Better Than Castaway?

Too Woke

A Snoopy reboot.

How woke will it be? https://t.co/qKBZnBgWsS

— Jack Murphy 🇺🇸 ⚔️ (@jackmurphylive) February 8, 2021

More Hollywood Girlpower BS

Disguised as sci-fi nostalgia. For All Mankind

Apple's Spaceship Needs to Return to Its Home Planet

Steve Sailer: What Apple Has Been Up to Since Steve Jobs Died

The Olympics: In Whose Economic Interest?

The corporations who advertise through commercials and product placement?

Counterpunch: Olympic Beats and the Soundtracks of Solipsism by David Yearsley

Anything for a Buck

Probably a "Nice" Conversation on All Sides

Pope Francis met with the CEO of Apple Inc., Tim Cook, on Friday.http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2016/01/22/pope_francis_receives_apple_ceo/1203081

Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Saturday, January 23, 2016

Pope Francis met with the CEO of Apple Inc., Tim Cook, on Friday.

Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Friday, January 22, 2016

The Symbol of the Company that Destroyed Cupertino

Apple. Progress is inevitable, my foot.

Can't wait until the solar farm is nationalized.

After Apple goes out of business.

Apple To Build Huge Solar Energy Farm In Monterey County To Power ‘Spaceship’ Complex, Retail Stores

Related:
Some renderings of Apple Campus 2.

Rhiannon Giddens, "Black is the Color"

Post by Carolina Chocolate Drops.

Selling out to Apple?

Post by Carolina Chocolate Drops.

Amazon Cloud Player

How many people make use of this service/app on their portable electronic devices? With the rise of dadta caps for cell phones, Amazon must rely on those who have wi-fi connection or a land-line connection to use Cloud Player? Currently Amazon has a program in which the purchase of certain albums ("Auto-Rip-eligible albums") is accompanied by the free addition of those songs in mp3 format to your Cloud Player library. (There is currently a 700 song limit to the library of Amazon customers.) Is Amazon trying to compete with Apple iTunes?

It may actually be quicker to rip mp3s yourself and to store them on your computer rather than downloading them (depending upon the speed of your computer and its components and your internet speed). But, for those who have access to the internet on some portable device, this may be a convenient way to access the music one "owns" without having to go through the trouble of accessing one's CD collection.

What is Amazon's strategy here? To get more people to purchase mp3s? Or is it rather an incentive for people to buy the hard media, the CD, rather than buying mp3s? Do CDs have a higher markup than mp3 albums? Or is it the case of getting people to buy a whole album rather than just a few mp3s from that album? I don't think this is a wholly altruistic move on the part of Amazon, a bonus for customers.

Items of Interest, 31 July 2012

Begun on July 16.

Culture’s Dead, We’ve Betrayed It—Can We Save It? by Andrew Haines

While a wholesale, artificial approach won’t get us to this spot, there are nevertheless things we can do to help this culture along. Foremost among them is to foster real community—meetings of people in the flesh. These should center not simply around discussing ideals, nor the totally banal; they should incorporate objective human goods like food and music, and they should draw from the cultural tradition whence notions of “aesthetic” and “goodness” arose. They should be pockets of humanism, but with a new and very self-aware intentionality.

 

I had a brief exchange with a Blackfriar about evangelization after I claimed that the "old ways were best, too bad they're not being used now." What old ways?  "A strong local Christian community with one-on-one outreach - the "early Church" model, with an emphasis on the word community since the word doesn't really apply to most parishes. I don't see the ideal being obsered in the big metropolitan areas in the U.S., at least. Granted, there are many obstacles to that ideal being realized, but it would be good for theses to be recognized and addressed, so that people are no longer comfortable with the status quo." He had initially posted the above Apple video as a possible model for new evangelization efforts. wage slavery makes great demands of our time and two income - less resources, etc.

Part of the problem with parishes as community is that we have much more mobility so that people don't just socialize within their villages or local communities as we once did. It is still evident and very important in more agrarian societies, but not in the urbanised modern world. As such, we have to use new ways to build community, to give a sense of belonging. The Apple video above shows that a community can be formed out of a desire for excellence. In a Christian context, this would mean a love of virtue, and indeed, a love of God who is the Most Excellent. Evangelization, then, would mean letting that excellence be shared and seen and enjoyed by others – acts of charity and of preaching.

Fellowship was to be sought in the pursuit of excellence - what Apple promotes in its company ethos should be adopted by Christians, who would form associations not on the basis of local proximity, but on a common task or work. I responded:

Mobility (and mass urbanization) is possible only because of cheap energy. I would prefer the Church be ahead of the curve than behind it when it comes to adjusting to the coming loss of cheap energy, but it may not happen. Community/communion/friendship should be based on excellence but it also requires that one live with the other --"quality time" doesn't make up for lack of time, just as in parenting. 

 He ended with the implicit claim that this was not being realistic: " So, are we going to preach to the world that exists, or do we need to create that ideal world before we preach? I go for the former..."

Catholic ecclesial movements of the 20th century seem to be a response vocational model - ecclesial movements I have mentioned before that Fr. Louis Bouyer asks this question in his The Church of God, and I think his answer, that the local geographic parish maintains its importance in the life of the Church despite changing times, is right. Those who have an apostolate to preach or teach or administer the sacraments may have to meet the people where they are; but what of the laity? What are they supposed to do? The thing is that in our false meritocracy, very few people stay loyal to the company. There is a lot of changing of jobs, and very few stable friendships that survive the transition to a new workplace. (Especially if one moves to a new city or state!) More often than not, the people at work keep you company while at work or lunch, but you see very little of them when you are off work. You may get to be close with some, but if you change companies, they will probably drop out of your life, sooner or later. The human heart seeks stability and permanence, but we ignore this because we have to provide for ourselves or our families, or we have to follow career opportunities.

The recent NYT article, Friends of a Certain Age, casts light on the predicament of many young adults.

The Evolution of English
Robert Nisbet, Conservatives and Libertarians, Uneasy Cousins
Returning to the Path of Wisdom: Plato, Tolkien, and Technê by Jerry Salyer
Kevin Carson, The Phony “War on Cops” and the Real War on Us 
Can Organic Farming Feed the World? 
Resilience through simplification: revisiting Tainter's theory of collapse (part 1) by Samuel Alexander - complete 
Resilience through simplification: revisiting Tainter's theory of collapse (part 2)
More from the Simplicity Institute 

Korean Consumerism:  Photos Highlight Korea’s Plastic Surgery Obsession

Music: Froberger Suites And Toccatas By WENDY GILLESPIE

Catholic: Community and Christian Life by Br. Vincent Ferrer Bagan, O.P.
Eastern Christian "Introduction to the Liturgy" (Part 2)
Gift and Greed: Why Benedict Is Right and Mandeville Was Wrong by John C. Médaille

Misc: Triple Aught Design shop visit :: San Francisco, CA 

Fr. McCloskey on some lessons from Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs and the New Evangelization by Fr. C. J. McCloskey

Fr. McCloskey's archive at CatholiCity has this review of a book by Michael Novak and William Simon on the lay vocation. Where's the meat of the political theology that is needed after discussion of the spiritua life?

I met him once, over at Christendom.

From July of last year:


Hrm...
JP2, Theology of The Body
Should men take the initiative
I want to marry a virgin
More clips.

Items of Interest, 12 January 2012

Peter Hitchens, Reflections on the Rule of Law, on Scotland and on an astonishingly cruel portrayal of Lady Thatcher
Daniel Larison, Thoughts on Scottish Independence

Recessing the Constitution By W. James Antle, III

Bring Order to the Commonwealth by Ordering the Soul

Virginia’s New Ecclesiasticism

Afghanistan:
Obama's Mission Accomplished Moment?
And a military-first policy on a destabilizing planet
Don’t Count on Obama’s Defense Cuts by Ivan Eland
Marine Corps Manual Offers a Blunt, Revealing Portrait of Afghan War
New National Intelligence Estimate on Afghanistan: War Still a Stalemate

Iran:
RALPH NADER, Iran: the Neocons Are At It Again
PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS, The Next War on Washington’s Agenda
GARETH PORTER, Clinton Revives Dubious Charge of “Covert” Iranian Nuclear Site

What War With Iran Might Look Like by Philip Giraldi

Fabius Maximus, Status report on the war with Iran (we’re ignorantly drifting into yet another illegal war)
What happens if Iran gets nukes? Not what we’ve been told.
What happens when a nation gets nukes? Sixty years of history suggests an answer.
What does the IAEA know about Iran’s nuclear program? Enough to start a war?

Farming and Relocalization:
Greener Pastures with Lunatic Farmer Joel Salatin (EB)
If you want more local food, stop criminalizing family farmers (EB)
How resilient is the food system? by Adam Streed (EB)

The Happy Hoarder: Put a cork in it

Gene Logsdon, Hail, The Mighty Pocketknife (EB)

Economics:
The Faustian bargain that modern economists never mention (EB)
Dr. Gary Peters, Our Finite World
Friends and Strangers: A Meditation on Money by John Médaille
Peter Hitchens, Does Immigration cause Unemployment? And other matters
The return of "The Limits to Growth" by Ugo Bardi (EB)
Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory

Peak Oil and Energy:
Warm and fuzzy on geothermal? by Tom Murphy (EB)
What do triple digit oil prices mean for growth? by Jeff Rubin
The peak oil crisis: gasoline in 2012 by Tom Whipple (EB)
Richard Heinberg, Geopolitical Implications of Peak Everything
The End of Growth

The Crisis of Civilization

The Crisis of Civilization: Trailer from thecrisisofcivilization on Vimeo.

Catholic:
British Jesuit welcomes Scorsese's latest film project (via First Thoughts)
Dominican friars appointed to the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas

Music:
Shelby Lynne: A Murder Ballad Hits Close To Home by Lynne Margolis

Documentary with Bela Fleck: Throw Down Your Heart


California Pickers: Butch Waller

TV:
‘Justified’ Star Timothy Olyphant On Violence And Villain, Neal McDonough

Items of Interest, 25 October 2011

John Médaille has a comment about the note on financial reform issued yesterday.
Local Economies of Care by Lewis McCrary
Rod Dreher, If not world government, then what?
Thomas Peters, Pope Benedict Calls For “Central World Bank” … Only He Didn’t. Here’s Why.

An interview with Richard Aleman (French)

Rod Dreher, No Chinese Good Samaritans
James Howard Kunstler offers a contrast between Europeans and Uhmericans: Jet-lagged and Ragged
Farming:
Seeds of Freedom Trailer

Seeds of Freedom - Trailer from The ABN and The Gaia Foundation on Vimeo.

TEDxDirigo - Roger Doiron - A Subversive Plot: How to Grow a Revolution in Your Own Backyard

Kitchen Gardeners International

Where does permaculture now sit within Transition?

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s foreword to ‘The Transition Companion’ by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (EB)
the book

The Greenhorns

Happy Food Day

A Field Guide to Closing Your Bank Account
JEFFREY ST. CLAIR AND JOSHUA FRANK, Occupy The System
The United States’ 65-Year debt bubble by Gail Tverberg (EB)
A Conversation with Chris Martenson
Date: Tuesday, October 25, 2011 - 11:00am - 12:15pm

(I don't know if a transcript will be posted.)

Heather Franzese - Changing How You Think About Clothes


Diet and Health:
Ask Mark Sisson! by Underground Wellness (mp3)

Listen to internet radio with Underground Wellness on Blog Talk Radio

The LLVLC Show (Episode 509): Vegan-Turned-Omnivore Heather Mamatey And ‘Make It Paleo’ Authors Bill Staley And Hayley Mason (mp3)

A 1-Day MovNat Workshop in Palo Alto
($200...)

Education:
John Taylor Gatto, Speech to the Vermont Homeschooling Conference


From: The Best Colleges

Don’t EVEN Get Me Started, Mythical Bootstraps College Student

Steve Jobs:
A Computer Icon on Life, Death, and Apple
Steve, Myself, and I: The Big Story of a Little Prefix

Catholic:
Gregorian chanting reduces blood pressure, stress
NCRegister: Pornography Addiction Documented
Rhode Island: Concert: Great music in a sacred space

Items of Interest, 16 October 2011

C4SS: Alternative Currency: Coming to Stores Near You?

Yes Magazine: Less is More: 5 Steps to Redefine Making a Living
Check out the New Livelihoods issue.

John Robb, LINKS: October 16, 2011

Lindsay Curren, OccupyWallStreet From Your Home and Targeting Banks in the Broad Light of Day

After the Storm: The Instability of Inequality by Nouriel Roubini (via the localizer blog)

Conservatives, Politics & Culture: A Response to Claes Ryn by Gerald J. Russello

Peter Gemma reviews Pat Buchanan's Suicide of a Superpower: Will America Survive to 2025? Mr. Buchanan is scheduled to appear on the Diane Rehm show on Tuesday, October 25.


Alternative Right:
The Conservative Canon
Columbus Day and Us
The Sage of Cupertino by William Fankboner

More on Steve Jobs: A god of our age (via Insight Scoop - see this post)

Welmer, Entitlement Mentality Prompts Women to Put Themselves in Harm’s Way

Something on AG Holder and Fast and Furious - he didn't know anything and this wasn't meant as a ploy for stricter gun control laws? Really?

Will the US Military ever adopt maneuver warfare? Fabius Maximus: Attritionist Letter #7 – “Trust one another” is the motto (“trust be damned” is often the reality)

Catholic:
Jeffrey Tucker, Solesmes and Gregorian Rhetoric Revisited

Medievalists.net: The Friar of Carcassonne: Revolt against the Inquisition in the Last Days of the Cathars By Stephen O’Shea

Steve Jobs

Begun on October 12.

While I was in Manhattan I passed by the Apple store on 5th Ave. and saw the post-it notes people had left after his death. Scott Richert's article on Apple for the most recent issues of Chronicle has become available online: Success(ion). See the comments by Dr. Fleming, especially on Mr. Jobs's legacy.

There have been plenty of secular eulogies, even from Catholics who have benefited from Apple products, especially those for desktop publishing. I think it is undeniable that there is some celebrity worship taking place, especially among technogeeks and Apple fans and consumers. A lot of people posted this video on Facebook:



(with intro by the university president)

From the address

I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

Does it take much for a pagan to recognize the finality of death and to praise the impulse to live well? But how is one to live? Following one's dreams and aspirations and being content that he did things "his way"? This doesn't even begin to approach the best of pagan morality. Life is not something to be conquered; rather we are to be humble and submit to Divine Providence and to struggle with the trials of life, given to us so that we might grow in charity and holiness. Becoming a free-thinker that does not live on dogma created by other people may be useful for inventors and scientists, but it is a lousy goal for one who wishes to live a moral and upright life.

He may have succeeded in the system, but is that really that praiseworthy? If we were to map the history of Apple in relation to other trends in the American economy and manufacturing, what would we see? (Especially since Apple products are manufactured primarily in China?) Did he not help promote the false idea of a "knowledge economy"? Can we really say that Steve Jobs did not help multiply unnecessary desires, with the creation of the iPod, iPhone, and iPad? He may have been a good American entrepreneur or businessman, but was he a good human being? Too many Uhmericans focus on the toys and not on the questions of social justice.

The prepared text for the 2005 Commencement Address at Stanford.
Wozniak Remembers Steve Jobs