1. I try to hunt up simple, straightforward points where ideas make contact with reality in order to judge their truth or falseness. Preferably reality I can see for myself, or which is at least clear and concrete enough to be resistant to rhetoric. For instance, a question that occurred to me this week: has … Continue reading Flotsam: A Hodgepodge Ending in Lovecraft
Friday Flotsam
Friday Flotsam: Thoughts on ‘No Way Home’
1. It being New Year's Eve, I suppose standard practice would be to give some kind of a retrospective of the year gone by or speculations of the one to come. But we have more important things to talk about today; namely Spider-Man! I'd thought I was done with the MCU, but the word-of-mouth on … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Thoughts on ‘No Way Home’
Friday Flotsam: Class Values and Rudolph
1. Something many people forget or miss is the fact that different social classes or castes or what have you have different value structures. This isn't the same as having different values as such: the same religion and the same moral ideals are liable to be preached across all classes. Rather, it's a difference of … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Class Values and Rudolph
Friday Flotsam: There’s Really No Through-Line for This One
1. As I understand the matter, modern corporations are descendants of the religious orders. The idea is that property does not belong to any particular member, but rather to the imaginary ‘corporate’ self. In the religious orders, this was to allow for a vow of poverty: yes, the abbey had a lot of property, but … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: There’s Really No Through-Line for This One
Friday Flotsam: A few Quick Points on Authority and Other Things
A few quick conclusions crystalized or articulated over the past week or so. 1. Authority derives from relations and consequent responsibility. In fact, ‘responsibility’ is in a sense only another term for ‘authority’. Because to the extent that you are responsible for something, you must be able to exercise decision making power over it. 2. … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: A few Quick Points on Authority and Other Things
Friday Flotsam: Whither Milo Murphy?
1. BW Media Spotlight posted a good piece defending Milo Murphy’s Law, the sequel series to Phineas and Ferb that, alas, failed to find the same audience its predecessor did and lasted only two seasons. Me, I’m a big fan of Phineas and Ferb: it’s one of my all-time favorites, and I really liked Milo … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Whither Milo Murphy?
Friday Flotsam: Free Thinking, a Review, and the End of the World
1. One of my co-workers has a sticker on his computer that says ‘Danger: Free Thinker’. I don’t want to jump to conclusions, and he seems like a decent guy, but in my experience legitimate ‘free thinkers’ (to the extent that such creatures exist) do not proudly identify themselves as such. ‘Free thinker’ or ‘think … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Free Thinking, a Review, and the End of the World
Friday Flotsam: Fan-Art with Commentary
I started doing some more substantial entries, but I was tired after a long week and didn’t have the energy for it. So, since I don’t feel like talking about religion, philosophy, and such today, the next logical subject is My Little Pony fan-art. I made these a long time ago and have been meaning … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Fan-Art with Commentary
Friday Flotsam: In the News, Invisible Man, and Folk Song
1. I have barely looked at the news in weeks and have frankly been much happier for it. After all, I have no power to affect anything that is in the news, and it’s going to affect me I’ll find out about it sooner or later. Not to mention that most of it is either … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: In the News, Invisible Man, and Folk Song
Flotsam: Self-Examination, Plot Holes, Halloween-ness, and a Joke
1. I notice that I have a bad habit (and perhaps you do as well) that when I start to pray and try to meditate upon God that I tend to fall into criticism of modernity: thinking of how far the contemporary world is from the majesty of the Divine plan and how many ways … Continue reading Flotsam: Self-Examination, Plot Holes, Halloween-ness, and a Joke
Serpent's Den 