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| Friday, January 04, 2008 |
| Roadrunner as high metaphor |
A lot of pretty intense philosophical shuffling can be extracted from the Roadrunner and Coyote, in a similar vein as the classic the Tao of Pooh, which my Mom (a devout Catholic) had me read. In particular, comparisons to Sisyphus seem accurate.
Despite all that, my favorite part of the dialog is where Chaos Theory and multiverses are brought in to explain cartoon physics:
It is possible that technology does not work in Mr. Coyote's universe in the same way it works in ours. First of all, what is known of Mr. Coyote is only third person speculation on a multiverse. It his particular multiverse there is a mysterious fifth force of weak horizontal gravity. This mysterious mechanism exerts a force on falling bodies horizontal to the plane of a strong gravitational force, such as the Earth. In this multiverse, were Galaleo to throw a cannonball off the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the cannonball would first move horizontal to the Earth, hover for a few seconds contemplating its peril, then fall rapidly to the ground due to the strong gravitational force.
It is entirely possible that this weak horizontal gravitational force has a seemingly random interaction with technology that we are not quite able to understand. So let's stretch the metaphor to the breaking point through philosophy, into political theory and possibly out my derrière: I hope that, if/when the Democrats get a president elected (hopefully Obama), they don't have a Coyote moment: They always wanted it, but now what?
Also, OMG Coyote caught Roadrunner!Labels: cartoons, Obama, philosophy, politics |
posted by Steve @ 12:26 PM  |
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| Saturday, August 18, 2007 |
| Torture |
My government is willing to torture me, hold me in prison without telling me why, and ship me off to faraway lands where Amnesty International can't find me, in order to prevent other countries from torturing me, holding me in prison without telling me why, and shipping me off to faraway lands where Amnesty International can't find me.
Forgive me if I'm not swooning in affection for my nation.
Rachel bought me the U2 DVD of their Vertigo tour concert in Chicago. The liner notes say exactly one thing: "Do not become a monster in order to defeat the monster." It's like Friedrich Nietzsche as an activist.
I also got a chance to truly blast my stereo system, for the first time in years. Ozzy Osbourne seemed an appropriate choice, followed by the Foo Fighters.Labels: music, philosophy, poliics, u2 |
| posted by Steve @ 12:54 AM |
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| Wednesday, August 15, 2007 |
| I am not a star |
When I was in high school, I had a few adults rhapsodize about how awesome that time of their lives was, going so far to say that it was pretty much the best times of their lives.
Of course, given that my first two years of high school were horrible, I thought that if that were the peak, I was going to jump straight into the nearest traffic.
I didn't, obviously, and now I think I understand why they were getting all misty-eyed about it, and it had nothing to do with how wonderful their time was. I'm fairly certain that, while they might've had more fun in high school than I did, their time still must've had all of the normal triumphs and failures that everybody goes through: puberty, awkwardness, parents, and so on.
The reason they get that way was because when you're 16, you still have potential. No matter how messed up your life is, there's always the chance that you'll figure out something you're very good at and go on to great things.
I'm 27 now, and while my life's far, far, far from over, I can honestly say that there's no chance at all that I'm going to play for the NBA. Zero. When I was in 7th grade and played decently on a winning team, with some practice - OK, a lot of practice - I could eventually reach that level.
I'm fine with that. But even with my relatively open-ended life at 27, the best I can be is probably a good or very good local-league baller. I recognize that the possibilities decrease exponentially from the moment you're born, and looking at it ten, twenty, or fifty years later, it must be easy to wonder what you can do with the time you've got left.
Rachel was a bit aghast that, as a matter of habit, I have an extremely hard time focusing on things one at a time - and considering the whole of any big project is quite overwhelming and taxing. That goes for my album(s), cleaning the house, doing my homepage, whatever. Sardonic, my wife asked if I sat and thought about where I'll be when I'm 75 while I'm trying to figure out where to start decorating my house, and honestly, I do. Obviously, it's not always at the front of my mind but it's there.
Anyway, I am hoping that I'll maintain some realism when I have a kid in high school about how life is as a teen. Just because your life is more defined as you live doesn't mean you should artificially give the memories a rosy hue; conversely you can't look at your present, more limited options as being crap just because they're more limited than when you were 17.Labels: high, life, philosophy, school |
| posted by Steve @ 1:13 AM |
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| Sunday, August 05, 2007 |
| Music & Life |
While it's easy to become obsessed with goals, I'm trying really hard to avoid getting so mixed up in them that I forget to enjoy all the goals I've met. Especially, I have a few friends here that are going and living life on little money, whereas Rachel and I seem to dip further into 'boring married couple' by the day.
Soon, hopefully, I'll be camping with Nyssa and Rachel and AZ. The whole philosophy is wrapped up in this YouTube video, a pairing of unlikely forces: Alan Watts and Parker & Stone, who animate South Park.Labels: AZ, camping, life, Nyssa, philosophy, Rachel |
| posted by Steve @ 11:50 PM |
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| Friday, February 24, 2006 |
| Others' work no. 1: Bono on weakness |
"The blessing of your weakness
is it forces you into friendships ...You rely on your lover,
you rely on your friends, and
finally you rely on God
if you want to become whole ... On your own, you're
that old fucking Zen idea.
You're the one hand clapping [laughs]." Labels: Bono, friends, philosophy, zen |
| posted by Steve @ 11:46 AM |
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| Thursday, February 23, 2006 |
| Random Thought no. 20: Proof that Everything is bull |
Sociology is applied Psychiatry
Psychiatry is applied Psychology
Psychology is applied Biology.
Biology is applied Chemistry
Chemistry is applied Physics
Physics is applied Mathematics
Mathematics is applied Existentialism
Existentialism is basically mental masturbation. Therefore everything is applied mental masturbation. Q.E.D. I should mention that the fact that Everything's bull doesn't strip Everything of its worth - just that it can't be taken seriously. Lord knows I need to take things less seriously, and yet, do more about them... Labels: joke, philosophy, random, religion, school |
| posted by Steve @ 2:12 AM |
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Name: Steve
Home: Tucson, Arizona, United States
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