Monthly Archives: July 2008

Materialism and Nihilism’s Consequential Union: Notes on Kay Ryan’s "Nothing Ventured"

for Ario Farin Nothing Ventured (from poets.org) Kay Ryan Nothing exists as a block and cannot be parceled up. So if nothing’s ventured it’s not just talk; it’s the big wager. Don’t you wonder how people think the banks of space and time don’t matter? How they’ll drain the big tanks down to slime and

For Discussion: Some Primitive Questions Regarding Tyranny

Since we are talking about extremes, these questions probably can be answered one way or another with no real loss either way. 1. Will a tyrannical future emerge from the way we imagine it, or in a way unexpected? Most of us pick the latter – we know not what we do. The counterargument is

Thoughtless

Really frustrated with the dissertation. I wish it would just flow and be as natural as writing these blog commentaries. But there are sections of the text which I just don’t understand; they’re using metaphors and distinctions unique to the classics that I haven’t thought through completely.I’m gonna write some more tonight. Wish me luck,

The Formation of the Soul: On Dickinson’s "The Soul selects her own Society…" (303)

“The Soul selects her own Society…” (303) Emily Dickinson The Soul selects her own Society – Then – shuts the Door – To her divine Majority – Present no more – Unmoved – she notes the Chariots – pausing – At her low Gate – Unmoved – an Emperor be kneeling Upon her Mat –

Links, 7/11

Of course I’m feeling guilty as hell today that I’m not getting enough done and not keeping up with those I care for well enough. So the first thing I need to read when I get online is John McCain’s account of what the Vietnamese did to him; yes, you should read this, it isn’t

Interview: Questions from Bryn Robinson for Moi

Bryn’s a regular reader of this blog and for that reason alone I’d be happy to gush about her. But if you visit her blog, you’ll notice right away that she studies psychology, is about to get her PhD., writes very well on any number of interesting topics, and is a talented photographer. It’s very

Strange…

…I have Rachmaninov stuck in my head, the “Rhapsody on a Theme by Paginini.” Here’s the thing: I haven’t heard that in years. And the one recording I had of it has been broken that long.

For Discussion: Is Politics Theater? Or Can a Government Mastermind Everything? Where did these stupid ideas come from? And what do you want to do about them?

1. People understand politics to be theater, even while insisting it be something more: some power that makes all the trains run on time and beats every enemy and costs no amount of money. I could say “this is irrational,” but duh you already know that. The bigger issue is that I understand politics this

My New Addiction: Making Mini-Tours of the Internet

Thanks to Hazel, I am now aware that I can comment on pages and link them together into little “tours” that take a surfer through a subject.I’m playing with Trailfire and have created 3 such tours so far, about 6-7 stops in length each.Here’s the page with the ones I’ve completed/am working on, sorry if

Why Read The Classics? Because They Take the Problem of Happiness Seriously

Very rough, nowhere near complete. For new readers. Comedy is harder than tragedy, and you would think someone nowadays was up to the challenge of explaining how we can be happy without glibly telling us “it’s just a matter of attitude.” Sorry, but we know better – we know we need things; we know providing