I have been working on identifying a logical fallacy in a current trope of the right. It has elements of tu quoque and ad hominem but is not entirely either. I notice it most often in discussions of class. When you identify any form of class oppression, the right accuses you of causing "class war," when of course they are already waging class war ( Read more... )

Yes, conservatives as a whole can now be included with those so divorced from reality that we scientifically define them as "whackos ( Read more... )

Lately I have been obsessed with finding Jack Hirschman's book Lyripol which was in the City Lights Pocket Poets series but has gone out of print. I remember I used to see it years ago in bookstores all the time before I was into his work. Now I can't find it anywhere except online for about $15 plus $5 shipping. I recently acquired his more ( Read more... )

Roy : I’ve done … questionable things.

Tyrell : Also extraordinary things. Revel in your time.

Roy : Nothing the god of biomechanics wouldn’t let you into heaven for

As President Truman said, we must cut down on the cost of living. Jack Kerouac added, I am poor, so everything belongs to me.

The heat wave managed to kill off several of my herbs (in their entirety) as well as numerous sprouts of beets, radishes, cucumber, and cantaloupe. A number of them came through ok, and we'll be doing second and third plantings of each of those thru the year anyway ( Read more... )

Sadly, I had to miss the premiere of "Watch Horror Movies" last night. I really wanted to see this Bob Wilkins documentary and meet the producer (who has ignored my email requests for an interview). But poverty sucks. We might have been able to scrape together the 10 bucks each admission, but no way could we have done BART fare or gas and toll on ( Read more... )

Charlon Heston, RIP ( Read more... )

In The Third Man, Harry Lime peered down from the top of a Ferris wheel at the dotlike people below, and asked who would really care if one of those dots were to stop moving.

As we get closer to the day everything shuts down, I think of all the things I will miss. Today, it was just a simple delicious glass of seltzer with ice and a wedge of lime. I wonder if there'll still be anarchist book fairs when anarchy reigns? I don't mean to be ironic; it's a legitimate question. I did enjoy the bookfair today, as I always do. ( Read more... )