Ray Manzarek Posse

Ray Manzarek has a posse.

Here.

And now there's nobody to constantly remind us that Jim Morrison was a poet genius shaman....

Take it up to Room 21!

This is still hilarious. And it's clear from its cover alone that this should be added to the book collection.  I still am not sure if I have received a copy.  Please mail your red box to Mr. Danzig.

Hating Perfection

Several people have contacted me about an odd package they received, unsolicited, in a red box, containing two copies of a book titled Hating Perfection.  I have not seen this book, and I know nothing about it or its author.  For all I know, there is a red box waiting for me in my campus mail slot.  But I've been told three interesting facts about the book:

First, it comes with endorsements from some pretty well-known, non-insane philosophers.

Second, it includes a pamphlet in which the author claims to have "solved the Chinese room paradox" (?). 

And third, the book contains several full-color glossy drawings of provocatively-dressed vampire women. 

Explain.

Bowie's Epistemology

Just getting around to a proper study of the new Bowie.  That album is a little long, but overall surprisingly good.  It's also refreshing to see that Bowie is back to doing epistemology.  On one song, he argues, "The moment you know, you know you know."  If you're going KK, you might as well go for the strongest version....

No Surprise about Hell

No surprise... Richard Hell once again shows himself to be a barely-literate, self-important, ignorant, fool.  Face it: the guy's never even been shallow.   Here.

Religious Vomit

"The Grammy-nominated frontman of Christian metalcore band As I Lay Dying has been arrested on suspicion of hiring an ex-policeman to kill his wife."

Here. 

Advice to High Schoolers

Don't ask why, but I had a family member ask me today at what point I think a kid should choose his or her college major.  My immediate response was, "When does the kid's university require one to declare one?"  But then I was told that the 16 year old daughter of this family member was being told by a high school guidance counselor that she must now begin to decide what colleges she wants most to attend, and what major she wants to pursue.  I'm assured that it is not uncommon for guidance counselors to tell 16 year old kids this kind of crap.  Anyway, I said it was ridiculous to think that a 16 year-old should need to make this kind of decision.  So then the questions was put again: When should a kid make a decision about her major?

My reply: She's not ready to declare a major until she's mature enough to hate the way she was raised. 

Delayed Posse Alert

Jeff Hanneman has a posse.

Raining blood.

Here.

First Refusal

Anyone who has ever signed a book contract will have encountered the "first refusal" bit.  This is where the Press claims a right to "first refusal" of the author's next book. The idea is that the author is obliged to submit his or her next book project or manuscript to the publisher of the present book.  One can easily see why this would be important for trade publishers who want to continue to publish a best-selling author.   But I've always been puzzled by the presence of the clause in contracts for academic books.  Moreover, I know of no case in which it has been taken as binding.  Does anyone know of a case in which this clause has been appealed to in the context of an academic book?

PR Problems in Philosophy

Philosophy obviously has a lot of PR problems.  And many of these are going to become all the more pressing in the near future as colleges and universities become increasingly accustomed to betraying their humanistic mission in favor of goals set by the market.  But an exchange I had today while waiting for a plane got me thinking of another dimension of the problem, namely, how Intro to Philosophy gets taught...

Guy: So, what line of work are you in?
Me: I'm an academic.
Guy: What's your field?
Me: Philosophy.
Guy: Huh.  That's... what?... the study of ancient peoples or something?
Me: Well, no.  It's the discipline that asks the most fundamental questions that we know of...
Guy: I get that.  I had it in college.  But what you study is what ancient people thought about that stuff.
Me: Well, no.  We do study the work of ancient philosophers, but...
Guy: Why would anyone care to study what ancient people thought about anything?  They knew so little...
Me: Well, we don't read Aristotle for the purpose simply of finding out what some old Greek thought, we try to find out what the truth is about certain matters, and, surprisingly, Aristotle can help.  But, again, we don't study Aristotle simply to find out what he thought.
Guy: Really?  My course in college was only about old people, long dead.  There are philosophers who are alive today?
Me: Yeah.
Guy: Wow.  I had no idea.  I thought philosophy died out sometime in the 1800s.  I guess I always wondered why...

Life Imitates Lynch

"Of course!  Of course... it's the urine.  Shit... You've gotta... You can't leave out the urine!!"

Woman, loudly, on cellphone, in my old school coffee shop.  I hope that she was a medical professional talking to another about a patient. But who can tell these days?

Edwin Mellen...

A "quasi-vanity press cunningly disguised as an academic publishing house."  Cunningly disguised?

More here. 

Geek Test

A classic just showed up in my inbox.  If you think this is funny, it's too late ....

Three logicians walk into a bar. The bartender asks if they would all like a drink. The first logician says "I'm not sure." The second logician says "I'm not sure." The third logician says "Yes."

Early Twentieth-Century?

Am I correct to think that it's odd for a book titled Early Twentieth-Century Continental Philosophy to be focused mainly on "the great French philosophy of the Sixties"?  In what sense is the Sixties early Twentieth Century?  Why isn't that middle or later Twentieth Century?

Margaret Thatcher Posse

Maggie has a posse. 


Here. (And here!)