Powered By Blogger

Search This Blog

Followers

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Ceremonial Chemistry - Szasz

In Ceremonial Chemistry (1973), Szasz argued that the same persecution which has targeted witches, Jews, Gypsies or homosexuals now targets "drug addicts" and "insane" people. Szasz argued that all these categories of people were taken as scapegoats of the community in ritual ceremonies. To underscore this continuation of religion through medicine, he even takes as example obesity: instead of concentrating on junk food (ill-nutrition), physicians denounced hypernutrition. According to Szasz, despite their scientific appearance, the diets imposed were a moral substitute to the former fasts, and the social injunction not to be overweight is to be considered as a moral order, not as a scientific advice as it claims to be. As with those thought bad (insane people), those who took the wrong drugs (drug-addicts), medicine created a category for those who had the wrong weight (obeses).

Thomas Szasz Quote

The struggle for definition is veritably the struggle for life itself. In the typical Western two men fight desperately for the possession of a gun that has been thrown to the ground: whoever reaches the weapon first shoots and lives; his adversary is shot and dies. In ordinary life, the struggle is not for guns but for words; whoever first defines the situation is the victor; his adversary, the victim. For example, in the family, husband and wife, mother and child do not get along; who defines whom as troublesome or mentally sick?...[the one] who first seizes the word imposes reality on the other; [the one] who defines thus dominates and lives; and [the one] who is defined is subjugated and may be killed.

Millennium Actress | Part 1 english dub

The 13th Floor - Trailer

World's Most Famous Atheist Accepts Existence of God because of Science

Friday, July 30, 2010

Jamiroquai - Love Foolosophy

Jamiroquai - Little L

Marcus Aurelius II

Whatever happens to you has been waiting to happen since the beginning of time. The twining strands of fate wove both of them together: your own existence and the things that happen to you.

Marcus Aurelius

When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly. They are like this because they can't tell good from evil. But I have seen the beauty of good, and the ugliness of evil, and have recognized that the wrongdoer has a nature related to my own—not of the same blood or birth, but the same mind, and possessing a share of the divine.

Bach - St. Matthew Passion BWV 244 (Karl Richter, 1971) - 1/22

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Who Created God? A Response to Dawkins

Another Book about Pirates

Education

"Schools teach you to imitate. If you don't imitate what the teacher wants you get a bad grade." - Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Einstein

"The power of resistance which has enabled the Jewish people to survive for thousands of years is a direct outgrowth of Jewish adherence to the Biblical doctrines on the relationship among men."

Books about Language


What is the Meaning of Life ?

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Absolute Infinite

The Absolute Infinite is mathematician Georg Cantor's concept of an "infinity" that transcended the transfinite numbers. Cantor equated the Absolute Infinite with God.

Godel Collected Works Volume 3

Godel's Philosophical Viewpoint

My philosophical viewpoint
-- Kurt Friedrich Godel, c. 1960.

1. The world is rational.
2. Human reason can, in principle, be developed more highly (through certain techniques).
3. There are systematic methods for the solution of all problems (also art, etc.).
4. There are other worlds and rational beings of a different and higher kind.
5. The world in which we live is not the only one in which we shall live or have lived.
6. There is incomparably more knowable a priori than is currently known.
7. The development of human thought since the Renaissance is thoroughly intelligible (durchaus einsichtige).
8. Reason in mankind will be developed in every direction.
9. Formal rights comprise a real science.
10. Materialism is false.
11. The higher beings are connected to the others by analogy, not by composition.
12. Concepts have an objective existence.
13. There is a scientific (exact) philosophy and theology, which deals with concepts of the highest abstractness; and this is also most highly fruitful for science.
14. Religions are, for the most part, bad-- but religion is not.

Comments by Hao Wang:
"Godel lists fourteen items which appear to be an attempt to outline his fundamental philosophical beliefs. These are optimistic beliefs and conjectures. They go far beyond `what is possible before all new discoveries and inventions' as Wittgenstein requires of philosophy. Unfortunately we know very little of Gödel's reasons for holding them. Undoubtedly the centrepiece is his belief that the world is rational. This key belief is an empirical generalisation from his interpretation of human experience, but what is known of his arguments is hardly convincing."

Published: Hao Wang: Section 9.4: `The meaning of the world: monadology and rationalistic optimism' in Chapter IX: `Godel's approach to philosophy' of `A logical journey: from Godel to philosophy', The MIT Press, Cambridge, USA, 1996, p. 316.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Tekkonkinkreet, Hong Kong (by Gorillaz)

Word Power

per·ni·cious
   /pÉ™rˈnɪʃəs/

–adjective
1.causing insidious harm or ruin; ruinous; injurious; hurtful: pernicious teachings; a pernicious lie.
2.deadly; fatal: a pernicious disease.
3.Obsolete . evil; wicked.

—Synonyms
1. harmful, detrimental, deleterious, destructive, damaging, baneful, noxious, malicious. 2. lethal.


mag·nan·i·mous
   /mægˈnænÉ™mÉ™s/

–adjective

1.generous in forgiving an insult or injury; free from petty resentfulness or vindictiveness: to be magnanimous toward one's enemies.
2.high-minded; noble: a just and magnanimous ruler.
3.proceeding from or revealing generosity or nobility of mind, character, etc.: a magnanimous gesture of forgiveness.

—Synonyms
1. big, liberal, unspiteful. 2. See noble.


in·sip·id
   /ɪnˈsɪpɪd/


–adjective
1.without distinctive, interesting, or stimulating qualities; vapid: an insipid personality.
2.without sufficient taste to be pleasing, as food or drink; bland: a rather insipid soup.

—Synonyms
1, 2. flat, dull, uninteresting. 2. tasteless, bland.


in·sid·i·ous
   /ɪnˈsɪdiÉ™s/


–adjective

1.intended to entrap or beguile: an insidious plan.
2.stealthily treacherous or deceitful: an insidious enemy.
3.operating or proceeding in an inconspicuous or seemingly harmless way but actually with grave effect: an insidious disease.

—Synonyms
1. corrupting. 2. artful, cunning, wily, subtle, crafty.


in·noc·u·ous
   /ɪˈnÉ’kyuÉ™s/


–adjective

1.not harmful or injurious; harmless: an innocuous home remedy.
2.not likely to irritate or offend; inoffensive; an innocuous remark.
3.not interesting, stimulating, or significant; pallid; insipid: an innocuous novel.


du·bi·ous
   /ˈdubiÉ™s, ˈdyu-/

–adjective

1.doubtful; marked by or occasioning doubt: a dubious reply.
2.of doubtful quality or propriety; questionable: a dubious compliment; a dubious transaction.
3.of uncertain outcome: in dubious battle.
4.wavering or hesitating in opinion; inclined to doub

—Synonyms
1. equivocal, ambiguous, obscure, unclear. 4. undecided, uncertain, hesitant, fluctuating. See doubtful.


os·ten·si·ble
   /ɒˈstÉ›nsÉ™bÉ™l/


–adjective

1.outwardly appearing as such; professed; pretended: an ostensible cheerfulness concealing sadness.
2.apparent, evident, or conspicuous: the ostensible truth of their theories.

Kwaidan

Additional Excerpt from the Wikipedia article on Dimensions

Time

A temporal dimension is a dimension of time. Time is often referred to as the "fourth dimension" for this reason, but that is not to imply that it is a spatial dimension. A temporal dimension is one way to measure physical change. It is perceived differently from the three spatial dimensions in that there is only one of it, and that we cannot move freely in time but subjectively move in one direction.

The equations used in physics to model reality do not treat time in the same way that humans commonly perceive it. The equations of classical mechanics are symmetric with respect to time, and equations of quantum mechanics are typically symmetric if both time and other quantities (such as charge and parity) are reversed. In these models, the perception of time flowing in one direction is an artifact of the laws of thermodynamics (we perceive time as flowing in the direction of increasing entropy).

The best-known treatment of time as a dimension is Poincaré and Einstein's special relativity (and extended to general relativity), which treats perceived space and time as components of a four-dimensional manifold, known as spacetime, and in the special, flat case as Minkowski space.
[edit] Additional dimensions

Theories such as string theory and M-theory predict that physical space in general has in fact 10 and 11 dimensions, respectively. The extra dimensions are spatial. We perceive only three spatial dimensions, and no physical experiments have confirmed the reality of additional dimensions. A possible explanation that has been suggested is that space acts as if it were "curled up" in the extra dimensions on a subatomic scale, possibly at the quark/string level of scale or below.

Dimensions in Literature

Perhaps the most basic way in which the word dimension is used in literature is as a hyperbolic synonym for feature, attribute, aspect, or magnitude. Frequently the hyperbole is quite literal as in he's so 2-dimensional, meaning that one can see at a glance what he is. This contrasts with 3-dimensional objects which have an interior that is hidden from view, and a back that can only be seen with further examination.

Science fiction texts often mention the concept of dimension, when really referring to parallel universes, alternate universes, or other planes of existence. This usage is derived from the idea that to travel to parallel/alternate universes/planes of existence one must travel in a spatial direction/dimension besides the standard ones. In effect, the other universes/planes are just a small distance away from our own, but the distance is in a fourth (or higher) spatial dimension, not the standard ones.

One of the most heralded science fiction novellas regarding true geometric dimensionality, and often recommended as a starting point for those just starting to investigate such matters, is the 1884 novel Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott. Isaac Asimov, in his foreword to the Signet Classics 1984 edition, described Flatland as "The best introduction one can find into the manner of perceiving dimensions."

The idea of other dimensions was incorporated into many early science fiction stories, appearing prominently, for example, in Miles J. Breuer's “The Appendix and the Spectacles” (1928) and Murray Leinster's “The Fifth-Dimension Catapult” (1931); and appeared irregularly in science fiction by the 1940s. Some of the classic stories involving other dimensions include Robert A. Heinlein's 1941 ' —And He Built a Crooked House ', in which a California architect designs a house based on a three-dimensional projection of a tesseract, and Alan E. Nourse's "Tiger by the Tail" and "The Universe Between," both 1951. Another reference would be Madeleine L'Engle's novel "A Wrinkle In Time" (1962) which uses the 5th Dimension as a way for "tesseracting the universe," or in a better sense, "folding" space in half to move across it quickly.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Quotes....with no theme

I joined the Navy in June 2010 and it is currently July 2010. I am not supposed to ship out to basic training until next summer (but hopefully this date will be shortened) but it seems unlikely that I will ship out before the end of 2010.
As a result, I have some free time on my hands and have been checking out a lot of books from the Ventura County Library System and jotting out quotes and passages I like on a notepad I keep with me when reading.

Here are a few of the shorter ones (no time to type out the lengthier ones):


"But though all knowledge begins with experience it doesn't follow that it arises out of experience." - Kant

"Our current modes of rationality are not moving society forward into a better world. They are taking it further and further from that better world."
- Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

"Sometimes it's a little better to travel than to arrive."
- Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Friday, July 23, 2010

God Delusion Debate - Dawkins vs. Lennox (1/11)

Passage from "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance"

If a revolution destroys a systematic government, but the systematic patterns of thought that produced that government are left intact, then those patterns will repeat themselves in the succeeding government. There's so much talk about the system. And so little understanding.

Ron Paul Calls for End to Drug War

Ron Paul on Drug Legalization

Ron Paul's State of the Republic Speech (1 of 3)

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Philip K. Dick Quote

"The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words."

- Philip K. Dick





Reminds me a lot of NEWSPEAK in Orwell's 1984.

"Rogues"- NEW Incubus Music Video (from LA dvd)

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Waiting for "Superman"- Official Trailer

The Unbearable Lightness of Being Trailer - Juliette Binoche

The Corporation

THE CORPORATION [1/23] What is a Corporation?

EINSTEIN

The abstract concept "society" means to the individual human being the sum total of his direct and indirect relations to his contemporaries and to all the people of earlier generations. The individual is able to think, feel, strive, and work by himself; but he depends so much upon society—in his physical, intellectual, and emotional existence—that it is impossible to think of him, or to understand him, outside the framework of society. - Einstein

Einstein

"I am convinced there is only one way to eliminate (the) grave evils (of capitalism), namely through the establishment of a socialist economy, accompanied by an educational system which would be oriented toward social goals. In such an economy, the means of production are owned by society itself and are utilized in a planned fashion. A planned economy, which adjusts production to the needs of the community, would distribute the work to be done among all those able to work and would guarantee a livelihood to every man, woman, and child. The education of the individual, in addition to promoting his own innate abilities, would attempt to develop in him a sense of responsibility for his fellow-men in place of the glorification of power and success in our present society."

Albert Einstein, Why Socialism?

Friday, July 9, 2010

Another Movie I Need to See

Francisco Herrera Artwork


I love this guy's style !

Here's What I Am Looking At Now...

http://mises.org/literature.aspx?action=author&Id=280

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prince

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2562579153681604039# (Akira Kurosawa)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kung_Fu_%28TV_series%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Life_and_Opinions_of_Tristram_Shandy,_Gentleman

Artist Spotlight: Andy Warhol Eats a Hamburger

El Topo - TRAILER - Alejandro Jodorowsky

In The Mood For Love Nat King Cole Quizas Quizas Quizas



I saw this movie recently and what impressed me most about it was the soundtrack. This particular song was featured at least twice, possibly thrice, throughout the film and I thought it was interesting to have a Spanish song in a Chinese romantic movie.

I'm definetly interested in listening to some more tunes from Mr. Nat King Cole.

expelled no intelligence allowed (part 1of10) PL



Interesting to see Ben Stein go toe to toe with Richard Dawkins....this documentary received terrible reviews and maybe it has a few flaws but, all in all, I think it makes a fairly good case about intelligent design in academia.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Ben Stein vs. Richard Dawkins Interview

Buckethead's Effects

Effects

* Digitech Whammy II
* Digitech Whammy IV
* Dunlop Cry Baby 535Q
* Vox V845 Wah Pedal
* Alesis MidiVerb II
* BOSS NS-2 Noise Suppressor[42]
* BOSS RC-2 Loop Station
* BOSS TU-2 Chromatic Tuner
* BOSS DD-3 Digital Delay
* BOSS RV-5 Digital Reverb



* Electro-Harmonix Micro Synthesizer[46]
* Snarling Dogs Mold Spore Wah Pedal
* Roger Mayer Octavia
* DOD Electronics FX-25B envelope filter
* AnalogMan Bicomprossor
* MXR EVH Phase 90
* MXR Phase 100[42]
* Line 6 FM4 Filter Modeler Effects Pedal
* Line 6 MM4 Modulation Modeler Effects Pedal
* Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler Effects Pedal
* Line 6 X2 XDR95 Wireless

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Top Gun Homosexuality

Highway to Hell - Wing

The 100 Cheesiest Movie Quotes of All Time

160 Greatest Arnold Schwarzenegger Quotes

John Stockwell




John R. Stockwell is a former CIA officer who became a critic of United States government policies after serving in the Agency for thirteen years serving seven tours of duty. After managing U.S. involvement in the Angolan Civil War as Chief of the Angola Task Force during its 1975 covert operations, he resigned and wrote In Search of Enemies, a book which remains the only detailed, insider's account of a major CIA "covert action."

"The Iron Heel" - Jack London