Category Archives: Thoughts
A man-of-war on the virtual high seas
Pirate Bay is on trial, the latest on a string of such test trials. Once upon a time, people photocopied books from friends and exchanged cassette tapes. Nevertheless, those kinds of copies took time and money to make, and everytime … Continue reading
On “Motion” by Colin Mcginn
In a recent post on his blog, philosopher Colin McGinn questions the current scientific understanding of Motion: The motions of particles are notoriously unpredictable and inexplicable at the quantum level, but at the cosmic level we have the problem of … Continue reading
A monopoly of magic
Religion sell magic: gods, demons, angels, miracles… Well, not quite: Religion does not sell real magic. Rather, it sells comfort and solidarity to those who want to believe in magic. You pay now, but you don’t get the magic now … Continue reading
Fables of Faubus
Charles Mingus’s “Fables of Faubus” is one of those pieces that haunt me. Maybe it’s a meme, a virus of sorts, for which I have no immunity. It’s not just the tune, it’s the whole thing. I’ve heard every version … Continue reading
Green belt
While putting on my belt the other day, I had an epiphany: These things are unnatural! Belts, I mean. Granted, all clothing is unnatural. But belts – belts are downright evil. They restrain our breathing, restrict our movements, put unnatural … Continue reading
The criminalization of a disease – revisited
I was just thinking about my previous post on this topic, and it occurred to me that one of the consequences of the proposed law is a ban of all people who appear anorexic from all media. After all, when … Continue reading
The Glass House
Philip Johnson’s Glass House is beautiful. It is stunning. But stunning is not the word for it, there’s no element of surprise in the impression it makes – it fits its surroundings so that you would almost expect it to … Continue reading
You cannot wash blood with blood
You cannot wash blood with blood. I heard this proverb from Afghanistan on the BBC today. I think it can be used as a meme against violence begetting violence. So, repeat after me: You cannot wash blood with blood.