The Collapse of Modern Civilization
More than 150 years ago Thoreau commented, “Our sills are all rotten.” He was right. It is for that reason that Western, and Westernized, “modern” “civilization” is collapsing. This could…
anthropology
Fantasy and Indoctrination: Rough notes on a few fantasy novels: part two
Here are two more fantasy books that I could not get through. That makes three in a row. And to think, I had a love affair with Terry Brookes’ Shannara…
Degeneration, Collapse, and Rebirth
What we are facing is systemic degeneration: ecologically, culturally, spiritually, intellectually, psychologically, socially, and biologically in terms of degenerating health and shortening life spans. This is the slow-motion collapse of…
Our Collective Memory Lasts Thousands of Years
When European explorers made first contact with peoples around the world both cultures changed. Unfortunately for those being contacted they were changed by a lot of diseases and exploitation (sadly…
Economic Inequality: It’s Far Worse Than You Think – Scientific American
The great divide between our beliefs, our ideals, and reality Source: Economic Inequality: It’s Far Worse Than You Think – Scientific American I don’t normally post anything on my…
An end-of-year email re: end-of-year emails
Sent from the office on my last day of work in 2015. To a much, much younger cohort of coworkers. (And man, that’s depressing!) This is my last day in…
Lest We Forget: Reflections On Remembrance Day, Veterans Day, and the Current Corporate Assault on Freedom and Democracy Around the World
The 21st century was the most violent and murderous period in human history to date. And with our current direction, the 21st century may well surpass it in violence and…
A few thoughts on empathy in human beings, and other living creatures
Empathy is natural in human beings, as Jeremy Rifkin has pointed out – and with strong backing by recent scientific findings. Some human beings have more and some less; and…
How Trinity Western University (unintentionally) promotes divorce
Trinity Western University has been in the news recently, as law societies in Ontario and Nova Scotia voted to not recognize lawyers trained at the religious university’s soon-to-open law school.…
Reflections on Chartres Cathedral, the death of civilization and the deification of the banal
Thinking of Chartres Cathedral, I ask myself, what, if anything, have we built in the past eight centuries, that compares to this? The iPad, computers, cell phones, the internet? Are…
The losers of Superbowl XLVIII will be…
Religious moderates. Here’s my reasoning. After the game, someone on the winning team, exulting ecstatically, will say “God was on our side” or words to that effect. It’s as sure…
Economic history in the present: Potlatch and tax
This post inaugurates an occasional series I’m calling, “Economic history in the present”. This series will look at vignettes from global economic history with an eye to current phenomena or…
Putting the “X” back in Xmas
Xtians began using “Xmas” 500 years ago, since in Greek, X is the “Ch” in Christ Around the holidays, some people (not to name names or anything) urge modern society…
New studies show babies have basically decent impulses and are strongly driven by moral imperatives
More research shows once again that compassion, empathy and mutual aid, and an instinct toward cooperation, are innate in human beings, confirming what the great Russian biologist and anarchist philosopher…
The new epidemic: Death cults and the culture of despair
An article in The Atlantic speaks to the growing death-fetish that is gripping more and more youth. It is a bad omen for the state of modern industrial civilization as…
Mexico City: A study in impermanence, and a lesson to us all
pablo lopez luz photographs the concrete waves (or carpet, as he puts it) of Mexico City The unbelievably sprawling concrete carpet of Mexico City seen in these photos make me…
Are we alone? More importantly, are we even awake?
The “man the life boats and head for the stars” answer to our present human dilemmas is simply delusional. We can and should explore space, but if we don’t get…
New studies show generosity and cooperation are both natural and intelligent
A new study shows a mathematical proof that generosity leads to evolutionary success. Biologists offer a mathematically based explanation for why cooperation and generosity have evolved in nature “Ever since…
Reflections on tumblr, facebook and social media
Going from specifics to depth and breadth, and from particularities to universals, here are some thoughts for your consideration, for anyone who may be interested. I’ve come to love the…
Will Ferrell does a mock music video of gangster rap – and it’s a scathingly hilarious critique of the genre
A musical commentary, followed by social and political analysis, followed by hilarious spoof rap videos, and more This is scathingly funny. Will Ferrell does a mock music video of macho…