Says it all — mensch! Too subtle and honest a mind for the regressives
To mark two close but significant Bowie dates (8th and 10th January) once again check out Chris O’Leary’s terrific Pushing Ahead of the Dame “Tulmudic”-like blog. The particular entry I want to bring to your attention is this one featuring Mishima’s influence on Bowie, two names I’ve long since appreciated totally independently of each other. Chris explicitly vindicates my intuitive linking of these two great artists: Mishima these days would, needless to say, be the regressive’s bête noire — and to this list perhaps one could even add Kafka, Musil, Mann and Percy.
For Bowie, Mishima was the extremity of Japan’s artistic culture. He stands most openly in Bowie’s “Berlin” songs.
While doing some work on Quine I came across Quine and Ullian’s minor classic The Web of Belief which has been made freely available online. (Another great portrait by Steve Pyke as with the previous post on Parfit).
Here’s an obit in Vox but will compile and post other obituaries as they come out.
Derek Parfit and Janet Radcliffe-Richards (not an obit)
“With no other philosopher have I had such a clear sense of someone who had already thought of every objection I could make, of the best replies to them, of further objections that I might then make, and of replies to them too,” the philosopher Peter Singer wrote recently on the philosophy website Daily Nous.
“Tom, would you like to hear my own private theory of the nature of man?”
The nature of man. I can’t stand theories about the nature of man. I’d rather listen to Robin Leach and watch Barnaby Jones.
“Well, actually I think we’d better track down Lucy—”
But he’s got going on his theory of the nature of man. It has something to do with science and sexuality, how the highest achievements of man, Mozart’s music, Einstein’s theory, derive from sexual energy, and so on. “Didn’t old Dr. Freud say it?” he says triumphantly, stopping me and swinging around to face me.
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Van Dorn grabs me and pulls me playfully close—in men’s style of talking at the approach of women and before they come within earshot. “Just suppose, Tom, we could combine the high sexuality of the Don and Einstein without the frivolity of the Don or the repressed Jewish sexuality of Einstein—who needs heavy sodium?”
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Long ago I discovered that the best way to get in touch with withdrawn patients is to ask their help. It is even better if you actually need their help. They can tell. They may be dumb but they are not stupid.
This delicious comfort food has become somewhat of a New Year’s eve tradition for us but I can assure you it’s good all year round.
Maajid Nawaz asks “Why Did Obama Pander to the UN’s Stunning Anti-Israel Bias?“
Sneering from the comfort of their keyboards, Western leftists have grown complacent with the luxury of free speech. They have never had to suffer the wrath of an Arab dictator’s torture cells. But anyone who has ever been unfortunate enough to have spoken out against an Arab dictator from within knows the reality of their whatabouttery all too well.
Today marks this release curated by none other than Ricky Riccardi, the superbly informative liner notes and disc graphical information to be found here.
