Posts
Dreams of Avalon
2 hours ago
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Free Magnolia
Free Magnolia: The Voice of Southern Life and Culture, a publication of the League of the South (link via Rebellion)
Zenit: Transcript of Pope's Appearance on Italian TV
Zenit: Transcript of Pope's Appearance on Italian TV
"We Cannot Be Christians Alone, Following a Christianity Based on Our Own Ideas"
Related:
Sandro Magister, The Pope's "Dies Irae." And the Mystery of Evil
"We Cannot Be Christians Alone, Following a Christianity Based on Our Own Ideas"
Related:
Sandro Magister, The Pope's "Dies Irae." And the Mystery of Evil
Crye Precision
Sarge showed me this post by Military Morons this week on a helmet by Crye Precision. It does look retro and futuristic at the same time (almost like a Greek or Roman helmet, the full airframe helmet with the chops). It may look cool, but is it durable and effective? A post at Gear Scout on the update in the company website.
Soldier Systems
Soldier Systems
Puzzled
Learning local ways promotes religion
Chinese teachings from the past can help people live better lives and improve society today (via the Western Confucian)
Much of Confucianism is compatible with Catholic Christianity, but I am struck by what the author writes here--if so much that she has learned through her encounter with traditional Chinese culture/religion is so new to her that she thinks that Chinese Catholics need to learn the same lessons as well for a fuller, more effective Christianity, what sort of Christianity has she been practicing up to this point? (Love of neighbor and integral development, anyone?) Her writing would seem to imply that she had not experienced these activities within the context of Catholic practice before. Chinese Catholicism sounds almost as isolated, individualistic, and fragmented as typical American Catholicism.
I would think that the underground Catholic communities have a strong sense of solidarity and the exercise of charity among their members, but outreach to outsiders may be limited, for reasons we can readily understand. (The fear of persecution.) Is the author a member of an underground community or of the Patriotic Association?
Chinese teachings from the past can help people live better lives and improve society today (via the Western Confucian)
Much of Confucianism is compatible with Catholic Christianity, but I am struck by what the author writes here--if so much that she has learned through her encounter with traditional Chinese culture/religion is so new to her that she thinks that Chinese Catholics need to learn the same lessons as well for a fuller, more effective Christianity, what sort of Christianity has she been practicing up to this point? (Love of neighbor and integral development, anyone?) Her writing would seem to imply that she had not experienced these activities within the context of Catholic practice before. Chinese Catholicism sounds almost as isolated, individualistic, and fragmented as typical American Catholicism.
I would think that the underground Catholic communities have a strong sense of solidarity and the exercise of charity among their members, but outreach to outsiders may be limited, for reasons we can readily understand. (The fear of persecution.) Is the author a member of an underground community or of the Patriotic Association?
The other side of the debate
The question? The one I mentioned in this post. Whether a man should discuss questions of compatability (how to raise the children, etc.) with a prospective wife in order to convince her of his position, or if he should rely on Game instead. I was perusing the archives of a certain blog, and I found the following items:
How to crush a woman's dreams
Alpha Mail: be careful what you wish
What are Christian men to do if they meet Christian women who have been indoctrinated in feminism -- will they submit eventually to the exercise of "leadership" by their husband? It is not clear to me that Game is reducible to that. Rather, it involves maintaining her attraction to you so that she will comply with, follow, and submit. But is she submitting not because of a rational desire to be obedient but because of emotion? The question of emotions versus reason/obedience./ What is the nature of authority within marriage? Is its exercise like giving orders or instructions in other groups (military, work, etc.)? One would think the manner of expression is different, and even within the family, how the husband exercises authority over the children may (should?) be different from how he exercises authority over his wife. (Despite the claim of some men [misogynists? or just embittered men with bad experiences with women] that women are like children.) Are women to be treated as rational creatures? Or does one adapt according to the woman? (I hesitate to use the word, "handle.")
Many modern Uhmerican women can be described as being willful. While a man who does not care for the good of the family or love his wife is not good marriage material, the same is true of women as well, and not only that, their roles within the family are different. I don't think it is an exaggeration to claim that most Uhmerican women are not being raised with the understanding of how to be a proper wife.
One would hope to find a wife with feminine virtue, but is it the case that female sexual attraction is separable from virtue? Hawaiian Libertarian claims that female attraction is not a choice. "She loves you but is not "in-love" with you" - the former is the rational desire, but the latter is emotional and driven by other considerations? But reason is not wholly absent -- there is a judgment involved that the man is no longer worthy of respect as the man in her life. Moreover, it is good that a woman has enough restraint that she doesn't through herself at a bad boy, but that doesn't change the fact that she is attracted to bad boys. Can her ideal (the image of yang) be changed such that her desire is thereby affected? And how is this to be done, if not through a moral conversion of some sort (rather than trying to alter her emotions and psychology)?
Can it be said that successful hypergamy leads to submission? It would seem that while the former can lead to the latter, it is not necessarily so, if married feminists continue to wear the pants in the relationship and are content to have that role without despising their partner (too much?). (What does their example say about the link between hypergamy and sexual attraction?)
How to crush a woman's dreams
Alpha Mail: be careful what you wish
What are Christian men to do if they meet Christian women who have been indoctrinated in feminism -- will they submit eventually to the exercise of "leadership" by their husband? It is not clear to me that Game is reducible to that. Rather, it involves maintaining her attraction to you so that she will comply with, follow, and submit. But is she submitting not because of a rational desire to be obedient but because of emotion? The question of emotions versus reason/obedience./ What is the nature of authority within marriage? Is its exercise like giving orders or instructions in other groups (military, work, etc.)? One would think the manner of expression is different, and even within the family, how the husband exercises authority over the children may (should?) be different from how he exercises authority over his wife. (Despite the claim of some men [misogynists? or just embittered men with bad experiences with women] that women are like children.) Are women to be treated as rational creatures? Or does one adapt according to the woman? (I hesitate to use the word, "handle.")
Many modern Uhmerican women can be described as being willful. While a man who does not care for the good of the family or love his wife is not good marriage material, the same is true of women as well, and not only that, their roles within the family are different. I don't think it is an exaggeration to claim that most Uhmerican women are not being raised with the understanding of how to be a proper wife.
One would hope to find a wife with feminine virtue, but is it the case that female sexual attraction is separable from virtue? Hawaiian Libertarian claims that female attraction is not a choice. "She loves you but is not "in-love" with you" - the former is the rational desire, but the latter is emotional and driven by other considerations? But reason is not wholly absent -- there is a judgment involved that the man is no longer worthy of respect as the man in her life. Moreover, it is good that a woman has enough restraint that she doesn't through herself at a bad boy, but that doesn't change the fact that she is attracted to bad boys. Can her ideal (the image of yang) be changed such that her desire is thereby affected? And how is this to be done, if not through a moral conversion of some sort (rather than trying to alter her emotions and psychology)?
Can it be said that successful hypergamy leads to submission? It would seem that while the former can lead to the latter, it is not necessarily so, if married feminists continue to wear the pants in the relationship and are content to have that role without despising their partner (too much?). (What does their example say about the link between hypergamy and sexual attraction?)
Alexander Cockburn on the Civil War
Indelible Passions: From the Easter Rising to the American Civil War
Also from the weekend edition of Counterpunch online:
Mike Whitney, Welcome to Banktopia
Gavan McCormack, Can There be an End to Japan as a Nuclear State?
Ralph Nader, Stripmining American Jobs
Saul Landau / Jack Willis, The People Who Brought You Fukushima
Also from the weekend edition of Counterpunch online:
Mike Whitney, Welcome to Banktopia
Gavan McCormack, Can There be an End to Japan as a Nuclear State?
Ralph Nader, Stripmining American Jobs
Saul Landau / Jack Willis, The People Who Brought You Fukushima
Full Royal Wedding Schedule Released
Videos featuring the Royal Household Cavalry:
Household Cavalry Museum
Something from May of last year
Obama turns to drones for his Libyan kinetic military action
Pakistanizing the Libyan War By FRANKLIN C. SPINNEY
Obama Takes the Cape
Obama Takes the Cape
Friday, April 22, 2011
Gokhale Method DVD
I watched the program on KTEH last night -- probably shouldn't have, since I stayed up too late missed the opportunity to work. The DVD may be more helpful than the book, but I think ultimately what I'll need is a class in which an instructor gives feedback. Anything related to physical movement I can't seem to learn very well through a book, despite the pictures, or a video. The DVD will be available from the EG Wellness Center in May for $60....
Sebastian Junger Remembers Tim Hetherington
Vanity Fair
The death of an incomparable photojournalist, killed on April 20 while covering the conflict in Libya, is recounted by his collaborator, confrère, and friend.
The death of an incomparable photojournalist, killed on April 20 while covering the conflict in Libya, is recounted by his collaborator, confrère, and friend.
Interview with Fr. Pierre Paul by Jeffrey Tucker of the ChantCafe.com
Chant Cafe post
Interview with Fr. Pierre Paul by Jeffrey Tucker of the ChantCafe.com from Church Music Association of Amer on Vimeo.
Chant Cafe post
One of my cousins posted the following video:
On the youtube page is the link to a blog post about the commercial, but that appears to have been taken down. That blog is devoted to airline stewardesses...
On the youtube page is the link to a blog post about the commercial, but that appears to have been taken down. That blog is devoted to airline stewardesses...
Modernizing the U.S.Army
Which has to keep up with the rest of the world --
From its FB:
Wrt the First Amendment and the National Government... I suppose it's one more reason to not have a standing army, if the First Amendment is going to be interpreted in such a restrictive manner. Even if this lack of appreciation for Good Friday were not due to the First Amendment, what would we expect from a national institution of a post-Christian society?
Tom Piatak: Good Friday, Bad Earth Day
From its FB:
Today is Earth Day, a day that inspires awareness and appreciation for the Earth's natural environment. The Army is making great strides to help the environment through its Net Zero initiative. The Net Zero approach is comprised of five steps: reduction, re-purpose, recycling and composting, energy recovery, and disposal. What are you doing to celebrate Earth Day? To learn more about Net Zero, check out this article: http://goo.gl/Y4ILU
Wrt the First Amendment and the National Government... I suppose it's one more reason to not have a standing army, if the First Amendment is going to be interpreted in such a restrictive manner. Even if this lack of appreciation for Good Friday were not due to the First Amendment, what would we expect from a national institution of a post-Christian society?
Tom Piatak: Good Friday, Bad Earth Day
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Maundy Thursday in Palo Alto
Fr. Fessio, SJ was in Palo Alto tonight to celebrate the Holy Thursday Mass. Sometime last year there was a priest celebrating Mass who resembled Fr. Fessio, but at the time I didn't think it was him since his voice didn't sound like Fr. Fessio's. I thought he was another Dominican. However, both that priest and Fr. Fessio celebrated Mass ad orientem, so I am left wondering if it was Fr. Fessio indeed that time.
My mother remarked that Fr. Fessio looked; she had seen him before, over at USF. (My sister had been in the St. Ignatius Institute when it was altered.) His homily included a discussion of what Joseph Ratzinger writes in the second volume of Jesus of Nazareth on the question of whether the Holy Thursday meal was a passover meal, something that I heard discussed on Catholic Answers recently. He also mentioned what Joseph Ratzinger writes about expiation/atonement in the book -- I'll have to read that part carefully.
Professor KM again sang Ps. 22 during the stripping of the altar; her voice is very beautiful... Professor M. was asking men before the Mass if they would like to have their feet washed. I declined last year because I was rather uncomfortable with going up. This year my toe (the one that I cut and had to get sutured) has some sores (lesion?) so I couldn't go up, even if I wanted to...
My mother remarked that Fr. Fessio looked; she had seen him before, over at USF. (My sister had been in the St. Ignatius Institute when it was altered.) His homily included a discussion of what Joseph Ratzinger writes in the second volume of Jesus of Nazareth on the question of whether the Holy Thursday meal was a passover meal, something that I heard discussed on Catholic Answers recently. He also mentioned what Joseph Ratzinger writes about expiation/atonement in the book -- I'll have to read that part carefully.
Professor KM again sang Ps. 22 during the stripping of the altar; her voice is very beautiful... Professor M. was asking men before the Mass if they would like to have their feet washed. I declined last year because I was rather uncomfortable with going up. This year my toe (the one that I cut and had to get sutured) has some sores (lesion?) so I couldn't go up, even if I wanted to...
NLM: Listen to the Mass of Maundy Thursday from the Monastery of San Benedetto
The monastery has also posted audio clips of Tenebrae and Vespers.
The monastery has also posted audio clips of Tenebrae and Vespers.
"Minding your own business."
I've written on TFP before, but here is a piece by James Matthew Wilson on an incident at a recent demonstration ("rally") by TFP: Deracinated Meritocrats and the Marriage “Debate”. Setting aside the issue of the actions of those who were counter-protesting, I think it is a good illustration of what Dr. Fleming points at the problems of Christian or Catholic political/social movements. First, it is very questionable whether such actions in themselves are effective at converting hearts. Then there is an added note of triumphalism in the attitude of TFP, with their banners, sashes, and other paraphanalia, which probably creates a further obstacle to conversion. I do not believe that all have the gift to preach to strangers, and we should be evangelizing our neighbors, with whom we have some sort of connection. How can there be a change in laws if the competing principles differ so greatly and they cannot be changed in the other party without moral conversion?
Gareth Porter on Military Spending
The Obama-Gates Scam on Military Spending
Numbers Racketeers
Also from Counterpunch:
John Clark, The Cost of Oil: a Year After Deepwater Horizon
Russell D. Hoffman, Why Naoto Kan Should Resign
Energy Bulletin:
One year later: Assessing the lasting impact of the Gulf spill
Carl Safina, Yale Environment 360
The Fukushima disaster and other irreproducible experiments
JoulesBurn, The Oil Drum
Japan, oil and the fragility of globalization
Andrew Nikiforuk, The Tyee
Unsung bedrock of prosperity (phosphorus)
Samuel Schläfli, ETH Zurich
Numbers Racketeers
Also from Counterpunch:
John Clark, The Cost of Oil: a Year After Deepwater Horizon
Russell D. Hoffman, Why Naoto Kan Should Resign
Energy Bulletin:
One year later: Assessing the lasting impact of the Gulf spill
Carl Safina, Yale Environment 360
The Fukushima disaster and other irreproducible experiments
JoulesBurn, The Oil Drum
Japan, oil and the fragility of globalization
Andrew Nikiforuk, The Tyee
Unsung bedrock of prosperity (phosphorus)
Samuel Schläfli, ETH Zurich
The Feminization of Language?
Begun on February 7, at 4:38 P.M.
This criticism has been made that people now say, "I feel," instead of, "I think," when expressing their opinion. Feel has become a synonym for think, while retaining its original meaning (experiencing an emotion). The point may have even been made in my philosophy program, of all places. I recall the complaint being made by someone older... was it the department chair, during one of our teaching seminars? Was this change concomitant with the admission of women into higher education and their attaining of positions within academia? Or is it more a result of Uhmerican mass media, especially those in broadcast news and others charged with providing commentary, hiring people not on the basis of the sharpness of intellect?
It may be that this usage does not reflect a difference in understanding, but just laziness and the lack of definitions. Or just unthinking habits that have been passed down -- people don't learn the meanings of words before using them, they use them almost haphazardly, following the example of others and how they speak. A linguist could even interpret it as an even softer (or more severe?) form of verbal hedging than beginning every statement with "I think."
I note that "feel" can refer both to feelings/emotions but also to sense perception, in particular the sense of touch. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, feel was first used with reference to sense perception. I think many are ignorant of the distinction between intellect and sense, but it is unclear to me whether this contributes to people using "feel" for "think."
It is the case that in the young and the immature, emotions dominate reason/thinking. With this new usage are we seeing that this is true not just of moral agency and moral reasoning, but of our understanding of our behavior and how we explain it?
This criticism has been made that people now say, "I feel," instead of, "I think," when expressing their opinion. Feel has become a synonym for think, while retaining its original meaning (experiencing an emotion). The point may have even been made in my philosophy program, of all places. I recall the complaint being made by someone older... was it the department chair, during one of our teaching seminars? Was this change concomitant with the admission of women into higher education and their attaining of positions within academia? Or is it more a result of Uhmerican mass media, especially those in broadcast news and others charged with providing commentary, hiring people not on the basis of the sharpness of intellect?
It may be that this usage does not reflect a difference in understanding, but just laziness and the lack of definitions. Or just unthinking habits that have been passed down -- people don't learn the meanings of words before using them, they use them almost haphazardly, following the example of others and how they speak. A linguist could even interpret it as an even softer (or more severe?) form of verbal hedging than beginning every statement with "I think."
I note that "feel" can refer both to feelings/emotions but also to sense perception, in particular the sense of touch. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, feel was first used with reference to sense perception. I think many are ignorant of the distinction between intellect and sense, but it is unclear to me whether this contributes to people using "feel" for "think."
It is the case that in the young and the immature, emotions dominate reason/thinking. With this new usage are we seeing that this is true not just of moral agency and moral reasoning, but of our understanding of our behavior and how we explain it?
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Television coverage of the Royal Wedding on April 29
Next Friday -- how many will be watching it in the States?
Links with programming info:
Royal Wedding TV Watch: April 20 - 30
Market Watch
Royal Wedding on TV
Another
Related:
The Royal Wedding
British Monarchy website
AOL coverage
fan site
Live stream on BBC that day.
Prince William And Kate's First Interview Since Getting Engaged
More videos at The Telegraph.
T-Mobile Ad
Links with programming info:
Royal Wedding TV Watch: April 20 - 30
Market Watch
Royal Wedding on TV
Another
Related:
The Royal Wedding
British Monarchy website
AOL coverage
fan site
Live stream on BBC that day.
Prince William And Kate's First Interview Since Getting Engaged
More videos at The Telegraph.
T-Mobile Ad
One of those politicians in the know who has no choice?
A reference to Damien Perrotin's latest blog post, to which I linked here.
Not only did Jerry Brown interview Ivan Illich, he also had John Taylor Gatto on his radio program. Did he learn nothing from these two men? If he did, it hasn't had an impact on his term as governor. No education reform, no push for sustainability, no discussion of a more humane political economy. Is he just a professional politican pretending to be idealistic? Or does he feel trapped by the system?
Not only did Jerry Brown interview Ivan Illich, he also had John Taylor Gatto on his radio program. Did he learn nothing from these two men? If he did, it hasn't had an impact on his term as governor. No education reform, no push for sustainability, no discussion of a more humane political economy. Is he just a professional politican pretending to be idealistic? Or does he feel trapped by the system?
The Six-Lesson Schoolteacher by John Taylor Gatto
The essay, which is different from his "The 7-Lesson Schoolteacher," though it shares much of the same content. Link from a commentor to Elusive Wapiti's Article Review: Lessons from the Underground History of American Education (which was first published at The Spearhead - I posted a notice about that.)
Orlov and Fitts on Business Matters
Wisdom from Clear Thinkers on the Way Ahead
mp3 for the full episode - go to the link for clips for each segment.
(via Club Orlov)
mp3 for the full episode - go to the link for clips for each segment.
(via Club Orlov)
The Soul of Soil
Authors: Grace Gershuny, Joe Smillie; published by Chelsea Green
A recommendation (includes a preview of the book).
A recommendation (includes a preview of the book).
Kershaw Blur
Survival Reviews: A review of the Kershaw Blur.
A video for this post:
Ken Onion Knives
"The Kershaw Store"
A video for this post:
Ken Onion Knives
"The Kershaw Store"
Tired of Tires
Gene Logsdon, The Contrary Farmer
Do you know how many pneumatic rubber tires you own? I bet when you count them up, you’ll be surprised. Even on my little one horse farm, there are 40 tires in use, not counting the ones on the car. And ten percent of them are flat at any given time. This is partly because most of my tires were vulcanized in the late Middle Ages or thereabouts. But it is also because there is something unsustainable and unnatural about riding around on air wrapped in a substance that comes from trees that grow half a million miles away....
Gene Logsdon, The Contrary Farmer
Do you know how many pneumatic rubber tires you own? I bet when you count them up, you’ll be surprised. Even on my little one horse farm, there are 40 tires in use, not counting the ones on the car. And ten percent of them are flat at any given time. This is partly because most of my tires were vulcanized in the late Middle Ages or thereabouts. But it is also because there is something unsustainable and unnatural about riding around on air wrapped in a substance that comes from trees that grow half a million miles away....
Huffington Post: Gary Taubes, Food Science Author, Answers Your Questions (LIVE Q&A)
The live Q&A is over, but the questions and answers have been posted.
The live Q&A is over, but the questions and answers have been posted.
Venerating Saints and Saints as Exemplars
Begun on March 27.
Last month I was at St. Joe's for the visit of the relics of St. Mary Magdalene.
There were several nuns there; they wore a grey habit, black scapular and veil, and one of them was recording the visit on video. To what order do they belong? I don't think they are locals.
St. Thomas teaches that one of the virtues allied to justice is the dulia, the respect shown to another because of his excellence. Dulia is not just an acknowledgment or assent or judgment that someone is better in some respect, but paying hommage or honor to that person on account of that excellence. The highest form of dulia is given to those noted for their (great) sanctity and love of God. Veneration is owed to the saints.
But what can a female saint offer as an example to man? Just the other day a woman (an Orthodox Christian) posted on FB that there is only one way to God for men and women. I would disagree -- there are many ways to God, but they are all unified (or informed) by charity. Or, there are many different ways to love God, and as the roles of men and women in society generally differ, so do their paths to holiness. Charity binds us to God and motivates our actions, but nature and reason tell us how to live our love of Him. Perhaps as wage slaves we have become accustomed to empty talk about motivation. As Catholics we have to regain the understanding of what it means that the object of charity is God, who motivates our actions, not only as First Mover but in the act of charity itself, through which our moral agency is raised to a supernatural level. By sharing in God's love we seek to spread it to others. Thus we can talk about charity as a "divine energy" or a divine "engine" of human action, what makes "holy agency" possible.
Fr. Cessario used to talk about how imitatio Christi was a useful but limited way of understanding Christian spirituality. What was a better way might be termed participatio in Christi, though I won't reproduce what he teaches here -- you can probably find it in his books on the virtues and on moral theology. This is my take on Thomistic moral/spiritual theology, as applied to this issue. Women cannot be Christ in so far as He was a man, but they can nevertheless be transformed by Him, and become images of Him, as they are united to Him in charity and confirmed in holiness. Moreover, while the roles that men and women have in this world differ, their roles nonetheless involve the love of neighbor. Thus, female saints remind us all that charity is central to sanctity.
Sarge and KK will recognize the name of the author
Public Discourse: Raymond Hain, Building Virtue (via MoJ) -- his reflections on Philip Bess's Till We Have Built Jerusalem.
More by Professor Bess:
The City and the Good Life.
Are the Suburbs a Mistake? Reflections on Urbanism and Natural Law
A response to Greg Sisk.
Patrick Deneen links to his paper "The Polis and Natural Law" - an alternate site for the pdf, mentioned in this piece by Nathan Origer on new urbanism.
More by Professor Bess:
The City and the Good Life.
Are the Suburbs a Mistake? Reflections on Urbanism and Natural Law
A response to Greg Sisk.
Patrick Deneen links to his paper "The Polis and Natural Law" - an alternate site for the pdf, mentioned in this piece by Nathan Origer on new urbanism.
TED: John Hunter on the World Peace Game
link
Even if the game can teach students how to resolve conflict (I doubt it can resolve all conflicts), at best it demonstrates that political deliberation is done best in small groups (30 students or less -- I suspect one class would be divided up further)? Does the game take into account that increases in the size of a polity becomes a problem in itself with the loss of community and the increase in complexity of what must be taken into consideration during deliberation?
I suspect that the game is oriented towards liberalism, but if someone could show that it's not, it would save me the trouble of investigating it... (Yes, I write this before I've watched the video, as I should have a busy schedule today.)
World Peace Game
documentary
Even if the game can teach students how to resolve conflict (I doubt it can resolve all conflicts), at best it demonstrates that political deliberation is done best in small groups (30 students or less -- I suspect one class would be divided up further)? Does the game take into account that increases in the size of a polity becomes a problem in itself with the loss of community and the increase in complexity of what must be taken into consideration during deliberation?
I suspect that the game is oriented towards liberalism, but if someone could show that it's not, it would save me the trouble of investigating it... (Yes, I write this before I've watched the video, as I should have a busy schedule today.)
World Peace Game
documentary
Plastic: A Toxic Love Story
by Susan Freinkel
She is supposed to appear at Books, Inc. in Berkeley next Monday, at 7.
NPR: Our 'Toxic' Love-Hate Relationship With Plastics (mp3)
(Do books really need trailers now? They are just another form of commercial, but there's something about this form of marketing which is incongruous with the reading of the printed word.)
An interesting post about men's shirts in the 18th ce
Two Nerdy History Girls: The Finer Points of an 18th c. Man's Shirt (via Tea at Trianon)
Age of Heroes trailer
Sean Bean is in it...
AGE OF HEROES, in UK cinemas from 20th May
The Sun
The Mighty Bean
Now why can't Hollywood do something comparable for the U.S. military during WW2, if not a story about SF/CAG?
AGE OF HEROES, in UK cinemas from 20th May
The Sun
The Mighty Bean
Now why can't Hollywood do something comparable for the U.S. military during WW2, if not a story about SF/CAG?
Radical reconstruction in Spain
Carey Roberts, Inane in Spain: The Gender Agenda Forges Ahead (via The Spearhead)
Did Spain have a chance once Franco handed power over to Juan Carlos? Could this moral and spiritual disaster have been mitigated if power had been decentralized? Down with Zapatero. 2012 can't come soon enough, but who will replace him? I don't think the Socialists (PSOE) have been discredited yet, and the leftists are back with a vengeance?
Something pertaining to Spain:
Zenit: Papal Address to Spain's New Envoy to Holy See
Did Spain have a chance once Franco handed power over to Juan Carlos? Could this moral and spiritual disaster have been mitigated if power had been decentralized? Down with Zapatero. 2012 can't come soon enough, but who will replace him? I don't think the Socialists (PSOE) have been discredited yet, and the leftists are back with a vengeance?
Something pertaining to Spain:
Zenit: Papal Address to Spain's New Envoy to Holy See
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Humility is a virtue
But when does liberal self-abasement become liberal pride?
Kathryn Schulz: On being wrong
Being Wrong (Harper Collins)
The Wrong Stuff
FEED Magazine
Forum Network
NPR
Kathryn Schulz: On being wrong
Being Wrong (Harper Collins)
The Wrong Stuff
FEED Magazine
Forum Network
NPR
2011 Best Ranger Competition: Awards Ceremony
2011 Best Ranger Competition: Awards Ceremony (raw footage) from Fort Benning Television on Vimeo.
Perpetual e-Motion
profile
Frank Hsieh has some videos of the dance at Concord Scout House (5/31/10). See also the videos of poke852.
Just found out through their FB page that they're doing a tour of NoCal. Not a good time for me to try to catch one of their performances, since it's Holy Week:
Maybe Sunday...
Frank Hsieh has some videos of the dance at Concord Scout House (5/31/10). See also the videos of poke852.
Just found out through their FB page that they're doing a tour of NoCal. Not a good time for me to try to catch one of their performances, since it's Holy Week:
| April 17th | 7:30 ~ Contradance w/ Diane Silver at Marin Masonic Hall San Rafeal, CA | |
| April 21st | 7pm ~ House Concert at Sequoia Temple San Mateo, CA | |
| April 22nd | 8pm ~ Contradance w/ Diane Silver at St. Paul's Presbyterian Church San Francisco, CA | |
| April 23rd | 8pm ~ Contradance w/ Diane Silver at the Colma Community Ctr Sacramento, CA | |
| April 24th | 8pm ~ Contradance w/ Diane Silver at the Hill and Valley Club Hayward, CA |
Maybe Sunday...
Given my recent notice of Battlefield 3, I thought this IGN Editorial was interesting: The Ethics of War Games. Maybe the editors should have consulted Dave Grossman.
No institutional resistance?
Army Times: Rules limiting female GIs’ careers could change
By Lance M. Bacon - Staff writer
Notice how the title of the article puts it in terms of advancing the careers of women.
An Army Times article (rather sickening), which was posted by US Army FB. The propaganda machine for the Army is certainly making a fuss about this. Perhaps there are enough officers who would be opposed to this to prevent it from happening, but how effective would their protests be if the National Government were determined to bring this about? And why are there so many within the military openly pushing for the change? Because they have no understanding of the requirements of infantry combat?
Robert Gates
By Lance M. Bacon - Staff writer
Notice how the title of the article puts it in terms of advancing the careers of women.
While the Army has long encouraged soldiers to “be all that you can be,” it has institutionally prevented women from reaching new heights as it restricts the career fields in which they can serve — namely, the combat arms community and direct-contact units.
Those restrictions seem destined to change as military and congressional leaders give careful consideration to softening — if not eliminating — combat exclusion rules.
“I’m confident that this is an area that is going to change,” Defense Secretary Robert Gates said during an April 7 visit to the U.S. Division Center Camp Liberty in Baghdad. “Time scale of the change, I have no idea.”
An Army Times article (rather sickening), which was posted by US Army FB. The propaganda machine for the Army is certainly making a fuss about this. Perhaps there are enough officers who would be opposed to this to prevent it from happening, but how effective would their protests be if the National Government were determined to bring this about? And why are there so many within the military openly pushing for the change? Because they have no understanding of the requirements of infantry combat?
Robert Gates
Tips for composting
Organic Authority: 11 Items You Shouldn't Compost
bread products, cooking oils, meat and milk products, diseased plants, colored and glossy paper, human or animal waste, rice, sawdust, weeds, walnuts, acidic items... check
bread products, cooking oils, meat and milk products, diseased plants, colored and glossy paper, human or animal waste, rice, sawdust, weeds, walnuts, acidic items... check
The View from Brittany: The impotence of politics
What, then, have they been doing? When conspiracy theorists in the U.S. typically about covert preparations in the U.S., they are referring to martial law, internment camps, and so on. So if these leaders are not doing what is necessary to decentralize power, then what other preparations could they be doing, uless it's stockpiling resources. Perhaps there are leaders at the local level who are aware of how bad things are, and they are the ones who are muddling through. But those who have more power? I doubt it, and I don't see any reason why the few who know cannot do much cannot at least use the office to make the public more aware of these issues. Why else would they want to have the job? Unless they are biding their time and hoping that when things get really bad, they will have more power. Or, they just like having the title.
Even those who officially support degrowth are forced to disguise it as progress, lest they lose whatever small support they have. There is no way to support extensive public services without an industrial economy, yet degrowthers feel obliged to claim the contrary because most of them come from the left and being on the left here means maintaining that state funding for your lifestyle is an inalienable right.
Should a left winger (or anybody else for that matter) state the truth — that is, that the years of affluence are nearing their end and that we, as a people, are going to have to live with far less — he would be immediately branded as a dangerous extremist and an accomplice of whatever conspiracy is fashionable at the moment.
In fact, politicians' options are far more limited than laymen's.
Acting openly to prepare for the future is impossible – we would be quickly out of a job. We can, of course, prepare covertly for the future. I am persuaded that a few leaders, and at least some services, do this. The problem is that the changes needed to adapt to the end of the industrial society are so drastic that one cannot implement them stealthily. Moreover, even a gradual implementation is likely to be met with fierce resistance... and there would be no shortage of would-be presidents to capitalize on that.
What, then, have they been doing? When conspiracy theorists in the U.S. typically about covert preparations in the U.S., they are referring to martial law, internment camps, and so on. So if these leaders are not doing what is necessary to decentralize power, then what other preparations could they be doing, uless it's stockpiling resources. Perhaps there are leaders at the local level who are aware of how bad things are, and they are the ones who are muddling through. But those who have more power? I doubt it, and I don't see any reason why the few who know cannot do much cannot at least use the office to make the public more aware of these issues. Why else would they want to have the job? Unless they are biding their time and hoping that when things get really bad, they will have more power. Or, they just like having the title.
I've been cooking gai laan (Chinese broccoli) with butter instead of vegetable oil, and the taste has improved a lot, while it has become much more difficult to burn the vegetables. Even today's gai laan, which was starting to turn yellow and spoil), was tasty. Alas, vegetables are getting more expensive.
Mount Athos featured on 60 Minutes
Byzantine, Texas: Mount Athos segment to air on "60 Minutes"
April 24, 2011.
I expect the segment on 60 Minutes will become available on the archive. I'll post it if it does.
Mount Athos
A Pilgrimage to the Monasteries of Mount Athos
CathEn
The Friends of Mount Athos
Mount Athos
Mount Athos
April 24, 2011.
I expect the segment on 60 Minutes will become available on the archive. I'll post it if it does.
Mount Athos
A Pilgrimage to the Monasteries of Mount Athos
CathEn
The Friends of Mount Athos
Mount Athos
Mount Athos
Monday, April 18, 2011
Battlefield 3
I saw a trailer for the game while I was at BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse yesterday for lunch with my mom. 12 Minutes of Gameplay. Will it get a boost from the Christmas shopping season later this year, when it is released? What sort of world will we be living in 6 months from now?
McChyrstal vindicated?
AP: Pentagon inquiry clears McChrystal of wrongdoing
From the article: "Obama at the time called the dismissal the right decision for U.S. national security and said McChrystal's conduct represented in the magazine article also "undermines the civilian control of the military that is at the core of our democratic system. And it erodes the trust that's necessary for our team to work together to achieve our objectives in Afghanistan."
From the article: "Obama at the time called the dismissal the right decision for U.S. national security and said McChrystal's conduct represented in the magazine article also "undermines the civilian control of the military that is at the core of our democratic system. And it erodes the trust that's necessary for our team to work together to achieve our objectives in Afghanistan."
Shawn Tribe, The Italian Debate About Continuity, Rupture, and the Second Vatican Council (which references the most recent Magister article, The Disappointed Have Spoken. The Vatican responds)
Gary W. Gallagher's Treatment of the "Civil War"
The Confederate War (GB). A review of The Union War. Review of his Lee and His Army in Confederate History.
The Myth of the Lost Cause and Civil War History (GB)
Faculty page for the author.
interview
"The Real Lost Cause: The Idea of Union in the Memory of the Civil War"
C-Span 2002 Civil War Books Discussion
Related:
The Civil War: an Eerie Silence By ROBIN BLACKBURN
Why the Muted Anniversary?
William Marvel: Toward the Unmasking of Persistent Myths
The Confederate War Department
The Myth of the Lost Cause and Civil War History (GB)
Faculty page for the author.
interview
"The Real Lost Cause: The Idea of Union in the Memory of the Civil War"
C-Span 2002 Civil War Books Discussion
Related:
The Civil War: an Eerie Silence By ROBIN BLACKBURN
Why the Muted Anniversary?
William Marvel: Toward the Unmasking of Persistent Myths
The Confederate War Department
Esther Gokhale program to be aired on KTEH this week
Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Aquinas: An Imagined Encounter
A talk by Archbishop Augustine Di Noia, O.P.
A talk by Archbishop Augustine Di Noia, O.P.
More idiocy from those in charge of the military
Secretary Mabus Indicates He IS Open to Women Joining the SEALs
Ray Mabus
A man without a spine -- the state of Uhmerican leadership today.
Ray Mabus
A man without a spine -- the state of Uhmerican leadership today.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
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