Stolidarity n. Boring and at-best-useless forms of non-engagement, where potential allies and participants are unable to do more than show stolid solidarity because the organisers of the meeting/event have not bothered to undercut the "sage on the stage" dynamic. I didn't have a name for this when I encountered it twice in Australia, during the... Continue Reading →
After the “revolution” – singing Beasts of England for solace…
I used to say that when I became Chief Fascist Dictator one of my first decrees (or "executive orders") would be that everyone had to read Animal Farm once a year and write an essay about how the techniques the pigs used applied in the reader's life - at home, at school, at work, wherever.... Continue Reading →
Timing is everything – of spine-eels, climate change and having no idea what you are into
There's a scene near the beginning of the third (and best?) Bourne film. Bourne (Matt Damon) is meeting a journo (Paddy Considine) at Waterloo, with men with bad intentions all around. Considine is asking questions and Bourne says "you have no idea what you are into here." Which turns out to be rather - and... Continue Reading →
That’s infotainment
So much for daily posts. I have (almost) daily thoughts, but don't find the time (motivation) to put fingers to keyboard, even with a voice recorder and transcription software. It seems, tbh, a bit pointless and narcissistic (this never stopped me before, but I am no spring chicken; as the t-shirt goes "it's weird being... Continue Reading →
“Transition theory” as (failed) transitional object as we transition from the Enlightenment to the Endarkenment
This year I am going to write something short, mostly daily, about what is going on – “2 cents on the Arrived Ecological Debacle” (2cotAED). I have to write it; you don’t have to read it. If you DO read it, feel free to tell me how wrong I am (and hopefully why). Re: the debacle aspect:... Continue Reading →
The levels of delusion required… magical thinking dialled up to 11
We really are doomed, aren't we? That anyone can write this below, or read it, with a straight face. The tragedy is that the writer is whip smart and saw all of this unfolding almost thirty years ago - I learned so much from his book Divided Planet (I read a sneering 1997 review by... Continue Reading →
Sympathy for things that will kill us? Am I Buddha or Quisling? #2cotAED
When does the search or understanding, or sympathy, tip over into collusion and fellow travelling? When does the wish that we could all “just get along” tip over into inaction in the face of behaviour that will get us all dead? If you’re looking for answers to those questions, stop reading now, cos I’m all... Continue Reading →
Lightbulb jokes, narcissism and our species-be-doomed
I really like lightbulb jokes (I like cheese jokes too, but here I will focus on lightbulb jokes and you will thank me later). I like the one "how many therapists does it take to change a lightbulb?" Answer - only one but the lightbulb has to really want to change. I like the one... Continue Reading →
Heat cubed – with Airfarce One as a counterpoint. On leaders and leadership
Watched Air Farce One last night. What a brilliantly-made (directed, acted, edited) terrible movie. It had nothing to say about anything, because it was a movie rather than a film (1). That's not to say "said" nothing - see the Unclear and Present Danger podcast folks for a take on how it helped Dubya become... Continue Reading →
The grid is not stable: Sudoku, the 1997 film Cube, the Daily Heil, phenomenology – all human life is here
This year I am going to write something short, mostly daily, about what is going on – “2 cents on the Arrived Ecological Debacle” (2cotAED). I have to write it; you don’t have to read it. If you DO read it, feel free to tell me how wrong I am (and hopefully why). Re: the debacle aspect:... Continue Reading →
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