Monthly Archives: May 2007

Daisies, Blood and Death: On Emily Dickinson’s "So has a Daisy vanished…"

So has a Daisy vanished… Emily Dickinson So has a Daisy vanished From the fields today – So tiptoed many a slipper To Paradise away – Oozed so in crimson bubbles Day’s departing tide – Blooming — tripping — flowing Are ye then with God? Commentary: The daisy vanishes by moving into the ground; the …

May 31, 2007 – 2:01 am | By ashok | Posted in dickinson, poetry | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

A Reason To Love? On Emily Dickinson’s "Our share of night to bear…"

Our share of night to bear… Emily Dickinson Our share of night to bear, Our share of morning, Our blank in bliss to fill, Our blank in scorning. Here a star, and there a star Some lose their way. Here a mist, and there a mist, Afterwards—day! Commentary: The second stanza is most curious – …

May 31, 2007 – 1:35 am | By ashok | Posted in dickinson, poetry | Tagged , , | Comments (5)

On "Batman Begins"

Note: Spoilers ahead, if you haven’t seen it. This is an essay, not a review. Originally published on WritingUp some time ago. Synopsis: In this movie, a man dresses up as a bat in order to fight ninjas. Commentary: The central question of the movie is “What is Justice?” The movie gives us two answers …

May 31, 2007 – 1:31 am | By ashok | Posted in batman, movies | Tagged , | Comments (24)

Rules for Argument

1. Make sure that regarding whatever you know about a particular topic, you have questions about that knowledge itself. If you don’t have questions, you probably have blind faith and are not suited for argumentation.2. There are issues which admit no compromise, and it is true that there are radicals in our midst. Would you …

May 30, 2007 – 1:55 pm | By ashok | Posted in politics | Tagged | Comments (2)

Preliminary Remarks on Wallace Stevens’ "The Snow Man"

The Snow Man Wallace Stevens One must have a mind of winter To regard the frost and the boughs Of the pine-trees crusted with snow; And have been cold a long time To behold the junipers shagged with ice, The spruces rough in the distant glitter Of the January sun; and not to think Of …

May 30, 2007 – 1:30 pm | By ashok | Posted in poetry | Tagged , , | Comments (1)

War and Peace: On Yeats’ "When Helen Lived"

Originally posted on WritingUp over a year ago. I don’t know if that site will ever be back up again, so I’m going to start transferring the entries I have saved here for good now: When Helen Lived W.B. Yeats We have cried in our despair That men desert, For some trivial affair Or noisy, …

May 29, 2007 – 9:53 am | By ashok | Posted in poetry, yeats | Tagged , , | Comments (1)

Fun With Blog Services That Have My Posts Not Being Online

I have to make backup copies of all my posts here: I haven’t done that yet, and stand to lose a lot.I have to make backup copies, of course, because of my experience with WritingUp, where a number of posts I really liked have not been available for a week.I’m actually debating whether or not …

May 29, 2007 – 8:17 am | By ashok | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

On Epicurus’ Letter to Menoeceus

A previous post on Epicurus’ vision of the universe that is important for this post. We begin with a few key points from Epicurus’ Letter to Menoeceus. The translation I am using is Russel M. Geel’s: There are gods, who exemplify “blessed immortality.” But all opinions about them are wrong, including the opinions where they …

May 28, 2007 – 12:58 pm | By ashok | Posted in philosophy | Tagged , | Comments (2)

On Football, Determinism, Science and Utopia

My brother and I got into an argument that was ostensibly about American football. He argued that there are coaches who have the best schemes, bar none, and that other coaches are only as good as they measure up to those schemes. Furthermore, such schemes emphasize the interchangeability of players: find the right players for …

May 27, 2007 – 12:24 am | By ashok | Posted in personal | Tagged , | Comments (1)

The Courage of Conviction: For the United States of America, This Memorial Day

I do not see the need to be a critical thinker you can get that in the streets or on the playground as a child the need to grow up and accept people for who they are is much more beneficial.- comment by fire75034 on “The Irate Nation”Jacob Howland’s reflections on Xenophon (“Xenophon’s Philosophic Odyssey: …

May 26, 2007 – 7:56 pm | By ashok | Posted in philosophy, politics, xenophon | Tagged | Comments (0)