Everybody should be free
To build the things they want to see.
Friday, February 28, 2014
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Heed This
7 types of lists to not read:
Lists of lists,
lists of things that don't exist,
lists of people who haven't been kissed,
lists of people who wouldn't be missed,
lists that end abruptly without delivering the promised number of items.
Lists of lists,
lists of things that don't exist,
lists of people who haven't been kissed,
lists of people who wouldn't be missed,
lists that end abruptly without delivering the promised number of items.
Voting for Nazis
The article says it's well known among historians, but I didn't know: As the Nazis were gaining power in Germany, Protestants were a lot more likely to vote for them than Catholics were.
"Taken at face value, our estimates suggest that Catholics were about 50% less likely to vote for the Nazi Party than their Protestant counterparts. We are currently testing multiple hypotheses to explain this effect and are in the process of collecting additional data."
This made intuitive sense to me, but I wasn't sure why. My wife, who was raised Protestant, thought maybe it was because Catholics already had a religious leader. It's obvious that there was something quasi-religious about the Fuehrer-principle.
When I went looking at a version of the paper, I found this:
"With one important exception Germany’s old elites either condemned the new [Weimar] democracy and supported parties that sought to abolish it, or they remained politically uninvolved. The Catholic Church, however, took a public stance against the Nazi party, even forbidding Catholics to vote for it."
So there's a big hypothesis - the Catholics listened to their leaders. The next question might be why the Catholic leaders showed such discernment.
Whatever their reasoning process, they chose well.
Voting for Hitler loosed the hounds of hell.
"Taken at face value, our estimates suggest that Catholics were about 50% less likely to vote for the Nazi Party than their Protestant counterparts. We are currently testing multiple hypotheses to explain this effect and are in the process of collecting additional data."
This made intuitive sense to me, but I wasn't sure why. My wife, who was raised Protestant, thought maybe it was because Catholics already had a religious leader. It's obvious that there was something quasi-religious about the Fuehrer-principle.
When I went looking at a version of the paper, I found this:
"With one important exception Germany’s old elites either condemned the new [Weimar] democracy and supported parties that sought to abolish it, or they remained politically uninvolved. The Catholic Church, however, took a public stance against the Nazi party, even forbidding Catholics to vote for it."
So there's a big hypothesis - the Catholics listened to their leaders. The next question might be why the Catholic leaders showed such discernment.
Whatever their reasoning process, they chose well.
Voting for Hitler loosed the hounds of hell.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Authentic But Brief Existence
I'm no Heidegger aficionado, but I liked this summary of a book I've looked at: “Heidegger: The Introduction of Nazism into Philosophy.”
"[The author] traced the connections between the völkisch themes in both Heidegger and Nazi ideology and the shared conviction that only a return to a presumably earlier and more authentic existence can save us from the spiritual wasteland wrought by modernity."
Stated that succinctly, it reminds me of Rousseau.
The worship of the primitive,
as a more authentic existence,
is a march toward disaster.
When civilization is "no way to live",
and savagery meets small resistance,
death comes so much faster.
(via Stephen Hicks)
"[The author] traced the connections between the völkisch themes in both Heidegger and Nazi ideology and the shared conviction that only a return to a presumably earlier and more authentic existence can save us from the spiritual wasteland wrought by modernity."
Stated that succinctly, it reminds me of Rousseau.
The worship of the primitive,
as a more authentic existence,
is a march toward disaster.
When civilization is "no way to live",
and savagery meets small resistance,
death comes so much faster.
(via Stephen Hicks)
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Freak Storm
Just finished reading Freak Storm, a play by Matt Pelfry. It certainly kept my interest, and it lived up to its title, but I wouldn't recommend it for the squeamish, and the final resolution... well, it left some things unresolved in my view.
It starts off being about a couple of very scared guys driving to a friend's house.
As for having a pleasant sense of life...
I'd say it's more about the storm and strife.
It starts off being about a couple of very scared guys driving to a friend's house.
As for having a pleasant sense of life...
I'd say it's more about the storm and strife.
Monday, February 24, 2014
British Accents
My friend David Ramsay Steele is blogging at the London Libertarian, and I was amused by this paragraph:
'Walking in Chicago’s Loop a couple of weeks ago, I was stopped by a pleasant young woman who asked me to sign something for Greenpeace. I said, apologetically, that she was wasting her time on me because I am opposed to Greenpeace. She donned a maternal frown of concern and asked why, and I responded: “Because I’m evil” (though with the twinkling smile of a rough diamond, and if I’d had a mustache I would have tweaked it roguishly; the English accent always counts for something too; in England my voice betrays me as a prole, but over here the natives can’t tell me from Hugh Grant).'
David is being ironic here. He's highly educated, and a professional editor, so I don't think he could really count as a prole in anybody's book. But I suppose his accent must be less than posh by British standards.
I think his accent is charming and very intellectual sounding. Typical American, that's me!
In London, perhaps, his speech is a bust.
But here in Chicago, he's so upper-crust!
'Walking in Chicago’s Loop a couple of weeks ago, I was stopped by a pleasant young woman who asked me to sign something for Greenpeace. I said, apologetically, that she was wasting her time on me because I am opposed to Greenpeace. She donned a maternal frown of concern and asked why, and I responded: “Because I’m evil” (though with the twinkling smile of a rough diamond, and if I’d had a mustache I would have tweaked it roguishly; the English accent always counts for something too; in England my voice betrays me as a prole, but over here the natives can’t tell me from Hugh Grant).'
David is being ironic here. He's highly educated, and a professional editor, so I don't think he could really count as a prole in anybody's book. But I suppose his accent must be less than posh by British standards.
I think his accent is charming and very intellectual sounding. Typical American, that's me!
In London, perhaps, his speech is a bust.
But here in Chicago, he's so upper-crust!
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Polar Express Return Trip
We're supposed to get more subzero Fahrenheit temps, and some more snow. Such joy. We are undeserving of such winter fun.
The Trib today ran a nice article about some people in another state, mining away underground, to help us keep our roads passable. They're working overtime to provide us with the NaCl we crave.
We've got snow and ice.
That's global warming's fault.
But here's news that's nice -
Kansas has more salt.
The Trib today ran a nice article about some people in another state, mining away underground, to help us keep our roads passable. They're working overtime to provide us with the NaCl we crave.
We've got snow and ice.
That's global warming's fault.
But here's news that's nice -
Kansas has more salt.
RIO
I saw the new production of RIO at Dream Theatre last night. I saw an earlier production, years ago, which I also remember enjoying. It was so long ago that I didn't remember exactly where the story was going, so I was kept in suspense.
I thought this reviewer summarized the evening aptly:
With just a cast of four, it grips and captures a range of emotions for audiences who come face to face with the twisted mind of a serial killer.
The RIO of the title is the Rio Grande, and the play is authentically Texan in its feel. The serial murderer is "getting away with it" partly because the victims are illegal immigrants, and neither the Texas government nor the Mexican government really seems to care much about illegal immigrants.
Actually, one man does care, a Mexican Federal officer, who is determined to bring the murderer to justice.
The play's moral center is Mary Graves, an abused woman who, by conventional lights, has bad judgment when it comes to choosing men. Mary is played very sympathetically by Nicole Roberts.
Texan in its feel,
at times a bit surreal,
with karaoke song,
RIO rolls along
into a twisted mind,
half killer but half kind.
UPDATE: A big thank you to Deb Ross for suggesting I untangle my original sentence about Mary Graves.
There was way too much room
to play "Which Phrase Modifies Whom?"
I thought this reviewer summarized the evening aptly:
With just a cast of four, it grips and captures a range of emotions for audiences who come face to face with the twisted mind of a serial killer.
The RIO of the title is the Rio Grande, and the play is authentically Texan in its feel. The serial murderer is "getting away with it" partly because the victims are illegal immigrants, and neither the Texas government nor the Mexican government really seems to care much about illegal immigrants.
Actually, one man does care, a Mexican Federal officer, who is determined to bring the murderer to justice.
The play's moral center is Mary Graves, an abused woman who, by conventional lights, has bad judgment when it comes to choosing men. Mary is played very sympathetically by Nicole Roberts.
Texan in its feel,
at times a bit surreal,
with karaoke song,
RIO rolls along
into a twisted mind,
half killer but half kind.
UPDATE: A big thank you to Deb Ross for suggesting I untangle my original sentence about Mary Graves.
There was way too much room
to play "Which Phrase Modifies Whom?"
Saturday, February 22, 2014
M I
Perhaps the world could be rid
of middle names. They're mostly hid -
except for the frequent official
request for that middle initial.
of middle names. They're mostly hid -
except for the frequent official
request for that middle initial.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Antechinus
From the Land of Oz:
'Scientists in Australia have discovered a new "very hairy" mouse-like marsupial variety of a species whose males are known for dying after overly strenuous mating sessions.'
(Cute pic at link.)
They may be cute and hairy
but their mating game is scary.
'Scientists in Australia have discovered a new "very hairy" mouse-like marsupial variety of a species whose males are known for dying after overly strenuous mating sessions.'
(Cute pic at link.)
They may be cute and hairy
but their mating game is scary.
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
More Art!
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says that: President Obama’s proposal to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour would cost 500,000 jobs in 2016, according to a report released Tuesday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office."
Excellent.
That's half a million people who can be freed up to do art!
Thank you Mr. President, for doing your part.
Excellent.
That's half a million people who can be freed up to do art!
Thank you Mr. President, for doing your part.
Monday, February 17, 2014
What If Nothing Changed
Ann Althouse asks:
"What if women became fully autonomous, empowered individuals and nothing changed? What would that mean?"
I'm reminded of a theory presented by Sister Grace Marie, my 7th and 8th grade teacher. She asked us to consider what would happen if property were to be distributed evenly. She said that in a few years property would be distributed unevenly again, in more or less the same patterns as before.
It was kind of a mind-blowing thought experiment, for me. I mean, I still remember it.
People's choices rarely conform
to the reformer's dearly-loved norm.
"What if women became fully autonomous, empowered individuals and nothing changed? What would that mean?"
I'm reminded of a theory presented by Sister Grace Marie, my 7th and 8th grade teacher. She asked us to consider what would happen if property were to be distributed evenly. She said that in a few years property would be distributed unevenly again, in more or less the same patterns as before.
It was kind of a mind-blowing thought experiment, for me. I mean, I still remember it.
People's choices rarely conform
to the reformer's dearly-loved norm.
Sunday, February 16, 2014
It's Hard To Make Some People Happy
People always tell you to avoid Turkish prisons, especially if they've seen the old movie, Midnight Express.
If you ask for the most preferred prisons, Norway's system is often brought up. But it turns out that even Norwegian prisons are not quite as pleasant as actual freedom.
You may recall the case of Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian Neo-Nazi who killed 77, most of them kids at a summer camp.
He is not a happy camper: "He described as 'torture' the conditions in two prisons -- Ila near Oslo and Skien in southeast Norway -- where he is serving out a 21-year sentence."
One particular complaint is that he needs a newer video game system, and better games, too, of his own choosing.
So now he is threatening a hunger strike.
"You've put me in hell."
Oh, well.
If you ask for the most preferred prisons, Norway's system is often brought up. But it turns out that even Norwegian prisons are not quite as pleasant as actual freedom.
You may recall the case of Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian Neo-Nazi who killed 77, most of them kids at a summer camp.
He is not a happy camper: "He described as 'torture' the conditions in two prisons -- Ila near Oslo and Skien in southeast Norway -- where he is serving out a 21-year sentence."
One particular complaint is that he needs a newer video game system, and better games, too, of his own choosing.
So now he is threatening a hunger strike.
"You've put me in hell."
Oh, well.
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Poetry, Parker, and Obamacare
Kathleen Parker has a column in WaPo headlined: "The poetry of bad news around Obamacare"
Of course, I was suckered into reading it...
Hoping that she had taken to verse...
But, no.
Actually, what she's referring to is the fact that the law rewards not working. And she zooms in on a particular form of not working as worthy of scorn:
"In an earlier iteration, Pelosi even suggested that Obamacare would allow people to quit their awful jobs to write poetry."
As for me, I think I'll keep my job,
along with the rest of the toiling mob,
and work at rhyme
in my spare time.
Of course, I was suckered into reading it...
Hoping that she had taken to verse...
But, no.
Actually, what she's referring to is the fact that the law rewards not working. And she zooms in on a particular form of not working as worthy of scorn:
"In an earlier iteration, Pelosi even suggested that Obamacare would allow people to quit their awful jobs to write poetry."
As for me, I think I'll keep my job,
along with the rest of the toiling mob,
and work at rhyme
in my spare time.
Friday, February 14, 2014
How Pavlovian
Spent some hours in the dentist's chair this morning. I had something that needed a quick fix. I was numbed enough that I felt no pain. And it all went well.
But still the sound of the drill
gives me a chill.
But still the sound of the drill
gives me a chill.
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Off-Label Usage
Not sure I believe this, but:
"German police said a nightclub was evacuated when a woman doused herself with pepper spray that she mistook for spray-on deodorant."
Use this spray and all will say
they can't even tell if you smell bad today.
"German police said a nightclub was evacuated when a woman doused herself with pepper spray that she mistook for spray-on deodorant."
Use this spray and all will say
they can't even tell if you smell bad today.
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Sculptural Somnambulist
PHOTO VIA NIKKI A. GREENE ON TWITTER
To sleep, perchance to walk... Aye, there's the rub.
Beware of the terrible sleepwalking schlub!
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Lunchtime Pursuit
I had been reading at the library at lunch, and was set to go back to work, heading for the down escalator, when I heard a woman yelling "Stop him. He stole my phone. Call security."
Sure enough, a young man comes barreling along and heads down the escalator. I headed down the escalator after him, taking multiple steps at a time, keeping up with him, but letting him stay ahead. I didn't personally want to catch him. I figured he could probably kick my butt, and I also figured the easiest way to stop him was to have the security guards do it. I knew that to leave the library he needed to go by the guard station - where you have to show the contents of your bag, if you have a bag, to prove you're not stealing any books.
I chased him from 7 down to 3, which is where the "main exit" guard station is. We encountered no one else on the escalators, fortunately. He slowed down, walking to the guard station, with me 25 feet behind him. I heard another man, a guard I think, shout "Stop him!" and I shouted "He stole a woman's phone!" and the guards stopped him. He complained to them, "What are you doing, man?"
The woman showed up, maybe a minute later, having taken the elevator down, complaining about the difficulty of moving quickly in heels.
So I left. I hope she got her phone back. I had my eyes on him all the way down the 4 flights, and I didn't see him toss anything.
Of course, I didn't see him steal the phone, either. Maybe he was innocent. But the flight made him look guilty.
Don't know the full outcome of the case,
but that was my lunchtime downhill race.
Sure enough, a young man comes barreling along and heads down the escalator. I headed down the escalator after him, taking multiple steps at a time, keeping up with him, but letting him stay ahead. I didn't personally want to catch him. I figured he could probably kick my butt, and I also figured the easiest way to stop him was to have the security guards do it. I knew that to leave the library he needed to go by the guard station - where you have to show the contents of your bag, if you have a bag, to prove you're not stealing any books.
I chased him from 7 down to 3, which is where the "main exit" guard station is. We encountered no one else on the escalators, fortunately. He slowed down, walking to the guard station, with me 25 feet behind him. I heard another man, a guard I think, shout "Stop him!" and I shouted "He stole a woman's phone!" and the guards stopped him. He complained to them, "What are you doing, man?"
The woman showed up, maybe a minute later, having taken the elevator down, complaining about the difficulty of moving quickly in heels.
So I left. I hope she got her phone back. I had my eyes on him all the way down the 4 flights, and I didn't see him toss anything.
Of course, I didn't see him steal the phone, either. Maybe he was innocent. But the flight made him look guilty.
Don't know the full outcome of the case,
but that was my lunchtime downhill race.
Monday, February 10, 2014
Who Lives By The Sword
NY Times reports:
Suicide Bomb Trainer in Iraq Accidentally Blows Up His Class
A lesson in terror,
cut short by an error.
I don't see how it could be much fairer.
Suicide Bomb Trainer in Iraq Accidentally Blows Up His Class
A lesson in terror,
cut short by an error.
I don't see how it could be much fairer.
Saturday, February 08, 2014
Less Is More
A snowflake, symmetrical, unique,
is lovable enough.
But give me millions, all at once,
and I can't stand the stuff.
is lovable enough.
But give me millions, all at once,
and I can't stand the stuff.
Pivotal
Olympic narrative:
'I'm sorry, did NBC's intro to Russia just call 70+ years of communist imposed human misery a "pivotal experiment"? DVR rewind say, "yep".'
A pivotal experiment
in dictatorial merriment!
What work is "pivotal" doing in that phrase? Is the idea that after running the experiment, the world pivoted away from the socialist hypothesis? There's some truth to that, but it was certainly a slow-motion "pivot", since, as the quotation above mentions, the experiment in Russia was allowed to run for decades after very early signs of fatal failure.
I gather it's bad manners to bring up those fatalities.
The guinea pigs were starved and shot,
but now let's hope that's all forgot.
'I'm sorry, did NBC's intro to Russia just call 70+ years of communist imposed human misery a "pivotal experiment"? DVR rewind say, "yep".'
A pivotal experiment
in dictatorial merriment!
What work is "pivotal" doing in that phrase? Is the idea that after running the experiment, the world pivoted away from the socialist hypothesis? There's some truth to that, but it was certainly a slow-motion "pivot", since, as the quotation above mentions, the experiment in Russia was allowed to run for decades after very early signs of fatal failure.
I gather it's bad manners to bring up those fatalities.
The guinea pigs were starved and shot,
but now let's hope that's all forgot.
Friday, February 07, 2014
Sochi
One of the amusing things, for me, about these Olympics, is that I wrote a play where one of the characters is from Sochi, and keeps trying to persuade her daughter to move there, telling her how beautiful it is there.
She didn't tell her daughter
about the yellow water.
She didn't tell her daughter
about the yellow water.
Thursday, February 06, 2014
Posthuman
Cheery science headline:
Oversized Rats Could Take Over Earth After Next Mass Extinction
Rats will get large,
and will soon be in charge.
At least that's what they're inferring.
Please tell me it's not already occurring.
Oversized Rats Could Take Over Earth After Next Mass Extinction
Rats will get large,
and will soon be in charge.
At least that's what they're inferring.
Please tell me it's not already occurring.
I Thought Poodles Were Smart
After one of a man's poodles fell in the icy lake, he fell in after it, trying to rescue it.
Fortunately a couple of people nearby acted quickly. One threw the guy a rope, and the other called 911.
"At first I threw the rope over him but the dog was kind of pulling on him with his weight pushing him under the water," Dominik said. "He kept saying, 'Save the dog first,' I kept saying, 'No, we're going to save your life first and then the dog, your life is more important,' but he insisted on pulling up the dog first."
Then a whole passel of emergency professionals showed up. They had to hurry, but they actually got this guy and his dog out of the water alive.
'"Running in about 12 inches of snow as fast as you can to get to somebody who's fighting for their life ... it was a desperate situation," Officer Jean McCarthy said.'
Poodle was oodles of trouble,
but rescuers came on the double.
Fortunately a couple of people nearby acted quickly. One threw the guy a rope, and the other called 911.
"At first I threw the rope over him but the dog was kind of pulling on him with his weight pushing him under the water," Dominik said. "He kept saying, 'Save the dog first,' I kept saying, 'No, we're going to save your life first and then the dog, your life is more important,' but he insisted on pulling up the dog first."
Then a whole passel of emergency professionals showed up. They had to hurry, but they actually got this guy and his dog out of the water alive.
'"Running in about 12 inches of snow as fast as you can to get to somebody who's fighting for their life ... it was a desperate situation," Officer Jean McCarthy said.'
Poodle was oodles of trouble,
but rescuers came on the double.
Tuesday, February 04, 2014
Coyote On Ice
I've walked across frozen lakes, but they were little lakes, frozen solid across the top. One lake you don't want to try that on is Lake Michigan, because it doesn't really freeze all the way across. And, actually, when you're standing on the shore, it's hard to tell sometimes when you're standing on ice that's on top of sand, and when you've unknowingly stepped out onto an ice shelf that is over the water itself. Anyway, the problem is that the huge chunks of ice can break away - and go drifting. Nowadays, at least, you might have your cell phone with you. That would give you a chance of survival, even if no one was with you.
I was put in mind of all this by a story today of a coyote that was spotted, and photographed, walking on Lake Michigan.
He was gone by the time Animal Control got there to rescue him.
I'm not sure what they were going to do to him after they would have rescued him.
Probably it was smart
on his part to depart.
Coyotes dislike control -
it's how they roll.
I was put in mind of all this by a story today of a coyote that was spotted, and photographed, walking on Lake Michigan.
He was gone by the time Animal Control got there to rescue him.
I'm not sure what they were going to do to him after they would have rescued him.
Probably it was smart
on his part to depart.
Coyotes dislike control -
it's how they roll.
Sunday, February 02, 2014
Saturday, February 01, 2014
The Pressing Threat of Transient Scholars
Troy Camplin noted this story about busybodies in one of our suburbs:
'Plans for an extended stay hotel in downtown Evanston are drawing fears from some that it will attract the wrong kind of academics as guests. The Southeast Evanston Association, in an email message to its members, says neighbors need to assure that the establishment will carry "a hotel brand that will maintain a high quality of business, and not devolve into cheap housing for transient academics."'
Yep, can't have transient academics, the kind with no tenure, the kind who wander from one low-paying gig to the next. You know, first one moves in, then another...
Soon you'll have transient
impoverished scholars
standing on corners
and begging for dollars.
'Plans for an extended stay hotel in downtown Evanston are drawing fears from some that it will attract the wrong kind of academics as guests. The Southeast Evanston Association, in an email message to its members, says neighbors need to assure that the establishment will carry "a hotel brand that will maintain a high quality of business, and not devolve into cheap housing for transient academics."'
Yep, can't have transient academics, the kind with no tenure, the kind who wander from one low-paying gig to the next. You know, first one moves in, then another...
Soon you'll have transient
impoverished scholars
standing on corners
and begging for dollars.
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