Monthly Archives: May 2013

Evisceration #1: good lookin’ women

I read two things in quick succession that were just delicious rapier-rather-than-broadsword killings.  This one is by someone I knew at school and uni.  (Other evisceration to follow tmrw.) In my experience, there are two types of good-looking women. The … Continue reading

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“An infinity of books and no ideas…”

He who is afraid of ideas is afraid of few books today: every week the market offers an infinity of books and no ideas… All of which brings one to belief that if in our country to think in writing … Continue reading

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Disasturbation, aka “apocalypse machismo” #pendingecologicaldebacle

From “The Archdruid Report” “In the early days of the peak oil movement, similarly, the same insistence on imminent extinction popped up tolerably often. I was convinced at the time, and remain convinced today, that this was largely a product … Continue reading

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Mistakes, I’ve made a few, but then again, too many to mention #Dewey #mistakes

But socially as well as scientifically the great thing is not to avoid mistakes but to have them take place under conditions such that they can be utilised to increase intelligence in the future.” Reconstruction in Philosophy John Dewey Why … Continue reading

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Awesomely awesome commentaries on “terrorism”; @ggreenwald and Barry Eisler

Via Glenn Greenwald’s brilliant piece (the final paragraph – that you have to work up to and is therefore not quoted – is all Prospero/Caliban) I stumbled on Barry Eisler, equally awesome in full irony mode – After the last … Continue reading

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Grim fairy tales and gallows humour #Chernobyl

I’ve just read “The Star Chernobyl” by Julie Voznesenskaya, which I would heartily recommend.  Lots in there about loyalty, duty, liberty versus freedom etc.  But that’s for another post or two.  Right now, this, from a passage relating how people … Continue reading

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They kick you in the teeth, then criticise your smile…

And mewl about hostility It’s a black mark in your file…

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Of Holy Roman Empires and #Manchester People’s Assemblies. Change? Plus ca change…

I may be suffering from premature exasperation, it’s true. But last Tuesday night’s little (alright, large) smugathon perturbed me mightily. The organisers had got Mark Steel (yesterday’s darling) and Owen “Chavs” Jones (today’s darling) along. This on its own was … Continue reading

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Bureaucrats, politicians and (r)emote control

There is overlap, but as a rule of thumb; Bureaucrats/bureaucracies try to shut you down/up intellectually. They withhold information, give you too much of the stuff at the wrong time, or too much with not enough time to process it. … Continue reading

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Suicide, Significant Life Experiences, Dwight (Eisenhower) and Capitalism

So this, from an article called “Why parents should leave their kids alone” by Jay Griffiths, In 1960, the American psychiatrist Herbert Hendin was studying suicide statistics in Scandinavia. Denmark (with Japan) had the world’s highest suicide rate. Sweden’s rate … Continue reading

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