Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Who is this terrorist?
This is just wrong. Wrong! Not in amusing way. No, in fact, it's wrong in an incredibly creepy "run for the hills" kind of way.
What a storm.
The opposite of death is birth, not life. So the question is, what is the opposite of life?
If the duality of both positive and negative defines our comprehension of damn near everything, and I think it does, how do we then define life?
Does it become am existential matter? Is life truly "what we make of it"?
If the duality of both positive and negative defines our comprehension of damn near everything, and I think it does, how do we then define life?
Does it become am existential matter? Is life truly "what we make of it"?
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Every plan is a tiny prayer to Father Time.
I find it difficult to believe in the goodness of my fellow man when I read stuff like this. "Struck in the head 39 times with a piece of crown molding"... Or how about this? A mother allegedly throwing her three kids, ages 1, 3, and 6 into San Francisco Bay. It's like Susan Smith all over again. Sometimes I really do hate people.
For years now the headline every night has been about the "war against terror", these past few months the headlines have been hurricane/earth quake/big bad mother earth juju related, with the odd blip here and there about the Supreme Court nominations (mostly you hear about that kind of stuff on the specialized "in depth" commentary shows).
So in a world with all this going on, what asshat decided this was front page news?
Misanthropy is understandable, don't ya think?
For years now the headline every night has been about the "war against terror", these past few months the headlines have been hurricane/earth quake/big bad mother earth juju related, with the odd blip here and there about the Supreme Court nominations (mostly you hear about that kind of stuff on the specialized "in depth" commentary shows).
So in a world with all this going on, what asshat decided this was front page news?
Misanthropy is understandable, don't ya think?
It's enough to make me nervous.
Meh. I do the dumbest things. I know that I'm a reasonably intelligent person, but you wouldn't know it by my actions sometimes. Maybe my cousin was right. Maybe I really am Pinky and The Brain co-existing in the same body.
Do you think those childish impulses ever go away? And if not, do you think that it's possible to develop better impulse control (without the aid of medication)? Because damn, my impulses have been getting me into serious trouble lately.
It seems fitting that the house is in escrow. My living space is in limbo just like my life. We match!
Do you think those childish impulses ever go away? And if not, do you think that it's possible to develop better impulse control (without the aid of medication)? Because damn, my impulses have been getting me into serious trouble lately.
It seems fitting that the house is in escrow. My living space is in limbo just like my life. We match!
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
You've gotta be 2,000 places at once.
I've never been big on the whole "to do before I die" list thing, but there are some things I'd like to experience. this is one of them. How amazing would that be, seriously?
Of course I also want to wander around "Byzantium" and pretend that I'm the emperor. Heh.
I don't have an obsession with power. Honest!
Of course I also want to wander around "Byzantium" and pretend that I'm the emperor. Heh.
I don't have an obsession with power. Honest!
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
We just want to keep on breathing.
Because it is always a good time for Yeats I share with you the following:
When You Are Old
When You Are Old
When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim Soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.
-W.B. YeatsWednesday, July 27, 2005
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
It's who I am, it's what I do.
Four years of Uni. Three terms per year. Five classes per term. 60 grades: 58 A's, 2 B's.
Is that the measure of a life?
Is that the measure of a life?
Friday, July 22, 2005
Soon you'll find your own way.
I finalized my schedule for the semester. I honestly don't see the point, but oh well.
Randomly, the kidneys make up approximately 0.05 percent of total body weight. Pretty impressive that something so small is so darn important, isn't it?
Randomly, the kidneys make up approximately 0.05 percent of total body weight. Pretty impressive that something so small is so darn important, isn't it?
Sunday, July 17, 2005
I should know who I am by now.
I've been thinking a lot about change lately. Change and growth. I think if we don't change, if we don't grow, we stagnate and die. Sometimes we hold on to things so tightly we end up crushing them. I don't have to make this mistake. I don't have to stay this way.
Friday, July 15, 2005
One breaks my body and the other breaks my soul.
"I'm sorry. Not for anything in particular, and not for everything..."
How sad is it when you see really frightening similarities between your own life and that of a fictional tv character?
How sad is it when you see really frightening similarities between your own life and that of a fictional tv character?
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Monday, July 11, 2005
The place where you keep all the darkness you need.
Ralph Bunche was really an amazing man. I feel like no matter what I do, no matter how much I accomplish, I'll never manage to do anything truly amazing, ya know? But damned if I'm not going to try.
I've been personally and professionally frustrated lately. I'm going to be taking steps to remedy my frustration, but such things are never easy.
Worthwhile things rarely are though, eh?
I've been personally and professionally frustrated lately. I'm going to be taking steps to remedy my frustration, but such things are never easy.
Worthwhile things rarely are though, eh?
Saturday, July 09, 2005
Does it mean anything to you?
My Thoughts on London:
I am utterly stunned by the responses to what happened in London. I shouldn't be. I'm a genocide scholar. People get up in the morning, have a cup of tea, read the paper, and head off to work. I get up in the morning, brew a pot of coffee, and begin my day by reading the three newspapers I have delivered, while I have the news on in the background, and then when I'm done with that, I pour myself another cup of coffee and start reading a wealth of online news sites. The news is my job. What does that mean exactly? It means that my job is to sift through global events, summarize them, and then contextualize them, and determine trends. I spend my days mired in unbelievable cruelty. I'm used to it.
There seems to be this need to perpetuate the mentality of "us and them", "victim and victimized". It's as if somehow by denying the very humanity of the "enemy", we're relieved of our responsiblity toward them, the responsibility of our shared humanity. The irony of the situation is that the very humanity of all parties is what makes it so fucking messy in the first place.
There is no justification for acts of terror. We can explain them, and to some extent we can understand them, but we can't justify them. Any attempt to justify such things is futile - and beyond that, it's an abomination. There is never an excuse for mistreatment (real or perceived) engendering further mistreatment. That old expression, "fighting for peace is like fucking for virginity" rings true in such instances.
We tend to toss about terms like "rights" and "civil liberties" quite a bit at such times. In a political sense, there's a distinct difference between a right and a privilege. We do have inalienable rights, but not as many as we like to think we do. Freedom from terror should be a right, but it isn't. It's a privilege. Why? Because people can take that away from us. As we've experienced today, and not for the first time.
We tend to marginalize people. European muslims are so marginalized it isn't even funny. They are often discounted within their own communities as being "too western", while the western world largely writes them off as being "too foreign/muslim/too extreme". This marginalization fosters considerable anger and resentment and creates an environment and a mentality ripe for exploitation by extremists. What's ironic about this is these marginalized people, who speak out against the west, are actually quintessential representatives of western values. How? They are taking advantage of the cival liberties (freedom of expression, etc.) granted to them as citizens of western countries. Does that excuse it? No. Justify it? No. What it does is illustrate our collective responsibility.
I once heard the analogy that "Islamic Extremism is to Islam what the KKK is to Christianity". I think that's a very good analogy. Extremists are a small, but very vocal, minority. They aren't representive of the majority, but they garner the majority of media attention. In the absence of vocal moderates, it's understandable that we start to view these extremists as representative of their countries/faith. That explains it, but it doesn't justify it.
Because we don't see moderates speaking up, speaking out against the extremists, we respond - and we're only responding to the extremists. Who suffers? The average person. The moderates. What happens? We turn moderates into extremists and we give the extremists exactly what they want. We foster such resentment that potential allies turn against us.
It's impossible to explain away an attack. Period. There isn't enough rhetoric out there for it. Political spindoctors have been attempting to do so for years, and they have yet to experience success.
Dragging colonial injustices into the situation as an excuse is asinine. If I thought it would improve matters, believe me, I'd be the first one talking up the injustices of colonization - but dragging history into it only serves to exacerbate an already volatile situation. There comes a point when people need to take responsibility for their circumstances - and not blame everything on the proverbial "past". Part of being a grown up is not blaming mommy and daddy anymore. It extends to political sovereignty. If you get caught up in a historical "tit for tat" no one is going to win. The situation isn't going to improve.
There is a time and a place for debating colonialism and imperialism, and the effects of them - but this isn't it.
Oscar Wilde said, "the worst vice of a fanatic is his sincerity". The people who are responsible for this crap are fanatics. There is no reasoning with a fanatic - the very mark of a fanatic is unfailing, unreasoning devotion to their cause.
The sad fact is, bad things happen. The victims of terrorist attacks, the victims of war - they are almost always innocents. They are people who get caught up in the machinations of governments, zealots, fanatic - and they get fucked over. It's wrong, but that's how it works.
We can sit here and we can speculate about the causes. We can sit here and we can cast blame. We can sit here and ruminate on how unfortunate it is. All of those avenues are open to us, but none of them are productive.
We can sit here and bemoan the sad state of affairs. It's certainly a hell of a lot easier than being proactive, and actually doing something.
In a world where more than a billion people survive on less than a dollar a day, and several billion more survive on less than three dollars a day, where a woman can't get antibiotics for her child because a simple course of antibiotics costs more than she makes in a month, in a world where $16 dollars can clothe and send a child to school for a year, in this world it's so easy to just throw our hands in the air and give up. It's overwhelming. So rather than do something small to make a difference, we do nothing at all.
There's plenty of blame to go around. If we ever hope to improve things and prevent something like this from happening again we need to acknowledge our own culpability.
I am utterly stunned by the responses to what happened in London. I shouldn't be. I'm a genocide scholar. People get up in the morning, have a cup of tea, read the paper, and head off to work. I get up in the morning, brew a pot of coffee, and begin my day by reading the three newspapers I have delivered, while I have the news on in the background, and then when I'm done with that, I pour myself another cup of coffee and start reading a wealth of online news sites. The news is my job. What does that mean exactly? It means that my job is to sift through global events, summarize them, and then contextualize them, and determine trends. I spend my days mired in unbelievable cruelty. I'm used to it.
There seems to be this need to perpetuate the mentality of "us and them", "victim and victimized". It's as if somehow by denying the very humanity of the "enemy", we're relieved of our responsiblity toward them, the responsibility of our shared humanity. The irony of the situation is that the very humanity of all parties is what makes it so fucking messy in the first place.
There is no justification for acts of terror. We can explain them, and to some extent we can understand them, but we can't justify them. Any attempt to justify such things is futile - and beyond that, it's an abomination. There is never an excuse for mistreatment (real or perceived) engendering further mistreatment. That old expression, "fighting for peace is like fucking for virginity" rings true in such instances.
We tend to toss about terms like "rights" and "civil liberties" quite a bit at such times. In a political sense, there's a distinct difference between a right and a privilege. We do have inalienable rights, but not as many as we like to think we do. Freedom from terror should be a right, but it isn't. It's a privilege. Why? Because people can take that away from us. As we've experienced today, and not for the first time.
We tend to marginalize people. European muslims are so marginalized it isn't even funny. They are often discounted within their own communities as being "too western", while the western world largely writes them off as being "too foreign/muslim/too extreme". This marginalization fosters considerable anger and resentment and creates an environment and a mentality ripe for exploitation by extremists. What's ironic about this is these marginalized people, who speak out against the west, are actually quintessential representatives of western values. How? They are taking advantage of the cival liberties (freedom of expression, etc.) granted to them as citizens of western countries. Does that excuse it? No. Justify it? No. What it does is illustrate our collective responsibility.
I once heard the analogy that "Islamic Extremism is to Islam what the KKK is to Christianity". I think that's a very good analogy. Extremists are a small, but very vocal, minority. They aren't representive of the majority, but they garner the majority of media attention. In the absence of vocal moderates, it's understandable that we start to view these extremists as representative of their countries/faith. That explains it, but it doesn't justify it.
Because we don't see moderates speaking up, speaking out against the extremists, we respond - and we're only responding to the extremists. Who suffers? The average person. The moderates. What happens? We turn moderates into extremists and we give the extremists exactly what they want. We foster such resentment that potential allies turn against us.
It's impossible to explain away an attack. Period. There isn't enough rhetoric out there for it. Political spindoctors have been attempting to do so for years, and they have yet to experience success.
Dragging colonial injustices into the situation as an excuse is asinine. If I thought it would improve matters, believe me, I'd be the first one talking up the injustices of colonization - but dragging history into it only serves to exacerbate an already volatile situation. There comes a point when people need to take responsibility for their circumstances - and not blame everything on the proverbial "past". Part of being a grown up is not blaming mommy and daddy anymore. It extends to political sovereignty. If you get caught up in a historical "tit for tat" no one is going to win. The situation isn't going to improve.
There is a time and a place for debating colonialism and imperialism, and the effects of them - but this isn't it.
Oscar Wilde said, "the worst vice of a fanatic is his sincerity". The people who are responsible for this crap are fanatics. There is no reasoning with a fanatic - the very mark of a fanatic is unfailing, unreasoning devotion to their cause.
The sad fact is, bad things happen. The victims of terrorist attacks, the victims of war - they are almost always innocents. They are people who get caught up in the machinations of governments, zealots, fanatic - and they get fucked over. It's wrong, but that's how it works.
We can sit here and we can speculate about the causes. We can sit here and we can cast blame. We can sit here and ruminate on how unfortunate it is. All of those avenues are open to us, but none of them are productive.
We can sit here and bemoan the sad state of affairs. It's certainly a hell of a lot easier than being proactive, and actually doing something.
In a world where more than a billion people survive on less than a dollar a day, and several billion more survive on less than three dollars a day, where a woman can't get antibiotics for her child because a simple course of antibiotics costs more than she makes in a month, in a world where $16 dollars can clothe and send a child to school for a year, in this world it's so easy to just throw our hands in the air and give up. It's overwhelming. So rather than do something small to make a difference, we do nothing at all.
There's plenty of blame to go around. If we ever hope to improve things and prevent something like this from happening again we need to acknowledge our own culpability.
I saw fireworks from the freeway.
I watched The Great Dictator last night and was reminded of Chaplin's genius. The film uses humour to lombast authoritarian government, and the dehumanizing aspects therein. The speech he gives at the end of the film is absolutely stunning. Stunning.
The full text of the speech,
"I'm sorry but I don't want to be an Emperor - that's not my business - I don't want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone if possible, Jew, gentile, black man, white. We all want to help one another, human beings are like that. We all want to live by each other's happiness, not by each other's misery. We don't want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone and the earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful. But we have lost the way. Greed has poisoned men's souls - has barricaded the world with hate; has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed but we have shut ourselves in: machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical, our cleverness hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little: More than machinery we need humanity; More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness.Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost. The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men, cries out for universal brotherhood for the unity of us all. Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world, millions of despairing men, women and little children, victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people. To those who can hear me I say "Do not despair". The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed, the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress: the hate of men will pass and dictators die and the power they took from the people, will return to the people and so long as men die [now] liberty will never perish... Soldiers - don't give yourselves to brutes, men who despise you and enslave you - who regiment your lives, tell you what to do, what to think and what to feel, who drill you, diet you, treat you as cattle, as cannon fodder. Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men, machine men, with machine minds and machine hearts. You are not machines. You are not cattle. You are men. You have the love of humanity in your hearts. You don't hate - only the unloved hate. Only the unloved and the unnatural. Soldiers - don't fight for slavery, fight for liberty. In the seventeenth chapter of Saint Luke it is written " the kingdom of God is within man " - not one man, nor a group of men - but in all men - in you, the people.
You the people have the power, the power to create machines, the power to create happiness. You the people have the power to make life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure. Then in the name of democracy let's use that power - let us all unite. Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a chance to work, that will give you the future and old age and security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power, but they lie. They do not fulfil their promise, they never will. Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people. Now let us fight to fulfil that promise. Let us fight to free the world, to do away with national barriers, do away with greed, with hate and intolerance. Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men's happiness. Soldiers - in the name of democracy, let us all unite! Look up! Look up! The clouds are lifting - the sun is breaking through. We are coming out of the darkness into the light. We are coming into a new world. A kind new world where men will rise above their hate and brutality. The soul of man has been given wings - and at last he is beginning to fly. He is flying into the rainbow - into the light of hope - into the future, that glorious future that belongs to you, to me and to all of us. Look up. Look up."
Genius.
What boggles the mind is that Chaplin's words continue to ring true.
My God. "The way of life can be beautiful, but we have lost the way. Greed has poisoned men's souls -- has barricaded the world with hate -- has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical; our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery we need humanity. More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost."
That's fucking amazing!
The full text of the speech,
"I'm sorry but I don't want to be an Emperor - that's not my business - I don't want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone if possible, Jew, gentile, black man, white. We all want to help one another, human beings are like that. We all want to live by each other's happiness, not by each other's misery. We don't want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone and the earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful. But we have lost the way. Greed has poisoned men's souls - has barricaded the world with hate; has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed but we have shut ourselves in: machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical, our cleverness hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little: More than machinery we need humanity; More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness.Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost. The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men, cries out for universal brotherhood for the unity of us all. Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world, millions of despairing men, women and little children, victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people. To those who can hear me I say "Do not despair". The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed, the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress: the hate of men will pass and dictators die and the power they took from the people, will return to the people and so long as men die [now] liberty will never perish... Soldiers - don't give yourselves to brutes, men who despise you and enslave you - who regiment your lives, tell you what to do, what to think and what to feel, who drill you, diet you, treat you as cattle, as cannon fodder. Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men, machine men, with machine minds and machine hearts. You are not machines. You are not cattle. You are men. You have the love of humanity in your hearts. You don't hate - only the unloved hate. Only the unloved and the unnatural. Soldiers - don't fight for slavery, fight for liberty. In the seventeenth chapter of Saint Luke it is written " the kingdom of God is within man " - not one man, nor a group of men - but in all men - in you, the people.
You the people have the power, the power to create machines, the power to create happiness. You the people have the power to make life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure. Then in the name of democracy let's use that power - let us all unite. Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a chance to work, that will give you the future and old age and security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power, but they lie. They do not fulfil their promise, they never will. Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people. Now let us fight to fulfil that promise. Let us fight to free the world, to do away with national barriers, do away with greed, with hate and intolerance. Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men's happiness. Soldiers - in the name of democracy, let us all unite! Look up! Look up! The clouds are lifting - the sun is breaking through. We are coming out of the darkness into the light. We are coming into a new world. A kind new world where men will rise above their hate and brutality. The soul of man has been given wings - and at last he is beginning to fly. He is flying into the rainbow - into the light of hope - into the future, that glorious future that belongs to you, to me and to all of us. Look up. Look up."
Genius.
What boggles the mind is that Chaplin's words continue to ring true.
My God. "The way of life can be beautiful, but we have lost the way. Greed has poisoned men's souls -- has barricaded the world with hate -- has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical; our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery we need humanity. More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost."
That's fucking amazing!
I remember all the feelings, and the day they stopped.
I watched Naked on recommendation of a friend. It was dark, disturbing, violent, and really good. Mike Leigh is one warped mofo.
With the exception of their love of Neil Young's music, I'd say this particular friend of mine has impeccable taste, which explains why they have yet to steer me wrong with their recommendations.
I know some of you are wondering why I haven't written about the recent events in London. I will, eventually.
With the exception of their love of Neil Young's music, I'd say this particular friend of mine has impeccable taste, which explains why they have yet to steer me wrong with their recommendations.
I know some of you are wondering why I haven't written about the recent events in London. I will, eventually.
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
The old woman behind pink curtains...
I am absolutely fascinated by this organization. Evidently they are privately funded, and have no religious or political affiliations.
Nothing left to subtract.
I watched this program last night called something like, "Do Europeans Hate Us?" Us being Americans.
It was interesting. The journalist spoke to people all over Europe - Germany, France, England, etc. He'd attended Oxford in the 70s as a Marshall scholar, and so he got together with a group of American Marshall/Rhodes scholars attending Oxford. One of the students commented that, "There is a feeling of disenfranchisement. People tell me they want to vote in US elections because our elections effect their daily lives more than their own government does". What makes Europeans think they are so politically savvy? It isn't as if European governments are so fantastic - they have just as many problems as the US government, moreso, because at least the US doesn't have the EU to contend with.
It was interesting. The journalist spoke to people all over Europe - Germany, France, England, etc. He'd attended Oxford in the 70s as a Marshall scholar, and so he got together with a group of American Marshall/Rhodes scholars attending Oxford. One of the students commented that, "There is a feeling of disenfranchisement. People tell me they want to vote in US elections because our elections effect their daily lives more than their own government does". What makes Europeans think they are so politically savvy? It isn't as if European governments are so fantastic - they have just as many problems as the US government, moreso, because at least the US doesn't have the EU to contend with.
Monday, July 04, 2005
What shall she do when midnight comes around?
Does anyone remember when W signed the $417 billion dollar defense spending bill and told the nation that, "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we"? That was August of last year, and I don't know, but it seems to me that he was telling the truth.
We are the sacrificed.
People are concerned about the protest in Edinburgh. Once again fingers are pointing to Black Bloc. Okay, fair enough, they aren't coming out and saying Black Bloc. They are blaming "black-clad anarchists" or "black-clad protesters". Whatever!
Black Bloc, as we know it, has been around since the 80s in Germany. All that speculation about whether it would survive Genoa was laughable. Maybe most people didn't become familiar with it until Seattle in '99, but it's been around, it's still around, and until the problems of capitalism, the state, and war are settled - Black Bloc won't be going anywhere.
Perhaps what bothers me most about the accusations against "black-clad anarchaists" is that people assume there is some organization. It's a tactic, not an organization. Not every bloc is violent, not every bloc participates in the destruction of property.
I don't know, I actually think the tactic of unarresting is pretty damn cool.
Black Bloc, as we know it, has been around since the 80s in Germany. All that speculation about whether it would survive Genoa was laughable. Maybe most people didn't become familiar with it until Seattle in '99, but it's been around, it's still around, and until the problems of capitalism, the state, and war are settled - Black Bloc won't be going anywhere.
Perhaps what bothers me most about the accusations against "black-clad anarchaists" is that people assume there is some organization. It's a tactic, not an organization. Not every bloc is violent, not every bloc participates in the destruction of property.
I don't know, I actually think the tactic of unarresting is pretty damn cool.
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