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POPSIn Defense of Distraction Probably the best article you will read on the subject of internet, the infoflow and attention, superb writing, and of course I totally agree with the last lines, but you will have to read all of it and reach the zen state brought to you courtesy of over-stimulation
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POPSAlfred Wallis: Painter and Mariner A life story, by the way, which I read some years ago after visiting an exhibition, which is amazing. As I recall, his main media were six pots of acrylic paint from the local hardware store, and the backs of cereal boxes.
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POPSThe Genius of Photography vs. Susan Sontag's On Photography
|quote]Sontag argues that the proliferation of photographic practice has long begun to establish within people a "chronic voyeuristic relation" to the world around them. And that therefore the meaning of all events is somewhat leveled to an unhealthy degree. As she argues, this fosters an attitude of anti-intervention. Within this it's felt that the photographer should leave their subject, whether it be a person or an event, to its own devices while being photographed, regardless of the moral character of the subject. The justification comes in the idea that the resulting photographs will be documents, representations of events already in motion, in the name of truth and enlightenment. Sontag goes even further to say that the individual who seeks to photographically record cannot intervene, and that the person who intervenes cannot then faithfully record, for the two aims contradict each other. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Photography Just something I'm pondering.
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POPSNew Benefit Rules will Drive Mentally Ill into Poverty Often as the last sentence above shows, those who feel well enough to work cannot or must do so without support or understanding. As ever, the suffering of mental illness is amplified often beyond the pain of the illness itself by structural and societal factors.
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POPSScottish Earthquake Stuns Labour In the history of UK politics this a major event. The result brings the reality of the disintegration of the United Kingdom. At the same time it marks a stunning message to the UK quasi Labour government's abysmal record on addressing poverty and the forgotten constituencies of those mired in the excrement of Gordon Brown's economic policies.
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POPSThe New Deadly Sins
4. Authenticity. Please do your best to be someone better than who you truly are. Deep down inside we're ravening beasts. This is the meaning of original sin. Everyone's authentic self is horrid. God's message to man has always been, "You can't really be good, but you can fake it. Really." 5. Caring. This takes so much time and effort that it necessarily results in the opposite of doing something. And notice that when someone says, "I care about the war in Iraq," he almost always means, "I want to lose it." Also there's a bullying logic among those who care. I care more about diddledydum than you do. Therefore I'm a better person than you are. Because I'm a better person than you are, I have the right to order you around. And vote for Hillary on November 4th. 6. Opinion. It's the reverse of fact. Listen to NPR or AM Talk Radio if you don't believe me, or, better yet, read the opinion page of the New York Times. (I'm talking about you, Paul Krugman.) Some people have facts, the
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POPSThe Stings of Poverty Article about an argument by Charles Karelis that traditional economics do not apply to poor people. He outlines his argument in The Persistence of Poverty: Why the Economics of the Well-Off Can't Help the Poor .
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POPSDavid Hume's epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot, 1734 In his early 20s, the great Scottish philosopher, David Hume, wrote this "letter to a physician" (unidentified, but probably Arbuthnot) giving an account of his melancholic symptoms and his efforts at self-treatment.
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POPSThe Sad Terrorist Nicholas Shakespeare reviews Blood & Rage: a Cultural History of Terrorism by Michael Burleigh.
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POPSDepression can be Good for You There is serious depression that needs help. There are poverty, abuse, bad circumstance that need addressing. But for most of us, a bit of depression, the article suggests, is a catalyst for refelction, change and growth
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POPSTribalism, Violence and Poverty The suggestion is that people being ruthlessly exploited by an appeal to their traditional loyalties will, in times of confusion and suffering, shelter first in their family, then in their 'tribe'.
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