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POPSSingular Sensations "At a certain point in the future, probably within the next few decades, the smarter, faster, smarter, faster cycle will have allowed us to remake aspects of our world -- and, potentially, ourselves -- in ways that would astonish, confuse, and maybe even frighten earlier generations. To those of us imagining this point in the future, it's a dramatic transformation; to those folks living through that future point, it's the banality of the everyday."
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POPS'Banality of tomorrow' its the future,now The future spreads, almost like an infection. The distribution of the future is less an endeavor of conscious advancement than it is an epidemiological process -- a pandemic of tomorrows, if you will.
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POPSThe superficiality of liberal-progressivism "Humans in that philosophy are merely bundles of nerves and muscle that respond positively to sensual pleasure and negatively to pain. Intellectuals, therefore, in theory, can structure political societies that will create universal happiness and harmony, effecting paradise on earth. It was this promise that gave us the Soviet Union and National Socialist Germany." Both Freud and Ortega were atheists and regarded spiritual religion as ignorance to be banished by what in the United States John Dewey called progressive education. What Freud and Ortega would not see was that the socialistic materialism spawned by the French Revolution was the true source of civilization’s discontents and the banality and crassness of mass man. "By initiating the destruction of Christianity in Europe, the French Revolutionary version of the Age of Enlightenment effectively decapitated civilization, leaving one-dimensional humans with bodies but little wisdom. "
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POPSTim Russert, Journalist Extraordinaire.....NOT This column by Paul Waldman, in the American Prospect is a must-read for anyone who finds themselves baffled by the ridiculous level of questions asked at the presidential debates, and other face-to-face interviews. He chooses Tim Russert as his primary target in this piece, which is quite apt considering the way Russert handled the questioning during the Democratic debate October 30. I was only able to clip a tiny bit to give you an idea of what it is about, but I urge you to read the entire piece. It is well worth your time in my rarely to be humble opinion.
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POPSThe Ruined City of Jiaohe, and the exquisite art of Wu Guanzhong In the works of Wu Guanzhong there is boldness, delicacy, and a certain base simplicity that becomes intricate by virtue of permutation and condensation. It feels like it can somehow capture the simoltaneous banality, simplicty, subtleness and complexity of the way man forms civilization around him. Thus the sprawling ruins of Jiaohe, a fortified city lost in the desert canyons of the Taklamakan, seems like a fitting subject. This painting just sold in Beijing for over US$4,000,000
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POPSEric Ambler and the British Espionage Novel Eric Ambler is considered to be the grand doyen of spy novelists. As this essay points out, he didn't invent the genre, but he made a lasting impact on it. I have been reading some of his novels lately (Dark Frontier and A Coffin for Dmitrios). For some reason I find them pretty slow going however. Still, this essay helps me appreciate his contribution
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