1. I've been oddly tired this week; it's been hard for me to make myself do any work or focus on anything. I don't know whether it's depression, low blood-sugar (I'm fasting for Advent), adverse spiritual influence, or some combo. Probably a combo. 2. There are ways to reach superficially similar effects through morally opposite … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Grumpy Talk Mostly of Manners and Values
Modern Cluelessness
‘Good Ole Rebel’ at the Everyman
My latest piece is up at the Everyman: I’m very fond of the postbellum Confederate song ‘Good Ole’ Rebel’. Dating from the bitter days of Reconstruction, it offers a defiant rejection of the new order: Oh, I’m a good ole’ rebel, now that’s just what I am For this ‘fair land of freedom’ I do not … Continue reading ‘Good Ole Rebel’ at the Everyman
Thought of the Day: Perpetually Revolutionary
It is perhaps the most distinctive mark of the modernist that he never can imagine that his views are anything but revolutionary, even (or especially) when they are ubiquitous. Thus we have the amusing spectacle of a man sneering at ‘conformists’ while never straying an inch from the common assumptions of his own age and … Continue reading Thought of the Day: Perpetually Revolutionary
Thought of the Day: Materialist View of Origins of Life
The materialist view of the origins of life is one of those things that looks okay from a high-level, blurry view, but which turns utterly absurd once you examine it closer. Or perhaps not even that; just when you phrase it correctly. It seems to be that a chemical reaction became self-perpetuating and everything that’s … Continue reading Thought of the Day: Materialist View of Origins of Life
Smart Appliances are a Stupid Idea
Great post from David Stewart here about his experience moving into a house with a ‘smart’ thermostat and why ‘smart’ appliances are a stupid idea in general. Recommend reading the whole thing and the comments. Rudolph Harrier makes an excellent point in the latter: that smart appliances are not actually intended for convenience, they’re meant … Continue reading Smart Appliances are a Stupid Idea
Thought of the Day: Subsidiarity and Democracy
A representative government, however it starts, naturally expands. This is because the elected official's position is dependent on the majority of people voting for him. Therefore, he (or more often his party) is incentivized to offer them anything he can. If they have problems, he'll offer to solve them and try to make them as … Continue reading Thought of the Day: Subsidiarity and Democracy
‘Lovely People’
A friend put me onto this graphic novel / webcomic, all about the workings of a social credit system as experienced by a trio of bunnies. It's really quite well done and an excellent dissection of, well, just how horribly abusive such a system is or would be, and the power and dangers of horizontal … Continue reading ‘Lovely People’
Detective Philosophy at ‘The Everyman’
My latest essay (first in a little while) is now up at The Everyman, this one critiquing our tendency to insist that this, that, or the other fact 'doesn't matter' by applying the analogy of detective literature. I read a lot of detective fiction (I also write it, though I’ve written much less than I’ve … Continue reading Detective Philosophy at ‘The Everyman’
‘Uncharitable’ is the Preferred Term
Uh, X is actually considered an offensive term for Z-types. It’s okay for other Z-types to calls us that, but not for someone else to. Y is the preferred term. “Ah. Do you speak for all Z-types?” Well… “So, as I understand it, X is the most common term. It’s been in use for time … Continue reading ‘Uncharitable’ is the Preferred Term
A Digression on Mortgages and Race
Found this article at mpamag.com (my work website links to them, since it’s a mortgage company), which rather amused me in a dark way. I won't go through the whole thing, suffice to say it's about a new 'equitable housing plan' being put forward by Fannie Mae (one of the two major housing authorities) to … Continue reading A Digression on Mortgages and Race
Serpent's Den 