The Primary Contradiction and various commentators are suffering from self-doubt. It is always worth remembering that self-doubt, at least of the variety being described, is a result of oppression. In my para-Christian education self-doubt and humility were virtues, and they may be instructive indeed for the arrogant and the entitled. In other situations they are … More Labyrinth of a Faun
Now that the House of Representatives opposes the Iraq war, the military has provided guidelines on what troops should say to reporters. Commanders advise their soldiers that they should talk about the things that they know,” [Christine Wormuth, a defense analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies] said. A truck driver, for instance, … More What Troops Should Say to Reporters
From one review of a book I want to read: [This] work amounts to a radical remapping of global literary space–which means, first of all, the recognition that there is a global literary space. [Its] insights build on world systems theory, the idea, developed by Fernand Braudel and Immanuel Wallerstein, that the capitalist economy that … More Literary World Systems
Today I discovered in my files a printout of Thorstein Veblen‘s The Higher Learning In America: A Memorandum on the Conduct of Universities By Business Men (1904-1918). From the 1916 preface: In its earlier formulation, [my] argument necessarily drew largely on first-hand observation of the conduct of affairs at Chicago, under the administration of its … More Thorstein Veblen
And now, via Slaves of Academe, we have an interesting article on the differences between academics and intellectuals. It posits three: 1. An academic has and wants an audience disproportionately made up of teachers and students, while an intellectual has and wants teachers and students in his audience only in proportion to their place in … More Bright Light
Dick Cheney shot a man who did not die, and has now been bombed but left unscathed. The Pentagon has collected a database on more than 25 million 16 to 25 year olds, which is updated daily and distributed to Armed Services for recruitment purposes. Here is information on how to have yourself or your … More Evade Military Propaganda
One of my far flung correspondents – someone I am actually trying to convince to guest blog here – has a question and a comment. Does anyone have answers, responses, or repartee for these? QUESTION Do you know why procrastination is so prevalent in academia, as compared with other professions? COMMENT The university has become … More From Our Correspondent…
SERIOUS “There is absolutely no attempt on the part of the Army or this agency to deny soldiers any disability benefits or to push them off on the VA,” said Col. Andy Buchanan, the agency’s deputy commander. NOT When a vampire expert allegedly seduced a tipsy UC Irvine student four years ago, he inadvertently set … More Antics Serious and Not
Paul Dresman’s The Silver Dazzle of the Sun is a brilliant book of very well distilled poetry, with Southern California as one of its major backdrops. Today we have what we call “California weather,” meaning 75 dry degrees in a cloudless sky with high, bright white light. On a winter day back home the sun … More Silver Dazzle
I had been searching for Kiri Davis’ video A Girl Like Me, and now I have found it. This classic text demonstrates, among other things, why the claim to “colorblindness” is a pure and absurd luxury. Axé.
coldhearted scientist وداد 