Natural Law

Thus, the Wahhabis know only two mortal sins: having a god other than the Wahhabi god, and smoking (which they call "the infamous way of drinking").
"And what about murder and adultery?" asked the Englishman who found this out, amazed.
"God is gracious and merciful," replied the old chief.

-Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science (trans Kaufmann)



I doubt that Dr. Grabill would approve; but who knows?

Spiderman, spiderman...

Maybe it's just me, but I find it difficult to say grace before a meal when the theme from "Spiderman" is playing in the background.
Not the movie, either: the cartoon.
And it was played by a mariachi band.
Aye Carumba!

(I promise: cartoons tomorrow.)

Plain Man

It was recently pointed out to me that, despite promises, I haven't posted any Plain Man cartoons. Here's a start.


Any similarity to R. Scot Miller is coincidental: I'm just not that good of an artist.

The quotes are his, though.

And, on a related note, I'm looking forward to seeing more of Brother Blüz. Perhaps even on a tshirt!






I guess I should explain a few of the references: Antonio Negri is an Italian Marxist who has co-authored a book called Empire.

And 'emotivism' is a philosophical theory according to which moral judgments are expressions of our non-cognitive preferences, rather than being grounded in reason.

At least my obscure references aren't merely self-referential.
Not today.

Who sits on your shoulders?

Why does the popular depiction of a person wrestling with a decision place a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other? Close observation reveals that the decision is rarely one between the "right thing" and the "wrong thing." More often, Icarus tempts one to fly to the sun, while a moth notes that a candle will accomplish the same goal. Or an ostrich and a penguin argue about the true nature of wings.

Or, among many men today, Pinocchio and Peter Pan debate the pros and cons of maturity.

The sun is shining again; I like blue skies in winter. I didn't see much of that growing up.

I couldn't resist

"I do not like the plains and it seems I cannot sit still for long."

-Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra (trans. Adrian Del Caro)

That friend speaks my mind!

On Poets

"Yet what did Zarathustra once say to you? That the poets lie too much? -But Zarathustra too is a poet.

Do you believe now that he speaks the truth here? Why do you believe that?"

Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra (trans. Adrian Del Caro)

I realize that some of you Quakers out there might be thinking, "yes, we know you're reading Nietzsche--but what canst thou say?"

Here are a bunch of cartoons: that's what I say.

Mr. Miro too is a poet; do you believe now that he speaks the truth here?

Why do you believe that?

I seem to have left out a name in the final cartoon: shall we have a guessing game?

(Which is to say: do you think you have ESP?)

Speaking in a Parable

A Jesus Christ was possible only in a Jewish landscape--I mean one over which the gloomy and sublime thunder clouds of the wrathful Jehovah hovered continually. Here alone was the rare and sudden piercing of a single sunbeam through the gruesome general and perpetual day-night experienced as a miracle of 'love', as the ray of the most undeserved 'grace'. Only here could Christ dream of his rainbow and his heavenly ladder on which God descended to man; everywhere else good weather and sunshine were too much of a rule and everyday occurence.

-Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science (trans. Josefine Nauckoff)

Sunshine, perhaps; but I doubt that Nietzsche had an Indiana winter in mind when he wrote this.

Für Elise

"Frosty the Snowman
Had to hurry on his way
But he waved goodbye
Saying don't you cry
I'll be back again some day"

Later this week in fact. But right now there's a little girl (Elise) who needs me elsewhere.

Hopefully it will have warmed up by the time I return. I might be a snowman, but even I don't like having frost inside my house.

The Pen Scribbles

My pen, it scribbles: this is hell!
Have I been damned to have to scribble?-
I dip it boldly in the well
and write broad streams of inky drivel.
See how it flows, so full, so pure!
See how each thing I try succeeds!
The text's not lucid, to be sure-
So what? What I write no one reads.

-Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science (trans Adrian Del Caro)



Have I mentioned that I really like Nietzsche?