Friday, October 17, 2008
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Objectivity
Copleston mentions 'objective history' in his Introduction to Volume IV of the History of Philosophy. Which to me, this is a farce. What man is truly objective? The most detached? The most indebted? The rich? The poor? The “middling class”? I say none of the above. Objectivity is the goal, not the accomplishment. Lessing says he would rather have the search for truth than truth itself; Lessing made the decision and we are all stuck with the consequences. The search for truth is our only goal; our Idols prevent us from ever really telling the 'truth'.
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Monday, October 6, 2008
Fiefs
As a history major I tend to connect the past and the present more than your average Joe Six-pack (sorry, I had to do it in light of recent election soundbites). I work on the border of a fairly well-off WASP portion of St. Louis, between Des Peres and Ballwin; I go to school in the area of Town and Country (does it not scream old money?) and am currently doing an internship at the St. Louis County Headquarters located on Lindbergh directly across from the Frontenac Mall, which is well, the old money Pantheon.
Of course, I'm coming from Collinsville, IL which is the home of well, murder and a giant catsup (yes, it says catsup - I looked). So I do a lot of travelling and in my travels - from work to school to internship - I see a lot of nice houses and I see these nice houses set beside much smaller houses. So, every two or three houses is a small palace and the inbetween is either a buffer state between rich and rich or they are fiefs, which is the title of this blog and also my theory.
I think feudalism just disappeared from the mainstream but is still very much alive. The 'peasants' may call themselves middle-class (everyone does, probably even Michael Bloomberg) but they are probably the help of some kind for their much larger neighbor. In return their kids go to a slightly better school because the property tax of their neighbors house is the equivalent of the GDP of a third world country. Or, these houses are inhabited by illegals so their kids may not go to school at all, or they may not have any kids. Unlike feudalism of old, you aren't provided the quality protection that comes with servitude. It used to be that you depended on and only had to worry about the big guy next door, but now we have to worry about the scary world and the big guy next door will be just as quick to set the hounds on you as he/she would be to set them on someone else's peasant.
Of course, I'm coming from Collinsville, IL which is the home of well, murder and a giant catsup (yes, it says catsup - I looked). So I do a lot of travelling and in my travels - from work to school to internship - I see a lot of nice houses and I see these nice houses set beside much smaller houses. So, every two or three houses is a small palace and the inbetween is either a buffer state between rich and rich or they are fiefs, which is the title of this blog and also my theory.
I think feudalism just disappeared from the mainstream but is still very much alive. The 'peasants' may call themselves middle-class (everyone does, probably even Michael Bloomberg) but they are probably the help of some kind for their much larger neighbor. In return their kids go to a slightly better school because the property tax of their neighbors house is the equivalent of the GDP of a third world country. Or, these houses are inhabited by illegals so their kids may not go to school at all, or they may not have any kids. Unlike feudalism of old, you aren't provided the quality protection that comes with servitude. It used to be that you depended on and only had to worry about the big guy next door, but now we have to worry about the scary world and the big guy next door will be just as quick to set the hounds on you as he/she would be to set them on someone else's peasant.
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Russian Officials Attempt (But Fail) to Squelch the Nation's 1st LGBT Film Fest
I just don't really understand the fascination which the world apparently exhibits regarding what a couple (or more) do in their own beds. If it isn't harmful to either person (such as incest, rape, etc) I'm not really sure where the government's place is. Surely the State of Russia is not doing a morality play?
Here's an excerpt from the article:
Last Thursday, the St. Petersburg fire department shut down both venues for Side by Side, Russia's first LGBT film festival, which was due to open that evening with a screening of Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
Alexey Bulokhov, a Russian citizen and Soulforce Director of International Outreach, was in St. Petersburg to present the Russian debut of For the Bible Tells Me So. He describes the scene:
...festival producers Irina and Manny and I arrived early at the venue. We were met with strong law enforcement presence. Electricity was shut off in the venue. There were regular policemen with demonstratively visible batons, representatives from the Ministry of Emergency Situations who typically deal with earthquakes, floods and other national disasters, a court bailiff and a transport van. Several supporters in the area informed Irina that there were two busloads of police in the side streets as well as several cars with what appeared to be private security personnel wearing ski masks."
In spite of this massive display of state power and intimidation, many of the planned screenings and events--including an unforgettable evening with John Cameron Mitchell--did manage to happen below the radar this weekend. It's a story of determination and ingenuity on the part of organizers and audiences alike.
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Saturday, October 4, 2008
Palin: Obama Is ‘Palling Around With Terrorists’ - New York Times
I will be so glad when this election is over. Seriously, we seem to lack any sort of restraint or intellect in politics. Of course now we do know a lot more about how Palin reads her news: through soundbites and headlines. So yes, Obama has met someone before who performed terrorist acts, acts performed when he was 8. Of course, the fact that he was never close to Ayers and has called his acts "detestable" but that is beside the point!
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Palin: Obama Is ‘Palling Around With Terrorists’
New York Times -1 hour ago
By Kate Phillips In remarks at a Colorado airport hangar today, Gov. Sarah Palin tore into Senator Barack Obama with a twist that she ripped right from the headlines of this very newspaper.
Palin Says Obama 'Palling Around' With TerroristsABC News
Palin Turns to NYT, Citing Article on AyersWashington Post
CNN Political Ticker - The Swamp - Tribune's Washington Bureau - FOXNews
all 267 news articles
 ABC News |
New York Times -
By Kate Phillips In remarks at a Colorado airport hangar today, Gov. Sarah Palin tore into Senator Barack Obama with a twist that she ripped right from the headlines of this very newspaper.
Palin Says Obama 'Palling Around' With Terrorists
Palin Turns to NYT, Citing Article on Ayers
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Amazon's Kindle 2 leaked
Boy Genius Report gets ahold of some photos of the next-generation digital Reader from Amazon, and they seem real.
Though I'm currently using my iPhone as an eReader, this could of course change. I decided to use my iPhone because of the convenience and because I'm sick of having so many books in my overloaded bag. So I'm interested in such devices. Kindle hasn't really impressed me too much but I'll undoubtedly take a look at the device if I happen to have a chance. As for Sony's new device, mentioned in the article, it does really intrigue me. Apparently these readers are beginning to incorporate some touch screen technology but what really caught my interest is the mention of being able to annotate the text. As a student, this is a must. If I'm going to make a full conversion one day I need an easy way to totally highlight and scribble on my book. Of course, such features come with a price and Sony is asking for $400 for their lovely new device. Oh well, I'll keep my eyes open at the very least.
I do recommend anyone with an iPhone who is doing a significant amount of reading, purchase the Annotater [sic] app through Apple's App store it does allow for a significant amount of well, annotation.
Though I'm currently using my iPhone as an eReader, this could of course change. I decided to use my iPhone because of the convenience and because I'm sick of having so many books in my overloaded bag. So I'm interested in such devices. Kindle hasn't really impressed me too much but I'll undoubtedly take a look at the device if I happen to have a chance. As for Sony's new device, mentioned in the article, it does really intrigue me. Apparently these readers are beginning to incorporate some touch screen technology but what really caught my interest is the mention of being able to annotate the text. As a student, this is a must. If I'm going to make a full conversion one day I need an easy way to totally highlight and scribble on my book. Of course, such features come with a price and Sony is asking for $400 for their lovely new device. Oh well, I'll keep my eyes open at the very least.
I do recommend anyone with an iPhone who is doing a significant amount of reading, purchase the Annotater [sic] app through Apple's App store it does allow for a significant amount of well, annotation.
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Friday, October 3, 2008
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