Check This Out (our 200th post!)

Rock Balancing

All or Nothing

As for all or nothing...one of the fundamental tenents of the a-o-n mindset is that you can't do ALL without a community that has authority to "push" you to do the ALL. In a good marriage, that's what the spouse is for -- he (or she) literally pushes you to live up to your own demanding ideals. If he (or she) doesn't he would be a bad spouse. And the same thing happens in a (good) religious community. The community serves to raise the bar and provide external motivation (and pressure). Almost no one ever manages to live ALL without someone helping to prevent them from eventually sliding into NOTHING. That's just my theory. [I remember the day I realized that people in religious communities weren't there because they were intially holier than you or me --- but because they WANTED to be that holy and recognized that joining the community in good faith would almost guarantee them holiness if they persevered. Weird huh? Does that sound obvious? Well I never figured that out until about a year ago!]

from a mentor of mine

A Translation into Modern English

Here is a well-known verse from Ecclesiastes:

I returned and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

Here it is in modern English:

Objective considerations of contemporary phenomena compel the conclusion that success or failure in competitive activities exhibits no tendency to be commensurate with innate capacity, but that a considerable element of the unpredictable must invariably be taken into account.

from "Politics and the English Language" at right. It's worth going to again and again.

Pardon my margins but

Because purgation and punishment are not the same thing, not even ever.

Please note my not-so-dresscode hot green skirt, which helps me to stand out from the faceless multitude and make my splendid point.

Looks Like a Regular Read

Fr Jonathan Morris at Fox News

thanks to mi mum

A Confession

Does liking Evil Empire hurt my artistic, sophisticated, beatnik street cred?

oh, and I told Jene the other day that the plastic arts don't excite me very much. she said I would be laughed out of a room of cosmopolitans. maybe, but they'd be wrong.

Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds

On Thursday, I went to an art museum with Zachary and his fiancée and Katie and her friendfromCanada. It was to the Museum of Contemporary Art, where Zach had said they had an exhibit called ECSTASY which was all about art in and about altered states of consciousness. I said, okay, we can go, because I thought that would be interesting and I hadn’t been to many famous modern art museums and I thought it would be good to learn about cubism and Jackson Pollock and those sorts of things.

The museum was near Little Tokyo (which I did not know existed before) and very hard to find. We ate cheap dinners at Subway and jaywalked through traffic down streets with scaffolded sidewalks to a huge warehouse that proclaimed ECSTASY in red letters. The exhibit was free, full of people who reeked of pot and wore tight pants, shredded skirts, furry hats like you would find at Disneyworld all at once and it constituted the entire building.

I must say also that the exhibit did not make getting high look very attractive. It was full of spilled pills and eyeballs and flaming mushrooms painted green and orange and studded with more eyeballs (eyeballs seeming to be the theme). It also looked exactly like most weird trippy art which means that either all of it is done on drugs or else that it is really easy to replicate artistically what happens when a sculptor or painter is on drugs, because if I had tried to make art about drugs I would have made it exactly the same way having never had any drugs. This was vaguely unexpected, although not necessarily disappointing. There was a large room like a Disney ride, full of upside-down mushrooms spinning that looked very innocent and red and white-spotted and had no eyeballs on them at all. Some of the exhibits with light and water were neat but mostly they just made me feel like I was in an altered state of consciousness, driving home.

Near the beginning of the exhibit when all of the colors and eyes and loud blinking anime and melting mutated people were just first assaulting the senses was a beautiful fountain, of several tiers with intricacy but without gaudiness. It had round basins and flowed beautifully, just like a fountain should, water.

It was the sort of thing it was easy to exclaim over in that room, something we girls could all feel comfortable praising, so we said, “Look at the pretty fountain!” And went up to the glass barriers around it and stretched out our hands to touch it like little children at an art exhibit. We said, “Is it made
of crystal?” It was singularly catching and refreshingly glowing and beautiful and harmonic, but when we went on to the next exhibit (which was pills thrown all over the floor quite randomly) Lizzie went to the wall to look at some placards that she thought went with the pills, but she came back to us and her face was all aglow and she said, “Oh, it’s all LSD!” and I did not know what she meant so I said, “It is?” in a casual interested sort of way.

And she said, “The fountain! It is running LSD.”

...And it was.

EP

A Pact

I make a pact with you, Walt Whitman--
I have detested you long enough.
I come to you as a grown child
Who has had a pig-headed father;
I am old enough now to make friends.
It was you that broke the new wood,
Now it is time for carving.
We have one sap and one root--
Let there be commerce between us.

cp. to what he says in "ABC of Reading", something along the lines of "i recall, upon reading Leaves of Grass, that there were 30 or so well-written lines. I can't find them now."

by the way, to those who are familiar with EP's life, why hasn't a movie been made about him? or is there? Either way, if I find time, I'm writing a screenplay.

Hoping Someone Else Will Post Today

so I offer this rather cryptic comment:

Life sometimes appears to be merely a transfer of addictions.

and for good measure:

One hasn't understood the historic interplay between Christianity, Paganism, and politics, until one has read the Republic, The City of God, and The Everlasting Man.

Funny Story

My friend was out the other night at the rocks, throwing a few back, when someone mentioned that a mutual friend shaved his legs and arms. He's a biker. Either way, nuke, as we'll call the friend, was moderately distressed. He said that, although for biking reasons it's understandable, otherwise it's just kind of emasculating. Then the school bully wannabe overheard and ambled over slightly (cough) drunk and things got out of hand.

"What, you got a problem with rye-rye? You're just jealous, you little punk."

Rye-Rye, as I've heard, is very good looking. And I suppose being hairless is attractive too.

"You punk. He does it because he's a biker, don't you know that?"
"No, man, I'm just saying that it's emasculating to just shave. It's cool if it's for biking, aerodynamics and whatnot."
"Hey, Lance Armstrong was a biker, and he had testicular cancer."
"um...ok"
"You know why? BECAUSE HE DIDN'T SHAVE HIS LEGS!"
"What, that's probably the most illogical thing i've heard tonight."
"Oh yeah? You probably don't even know what a syllogism is. Why don't you give me a syllogism, punk."
"If all A is B...etc."
"that's not a syllogism."
"what are you talking about, man? that's a universal/universal. it's perfect, first figure."
"That's not a freakin' syllogism!"
"what do you want?"
"I want a syllogism, damnit!"
"um, like BARBARA?"
"yes! finally! Thank you!"
"dude, that's not a syllogism, that's a mnemonic device."
"whatever man, I know what a freakin syllogism is."

then he walked away.

budding blogger's angst

So, prior to my joining the list of contributors, my brother warned me, "Don't join just to be cool, Maria," meaning, there is a standard of quality expected of the posts on this blog which not any budding blogger can achieve. And so here is my own little introductory post, written with not a little anxiety as to whether it will make the cut.

More Dante

Comedy = Love poem?

I think that aspect of it must get lost too much in TAC seminars. Who would dare talk of love when talking of Purgatory and Heaven, after all?

But look at the evidence.

Beatrice: "When from the flesh to spirit I ascended, And beauty and virtue were in me increased, I was to him less dear and less delightful; And into ways untrue he turned his steps, pursuing the false images of good" (XXIX.127)

And this is where we find Dante at the beginning of the poem, off the straigh path. The poem begins with him lost as a result of losing his love. Throughout the poem he yearns to meet Beatrice.

He's rebuked by angels for staring "too intently" at Beatrice. He sees the Griffin through her eyes.

etc. Think about it. Seriously, if you were to write a tribute to a woman, what could be more complimentary than to say she brought you to salvation?

furtive in class conversation

Me: I just banged my knee really hard on the table.
KS: Pobresito. tienes me basate?
Me: Not now, we'll get in trouble.
KS: oops, no cogniso tu comprendes espanol.

West Coast Sunsets

Crazy Hague

I am not I, etc

I was at a party last night somewhere in Oxnard. Late in the night, around 2:00 am or so, my buddy ran out of beer and was intent on making a beer-run. So we hopped in the car, driving from place to place, only to find - to our bewildering surprise - that there was nothing open selling beer at that time. We started to get desperate, having been gone for over half an hour, when he saw a black guy chilling in a parking lot sitting on his beater of a car. We figured he was drinking. So we pulled up and my friend got out and went up to the lone soul.

"Hey man, I've got a question for you."
"Oh really? That's cool. I love questions."

Unperturbed by this somewhat strange reply, my buddy continued the conversation.

"Do you have any extra beer I could buy from you?"
"oh, haha, well, all I have is this tallboy here."
"Hmm, so could I possibly buy it?"
"Nah man, just take it."
"Really? Are you serious?"
"Yeah. I work for Budweiser."

Now this guy was driving an absolute beater. I doubt he was the CEO or anything, or even that he got free beer. But when people are offering free booze, you don't ask too many questions. My friend was finishing off the conversation politely, newly obtained tallboy in hand, when some woman came up and started bantering with him, partly serious, partly joking. And my friend, never too serious and also close to the point of hilarity, gave it right back.

"Hey, give me that beer back. That ain't yours."
"No, I was here first."
"Come on boy, that's mine."
"No, he said I could have it. I was here first."
"what's your name?"
"What's yours?"

the semi-hobo replied, "oh that's just molly mae."

Um, Molly Mae? that's about as white, middle class, 60 year old lady a name could be, or so my friend thought. This lady was dark, lower class, and apparently not 60.

"Ok, then my name's Tyrese," my friend said.
"alright, then Tyrese, sing us a song, if you’ve got soul."

“All I know is ‘I’m a little teapot short and stout’”
"I love that one."

And my friend proceeded to sing the worst, most crapulous edition of I'm a little teapot to a semi-bum and his semi-girlfriend in the middle of the night in the middle of a Vons parking lot in the middle of Oxnard, all for a cheap tallboy.

Make of this What You Will

I guess that could happen.



I didn't think ole Shane had this in mind.



If only all choices in life were this easy.

The Elements (of Life)

Postulate 1 - There are four distinct body types; pear, hourglass, rectangle, and inverted triangle.
Definition 1 - Opposites attract.

Proposition 1 - To create a rectangular person:



Introduce an inverted triangle to a pear. (def. 1)



Therefore, etc.

Slander...

it injures you in the minds of others.

Timely Passages from Tocqueville

Check out Kodiak

Miles Ahead

I can't stop listening to Sketches of Spain

ITU on the Rise!

Two Awesome (new) Contributors!

Joseph A. and Megstan P.

A Friend Said to Me

"It should just be my default understanding that if you say something that sounds random and weird, you're just quoting Brideshead."

A New Idea

Asceticism is for the weak.

A New Philosophy: Realism

In the midst of many arguments lately about eros - we're reading Augustine exclusively in theology - and lying - see below - I've felt opposite sentiments towards both. On the one hand, Aquinas teaches that every lie is sinful. The inevitable example of the Nazis and Jews came up, and we concluded that to lie to the Nazis would be sinful...philosophically speaking, that is. And that's the point. In reality, who would really hesitate to lie? Who would even consider praising someone who would not lie to save many from an unjust and horrific death, and just as many from a more evil sin? I know I'm speaking about practical application here, but tell me if the actions of men aren't by necessity practical.

But on the other hand, eros is constantly defended as being a beautiful and inherently good thing. This I do not deny, but so many tend to dismiss Augustine's views on eros. Why is that? While his arguments are solid, they're painful. No one really wants to admit that even licit sex brings sin along more often than not. But who would, upon sufficient examination, doubt that such is the case? I suspect that such an examination of conscience would reveal to almost everyone that the simple and mundane act of eating probably brings sin along with it almost always. That's the state of corrupt human nature: we sin. And the greater the pleasure, the more serious and tempting the sin. Once again, philosophically speaking, eros is a good, beautiful gift from God, but the practical application of it seems to always be less than perfect.

There must be a unification of the theoretical and the practical. What is sinful in the abstract appears not to be in reality. What is inherently beautiful and good appears not to be in reality. Where is the agreement? What's the solution? Is the world really so distorted from its original that the common perception of man could be so off?

Ary = Answers

It's wonderful how frequently Aristotle illuminates the quagmires of human motivations which seem to have no reasonable beginning.

For example, what is the deal with the explosion of "learning disadvantages" and prescription "chill drugs" like Ritalin? I had never quite understood why concerned educators and parents wouldn't just leave less bright kids alone, and why they were always looking to medicine to cure these problems. A possible explanation can be found in the De Anima.

It might appear, whether it is thought consciously or not, that the soul has parts and that these parts reside in certain corresponding organs. Eyes, for example, only see when they are associated with an ensouled body. They don't when removed from their sockets, or when the body gives up the ghost. Since the soul is universally recognized to be the cognizant and sensitive form of the body, one might understandably think that the part of the souls which sees is found in the eyes. A sign of this - though it is ultimately shown to be false - is that problems in sight are usually, and rightly, attributed to bodily malfunctions.

So take the "mind". The organ, if any, in which it is, or through which it works, would be the brain. So, as physical, bodily malfunctions, e.g. diseases, cause problems in eyesight, so too do they cause problems in the "mind'. The natural conclusion would be to prescribe some drugs, to treat the kids as if they were diseased.

I Love the Internet

I just downloaded the complete Bach chorales here in about 1 minute.

The Problem With Aquinas

...is that he's too clear, too right. That's, at least, a problem in the seminar style of learning.

For example. In my all-school seminar last Friday, in which they throw 18 or so students from any class together to discuss an extra, usually light, reading, we were discussing some part of the summa that deals with lying: its definition and sinfulness. The opening question was whether there is such a thing as a noble lie.

Well, it's a fascinating question and all - I was hoping Plato would be brought up - but with Aquinas it took all of about 10 minutes to clear up.

"Can sinful things ever be noble?"
"no."
"But every lie is a sin."
"well, I guess there's no such thing as a noble lie."

And that's that. We could have argued about first principles, whether the undeniably logical argument was based on true principles, but there's no way that's going to happen with 18 semi-interested people.

So we got bogged down in particulars.

"but what if you were hiding some Jews from the Nazis..."
"did you lie? then it's a sin. and a sin can't be noble."

I get it.

We ended up trying to figure out what exactly a jocose lie is, which is when I discovered almost no one at TAC has heard of The Onion.

Why, oh why, Pergolesi?

Seriously, your "Stabat Mater" sounds suspiciously similar to Scarlatti's "Salve Regina".

Thievery! (but it's so funny)

This is the second half of an entry that I have not written the first half of yet, but I really want lunch so you shall all just have to wait.

All good epics start in media res, but I feel it's at least fair to tell you that the entry most properly begins with scene: five TAC students on the floor of a Cake concert in the Wiltern, Western Avenue, downtown Los Angeles, a mile away from the Sunset Strip that Cake would famously rather not be at when he would rather be loving someone madly (now).

And all of a sudden in the middle of all the house-music screaming and accordion solos (why is it that eastern Europeans can only pronounce the F word clearly? There are lots of things that rhyme with it that they seemed to have trouble with) and women in striped spandex gymnasticking around the stage, someone (whom I presumably knew) grabbed me and screamed in my ear, "LOOK BEHIND YOU!" and we all started immediately looking around in that way that you do when you don't want people to know that you're actually looking in a very specific direction because it's impolite and would freak out whoever it is that you're staring at.

Aaaaaand sure enough, behind the girl in brown behind the girl in blue behind Zach who was behind me, was an excruciatingly short figure with brown hair and huge blue eyes that spoke volumes to the world and those volumes said "SaaaAAAAAAAMMMMMM, SaaaaAAAAAAAAAAMMMM!" because it was definitely Mr. Frodo, looking pretty much like he did at the Council of Elrond, being squished by moshing girls twice his height and obviously confirming all of our suspicions that the vaguely angsty panicked look that we were all exposed to for nine hours derives from (and by "derives from" I mean "is"), well, uh, his facial features at rest. (Why they were at rest during Gogol Bordello is quite another matter and one that I can't fathom.)

Yes, that's right, I was within eight feet of Elijah Wood and of course the first thing John tried to do was get me to go kiss him. For the record, I didn't. Push never exactly came to shove on the issue and, uh, we all know that speaking of future contingencies is a bad thing, but by the time that Zach decided we ought to check the situation closely by waltzing up to him and asking him if he was actually Elijah Wood (I'm pretty sure that's at least #2 on the List of Stupid Fan Things To Do, #3 probably being kissing him randomly) he had wandered off somewhere (leaving his vicinity intact and confirming our suspicions that he definitely looked lost because he was actually not with a Mr. Gamgee or anyone comparable).

And we never saw him again.

THE END.

posted vicariously by JENE

A Glorious Concert: Bonnaroo

It can't be missed.

Featuring:

Radiohead
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
Beck
Elvis Costello & the Imposters
Death Cab for Cutie
Bright Eyes
Bela Fleck & the Flecktones
Damian Marley
Ben Folds
G. Love and Special Sauce
Robert Randolph & the Family Band
My Morning Jacket
Seu Jorge
Andrew Bird

and others!

If a Wood Chuck Could Chuck

Chuck Norris once shot a German plane down with his finger, by yelling, "Bang!"

A man once asked Chuck Norris if his real name is "Charles". Chuck Norris did not respond, he simply stared at him until he exploded.

The original theme song to the Transformers was actually "Chuck Norris--more than meets the eye, Chuck Norris--robot in disguise," and starred Chuck Norris as a Texas Ranger who defended the earth from drug-dealing Decepticons and could turn into a pick-up. This was far too much awesome for a single show, however, so it was divided.

Chuck Norris doesn't have normal white blood cells like you and I. His have a small black ring around them. This signifies that they are black belts in every form of martial arts and they roundhouse kick the shit out of viruses. That's why Chuck Norris never gets ill.

Chuck Norris once tried to sue Burger King after they refused to put razor wire in his Whopper Jr., insisting that that actually is "his" way.

If you can see Chuck Norris, he can see you. If you can't see Chuck Norris you may be only seconds away from death.