00.000-07:002008-11-12T16:24:04.810-07:00

A re-creation of the famous study originally done in the '60's. Until recently, no one was authorized to replicate it due to ethical considerations. However, in 2007, ABC News was granted such permission and did so with many of the original researchers and some of the actual participants.New data was also added.This is the remake that ABC News did. It's an extended version of the segment that

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-65551829355833556822008-11-12T03:00:00.000-07:002008-11-12T16:10:11.189-07:00

Several years ago I linked to articles that report the rise of prostitution among young Iraqi girls. Many of these prostitutes serviced US military men in Iraq.As usual, the press has ignored this story, as it has much of the reality on the ground, such as the sexual hrassment of femake US soldiers by their male comrades, the use of chemical weapons in Falluja, the atrocities committed by US

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-32613718429014341292008-11-12T01:47:00.000-07:002008-11-12T16:12:20.896-07:00

I share little in common with my father except nightmares and genes. Echoing through the silence of the years during which we have not spoken there winds the terror and horror of an insanity that was his and which I have guarded against. As with most shadows, though, the danger in fighting them brings the danger that you will mistake what's real for shadow and shadow for what's real. There's no

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-1140914234984999592008-11-01T22:57:00.000-06:002008-11-12T16:05:06.362-07:00

A lot of ethnographic, historical, and sociological evidence shows that when cultural systems decline, social and personal ills appear. You don’t need to look too far to see the truth of this conclusion. Within our own culture, the culture wars are a backlash against the destruction of traditional American cultural values. In the Islamic world, a similar reaction at seeing their culture trashed

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-1162226853067119262008-10-30T09:46:00.000-06:002008-11-02T08:45:34.222-07:00

I repost the following in light of arch-conservative Milton Friedman's pronouncement that "of course" the war in Iraq is about oil:The point I was making was that if there were no oil under the sands of Iraq, Saddam Hussein would have never been able to accumulate the resources which enabled him to threaten his neighbors, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia. And having watched him for thirty years, I was

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-7914350611404119792008-10-30T05:47:00.000-06:002008-11-12T16:03:49.569-07:00

In this interview the recently deceased Norman Mailer talks about things in a voice that often evokes wisdom and compassion. Over a long life Mailer seems to have learned something--an notion I once heard him travesty--about not just abstractions and fictions but about the nitty-gritty and thorny ethical issues that make a life worth having lived.To talk about Hitler in the way he does is

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-1168463306424914272008-09-10T14:07:00.000-06:002008-11-02T08:42:02.531-07:00

Like cages full of birds,their houses are full of deceit;they have become rich and powerfuland have grown fat and sleek.Their evil deeds have no limit;they do not plead the case of the fatherless to win it,they do not defend the rights of the poor. Should I not punish them for this?”declares the Lord.“Should I not avenge myselfon such a nation as this?“A horrible and shocking thinghas happened

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-1135971075572083962008-09-07T12:13:00.000-06:002008-11-02T08:44:12.539-07:00

Talk about demons appeals to the popular consciousness. Numerous works of fiction and film exploit the idea that we humans can be inhabited and made to do things that we otherwise would not do. Evil things--evil things so horrendously heinous and terrible that we'd despair of some presupposed innocence that we're born with.Of course, the most spectacular of these films was Peter Blatty's

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-1165358885764616272008-09-06T15:48:00.000-06:002008-11-02T08:44:32.859-07:00

In a recent posting, biblical scholar Ben Witherington reviews the new film Babel. For Witherington, Babel’s power comes in its ability to provide what I will call the God’s view of reality by showing how seemingly random events fit into a higher, more ethical universe of meaning. The filmmaker seems intent on showing the ethical implications of actions that are disjoined by time/space.I have not

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-1165963717476918972008-09-04T15:43:00.000-06:002008-11-02T08:45:57.095-07:00

Driving home early in the morning from my other job one Sunday, I turned the radio to the local AM channel. I don't listen much to AM radio except to listen to sports events, but I hit the Scan button and the first channel it landed on was the local one.I guess it's a Christian station for it was playing Christian Bluegrass songs. I don't know how much folks on this forum know about American

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-76293976795291057822008-08-31T09:24:00.000-06:002008-11-02T08:24:17.395-07:00

This article from CCN got me to thinking: As a child of about four or five, at my grandparents' farm for a summer week, I watched my grandmother wreak vengeance on the files in the kitchen and porch. I took her cue, it seems, and began trying to kill them myself. I'd stalk them with the fly swatter raised like Death's scythe. I even caught and belegged them in cruel curiosity. I called

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-71644949374558995792008-08-30T10:51:00.000-06:002008-11-02T08:25:13.657-07:00

This is very good, I think. Poetix calls it "brechtian punk cabaret," perhaps facetiously. The lyrics remind me of my daughters, not so happily I fear.

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-1154444785430570552008-08-01T08:19:00.000-06:002008-11-02T08:26:22.090-07:00

Originally published two years ago. I wanted to update it with the following video from ABC News.Update: This is one the most found of my posts that people find via Google and/or link. Regrettably, I do not think it is just an interest in the discussion that attracts most people. Indeed, the most used words to find this post are "kill all muslims." In fact, the 14,000th hit on the site used the

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-59747682364275965412008-06-28T08:12:00.000-06:002008-11-02T08:25:52.137-07:00

Practice Nonviolent Communication - wikiHow

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-11618871240607720582008-01-15T14:40:00.000-07:002008-11-02T08:27:34.980-07:00

There are few characters in world literature as evil as Shakespeare's Richard III. Yet, to see his evil unfold we run the risk of assuming that the evil will manifest itself in words and gestures that are too easily discovered. Richard's personality and actions belie this easy perception. And that is, perhaps, the genius of Shakespeare's artistic rendering of this evil. In many ways, Richard is

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-14072667342243486612008-01-14T15:17:00.000-07:002008-11-02T08:28:22.413-07:00

The question about illusion and reality, the inside versus the outside of why a person acts morally or not goes back to Plato. In Republic, Glaucon--one of Socrates' questioners--asks the Greek wise man how we could ever know whether someone is really good. We can't really look into someone's soul--or whatever--after all, so how can we ever know that someone "means it" when they act justly? They

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-41661063327810032952008-01-13T18:36:00.000-07:002008-11-02T08:28:42.401-07:00

The idea of invisibility seems to be something primitive enough to the human psyche as to ask what it is that seeks to hide, from whom, and why. In the preceding sections, I noted that Shakespeare's Richard III exploits the chasm between what others see someone do and say and the underlying reasons or motives that might be impelling to do so. The notion of an interior space or thing existing

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-14203186320296521352008-01-11T17:05:00.000-07:002008-11-02T08:30:03.971-07:00

The last section left open the question about how or why Gloucester might be in despair. Even were the schematic of anxiety and despair that Kierkegaard constructs true, whether Gloucester is in despair is highly questionable and counter-intuitive. Isn't he a dynamo of anger? Isn't he in constant motion to destroy and wreak havoc? Granted, maybe, he acts like a man possessed by envy and hatred,

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-35525380015554242502008-01-04T09:27:00.000-07:002008-11-02T08:30:25.047-07:00

Conventional wisdom of the talking heads is that Huckabee's win seems a fluke. Many of these commentators on the left, like Chris Matthews, say that unlike Iowa, the rest of the country has less evangelical voters. Therefore, Huckabee will not do as well and is probably just a one-hit wonder.Chris Matthews laughed at Huckabee's lack of current affairs knowledge last night on MSNBC. I think

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-33580029893084677062007-10-29T13:38:00.000-06:002007-10-29T13:43:35.708-06:00

The following words from Chalmers Johnson (in the midst of reviewing a book on the inteelectual apparatus leading up to the putsch that overthrew the US) deserve repeating:There is, I believe, only one solution to the crisis we face. The American people must make the decision to dismantle both the empire that has been created in their name and the huge, still growing military establishment that

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-19829751641007328342007-10-24T12:06:00.000-06:002007-10-24T12:21:41.798-06:00

As I wrote several years ago, the question of why the US is in Iraq is about oil. Though the many innocent and trusting faces of people don't wish to believe this, well... read Alan Greenspan or any other knowing clone. It is about the oil, was about the oil, and will continue to be about the oil. And if you think that Hillary Clinton or any other Democrat will leave Iraq for humanitarian reasons

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-83830841254559138842007-10-10T22:35:00.000-06:002007-10-10T22:44:47.314-06:00

I've been critical of Leiter on his views of Derrida and Foucault. But let's let bygones be bygones. He's got something going here with his idea of holding a Xtian-Fascism Awareness Week in response to David "I Lied Before the PA Legislature" Horowitz's proposed plan for an Islamo-Fascism week.Leiter quotes from an excellent article by Chris Hedges--whose work I have linked to several times--that

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-30125402453573775712007-10-05T00:13:00.000-06:002007-10-05T00:28:15.846-06:00

If you want to know what's wrong with the media coverage of this so-caled war, you can't do worse than look at this story. I posted on the subject almost two years ago. Only today, however, have I heard anything about the subject, and it comes from NPR. Well, at least they have the courage (I guess) to cover a story that's been out there for two years.Then there's the statistic that makes the

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-28648192169957230122007-09-28T10:35:00.000-06:002007-11-06T23:46:59.975-07:00

Martin van Creveld likes to tell it like it is. He said Bush's invasion of Iraq was the worst military decision in 2,000 years and now he says the US and the world can live with a nuclear Iran. As pinpointed repeatedly thruout this blog, this view only echoes expert assessments that a nuclear Iran threatening world peace is a nightmare propagated by people who want Iranian oil fields. The US Army

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-29544285374401372872007-09-26T12:55:00.000-06:002007-09-26T12:57:26.148-06:00

That's bad enough. But what's worse is the idiocy of the so-called Left press and blogosphere--ie, Raw Story, I Cite, Weblog, An und Fur Sich, Larval Subjects (the prize in my eye when it comes leftism)--who have nary a one-zero about the UAW strike against GM.Not one...Leave it to Lenin, a freakin Limey, to at least look and sound like a Leftist.You wankers and screaming kitten petters (or

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-78076240164451809012007-09-24T11:30:00.001-06:002007-09-24T11:30:57.616-06:00

I really like this. Takes the edge off of some of my comments though. But it's time we started looking at each other--in one last ditch effort--as humans.

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-79429630412168735232007-09-20T01:58:00.000-06:002007-09-20T02:15:28.731-06:00

Much of what has been said in the Rex Judas study is echoed in statements voiced by Paddy Ashdown (via Empire Burlesque):"Our problem is that we have chosen the wrong mindset, the wrong battlefield, the wrong weapons and the wrong strategies to win this campaign. We have chosen to fight an idea, primarily with force," Ashdown said, in remarks that were released before the speech.As the Guardian

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-20265484556456108962007-09-16T00:07:00.001-06:002007-09-18T02:00:29.932-06:00

In response to the following comments by Dr. Sinthome@Larval Subjects,All of this, of course, is a variant of the theory of original sin. There are certainly secular and theological variants of such a position. Social conservatives will often remind us that man fell as a result of pesky woman (personally I like it when women try to get me to do things I’m not supposed to do, but that’s me), and

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-73232809130538849712007-09-14T00:43:00.000-06:002007-09-19T00:52:47.490-06:00

I ended the preceding section on the idea that humans do not act in a vacuum; that all human actions and self-understandings are done in terms of social conventions and structures that have determined us from the time we come from the womb. The Great Man theory, however--one supported by Pres. Bush and his followers--supposes that we do indeed act as separate entities, as though our

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-69323667191437491412007-09-11T17:20:00.000-06:002007-12-24T09:08:51.806-07:00

This provides a serialized listing of the posts on Texas George Rex Youda.Index of Postings on Texas George Rex JudasTexas George Rex Judas (1)Texas George Rex Judas (2a)Texas George Rex Judas (2b)Texas George Rex Judas (3)Texas George Rex Judas (4a)Texas George Rex Judas (4b)Texas George Rex Judas (4c)Excursus: Original Sin and PoliticsThese postings explore not only the phenomenon that is

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-9126008902722340512007-08-31T00:12:00.000-06:002007-08-31T01:03:25.823-06:00

Before I move on to posting more of my politically naive diatribes, I want to note the death of a woman I wish I had known better. Julie died yesterday after a bout with a very horrible disease, systemic sclerosis, that travestied her body and made her last days on earth a daze induced by pain-suffocating drugs. But this end does no justice to the light that this woman shared with all while she

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-21479540376234965752007-08-30T00:03:00.000-06:002007-09-16T18:04:28.049-06:00

The Bush admin has done an admirable job of selling the coming war with Iran. Popping every trial balloon like it was just bubbles of fantasy, it has made such a war appear less and less likely. Simultaneously, it has made those who see the writing on the wall of such a war look like so many Chicken Littles. Excellent job, you guys in disinformation and psyops. You really have played this game

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-36958038667735377852007-08-28T14:21:00.000-06:002007-08-30T15:20:01.164-06:00

A major theme of this site has been the supposed takeover of the US government by a coalition of Xtian fundamentalists and neocon ideologues. This alliance of convenience has been covered from numerous angles, especially the Xtian fundamentalist side. Kevin Phillips wrote a best-selling book on the subject and Chris Hedges has covered it in numerous articles.I engaged in some discussion with Adam

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-77746800713225504862007-08-26T22:40:00.000-06:002007-08-26T22:53:37.235-06:00

Two years ago, I began a thread about dissent and growing frustration among the troops in Iraq. (Click the Label "ranks" below to see these articles.)I wrote that there was increasing dissent among the grunts in Iraq, the ones actually dying. I linked to several articles, many of which never made it into the mainstream media.Recent surveys, and a well-publicized op-ed by serving soldiers,

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-81869134403569181732007-08-25T02:30:00.000-06:002007-08-25T02:34:20.986-06:00

[The following was written in response to something at I Cite. It now sounds so trite and overblown, too preachy maybe. The issue is one I have dealt with in poems, so perhaps I'll dig those out and print some lines rather than this tripe.]I have always been drawn to the verse where Jesus says, "And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-33152688030108046622007-08-23T00:09:00.000-06:002007-08-23T00:15:01.377-06:00

If you haven't realized the truth of what this guy says, now is your chance to read and learn. There are insiders and outsiders. My own position is to follow Alastair Hannay's advice and try to be an outsider's outsider. Anyway, read what Arthur has to say and take it to heart and mind:It is important to recognize the two perspectives and the two kinds of analysis, and to keep them separate.

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-67984767580633525692007-08-20T23:31:00.000-06:002007-08-20T23:39:43.405-06:00

I mentioned a while ago that I was reading Tugendhat's great lectures on analytical philosophy and another one on self-consciousness. Habermasian Reflections pointed me to an interview with Tugendhat, that I found interesting. I then found a link at the bottom of that to an article on religion by Tugendhat himself.Tugendhat writes about religion and God:As what we are dealing with is an

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-37642741726270583792007-08-15T23:17:00.000-06:002007-08-16T22:36:08.563-06:00

[w/ apolgies to Adam Kotsko for using his website to try out these rather toilsome remarks. Needless to say they are collected from there and would serve as rough rough drafts for a review, were I ever to find time to do one]Update: These remarks appeared before the NPR interview w/ Lynch and before I had a chance to read the interview w/ Lynch @ Village Voice.Spoiler Alert: THe following remarks

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-24332055109294653862007-08-09T02:17:00.001-06:002007-08-09T02:17:15.398-06:00

This is what the hysteria about terrorism breeds. Thank you GWB and Neocons.

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-34544356167610434742007-08-06T23:12:00.000-06:002007-08-06T23:14:31.318-06:00

I don't but scored 29, only 3 away from being a highly functional autist. What does that mean? Take the test and see what you are.

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-21530350128170926412007-08-06T22:28:00.000-06:002007-08-09T02:32:11.222-06:00

I'm in the midst of a decent dialog on Lynch's films at adamkotsko.com. In the meantime, I came across this review of David Cronenberg's film, Crash. I'm a fan of Cronenberg, finding Videodrome somewhat prophetic. His Fly was a bit overdone but a very good remake of a classic.Crash is in a category by itself, however. It is not easy to watch at times and made me uncomforetable, which I think is a

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-68877979233919948702007-08-03T11:15:00.000-06:002007-08-03T11:17:38.519-06:00

The following was first posted at Kotsko's Weblog:I have found in my own teaching experience on these issues that strictly evangelical students are very open to the critiques of religion--Xtianity in particular. Of course, that might be because I lay the basis for a common understanding using texts that are open to diverse interpretations, or that I do not try to impose a solution on them.I think

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-20801759768110872292007-08-03T04:20:00.000-06:002007-08-03T04:28:44.505-06:00

In some way, I have put off dealing directly with Xtian arguments from the Right for why they believe that their views should influence the political process in the US. I had a spat with Adam Kotsko over this issue on his Weblog, but I didn't carry those over to this blog. I will attempt to collect those remarks as prelude to debating the issues raised at Right Reason by Jeremy Pierce.Pierce

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-8098745930461077472007-08-03T04:02:00.000-06:002007-08-03T04:08:46.993-06:00

Has GW Bush accomplished what his grandfather couldn't? Back in the 1930s a general by the name of Smedley Butler exposed a plot to overthrow the government of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and install a fascist oligarchy backed by some of America’s most powerful business leaders and conservatives. Prescott Bush, grandfather of George W., was among those linked to the plan.It makes you wonder whether

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-6842383735117408962007-08-03T03:30:00.000-06:002007-08-03T03:32:56.479-06:00

(via Crssings) With apologies to my elderly downstairs neighbor:You might be a Christian Zionist . . . 1. If you think the founding of the state of Israel in 1948 and its expansion in 1967 (West Bank, Gaza, Golan and East Jerusalem) are part of God’s prophetic plan for the End Times and added proof of Scripture’s accuracy. 2. If you support the modern state of Israel largely for theological

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-74863825665128086122007-07-31T04:55:00.001-06:002008-11-12T23:45:50.648-07:00

PRESIDENT BUSH: Look, people who kill innocent men, women and children to achieve political objectives are evil, that's what I think. I don't think there's any need to negotiate with them. I don't think there's any need to hope that they'll change. They are cold-blooded killers, and we better be clear-eyed when we're dealing with them.Picture: Results of a US bmbing raid July 26 in Karradah

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-79089428715422668602007-07-29T08:25:00.001-06:002007-07-29T09:44:21.770-06:00

Last year about this time and previous to that I wrote about the monster within that threatens America when soldiers return from Iraq. In my previous post, I mentioned the threat posed by racist Aryan Nation types. As this article from CBS News suggests, though, the threat also comes from inner city, established gangs. Not only will these gangs pose a threat to those in the military but they will

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-18509043733758497992007-07-25T03:24:00.000-06:002007-07-25T03:47:19.703-06:00

I was encouraged and delighted by today's call-in program on the subject of courage on the PBS local channel. I have an unpublished journal article on Kierkegaard's concept of courage vis-a-vis Plato. (Alastair Hannay was kind enough to review a draft of the article and make a few suggestions, as was a prominent Plato scholar.) I found the discussion on the show as a way to see what I have

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-81479324528592161732007-07-24T03:36:00.000-06:002007-07-24T03:39:44.410-06:00

Besides the rather obvious remark that the system of govt we now live under is broken, I suggest that the break become even greater until it becomes so obvious that people are forced to take sides. Then they will either become violent or seek some more reasonable alternatives and solutions. As in personal growth so in politics, crisis is good for self-knowledge. Leftists should threaten the Dems

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-41996004721304912252007-07-24T02:59:00.000-06:002007-07-24T03:02:57.470-06:00

Why has this woman never appeared on TV news or anyplace else of note? Is it because she's a woman, and what woman understands terrorism, right? Anyway, this is the most succinct, knowledgeable and rational discussion and solution to the issue I have ever heard... anywhere. And that is saying a lot. (Click on the link at the MPR page to hear her speech.)

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-69581927331846148202007-07-19T23:58:00.000-06:002007-07-20T00:21:17.174-06:00

There's a concise assessment of what the US faces in the near future going around the web. Much of it includes talk of the Starussian Neocons and Others. I found this very perceptive piece at a blog that that Col Lang linked to:The GULAGs, secret prisons, suspension of habeus corpus, wiretaps, eviscerating FISA and the FISA Court, the unleashing of uncontrolled FBI powers and abusive NSLs, the

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-52902590658383759592007-07-19T00:32:00.000-06:002007-07-19T00:42:26.898-06:00

I am very seriously considering not voting in the next election. I find that electoral politics only continues the status quo, whomever is in power. This relates to what I believe is an ingrained power structure in the US that is comprised of insiders who may have different takes on the way power is doled out but whose assumptions about that power are basically the same.These elites or insiders

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-62696082296480840932007-07-16T00:29:00.000-06:002007-07-16T00:40:27.724-06:00

I saw some of Michael Moore's comments versus Wolf Blitzer. They blitzed the Blitzer right out of his safe little charmed circle. Then CNN sent in the brain-cracker Sanjay Gupta to do his hatchet job. Moore had a fair dust-up with Gupta, a very smart guy anyways, and the next morning the CNN chicken heads were clucking about a Gupta slammaramma vs. Moore. I didn't catch the whole piece between

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-24888756081813879562007-07-14T01:58:00.000-06:002007-07-14T02:05:37.674-06:00

I wrote about this subject a while ago and linked to several articles that had done some preliminary reporting on the subject. Debra McNutt is doing more in-depth reporting (via Psyche Science and Society)"My ultimate purpose is doing this research is not only to help expose these crimes against women, but to help build a movement to stop them. Missing from the discussions about Iraqi women’s

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-74727365033124869582007-06-19T14:17:00.000-06:002007-06-19T14:31:56.543-06:00

I have written somewhat obliquely of Simone Weil's essay on the Iliad. In this essay, she charts the dynamics of war. These include the ultimate and irrevocable process that turns human beings into objects. This means, for example, that the victim is simply an object to be destroyed because in the minds of the warrior the enemy is less than human. At the same time, the warrior him/herself becomes

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-2014231137470747052007-06-11T11:32:00.000-06:002007-06-14T00:04:30.321-06:00

Christopher Hedges has written a provocative book on the rise of the Religious Right in US politics. In this video, he speaks about this phenomenon and provides the rationale and facts behind his argument.

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-35482059384828708242007-06-11T11:11:00.001-06:002007-06-11T11:11:56.371-06:00

Is this a political statement or what. It's a Japanese form of dance theater called bhuto. But the allegory (?) is about torture (?).

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-59053787947573621262007-06-11T00:17:00.001-06:002007-06-14T00:05:37.414-06:00

Seeing this theater--is that the right word?--troupe live was one of the greatest aesthetic experiences of my life. When I saw them in Albuquerque, they were on stage for over 2 hours. It was a truly mind-altering experience. It is something I tried to do in my own drama.They have put Artaud into practise in a very real way.Believe me, this stuff is much better than drugs.

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-36396288916006692202007-06-09T15:04:00.000-06:002007-06-09T15:10:21.120-06:00

This is what you've all been waiting for: a documentary on the religious and neoconservative politics behind the Bush administration.Be sure to also watch part 2part 3part 4

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-85046570169203804212007-06-08T10:43:00.000-06:002007-06-08T10:48:05.904-06:00

This recording of the so-called [Ketjak: The Ramayana] Monkey Chant is famous among avant garde writers and artists. This recording from UBU Web gives you the full flavor of the mesmerizing ritual and chant.According to the notes, itis a creation of this century, it is descended from something much more ancient — the trance dance, the dance of exorcism called sanghjang; its ancestry is clear.

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-52363458931968347382007-06-05T10:56:00.000-06:002007-06-05T11:14:47.739-06:00

In the midst of writing several stories, I am reluctant to read anything in the fiction genre for fear that they might produce some undue influence on style and/or framing ideas (I know, the anxiety of influence).Anyway, I am in the midst of reading Tugenhat's lecture on analytic philosophy. This is a very important teacher, since he studied with Heidegger, yet chose to break from that tradition

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-37491363559708011662007-06-05T09:39:00.001-06:002007-06-05T09:39:27.327-06:00

It's rare that you find face to face confrontations between major thinkers. That's the beauty of modern international transporation and communications--sometimes you can get these rare events to happen.Though I disagree with Chomsky's philosophy and lean more towards Foucalut's, I am more in line with Chomsky's politics than Foucault's--at least at the time of this debate. Foucault later changed

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-17351739035849355852007-05-30T12:38:00.000-06:002007-12-21T14:27:57.560-07:00

If you haven't guessed by now, my tastes in lit veer towards the surreal, though a lot of my recent writing has been realistic. I try to choose stories that evoke a sense of the weird, or unheimlich as Heidegger called it.Anyway, this probably accounts for why I find the stranger Apocalypses interesting reading, though my appreciation for the genre quickly dissipates when reading gnostic gospels.

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-11313831521178360412007-05-30T09:46:00.000-06:002007-05-30T09:51:26.894-06:00

(via Psyche, Science, and Society) EDUCING INFORMATION, Interrogation: Science and Art, Foundations for the FutureRead It! It'll change your life.

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-47843612784611095032007-05-30T09:36:00.000-06:002007-05-30T09:37:01.501-06:00

With Cheney running on low batteries for his heart machine and wanting to take as many with him when he goes as possible, I am just imagining nightmare scenarios here.I have a basic question about the ability of subversive elements within the government to undermine and in some way bypass law and the constitution.Is it possible that the Cheneyites/neocons have burrowed so deeply and stealthily

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-3612523321375763832007-05-30T09:28:00.000-06:002007-05-30T09:33:08.135-06:00

As Kierkegaard noted, it's not what in the past you appropriate but how you appropriate it. The history of philosophy and theology has been a quest for origins, seeking the source of the current problem, the pure self once established and somehow lost. The past must be chosen not as past but as preparation for a future.Kierkegaard was concerned that Hegel continued the metaphysical tradition

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-15184789519862017002007-05-29T16:09:00.000-06:002007-05-29T16:24:53.618-06:00

For those who've been waiting to get a piece of me, here's your chance. This little bit of doggerel and dystopic vision will no doubt delight the cynic in you.PS If you're ever uploading stuff to UTube, do it somehwere where they are not w@ching. I tried uploading this thing @ my local Library and it failed once and I gave up once after 50 mins. Then I went to my job and uploaded it in 4 mins.

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-83564507088860060002007-05-24T15:06:00.001-06:002007-05-24T15:11:32.601-06:00

It looks like the passionate embrace and fond cuddling phase is over for the Bush-Cheney marriage. Rumor has it that Cheney is stepping out behind Georgie's back, committing what some might call infidelities of a highly criminal kind. And we thought this marriage was made in heaven.Steve Clemons has the inside poop:The zinger of this information is the admission by this Cheney aide that Cheney

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5720566.post-12070211347770436442007-05-23T10:54:00.000-06:002007-05-23T11:00:45.405-06:00

And you thought that the Bush admin had learned its lesson about unilateral invasions of sovereign countries. Iran is an abscess on Cheney's ass, it seems, that he's just itching to lance.Col Lang has links to two articles with some comments. Lang notes:This one is one of the more obvious propaganda efforts by the Cheney/Luti/Abrams/Addison wing of the Bush Administration to plant stories in the

Faustus and FrankenKittynoreply@blogger.com0