For several reasons, as I run through and do a regular emptying out of cruft I don't need (even working in IT I realistically don't need to keep Tb2 cables around just in case, for a client, anymore), I pondered a bit on the confluence of a couple "new" trends that include minimalism and tiny houses. For those who've kept up with some of the people I follow, the disdain that many feel for "consoomers" of the next big corporate product and weird bobblehead, the need to buy yet another edition of…
All posts in philosophy
I ended up at a catholic church the other day. I'd had previous experience there, and the senior priest in those days was a no-nonsense sort, but the priest there on this occasion... well, before I show you the relevant readings, the priest opened up telling us that today was about rejection. The church also had succumbed to the terror - requiring masks - and if it hadn't been involving supporting someone through the loss of a family member, that alone would have made me back out. The relevant…
I've been sitting on this one for a while. There's a post at the excellent IM1776 on the continuity of culture [https://im1776.com/2021/06/29/shanzhai-conservatism/]. > The first major Western poet to obsess over Eastern poetry, Pound is a meet introduction to the East. In Japan, there is a contemporary Shinto correlative of the “Ship of Theseus”: The Ise Shrine. Unlike so many empty cathedrals in the West, millions of pilgrims make the journey to worship each year. The Ise temple is 1,300 yea…
Over at IM-1776, there's a post on stepping back from more immediate media [https://im1776.com/2022/01/07/return-to-the-text/] such as video, sound, and even photos, to provide some distance, to make it more difficult to be swayed by false rhetoric and propaganda. > Not only has digital technology accelerated the dissemination of news events, it has allowed higher fidelity in their transmission, achieving a realism that was lacking in the twentieth century. For these reasons, modern news cover…
The Rittenhouse trial is over, as is the McMichaels trial, and we are now looking at the trial for the Daunte Wright shooting. While he'll never live a normal life, or likely work a normal job again, I'm glad Kyle was acquitted. I'm disappointed, but understand to a degree why, that he's giving interviews instead of taking time to get himself together. I also don't blame him in saying something along the lines that we can all agree on Black Lives Matter. He's young, and as I've pointed out be…
I learned an importan lesson long ago in physics class. On the blackboard, the teacher drew a picture of an atom similar to the one below: He then asked if that was the correct model of the atom. We, being know-it-all college students, said no. So he drew up an orbital model we'd seen in discussing chemical reactions. Again- correct? Again - no. And so on. After a few different versions, he stopped, and said we were all wrong. He then explained why. None of the models on the board were tru…
The behavior of the prosecution in Kyle Rittenhouse's case is nothing short of abominable. Ignoring the severe "eat my cake AND have it" fifth amendment issues in Kyle's cross examination that ended up with the judge yelling at binger, or repeated examples of Binger - the only major character on the court stage without a nickname - and his assistant being petty and malicious, there was also today's example of arguing to keep a charge in when they knew, flat out, according to the judge's instruct…
I am sure it's not the first time that I've covered this, but, a reminder. It has become the habit of criminals in LA to spot a likely looking target, and follow them "home" to rob them. [https://abc7.com/melrose-crime-follow-home-robberies-lapd-community-alert/11217459/] The police recommend you do not resist, that you simply stand by and be a good victim, er, "witness", and then call the police. It may be a pragmatic solution, but I fundamentally disagree. Even leaving aside the whole "de…