Jack Vance has died. Â Not one of my favorite authors, he nevertheless exerted tremendous influence, even on me, and is more than worthy of our remembrance. Â I have written an appreciation over at the Proximal Eye, here.…
Month: May 2013
One Down…
I don’t really have a lot to say about Michele Bachmann other than to note that her decision not to seek reelection seems to be a bellwether for the entire Tea Party movement. Â Listening to her over the last several years, especially in her bids for the GOP nomination for president, has been like watching old episodes of the Twilight Zone, where the protagonist wakes up in a world that is similar to but not the same as the one with which he or she had lived in the day before.
Bachmann put herself forward as some kind of Original Intent Constitutionalist during her last campaign, but any examination of what she said and a look at the actual history she was touting seemed to show that her version of what that meant was much like anyone’s version of something they think they understand but haven’t actually studied.…
Bread and Sacred Cows
Anyone who knows me knows I am in general antipathetic toward sports. I don’t watch it, I don’t follow it, and I could not care less who is winning or losing. The sun does not rise and set on finals, March Madness, seasons, MVPs, or any of that. I missed being infected with this particular virus as a child and have never regretted it, as I find the whole thing baffling.
Mind you, I don’t have anything at all against playing sports. I think more kids should (if they’re allowed in by the jocks, that is). But watching?
Regardless my feelings about sports as such, my biggest complaint is with the fetishizing of it and the profound cost of such obsession on just about everything. …
National Day of Idiocy
We should have a National Day of Idiocy to celebrate our rich heritage of public figures who make asinine statements.
I find it both fascinating and revolting how a certain faction reaches for the Holocaust at every opportunity in order to retain their illusion that just about everything that makes them even mildly uncomfortable is part and parcel of the horrible paradigm that led to a slaughter which some of their supporters think never even happened.
The mayor of Charlotte, N.C. declared May 2nd a Day of Reason. It also happens to be the national Day of Prayer. While some may see this as pure hype and opportunism, there’s common factor between the two things—both have to do with finding guidance. …