Thursday, September 29, 2011
I've Noticed
That there's some international students at NU who have taken to wearing gnarly hunting gear. This Sudenese chap, in particular, is walking around in a camo and orange vest from Cabela's. I don't think it's a case of trying to rock an American hip-hop style either. I mean, if it is, they're doing it really badly. I think that they're sincerely getting into the whole Nebraska vibe, perhaps to the point of voting against in-state tuition for themselves.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
Sunday, September 25, 2011
CFB Top 10
The same, the same.
I was playing a version of EA NCAA some years ago, 04 I think, and I unlocked a code for playing as a team made entirely of Wisconsin Badger mascots, tore shit up more than I ever have before or since. I'm just saying.
I was playing a version of EA NCAA some years ago, 04 I think, and I unlocked a code for playing as a team made entirely of Wisconsin Badger mascots, tore shit up more than I ever have before or since. I'm just saying.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Well, an Innocent Man was Probably Executed Yesterday
RIP Troy Davis.
True, real Americans think he was guilty, and I know that there is no higher standard of truth in the universe than that. Still the lack of any other sort of evidence disturbs me. Call me foolish.
Amanda Marcotte wrote a good post yesterday arguing that those who oppose the death penalty should center their arguments on the possibility of executing the innocent, and not so much on the death penalty being wrong in itself, since this argument will always encourage people to imagine the indisputably monstrous Ted Bundy types growing old with three hots and a cot, and of course good people shudder at the thought of such a thing. Marcotte's advice will help, but I think her basic concern here is even worse than she states. People very badly want to focus on the indisputably guilty and getting them to not do so will be very hard to do. It is painful, and frightening, to accept that there is something in our justice system and in our society itself that is innately unfair. So the tendency is to point our thoughts to any mental out that allows us to avoid this. 'I will focus on the evil of the guilty, and if you dare try to make me do otherwise I will simply declare that you are not actually offended by murder.'
There is a reason why the death penalty, as an idea, was wildly cheered at the recent Republican debate. Modern conservatism; a populist, instinctively felt, ur-reactionism, is largely premised on the desire to believe that American society is not only innately but mystically just and good. (At least in its default, Edenic state, before ' the bureaucrats' interfered. ) In maintaining this delusion support for the death penalty is second in importance only to the deification of the free market and the belief that all US military missions are holy wars of liberation.
Since the goodness of our society is axiomatic, a sacred belief which all Real Americans are duty-bound to hold, we may therefore assume that outside enemies and internal rule breakers are overwhelmingly The reason for why good people ever suffer at all; the only thing standing between us and our normative birthright to guaranteed safety. Being a good person does not therefore require the ability to accept ones own vulnerability as inescapable and feeling compassion towards those who share this fate. (Indeed, if you can find some way to convince yourself that to do so is fiendishly wrong, so much the better.) How good you are how eager you are to aggress, punish, and condemn.
If you are ever unsure about how to measure these traits within yourself, or whether you possess them in sufficient amounts, listen to your gut. You are an American and your gut is that of a demigod. It will tell you the truth. Whatever makes you feel brave and strong is the truth. Whatever tells you that no one ever freezes or starves without having done something to bring it on themselves is the truth. Whatever tells you that there is no luxury in your life that you do not indisputably deserve at both the cosmic and objective level is the truth. Whatever tells you that your own innocence in all things is obvious to all; and that you can never possibly face deprivation, cries of hatred and death for a crime that someone else committed, is the truth.
True, real Americans think he was guilty, and I know that there is no higher standard of truth in the universe than that. Still the lack of any other sort of evidence disturbs me. Call me foolish.
Amanda Marcotte wrote a good post yesterday arguing that those who oppose the death penalty should center their arguments on the possibility of executing the innocent, and not so much on the death penalty being wrong in itself, since this argument will always encourage people to imagine the indisputably monstrous Ted Bundy types growing old with three hots and a cot, and of course good people shudder at the thought of such a thing. Marcotte's advice will help, but I think her basic concern here is even worse than she states. People very badly want to focus on the indisputably guilty and getting them to not do so will be very hard to do. It is painful, and frightening, to accept that there is something in our justice system and in our society itself that is innately unfair. So the tendency is to point our thoughts to any mental out that allows us to avoid this. 'I will focus on the evil of the guilty, and if you dare try to make me do otherwise I will simply declare that you are not actually offended by murder.'
There is a reason why the death penalty, as an idea, was wildly cheered at the recent Republican debate. Modern conservatism; a populist, instinctively felt, ur-reactionism, is largely premised on the desire to believe that American society is not only innately but mystically just and good. (At least in its default, Edenic state, before ' the bureaucrats' interfered. ) In maintaining this delusion support for the death penalty is second in importance only to the deification of the free market and the belief that all US military missions are holy wars of liberation.
Since the goodness of our society is axiomatic, a sacred belief which all Real Americans are duty-bound to hold, we may therefore assume that outside enemies and internal rule breakers are overwhelmingly The reason for why good people ever suffer at all; the only thing standing between us and our normative birthright to guaranteed safety. Being a good person does not therefore require the ability to accept ones own vulnerability as inescapable and feeling compassion towards those who share this fate. (Indeed, if you can find some way to convince yourself that to do so is fiendishly wrong, so much the better.) How good you are how eager you are to aggress, punish, and condemn.
If you are ever unsure about how to measure these traits within yourself, or whether you possess them in sufficient amounts, listen to your gut. You are an American and your gut is that of a demigod. It will tell you the truth. Whatever makes you feel brave and strong is the truth. Whatever tells you that no one ever freezes or starves without having done something to bring it on themselves is the truth. Whatever tells you that there is no luxury in your life that you do not indisputably deserve at both the cosmic and objective level is the truth. Whatever tells you that your own innocence in all things is obvious to all; and that you can never possibly face deprivation, cries of hatred and death for a crime that someone else committed, is the truth.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
There's a POW/MIA Display on the NU Campus
Worry not, red America. Your hold over the general society will remain strong indeed for as long as this Dolchstoßlegende continues to be openly endorsed by our institutions. The truth is that there is indeed some callous neglect here towards American soldiers from our government. But it isn't quite as viscerally monsterous as knowing that thousands of US citizens are growing old as enemy captives and doing nothing about it. Rather it's a case of being pretty certain that these people were killed in Vietnam and just not going through the trouble to make absolutely certain. A more forgiving and perhaps more significant explanation is that wars are rumored to be sort of chaotic, and it's simply not possible to account for everyone who suddenly wasn't there anymore. There's a large town worth of fighters from World War II still listed as MIA, to give you some idea.
Farewell REM
I've never been a huge fan. But I have warmed towards them over the years. They were good. Their contribution to American culture and deserved place in the general Rock Canon are indisputable.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
Against "Realism"
Those who hold a negative view of humanity in general are very commonly bigoted against some group of people in particular. This is only natural. Because of course they want there to be some unchangible part of themselves which grants them special pardon from the universal gutter.
So those who regard human nature as generally evil will often declare this opinion to be realistic and self-evident, only the naive would disagree with them. Yet at the same time they will also declare that it is also common sensicaly obvious that their own people are inherently exempt from this evil nature. Race is the most famous claim to such immunity, though direct appeals to race have gotten more and more rare over the years. These days you are more likely to hear some pious claptrap about Judeo-Christian values, American exceptionalism, or 'The West'. The claim is that there is something innate within our culture that innoculates us from the bad parts of human nature. And since the vanity of such a claim is obvious, it is always buttressed with the insistance that believing such a thing is simply the minimum standard for loving your own people at all.
It is easy and trite to say of a stranger that 'he is as good as I', 'he ain't heavy, he's my brother' etc. But there is a reason why people would rather believe the asinine or frankly evil than embrace such seemingly easy dictates. It requires the strength to stare straight into the eyes of Stalin or bin Laden and say, 'Ok, since I have not murdered by the score I can be reasonably assured that I am better than him. But not by any natural essence, therefore only limitedly so and worse, not irreversibly so.' The ultimate truth here is that you had might as well give humanity the benefit of the doubt. It is the only honest way to give the same thing to yourself.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
CFB Top 10
Bravo, UW Huskies, for your brilliant homage to this classic work of quarter-thieving, rubber band AI.
1. Alabama
2. Oklahoma
3. Wisconsin
4. LSU
5. Stanford
6. Boise State
7. Virginia Tech
8. Oklahoma St.
9. Nebraska
10 South Carolina
Friday, September 16, 2011
" 2011 Archie Comics to Feature Homosexual “Marriage”"
Betty, you know that you and Veronica never were fooling anyone right?
Oh, I see, it's this guy.
He seems to have a Ziggy Stardust universal irresistibileness to him, to judge by the looks of the entire Archie gang. It may be a bad idea for Kevin to get married at all.
Oh, I see, it's this guy.
He seems to have a Ziggy Stardust universal irresistibileness to him, to judge by the looks of the entire Archie gang. It may be a bad idea for Kevin to get married at all.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Memo to the Livestock Producers of Nebraska
Fuck you.
To be clear, the Humane Society may be right or may be wrong on this or that. But the reason you consider them beyond the pail, the reason our governor declares our fellow citizens to be pariahs with his "no Nebraskan should be workingfor the HSUS." , is that you consider yourselves to be incapable of being wrong and demand that everyone consider your goodness to be beyond question. You consider yourselves superior to us city boys. You think you own us. Fuck you.
'No farms, no food?' No shit. It's beyond obvious that food is an essential thing, but only as essential as the city people who eat it. And the people who produce food are not feudal lords living above us proles and beyond our scrutiny
"We can't control what they do," Pete McClymont of the NebraskaCattlemen said from the west steps of the State Capitol on Tuesday,"but we can control what we do."
To be clear, the Humane Society may be right or may be wrong on this or that. But the reason you consider them beyond the pail, the reason our governor declares our fellow citizens to be pariahs with his "no Nebraskan should be workingfor the HSUS." , is that you consider yourselves to be incapable of being wrong and demand that everyone consider your goodness to be beyond question. You consider yourselves superior to us city boys. You think you own us. Fuck you.
'No farms, no food?' No shit. It's beyond obvious that food is an essential thing, but only as essential as the city people who eat it. And the people who produce food are not feudal lords living above us proles and beyond our scrutiny
"We can't control what they do," Pete McClymont of the NebraskaCattlemen said from the west steps of the State Capitol on Tuesday,"but we can control what we do."
Monday, September 12, 2011
CFB Top 10
Everyone from last week either won or didn't play. So there you go.
In addition, to those Husker fans who speak as if they are being morally wronged when the team is perfoming below expectations. Shut up. Please. Just shut the fuck up. Thank you.
In addition, to those Husker fans who speak as if they are being morally wronged when the team is perfoming below expectations. Shut up. Please. Just shut the fuck up. Thank you.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Myth: Women need the freedom to choose.
Bottom letter.
Oh, and something about Genesis 38:19. Apparently, any woman who doesn't breed like she's supposed to will end up so lonely that she bones her ex father-in-law, or something.
One may well speculate that Georgia Ebel actually hates one or all of her own children and comforts herself with the idea that she was only obeying orders. I'd set the gambling odds of that at 3:1.
Oh, and something about Genesis 38:19. Apparently, any woman who doesn't breed like she's supposed to will end up so lonely that she bones her ex father-in-law, or something.
One may well speculate that Georgia Ebel actually hates one or all of her own children and comforts herself with the idea that she was only obeying orders. I'd set the gambling odds of that at 3:1.
As of Now, All I Have to Say on the Matter Is This
The thing about anniversaries, is that they don't really exist.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Caught up on my Breaking Bad Recently
Damn but it's good shit. Anyway, there's been some chatter that Gustavo and his old murdered partner were, "partners". Maybe, Gus's grief and rage at Max's death certainly did seem to go beyond the platonic level. Time will tell whether anything about the nature of their relationship will be revealed or whether it will turn out to be important to the overall story. As of now I don't think so. We should keep in mind that the main purpose of this back story is mechanical. Gus's vendetta against Hector is a big help in allowing the writers to ratchet up the drama by having Walt and Jesse violate most every cardinal rule against pissing off drug lords while providing a credible reason for why they have so far been able to survive doing so. Sometimes open interpretations are allowed not because of any artistic design but because the interpretation simply doesn't matter.
Though it would provide a good reason for how Gus got into the crystal game to begin with. The demographics of meth use, gay men and the rednecks who hate them, is definitely one of the more amusing aspects of human culture.
Though it would provide a good reason for how Gus got into the crystal game to begin with. The demographics of meth use, gay men and the rednecks who hate them, is definitely one of the more amusing aspects of human culture.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
CFB Top 10
1. Alabama
2. Oklahoma
3. Wisconsin
4. L.S.U
5. Stanford
6. Boise State
7. Virginia Tech
8. Oklahoma St.
9. Nebraska
10 Florida St.
2. Oklahoma
3. Wisconsin
4. L.S.U
5. Stanford
6. Boise State
7. Virginia Tech
8. Oklahoma St.
9. Nebraska
10 Florida St.
Tales From North Platte
My cousin thinks that oral sex, along with other deviations of the sort, major or minor, did not exist before the late twentieth century. He said something along these lines, and since I thought he was joking I said, 'Right, it was all strictly penis to vagina, throughout history, until just now. His response, "I know right." I don't know if he even realizes how old Latin is.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Remembering Homicide Bombing
Why I think of it now I don't know. It was an attempt by the Bush Administration and Fox News to deny Jihadist suicide bombers, in Isreal or elsewhere, to change the common term for what they were, and so deny them any claim to heroism by this outward show of condemnation.
I myself knew it was nonsense in the beginning, recognized the patriarchal condensation for what it was.The thought that we little people wouldn't know it was wrong unless the authorities repeatedly told us so. Still I didn't think it was of any real importance, just some boilerplate political fuckery overdramatised by cable news. Yet looking back now, it strikes me as a very loud warning of the catastrophe to come, because it showed that the leaders of the US government. shared an important characteristic with terrorists. People in the Bush administration took it for granted themselves that violently intense belief is inherently noble and that dying for a cause is inherently legitimizing to that cause.
That's why they felt the need to make a show of pointing out that 'homicide bombing' was wrong, not because they saw getting oneself killed for the sake of taking some strangers with him as wrong itself. Quite the contrary, they saw it as the greatest thing a human could hope to do so long as it was for the sake of American empire. In their eyes the human roman candle act was wrong only when it was done in insolent resistance to that empire.
I myself knew it was nonsense in the beginning, recognized the patriarchal condensation for what it was.The thought that we little people wouldn't know it was wrong unless the authorities repeatedly told us so. Still I didn't think it was of any real importance, just some boilerplate political fuckery overdramatised by cable news. Yet looking back now, it strikes me as a very loud warning of the catastrophe to come, because it showed that the leaders of the US government. shared an important characteristic with terrorists. People in the Bush administration took it for granted themselves that violently intense belief is inherently noble and that dying for a cause is inherently legitimizing to that cause.
That's why they felt the need to make a show of pointing out that 'homicide bombing' was wrong, not because they saw getting oneself killed for the sake of taking some strangers with him as wrong itself. Quite the contrary, they saw it as the greatest thing a human could hope to do so long as it was for the sake of American empire. In their eyes the human roman candle act was wrong only when it was done in insolent resistance to that empire.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)