Dammit

War going badly... Gas prices thru the roof... LieMaster W on the ropes... Hurricane demonstrates how neglect of domestic policy or any real compitence is the hallmark of the administration...

Somehow that fucker's going to get out of this. I just know it. Dammit.

Bestest Pals

It cooks, it cleans, it pours you a cocktail! All the convenience of a wife with none of the hassle and inconvenience of sex! It can even be your best friend!WAKAMARUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!1

It Gets Done

Once again, I've managed to figure a good deal of goofing off into my schedule. I have serious work work at 9, but then no sort of work until 2 or half past two. What was I thinking?

This chunk of time is supposed to be a way to catch up on materials I haven't yet familiarized myself with, or to get some writing done, or research, or whatever. Okay not whatever. Or give advice, for that matter. This is the sort of notion that occurs to you when the fact is many moons away, saying to yourself "Oh, yeah, I've got that down. I can get myself motivated to switch tasks back and forth during the day. And it's so exhausting to block things together like I have them now..." I give you Wishful Thinking 101.

(One result and exemplar of the problem is this very post.)

This morning I managed to:
1. Photocopy four articles
2. Realize that I have no questions about another fifth article, even though I was supposed to come up with some
3. Rasterize Salvador Dali's Temptation of St. Anthony
3a. Reject the rasterized picture as a candidate for decorating my house
4. Read some recipes I will never have the skill to cook properly
4a. Decide that I will leave Okra to the professionals
5. Forget my lunch but not have time to get carry-out

You'll notice that none of this looks like work. On the other hand, I've been keeping up with the actual workload much more efficiently than in the past. It feels good to get done with something and get to sleep before the sun begins to rise. I have to do a lot of reading of texts that are, at best, impossible. Plus I read about the rate of a snail swimming on molasses. But can you blame me?

(b) Suppose that S is a sentence which satisfies the proposed criterion, whereas N is a sentence such as "The absolute is perfect," to which the criterion attributes no empirical meaning. Then the alternation SvN (i.e., the expression obtained by connecting the two sentences by the word "or"), likewise satisfies the criterion; for is S is a consequence of some finite class of observation sentences, then trivially SvN is a consequence of the same class. But clearly, the empricist criterion of meaning is not intended to countenance sentences of this sort. In this respect, therefore, the requirement of complete verifiability is too inconclusive.
--C. Hempel

So, ¡Mas Cafe! ¡Mas!

That *****y Cliche

"i hope you will find a person..."
"you deserve..."
"if i could go back..."




Thanks.

Weather Report

Today is likely to bring extreme brainshowers, possibly including brief power outages due to system overload; expect may books to crack in the season's fluctuating concentration levels.

Weather Report

Shopping for vegetables.

Neighbors

always stares at my
tits wtf?
maybe i will stare back at his
mother of pearl dome. creep.

where did his ass go?
plump-backed, bagged pants
and a belt that lifts a sagging
orangutan belly
unshirted with paint on his arms
that scaffold looks tired
are you sure
"how ya doin'" is what you meant
or did i misunderstand because of
your continual cigarette?

i can't remember whether that's a pork-
pie, or a boater...
who cares, becuase the bermuda shorts
kind of make me gag
just a little, like your limp dick
close the shutters.

they'd call you a bear of a man
if you could get that far
on chicken drumsticks,
with a beat-up sportscar leftover
from your midlife crisis.
(maroon. seriously.)

always stares at my
friends wtf? on video.
don't talk to me
emphysema breath
why don't you just die
already? he
was just "a nice old man."

Cracker Barrel

And a game of chance, i.e. Pass the Pigs. Gorged on southerfied countrern cookinn'. Yum! (Although don't ever go there they are racist seriously.) She won a game with a nutty name about peg-hoppin'. Then we jetted to the N2O house. Now I am a Winner. januarygirl came to Defeat. By me. Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
*cough*
eeeeee-hhhhhhhh
*gasp*
eee-yeah!

With biscuits. eripsa was also in attendance. But not for Defeat. That is good. On him. Oh man stuffing my face.

They Live

Undergraduates:

1. Stinky. Have you ever noticed how much they stink?
2. Ugly. Have you ever noticed how much they won't go out with me?
3. Stupid. Duh.
4. Volleyball players. Oh yeah.
5. Glass-eyed midwestern laundry-fish. I don't even know what that means, but it sounds pathertic and cruel.

6. Volleyball players?
7. What, you got something against vollyball?
8. No...
9. Shut up.
10. Yes, I live in an institution "of higher learning." I will suck their marrow, oh yes, yes I will.
11. Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate.

p.s. Wow there are a couple cool ones Rock On.

wh-hunh?

I fell asleep at work today. This is bad. At least I did not snore. O Coffee, why hast thou forsaken me?

Great Moments in Public Service

I got prejudices

So you know it's true when I say fuck these people.

General asshats, Rednecks, Militant Vegans
Circle I: Limbo/Taco Bell

DMV Employees, Bullshitters, Trixies
Circle II: Whirling in a Dark & Stormy Wind

The New York Yankees, Yankees Fans
Circle III: Mud, Rain, Cold, Hail & Snow

Saddam Hussein, Creationists, Kanks
Circle IV: Rolling Weights

River Styx

Libertarians
Circle V: Stuck in Thorns, Mangled

Parents who bring squalling brats to R-rated movies, Federalist Society
Circle VI: Buried for Eternity

River Phlegyas

The Pope, Hipsters
Circle VII: Burning Sands

Osama bin Laden, Relativists
Circle VIII: Drowned in Excrement

George Bush, Scientologists
Circle IX: Frozen in Ice

Design your own hell

Lazy Sunday

As I was avoiding the noisy too-self-conscious celebrating that's happening even as I type across the street from my house, I tried to read the last month's worth of New Yorker offerings, I realized something. Specifically, that I just don't give a damn about the intrigues of the morning televised newsmagazine shows, not am I really interested in the doings of some poets who are not currently famous and with whose work the article does nothing to effectively illuminate (total lack of examples, people, what the hell--it's like saying a restaurant is good and then when asked why you say it's because the food was deliciously prepared by cooks in a kitchen who have neato personalities: so what, why is that good food?), and etc. Yes, I am complainy this week, but so what?

When did I suddenly become a misanthrope?

Literati "Dorks"

In another sign of the fall of Western civilization into hopeless cynicism, I attended a themed party last night. Including myself, there were about six people who followed up on the theme idea. Of those, three were not lame, two were extremely lame, and one I'm only speculating about because perhaps this person genuinely had no fashion sense. To elaborate on the "theme": to dress at the most awkward stage of your past (hopefully) life and BYO drink you'd've drunk at that time. Fortunately, the worldly and sophisticated attendees were, for the most part, far too cool for school. That is to say, they dressed in the same banal fashion they would normally have done.

I believe that in truth these people wearing K-Mart chique and drinking Killians as if it were Dom Perignon (sp?) have achieve their quintessense of dorkdom. Though they hide behind the corrupt and disgusting facade of hypocritical pseudo-intellectualist "sophistication" that is modern "literati" society...

Screw this mechanical insult-exercise. It was a boring event. I left because most things these people talk about are boring to me. And there was pool-playing in the offing elsewhere. I'll outdork them, yes, that's what I'll do.

Yeeeeeeeee-Haw!

Three legged cats,
that Pigeon doesn't give a wet
shit-smell from the neighbor's
stuffy papered-over windows room
don't agree to come by again
But with vague assurances
slip out

Rain, finally

Metal sheet rumple
crash crush
That was the spark and fly of Thor's
Sorry, can you repeat that
?
Sleepless 3:am

Weather Report

Aches, pains, mixed winces and in some areas severe thunderstorms are projected to prevent you from obtaining a swift and effective move to your new domicile; witches and other water-soluble life-forms have been advised by the Weather Service to avoid dumpster-diving at all costs.

Update

More on that thing from yesterday.

You so nasty!

Look out.

Can you guess...

which one is mine? Awesome.

Snooze

Breaking from direct action, eh? Here are a few links to spice up a slow news month.

0. Has anyone noticed anything usual in Africa lately?
1. Tucker's been a bad boy.
2. DeLay doesn't disappoint. Also, closer and closer.
3. Yo, Rummy: wtf? They're not kidding.
4. I can't expect anyone to still be pissed about that, can I.
5. Organic foods just might get more organic.
6. Media junkies can find some fine anti-clown work here.
7. Getting out of Iraq is apparently not going to change much.
8. I didn't realize some of these weird claims even existed.
9. Some Sheehan bandwagoneering.
10. Taking multitasking to a new level, ha ha.
11. We're doing a great job of bringing important figures to the table with our vinegariffic stupidities.
12. Shall we court the religious?
13. Bush's version of the Monroe Doctrine at work.
14. Iraq 2, electric boogaloo: deal broken (?). Even in French. So stick around.

Weather Report Update

According to one of our field officers, today's local area forecast calls for "Meteors! Holy f*** we've got to get out of here!"

Weather Report

Look for old tribal markings, tatoos, scars, and arthritic joints to hurt as a low pressure front brings storms of procrastination and laziness with a chance of mixed hail and frighteningly low clouds.

Oh man,

do I ever want this shirt:

po' charleys choclit factree

iz it jus me or iz j-depp hella michael jaxon but killin kidz instedda jizzin on 'em styles in this flim? f'in hella hella hella. creepy. i likes him plenty but gotta say i'm never not sure i'm looking @ mr depp. unlike say ed norton.

comPOOter aminated oompah-loompahs? har.

word up t burton. not tha bes writin or nuffin butt 4 a kidz flim okay + nostalgia facter about 9.5 onna scale uv 10. plus it dint look so fake like tha 'riginal. cn u believe that? prolly that citix is rite tho tha flim'z carried by tha charly kid. 2 badd 'is career's deader 'n M Caulkins fer aboot 10 years. git bax ta skool, n b a theatre geek er whatnot boy. dis flim'z strickly lite fare butt still fun 'f u down fer brain candy.

The Motivation Test

Let us look at what we might call the motivation test. This test has been promulgated by, among others, Christine Korsgaard. The basic idea is that we first assume that morality (here left vague by me for just a moment) will require justification. For example to Callicles, the skeptic, the hedonist, whomever we chose. The moral theorist who is a realist may be tempted to point to “facts” of some kind, nonmoral facts, that provide justification for morality. The test is this: if we explain the justification to whomever it is we are challenged by, they will be motivated to act morally well. Supposedly, any theory the justification for which fails the motivation test is inadequate to justify acting morally.

I suppose someone asks me why I did something, and, eventually, I explain that I did what I did ultimately because it was the right thing to do—say an act of charity. The challenge is apparently to give a justification for why I did the right thing instead of something else. Properly explained the facts justifying morality are such that they justify my particular moral action—because they justify my moral motivation. If it were unintelligible that I do what I did upon such justification, or worse if it were obscure how any motivation could be justified by the “facts” I provide, then, supposedly, my facts are inadequate to ground morality practically. My inadequate theory must then yield to some other theory that, at least, is able to shed light on, and indeed (it seems) cause someone to act morally well.

For this is what the motivation test is really asking for—a theory that, when properly understood, becomes the basis for action. There is some sort of necessary connection between the “facts” and certain sorts of motivation. If I understand the justification for morality (and we’ve left this term vague, remember) then I too will be motivated to act well. Whether I actually do or not is beside the point, for there must always be room for akrasia and so forth. Still, this demand for a necessary connection between justification and motivation seems misplaced; I think it is really more a hope that such a thing could exist that keeps us looking for it than any realistic expectation that autonomous agents could actually be affected by it. I myself would certainly like there to be some formulation of words, describing a theory, which if properly understood would lead the audience to be motivated to act well, whatever their previous disposition. That, however, is a pipe dream.

Now before you jump all over me for describing the motivation test in this fashion, let me point out that although there are a great many different subtle ways of putting the point, they in the end all boil down to creating a condition that, it appears, only Kantian theories can meet. For the rational mind, understanding the categorical imperative, thereby will bind itself to act accordingly, etc. Some Humeans also like to use this one, whether they are prescriptivists, emotivists, or straight up historical-reconstructionists about the Treatise etc. because they believe that their own justificatory structure--their "facts"--will do the job while other theories (virtue and deontological ones) have some fatal flaw in this area. The project here is to point out that this idea is really some fancy window-dressing for wishful thinking, and that virtue theories can sidestep this "problem" altogether, by rejecting the need for a nonmoral justification of morality as least in regard to the actual motivation of agents in situ.

Actors have birthdays too, you know

this is the cicada buzzing your breezy afternoon sleepy lidded into cool evening fresh pollen-scent slipping open moonflowers. our hot coals burned low the ancestors' taste crisped char smoke flavored rumbling belly gathered hunted meal. where your family was together all twenty-eight clannish cousins still alive this dry season baking the last pods to fullness before cool leaves-falling time. blue pastel like the calcium mountaintop lakes bighorn promenade cold high pastures of the nomad brothers we forgot in their sky vaulted retreats wispy cloud enshrouded huts above the steaming tree full valleys. this is the cicada buzzing your breezy evening waiting for the full moon foggy mist lowland marsh horsetail fluff floating hide and seek children's games memories away under this old burr oak on the blufftop overlooking lazy river wildflowers. cooing pheasant dinner crunching ivy seeds walks slowly underbrush camoflaged for your unslit eye's spring preparations. smokey naked dancing ritual with painted faces juniper sweet sage and pine fresh dusty dry rain dance sacrificing sweat and cold new moon drops berry fat in half light too early for the songbirds. they are the rivals next vally occupied and that beautiful one is all alone skin sun kissed and private where well met and parted fresh bloodlines met and rivals no more for this cause and goats changed hands as well in the hot midday shade before the unprivate closed overhead nuptual tent and squalling babies cry imagined in arms held tightly loins driven vision approach and meeting. this is the cicada buzzing from its underground on misty cool morning toward warm breezes new generation returning slow breathing day dreaming.

Prescribed "Goodness"?

From recent musings:

Let us grant the following point, that everyone who is acting rationally is acting according to some "code" of ethics. Here ethics means, in the descriptive sense, just that to do with action. Specifically, the topic of ethics is the topic of how people act. And everyone who is not insane acts according to some rule(s)--that is, principles--extant "in the mind" of the agent prior to action. That all is a fancy way of saying this--there is some principle upon which all actions that are voluntary can be said to be based, and this is not purely relative to the particular situation. In other words, you have a reason for doing what you do, and it's not "I just felt like it."

(Discount, for our purposes, those actions undertaken according to whims. This is the class of things, such as touching a spot on the wall, to which and intelligible andswer to the question "Why did she do it?" is "No reason." These, though intelligible, are "irrational.")

The point should be easy to swallow. Everybody, even the sociopath, acts according to a set of (perhaps very vague) principles, such as obtain pleasure or obery God's command. Or is it so easy?

The deontologist will want to say that a rule sits at the heart of all action. The conditional is a rule, and ethics rests at the point where we sort out the categorically required from the hypothitically required, or again the rationally acceptable from the unacceptable. I don't mean to be making claims about which of these is right, since I want to say that the formal principle of action really does not need to be operative in action.

Such a claim seems to run contrary to Kant's famous declaration that it is impossible to be certain that what is undertaken is undertaken morally (well); for (on some interpretations, anyway) only when the formal requirement of the categorical imperative is the motivator of action can a "good heart" be acting as such. (Cf. various readings of the Groundwork.) But again, I want to clarify what's going on with my claim contra such rule-bound views. (Yes I am playing fast and loose with Kant here, so sue me.)

The trick is that the genus of the good act, say an act of charity, need not be undertaken as such but one of an indefinitely large number of situation-specific species which cite not vitue or an attempt at goodness but rather some particular that can be taken as a nonmoral fact of the situation. For the example we imagine the answer to our motivational query being something like "She needed help," or "She was injured" (but this does not rule out the claim that "It was the right thing to do" or "Because I wanted to be charitable"--though mention of the specific virtue seems rather quaint and unusual).

This description is coming from a virtue theory, where we can dispense with the need for a decision procedure to be generated by the ethical theory. But I'm not levying that criticism of deontological theories here, so let us pass over it. The point is that although a "code" is in place for this person in doing a good act, the rules need not be appealed to explicitly, or consciously (i.e. at all) in order to interpret an action, correctly, as being a morally approved one.

Now let us look at the rationality in play here. We will be speaking of "practical rationality" under some definition. That in itself is a problem that needs to be addressed, but that is another problem for another day. Practical rationality is the faculty enabling one to decide how to act. Let us suppose that this is a desiderative mechanism of mind, and not specify its "excellence" as yet. For we do not wish to argue from definition.

...

The following is only a start, but let's say we buy some sort of account following Aquinas. So the special sort of action reserved for adult humans (intelligent persons, or beings having reason) is to go after something seen as in some way good. The selfish man's action is "rational" just insofar as we can understand why he does what he does, i.e. to fulfill his own advantage. Cf. Candace Vogler's Reasonably Vicious.

This thread of though has just run dry, as I try to clarify a few things, but I hope to post a bit more along this line in the next few days.

end uv summer comin'

rite now im asleep on a sunbeam:

when the half light makes for a clearer view
sleep a little more if u want to
but restlessness has siezed me now, its true
i could watch tha dreams flicker in your eyes
lying here asleep on a sunbeam
i wonder if u realise u fascinate me so

think about a new destination
if u think u need inspiration
roll out tha map and mark it with a pin
i will follow every direction
just lace up your shoes while im fetching a sleeping bag, a tent...

another summers passing by
all i need is somewhere i feel tha grass beneath my feet
a walk on sand, a fire i can warm my hands
my joy will be complete

i thought about a new destination
im never short of new inspiration
roll out tha map and mark it with a pin
made my plans to conquer the country
im waiting for u to get out of your situation
With your job and with your life

all i need is somewhere i feel tha grass beneath my feet
a walk on sand a fire i can warm my hands
my joy will be complete

thx Belle & Sebastian. how cn u not b a romantik?

I Coulda Been Knee Deep In Shepard's Daughters

But maybe you can imagine this roadtrip a lot better.

Because you like vivid love scenes.

Weather Report

Sweltering, with scattered bad shrooms; chance of Angel Food cake with raspberries and chocolate likely to ease you into a restful slumber at 85%.

Many Happy Returns

...because I'm hangin' with my Moms. Also other family members, in the land of approximately 15000 "lakes" plus many other smaller bodies of water. Our road trip went supercool, and I'm trying to think of something to say about it.

hmmm...

Well okay so here it is: (and this has been said before) I like a lot of individuals, but people as a group are a terrible blight upon the earth. Which is not to get into a political dribble drabble. Instead, I just mean that getting out in the SW/W where there just are no people is very refreshing, because you don't have ugly human-things blocking your view and filling your ears and nose. Also the hamburgers are much tastier.

The empty desert. The trees--by which I mean not the sad little things most of us have surrounding our demesnes, but huge-ass oaks and ponderosa and and and... It's not that communities are bad by themselves, or even cities--it's just that, in fact, most of them are ugly. Some places, which you'll recognize when I say 'suburbia' and 'strip mall' are even fugly. These are the creations of egotistical people who can't see their own insignificance in the grand scheme of things. Another reason the W is great--lots of humble(r) folks (and really, they were actually "folks") who were not concerned with their own importance 24/7. Another refreshing thing.

The mountains are where it's at. This is what makes you realize that you are a tiny speck of dust in a world of boulders. This is where you just can't seem to figure out the distance to anything, because the immensity of spaces takes your parallax away. Also, let's hear it for Lewis & Clark National Forest. Big ups!

As Calvin said, the world isn't so bad if you can just get out in it.