At Thanksgiving Maman, meaning Grandmother, made comments in French about the sillier of the grandchildren, who voted for McCain. Grandmother is a nice white lady from the bad old days. She is convinced those days would have returned had we not voted for Barack. * It was in the late eighties that I became a … More C’est si simple
Thanksgiving was charming but also sad, insofar as the cars of the hosts are not reliable. In the absence of public transportation they are not easily able to leave their rice field. We need public transportation, Barack! I I am interested in my argument with the Dutchman first, because (a) it starts with the use … More Frisian Implications: World Without Context
Hermoso paraíso de salud. In Reeducation I would look at other people going about their lives and think: they are not less imperfect, or more guilty than I, yet they are not being interrogated, and they clearly feel free. I admired them as they swung their shoulders, looked forward and sideways, and walked right along. … More De vida en vida
I should really go to sleep and I will, but I think I have finally grasped a model. In early Reeducation, PZ: This seems dangerous. You would like me to renounce thoughts, which you view as delusions, feelings, which you call instincts, because you are sure my ‘instincts’ are poorly trained, and discernment, which you … More On the Psyche
Seu Jorge and Ana Carolina are not Reeducated, they are free. One of the important things I study so as to repair myself from Reeducation is how not to take things to heart. In Reeducation one had to take everything to heart because it was supposed one did not feel, and needed to learn how. … More Seu Jorge e Ana Carolina
This was actually proposed in the United States in the early twentieth century. There is an explanation in Swedish, by an author called “Wage Slave.” The requisite symbols of anarcho-syndicalism are a black cat and a red and black flag. I wanted to post those but found the above image, which is far more interesting. … More The 16 Hour Work Week
This is a MESTIZO POST, meaning it is mixed. It might be an ajiaco. It could be a curanto. And a cocido madrileño sounds good right now. I should make one, buying ingredients at La Tienda Punto Com. 1. Research Insight A commentator here suggested that the world’s fascination with Barack Obama’s racial mixture bespoke … More Cocido Madrileño
I have been told I should elevate one of my earlier comments to the Dutchman to Post Level, so I am. The context is that the Dutchman felt that since I am an American I do not speak actual English, only a variant of it, so that “my” understanding of the term “Black” was probably … More Early Dutchman
In ceramics, you have to aim for a perfect piece from the beginning, or you will not get one that is good enough. Good enough means that it holds together. If you only aim for good enough at the beginning, you will lower standards too far and the piece will fly apart before the end. … More On Perfection
This comes from a very interesting thread including a conversation on race and racism with Human. I realized that what I could have continued to say in the comments thread merited a post of its own. Now I am writing notes toward that post. I am too tired after four hours of faculty meetings to … More Talking Race With the Emeritus Professor in the Days of Malcolm and Martin
coldhearted scientist وداد 