An anagram
(or, relatively well-off first-world people borrowing trouble from others because their own suffering is insufficient to justify how sorry they want to feel for themselves.) The Danse Macabre, as ritualized by so-called goths, was once described to me as, “mourning death.” Not any particular person’s death, but simply the existence of death as a fact […]
There are various counter movements to feminism. One of them even has the ridiculous name of “Meninism”. They aren’t very large, or organized, and there’s not a section of the book store devoted to them. Their aims are all over the map, some more noble than others, and this is obviously a reflection of the […]
Anyone who tells you that Cat’s Cradle is science-fiction is fucking with you. Or else they don’t know what science-fiction is. Yes, it contains a bit of science-fiction as a plot element. Yes, the science is reasonably sound. It also contains a made-up religion, but no one categorizes it as a religious text. It is […]
I have rather suddenly developed an interest in local history. Most specifically, I’ve decided I want to know all there is to know about Flamm City, a place that was probably never actually any kind of a city, but which has intrigued me for many years. I’ve discovered a ton of historical resources at the […]
The voting skills of the American electorate have frustrated me for some time. Our Presidential candidates this year are Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton of all possibilities, and now the UK has had Brexit. I have long wondered what to do about it. Restore journalism ethics? The driving motivator isn’t there. Educate voters about the […]
[Edit: Since posting this, I have gained more clarity about the definition of “anti-intellectualism”, which is hostility specifically and directly toward intellectuals, education, and reason. It is not merely the rejection of reason, facts, and scientific knowledge in the context of some other issue. That said, gun control is not anti-intellectualism. The rejection of well-established […]
It has been my experience that when intelligent people make seemingly stupid decisions, it is because they are following an agenda that is in conflict with reason. The case of Brock Turner raping an unconscious girl should have been a simple case with a simple verdict. Yet somehow, the judge seems confused. Confused about the […]
The other weekend, I had time and inclination to find a new trail to walk. I drove down to Valley View Glades Natural Area and hiked the 2.6 mile loop. I had stopped in there once before, just to check the place out as a possible hunting location, but I hadn’t gone far. It’s a […]
I was working with a film crew today, and after the day’s shooting, we were hanging out to eat. The conversation turned to gender discrimination in Hollywood and the barriers against female leads, and the reaction to recent examples of strong female leads. I put forward my continued struggle to identify what constitutes, or should […]
The more I reflect on the apparently duality of feminism, I am beginning to realize my comparison a week ago of feminism and Christianity is quite apt. It’s not that there are two different kinds of feminism. It’s simply that that feminism has earned, through the words and actions of feminists, a reputation for being […]
