"No Title"

I've forgotten what I was going to write today, but I doubt that it matters: the cartoon is almost always the best part of this blog. That may not be saying much, of course.
Actually, I've been thinking a lot about religion and American culture: it's an overwhelming topic, and there are many ways to approach it. Last night I was particularly thinking about Richard Gere's monologue in "Shall we Dance?" as well as Curly's "meaning of life" in "City Slickers." I was also thinking about the lack of a theology in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (there's plenty of mythology there, but it's all based around vampires--of course--and elements such as the cross, death and rebirth, and the incarnation of an eternal energy all play merely functional roles, rather than relating any of the characters to a Higher Power or Ultimate Concern) and the way "Joan of Arcadia" fizzled at the end. A few weeks ago it occurred to me that the only reference in "Syriana" to religion was the young Muslim man who becomes a terrorist, despite the various moral struggles each of the other (white) characters goes through: there is no appeal or reference to God, any church, or any kind of spirituality that might help them to make the right (or at least justify the wrong) decision. Jennifer Aniston's "The Good Girl" at least mentions religion, but it's a threat rather than a help: she knows she's doing the wrong thing throughout most of the movie, but she never connects her struggles to... well, the same list I just mentioned.
Sorry I haven't provided any links to the various movies; I think they're all worth seeing, but maybe not all tonight. I'd certainly welcome any feedback on these or other movies.

Sixth day

I remember Mike Carter getting really irritated back in high school when I compared Christianity to other religions (particularly the Greek and Norse myths). Mike, if you're out there, this cartoon is for you.
And although I don't make a habit of reading random blogs (well, besides Pieces of Flair), I thought this was particularly amusing. Although I suppose I ought to include an apology to Jeffrey.

Boffed

It's not my intention to be a shill for Amazon, but I figure this cartoon needs some explanation: Leonardo Boff wrote a book, Jesus Christ Liberator, which is very repetitive; and Leo's fellow Brazilian Antonio Carlos Jobim wrote a song called "Samba de Uma Nota Só," the most popular recording of which was made by saxophonist Stan Getz.
Seems a bit pedantic for a Thursday morning cartoon, but you get what you pay for.

Free will

Blame it on the badger, but here's some more on free will:
People who claim we have free will describe it as the ability to "do otherwise." This can mean a variety of things. For instance, Sartre focuses on attitude; another approach would be to simply look at the possibility of choices based on facts about the world, e.g., I had oatmeal for breakfast this morning but I could have had eggs and toast (because there were eggs in the refrigerator, we had bread, the power was on, etc.)
The people who claim we have free will ask for more: I could have done otherwise in precisely the same circumstances. What is typically meant by this is not merely what's in my refrigerator, but in terms of my mentals state, i.e., my wants and desires. Now, why in the world would I even want the possibility of going into my kitchen, desire oatmeal for breakfast, see that it is available, and still have eggs and toast?
This concludes the critique of free will. I'll have to save the positive portion for another day.

I always suspected...

I am an imaginary number 1i I don't really exist _

what number are you?

this quiz by orsa

Curious

I drew this cartoon a year and a half ago, and didn't think it would ever see the light of a computer screen... but yesterday at the end of worship, a young woman actually described herself as "curious about Quakers."
And since no one responded to my last guessing game, here's a new (and profoundly easy) one: for very gay mystic did I draw this cartoon?

This is a quote...

I'll let you figure out who it was about, and who said it.

More just cartoons

It's not that I don't have anything to say...
but I guess I don't know how to end that sentence.

Just cartoons

Yet more thunderstorms

May the Farm be with you!
Perhaps next week will provide greater opportunity to elaborate on my frustration with the question of "free will."
But maybe not: it's not really in my hands, now is it?

Decompensation station

I'll keep this as short as I can:
we don't have free will, at least not in the sense that most people think.
Perhaps that's too short... but no one seems to be reading (or posting) these days.

Multifaceted and complex reasons

I wanted to write something about why I changed my emphasis, and also the story about why I need to tell a bit about the story of changing my emphasis, but first: You Duped Me Lord (which features such recent post as, "The Holy Spirit is Wrong Wrong Wrong.") Who knew Jesuits read Lester Bangs? (Don't let Plain Man see the picture of Lester on the right-hand side of the above-linked web-page!)
Anyhow: I like hyperbole, and often use it to comic effect (or at least make the attempt). Recently I was at a gathering of people where I said quite bluntly that I changed my emphasis for one unambiguous reason which need not be repeated here, partly because, as indicated by the title of this post, there are many reasons: scheduling at this institution, profound miscommunication with the liaison at another institution, and a general sense that I need to modify my life's direction (or rather, that Spirit is leading me down a path other than the one I originally thought). Many reasons, not just one. I'm sorry I ever indicated it was as simple as I suggested.
Actually, I'm just sorry that I said it to one particular person. It's not that I don't like this person: on the contrary, she's quite nice. But I belatedly realized that she was perhaps the worst person I could have made a hyperbolic attempt at humor concerning the changing of my emphasis, precisely for the reason that she's also the most likely to repeat it in inappropriate circumstances.
Maybe this is Spirit working in an entirely unexpected way: keep your mouth shut! (James 1:19)

Jewels and Binoculars

I've been meaning to write about the similarities between fundamentalists of all stripes--particularly Christian and Muslim--but it's too humid to do much other than sit.
I should have added at least one link to the previous post: thank you Julie for tracking down something on Aristotle's conception of friendship. A friend is another self, a true friendship is part of what makes life worth living; but you can't just go up and ask someone to be your friend.

I followed her to the station...

Here's the missing cartoon.
I hope everyone is having a better Thursday than I am.

Iatrogenic

No cartoon, but I do have a word for the day: "iatrogenic."

Oil consumption

If we really want to end the U.S.'s dependence on foreign oil, we need to ratchet up the level of xenophobia and hostility.

Now, that's not my usual approach: I'm a pacifist and tolerant to a fault. However, how do we get the people with oversized pickups and SUVs, hauling around their motorboats and ATVs--the "Git-R-Done!" people--to realize the importance to reducing our oil consumption? Given the history in this country, making it a racial issue is probably the best choice. The trick is to firmly connect the "camel-f***ing towelheads" with gasoline in the minds of the average redneck. I don't understand how can they continue to waste gas as if there was an unlimited supply of oil, even as they constitute the part of the population most likely to die in Iraq or elsewhere? I don't understand how can they exhibit so much racial hostility towards Arabs (among others) while sending so much money their way? And have people forgotten that bin-Laden is from Saudi Arabia, and thus benefits more or less directly from our oil-consumption? Screw the sand-n*****s: buy a Prius!

I don't want to give anyone the wrong impression: Don't take any of my racial epithets seriously. I think you have a moral obligation to both love our neighbors and to take care of the earth, and that kind of xenophobia is a big part of the problem. But this seems to be the language of the people who listen to John Boy and Billy, and we need to get them on board if we're going to do anything. (I keep forgetting about NASCAR, though: maybe we need to bring back gladitorial combat.)
And of course, you're reading a tax-raising, latte-drinking, sushi-eating, Volvo-driving, New York Times-reading, body-piercing, Hollywood-loving, left-wing freak show of a blog. What do I know?

Drumming for the mud-people

The highlight of my summer so far came this past Saturday evening:
I was sitting by the campfire, strumming some Grateful Dead, when the mud-people arrived and demanded a drummer. Not wishing to disappoint, I put down my guitar and started drumming (I'm not sure why, but there was a djembe nearby). And then they began to dance as the night slowly fell. I probably drummed for over an hour. Good times.
A few notes: first, I realize that some people use the term "mud-people" as a racial epithet. I'm not using it in that sense here. These were mostly middle-class whites; I just don't know how else to describe them--there were perhaps 20 of them--covered from head to toe in mud. Except for one little sprout, who kept her dreadlocks and glasses mud-free.
Another note: I was eventually by two other drummers. Two of us had PhDs, the other was a PhD candidate. I usually don't equate intelligence with education (I mean, really), but of course there is some correlation, and I thought it wise to particpate by drumming rather than actually immersing ourselves in mud. Some might say this shows the dangers of academia, watching rather than participating. But that's my personal vice: I'm a 5, remember? And, none of the drummers had to run off to take a shower before going to bed; since they're solar-powered showers (I can see Matt smirking now), they weren't very warm by 10PM.
Last, but not least, and not related to the mud-people: my friend Terry has finally launched his website: Philosophy in the Service of the Good. There is much more content there than I expected--it's no mere blog!--so I haven't fully investigated it myself, but I trust Terry (most of the time).
Oh, the cartoon: I tell people that I take notes by drawing cartoons, and usually they evoke a complete picture of what was happening at the time. I have absolutely no idea why I drew this particular cartoon, but I thought it was vaguely amusing.

Just a quick note

It seems like I shouldn't go this long without an entry, even if few people are reading the blogs right now...
What have I been up to lately? Pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed and sloth. No, wait, those are the seven deadly sins I said I was going to look up last week. As it turns out, they have their own website. Who knew?
I've been getting chemical burns and assorted cuts, and my hands are black as tar (and no, not because of my sins). And playing guitar, although not quite as much as I had imagined I would these past two weeks.
Have a safe and happy 4th of July; I'll be cringing under a table somewhere. No, wait, that's my dog Biscuit.

Long weekend

I'm back, although chances are you didn't even know I was gone. Julie has inspired me to post an old cartoon... I'm a universalist, but that doesn't mean I like everyone. In fact, it doesn't necessarily mean I like anyone.


But I like you, of course.

"Well, someone has to spy on the beachcombers..."

Last night, the bugbear that stalks me reappeared: the question of free will. I did get a nice, concise explanation of "Arminianism," which is very good to have (also, some Thai food, which is also good to have, but is probably unrelated to the question of free will); but the question of grace and our relationship with God is only a small part of free will.
As it so happens, Tony Campolo has recently written a short essay about free will. I won't go into a full-fledged dissection of this piece, but I want to bring attention to a common error Tony commits here.
He starts by saying that God is self-limiting in order to give us free will: just as a parent must allow a child the freedom to make mistakes in order to mature, God has granted us an even greater freedom in order to achieve spiritual maturity. The problem comes in the next move: Tony switches from human freedom--and thus, sin and suffering borne out of that freedom--to cancer, hurricanes and tsunamis. Some people argue that those things (sometimes called "natural evils") are the product of human sin, but Tony (thank goodness!) doesn't make this argument (at least not in this article). But he doesn't offer an alternative connection between human freedom and natural evil, which is necessary in order to connect them at all. Can we imagine a world that had no hurricanes or tsunamis, and little girls didn't die of brain tumors? This doesn't have anything to do with free will at all: it's a question of theodicy. Despite centuries of trying to explain the latter in terms of the former, it still doesn't work.
I had hoped that Tony would offer something more satisfying... oh well.
Back to beachcombing.

Brush with fame!

Local celebrity sighting: James Todd Smith! Well, it wasn't really him, just someone having problems with her pants... but I have it on good authority that at least one Lady Loves Cool Tonda...

And I suppose I should explain a bit about the previous post, with more "old news":

"Mr Miro is the highest-ranking official to visit since ties were severed over support for Iran in its 1980-1988 war with Iraq." And:
"Mr Miro - who is accompanied by a large delegation of ministers and businessmen - is expected to sign various cooperation agreements."

Also,
"I know that every time Mr. Miro would call him, regardless of whether he was available or not, he would always respond and go to Mr. Miro. And Mr. Miro used to leave with him the keys to the storage where there were a lot of goods, very important significant goods."
[Much of this document has been redacted in closed session--sorry!]

I hope that helps to clarify things, particularly the question of whether I really am "mad, bad, and dangerous to know."

Old news, new cartoon.

This is from the Middle East Economic Survey, 04 August 2003:
'Before arriving in Turkey, Mr Miro suggested to the Turkish daily Sabah that Syria, Turkey and Iran should make common cause to fight American plans for the region, saying that “the whole world knows about America’s policy to establish a new order in the Middle East. Therefore I think Turkey, Syria and Iran as well as other countries need to act more and more together, because if we stay alone it becomes easier to do what has been done to Iraq.” The very fact that Mr Miro could openly propose such a common front is one indication of the parlous state of US-Turkish relations.'

Mr. Miro commonly proposes various thing that, in hindsight, seem like profoundly bad ideas, but only rarely do they indicate the parlous state of US-Turkish relations.

A Chat with iGod

I realize this site has been linked before, but I went there again today and had this exchange with God:

Me: What about a job?
God: I will think about it and get back to you.
Me: I'm not expecting you to employ me, just to help out
God: I am surprised to hear that you are not expecting me to employ you just to help out.
Me: I realize you already have a lot of people working for you
God: You are not the boss of me.
Me: Um, no, I'm not.
God: Excuse me! I heard you are.


Even with my liberal theology, I don't really think I'm the boss of God.
I bet the pay for that's pretty good, though.

{blank}

More on Tuesday

I ran across this quote recently:
'I told him I had been that morning at a meeting of the people called Quakers, where I had heard a woman preach. Johnson: "Sir, a woman's preaching is like a dog's walking on his hind legs. It is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all." '
I suspect that people who continue to hold this view would call themselves 'traditionalists,' and would be happy to see this quote if they're not already familiar with it. I can't quite believe that people would still hold such a view; while it's true that some women don't have the gift of preaching, others certainly do. I'm sure I could come up with others as well, but the point is a more general one: Johnson reflects an unwarranted prejudice that persists for no apparent reason. This isn't really my soapbox, but it strikes me as odd that I would be more accepted in a many pulpits than people who actually have gifts in that area and a desire to be there.

Tuesday - in color!

Well, sort of color.
I continue to ponder the profound, but keep coming up short. Maybe it's the blue sky and the happy little clouds... or the fact that I'm once again wondering what I'm going to do with my life, with the Rollings Stones as my soundtrack--to the wondering, not my life--and not really coming up with much.
I was reminded of Sequin Socks a couple weeks ago, but have forgotten to add the link; this will have to do for now. One of the dancers in the Roanoke Ballet Theater's production of 'Goodnight Moon' (based on Margaret Wise Brown's book) told me that they continued to sew sequins on the costumes of the socks up until the last minute (for the "goodnight, socks" portion of the performace).
An odd way to be reminded, but I guess no stranger than someone thinking of this cartoon as they toured the Albuquerque Museum of Art & History.

Here's to Peace and Justice!

Today's Dennis the Menace has Dennis and his little friend walking away from a buffet; Dennis says, "Buffet must be French for 'Get up an' Get it Yourself!'" Ha ha ha, don't you just love Dennis?

Well, maybe not. I don't know about the etymology of the word "buffet," but it has occurred to me that it's better than asking a waitress (or waiter), "Please just bring me plates filled with random food, until I'm ready to puke." That would be embarrassing; thus, we have the buffet (or better yet, the "All-you-care-to-eat buffet").

Julie has posted a bit about her experience with a clearness committee; I won't go into the level of detail she does, but I have also gone through one recently. It was the third I've been the focus of, although the experiences have been very different from one another. It was very good and affirming, and possibly has reopened some doors that I had already closed.
Not that working at a soup kitchen was one of them, but I though Lonnie might appreciate this cartoon.

Considerate Idealist

I'm hopping on the bandwagon.

Not profound

I feel the need to post more cartoons, to make up for my recent absence. (Matt, take note!)
The cartoon requires some explanation: technically speaking, philosophers don't "just make stuff up." However, in searching for a definition of philosophy that could capture all the different things that have fallen within the bounds of the discipline, from Thales' speculation that everything was water, to Descartes' Cogito ergo sum, to Isaac Newton's "natural philosophy," to J.L. Austin's How to Do Things with Words, and so on... (this list is intended to show how wildly disparate the subject matter can be, not list favorite philosophers), I've come up against the following question: what do they all have in common?
Each is trying to answer a question that can't be "looked up" or tested. (Newton's laws are an interesting case in point: they still seem true, even though Einstein showed that they weren't). In the absence of an empirical method to test the theories (or divine revelation, which is typically discounted by philosophers), we use can reason in order to form a hypothesis to answer our question. Hypotheses must meet certain criteria, including offering a plausible answer that adequately explains the subject in question. But the subject doesn't matter as much as the method, thus, this method of approaching questions is the essence of philosophy. (It also explains why the "perennial questions" never get answered, and why philosophy as a whole is so easy to spoof: anything that gets a concrete answer ceases to be within the realm of philosophy.)
I guess all of this is merely a long, unnecessarily footnoted way of saying, 'yes, philosophers do just make stuff up; but they do so within a certain framework, according to rules that have been refined and handed down over thousands of years.'
Of course, that doesn't make what we say true.

Wherever you go...

My thoughts on life-alteringly profound insights: they tend to sound either stupid, silly, banal, or cryptic. That doesn't mean that they aren't true, just that you have to be properly receptive to them. And things that sound profound at one point are often pretty dull once you sober up. (William James noted this in Varieties of Religious Experience--but being a true pragmatist, I've also tested it through experience.)
In lieu of life-alteringly profound thoughts today, let me take the time to note that today is Steve "I told Craig not to do that" Talley's birthday.
Happy Birthday, Steve!

Trouble with Tribbles

This has nothing to do with Tribbles, but I was thinking of Dan "I want to hear Kashmir!" Talley this morning.
The cartoon is only funny if you're familiar with this. Well, maybe it's not funny even then.
I've been scurrying around, trying to complete errands lately... funny how "free time" can be busier than when your schedule is booked.
I haven't been looking at any more etymologies lately, either. I promise to come up with something life-alteringly profound over the weekend. (Does that sound suspenseful or merely conceited?)

Etymology

I like the phrase, "a pig in a poke," partly because of the image it brings up (a poke is a bag or sack: it's dropped from the language, but we still use the diminutive, "pocket"). So, you're buying a wriggling sack, but the piglet is only assumed: the phrase itself refers to someone buying something sight unseen.
Why does this phrase enter the language? Because sometimes people would take advantage of others, and place another animal of dubious economic value in it's place: the cat. (I stress "economic value" for the cat-lovers among my readers, because I'm also fond of cats. But you can't eat 'em). So, buying a "pig in a poke" is to take a risk on something sight unseen.
One reason I find this particularly interesting is that this is also the origin of another phrase: "let the cat out of the bag." (How often was this going on, anyway? Were there lots of gullible people routinely buying piglets in sacks?) You've given away the secret: it isn't really a pig at all. The cat runs away, and you're left holding the bag.
Actually, that's a phrase that's been running through my head lately, but it seems to have a different origin. They can't all be about buying piglets, after all.
You'd think the gap since I last posted would mean that I'd have something really good today. Sorry.

The end: introduction

I suppose some sort of explanation is due here.
Anyone familiar with Plato will see a similarity between his metaphysics and the metaphysics of Christianity, popularly interpreted. For instance, we live in a place of darkness, but there is also a place of light. There is an individual who is able to bring the news of the light into the darkness, but he is killed for his efforts. The allegory of the cave is fine as long as you keep in mind that Plato is talking about Socrates, and not Jesus (or Neo). But I like allegories.
The line is another matter. For Plato, "reality" become more real as we ascend the line. Among other things, that means that mathematical formulas are more real than the computer you're reading this on. (There's also the question of whether the Realm of Forms contains an Idea of the Computer, or Cell Phone, etc., but I'll save that for another day.)
Transposed into Christianity, that spells trouble: our bodies and anything having to do with them are evil. Ditto "creation." This is particularly trouble since it's not a Christian idea at all: it's a Gentile idea that wouldn't have occurred to a Jewish carpenter. At least in my copy of the Bible, God sees what has been spoken into being and calls it... hm, it's here somewhere near the front... yes, here it is: "Good."
In terms of understanding the history of Christianity, it's important to have at least some notion of Platonic metaphysics. In terms of understanding Christianity itself... well, that's where the cartoon came from.

Odd, irrelevant postscript

Part of the irritation of working at the Onim
was that Mai was so totally focused on the
hotel industry that she didn't really understand that I was taking a break from school for a year, and that I already had an MA. I wrote my masters thesis on Foucault (as represented in the cartoon), and this was a feeble attempt to re-establish my identity as someone other than a hotel desk clerk. (Not, as George and Jerry say, that there's anything wrong with that.)
A few other loose threads:
I was a Pi Kappa Phi, and left the fraternity in a snit in the middle of my senior year. (Among other things: they weren't as much fun when I wasn't drinking)
When I joined, it was just a few guys who wouldn't really fit into the other fraternities on campus, but by my senior year it was starting to look just like all the rest (which I had not even bothered to rush). There was a rather pointless argument about the true function of the annual ski-trip, and finally some dissension about whether we should change the fraternity constitution. I was actually initiated (contrary to some of the hate mail I recieved, along with Stu Dabbs), and never formally withdrew: technically I still belong, and they still ask for money.
As for the Spin Doctors, I guess I was implying that they were are one-song band... and yet they're still around. Who knew?
(I hope this post lived up to its title.)

End of the Onim... off to seminary!

If we're posting lyrics today, here's my contribution (and, given my comments about eighties music, I hope you're not disappointed that it's not the Bangles):

Here come old flattop he come grooving up slowly
He got joo-joo eyeball he one holy roller
He got hair down to his knee
Got to be a joker he just do what he please
He wear no shoeshine he got toe-jam football
He got monkey finger he shoot coca-cola
He say "I know you, you know me"
One thing I can tell you is you got to be free
Come together right now over me
He bag production he got walrus gumboot
He got Ono sideboard he one spinal cracker
He got feet down below his knee
Hold you in his armchair you can feel his disease
Come together right now over me
He roller-coaster he got early warning
He got muddy water he one mojo filter
He say "One and one and one is three"
Got to be good-looking 'cause he's so hard to see
Come together right now over me

I'm tempted to reopen the "who is your favorite Beatle" debate (personally, I'm torn between John and George), but I'm more intrigued by the tatooed fellow showing off for the girl behind the desk... yo, dude, she's only interested in your tatoos! Who knew the library could be such an interesting place!

Nostalgia

I've been thinking about a fraternity brother of mine, M*A*S*H, and the Spin Doctors this morning.
Something Gary Burghoff (the actor who played Radar) came to mind, in conjunction with a song... and the fraternity brother. Well, that's a long story involving a ski trip that he never went on. Maybe another day.

At least there's a cartoon!

No Cartoon!

I'm not sure I can come up with anything insightful without a cartoon to distract you from the text... but here goes. A lot is going through my head these days, including Myers-Briggs types, Enneagram numbers, spiritual gifts that we may or may not have (and more importantly, may or may not claim, or have supported). Wondering about a summer job... and when I'll get back to Roanoke. And other mundane things I don't like to think about.

I keep meaning to find my copy of Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet, since I keep seeing the phrase, "live the questions"; yet part of me wonders if the desire to read is precisely an evasion of those questions.

Several people this morning talked about the gift of writing, a gift which I have been reluctant to claim. However, I have a half-finished essay on Kant and Kierkegaard that I need to finish and submit; the real hold-up is deciding on a suitable venue, since the sort of revisions that need to be made depend on where I submit it. But thats my pattern: I've started something that might be worthwhile, but I can't quite get around to finishing it and submitting it to public scrutiny. (Does this sound more like an INFP or a 5? Explain)

I've also continued to think about the politics of rock & roll as a medium, as well as concrete examples in which the Myers-Briggs Thinker/Feeler split manifests itself in politics. But I'll save that for a later posting, so you can be distracted by a cartoon.

Losing my Religion

I was inspired by Matt to post this cartoon, despite the fact that it's out of order. (If I'm going to post Biblical cartoons, I really should start at the Beginning, right?)
Ezekiel 18 isn't one of my favorite passages in the Hebrew Scriptures, but there's something almost Sartrean about this passage. I'd explain, but that would be pedantic (and we wouldn't want that, would we?).

Peeps

The concept, "my people," needs clarification.
I think of it in terms of recognition, perhaps even a sense of homecoming. But note: Uncle Jerry is hitting on my girlfriend, Aunt Jeanie is stirring up trouble and trying to create factions and dissent, Cousin Cliff is really, really stoned and seems to have wet himself. These aren't the only people in my family (thank God), but they are also my family. I have disagreements with "my people," but they're certain recognizable types of disagreements.
I've also had the experience of welcoming the stranger, and being the stranger who is welcomed. I've gone to places where I'm happy to sit and chat, liked the people very much, but never felt at home. I can see that I'm part of a much larger community--even brother- and sisterhood--but they aren't really "my people" in that sense.
This is an attempt to see a connection beyond my local group, without watering down the sense of belonging. At the same time, it isn't exclusive: there are circumstances in which I might recognize someone as "my people" who I wouldn't normally identify as such. I guess that's why I keep coming back to recognition, and why I want to stress that it isn't simply liking someone (or some group).
Perhaps someone else can explain it better than I... or, more likely, people will disagree. I welcome your comments.

Shout, shout, let it all out!

A lot of bad music was released during the eighties. Yeah yeah, a lot of bad music gets released all the time: but I don't have to hear most of it over breakfast. At least people weren't trying to rule the world.
I had another insight over the weekend about the perceived liberal/conservative split, and it is much simpler than I had originally thought: it's the Thinker/Feeler split in the Myers-Briggs personality sorter. I'll say more about this later, but it certainly explains a lot.
Oh--do I need to say anything about this cartoon?

Friday

Today I'm really, really sleepy. And sneezy. (I'm sure grumpy is nearby, and possibly dopey).
I continue to sit with the conservative/liberal distinction I've suggested, and the more I talk to people the more I realize that I might be picking up on some other trait. Spencer B., for instance (I really can't remember his last name) was a clear example of someone who was politically and religiously conservative who was very much focused on the letter of the law; but is this necessary or contingent?
Perhaps contingent.
We began our discussion of the enneagram today with the observation that any attempt to categorize people is always a bit messy; and yet, since there are some clear connections between types of people, we continue to be drawn towards sorting them out. I'll keep thinking about this distinction, though.

More of the same

To continue our tedious story: Jill took a job with the other nice hotel in town (actually much, much nicer, but the only real competition), and I think that Mai was worried that I would follow. Of course, I absolutely hated the work. (If you're confused, remember that I'm a 5 on the enneagram.) Stephanie went to work for a store nearby that sold oriental rugs and such, but she liked people. I got a job filing: completely anonymous, very boring, but absolutely safe.

More later!

Still not over

In the movie Constantine, the title character flips off Lucifer at the very end of the movie, which some have noted is fairly lame (as if the devil is offended by profanity). I don't really recommend the movie (except, as has been noted, that I like Tilda Swinton--check out The Chronicles of Narnia, even though it isn't really that much better of a movie), but this was an interesting point.
However, there have been several occasions in my life when the relatively mundane takes on new meaning (not quite like flipping of Lucifer, but as close as I care to get). This was one of those times: the addresses had been such an irritating focal point in Mai's nagging that I couldn't resist.
On a vaguely related note, a friend of mine who is an economist had a disagreement about my characterization of liberals and conservatives, noting that (my words, not his) they often act with short-sighted idealism. I think this is true and unfortunate; but not really my point. I hate to dig too deeply into actual issues on this trivial little cartoon-posting ground, but here's one example: needle-exchange programs. Should people be using drugs? No. Should people be sharing needles? No. I don't think there's much disagreement on this: even many libertarians tend to draw a line at needle-drugs (not all, of course). How should we proceed? We can either let disease spread, because after all it's illegal in the first place (the conservative response), or we can try to help people struggling with addiction. The second seems like the compassionate response. I know there are problems involved, but punishing people (i.e., letting them share infected needles) further seems unnecessarily callous. By all means, shut down the drug trade (heroin is more available now that we've ousted the Taliban, but that's another story); but the users suffer enough.
I don't want to focus on that particular example so much as the pattern in the differences between the liberal and conservative response, and not just in terms of politics.

Wednesday

I'm almost done with this story; then back to your regularly scheduled programming (that is, more snarky cartoons).

So Stephanie quit, then Jill quit on Stephanie's last day, and on Jill's last day I gave my two weeks notice. I didn't really plan for that to happen--we didn't conspire to all quit at once--but I did schedule a trip right after my last day, so I wasn't as flexible as I might have been. I did feel bad about it, though. Mai fixed that, though.

Just aggressive

And then I moved from exhibiting passive-aggressive to just being aggressive. Well, not really: can you imagine?

It looks like it is another gray day here, although it's warmed up a bit since yesterday. I think I probably need more coffee before my day gets going.

A funny thing happened...

We didn't conspire about quitting, but the three main desk clerks--Jill, Stephanie and I--all quit in rapid succession. Stephanie quit first, and on her last day Jill gave her two-weeks notice.
We were left with Pam, a particularly unpleasant woman who had been working as the night audit. Although it was never proven, it seemed that Pam stole some money out of my drawer; I don't remember the details, but she was the only one with access.

Longer

I won't rehash the circumstances behind this cartoon. However, I've recently made the acquaintance of a young woman who bears an unfortunate resemblance to Mai. This may mean that fewer cartoons get drawn over the next two weeks, at least featuring Mai.

On a completely different note, I should have more fan art in the near future.

The weather is cold--relative to the season--and dreary today, but I may have gotten a job today, which would be a good thing.

Vous gagnez!

What a week. Glad to be back.
Aren't you?

The phone

Again with the rule-following.
I was reminded this morning of a time, long long ago: I was playing clarinet, sitting between two girls (I was about to call them "young women," but really, they were maybe 15 or 16, and I couldn't have been older than 17 myself at the time). I hit a wrong note, and both of them turned towards me. The funny thing is, of course, that they weren't playing any more, so they missed a lot more than just one note, but their desire to point out my mistake was apparently more important than actually playing.
Charles Bolton, the band director used to say, "I'd rather hear the wrong note than not hear the right one." I always liked him.
Anyway, besides a Monday trip down memory lane, it struck me that Mai was just like one of these girls: just waiting for me to mess up something and point it out to me. Did she have other work to do? Probably. Did I have something better I could have been doing? Maybe not.
Occassionally, I really did something that I wasn't necessarily supposed to d0--the phone of course was for business purposes only--but was anyone in the lobby at the time? And we had multi-line phones, so I wasn't "tying up" anything either. Some would of course say that I was still breaking the rules, and that the rules need to be enforced. I continue to reply that context is everything: what is the intention behind the rule?

Cinco de Mayo

I'm not feeling very celebratory this morning, even though things ought to be better now.
It occurs to me that my "passive-aggresive hospitality" was never really directed at the customers: even when one fellow who came down and chewed me out for about ten minutes straight for all the problems everyone else had caused him (this was one of the time Mai didn't schedule me to work both the evening and the following morning shifts, so I knew exactly who had caused all the problems), I stood there and took it, just like a good desk clerk should. The bell-captain came up to me afterwards and told me that he--Dan, a really nice guy--would have punched the fellow. I could take the flak from the customers, but that was very draining for me.
Mai, on the other hand, wanted everything to go exactly by the book, regardless of the lived reality of the situation. That drove me nuts: you can either complain that things aren't the way they're supposed to be, or you can deal with the situation as it is. I see that as one primary difference between conservatives and liberals: the conservatives tend to want people to abide by rules and punish them if they don't, whereas the liberals tend to try to deal with the situation as they see it, and make things better. People are using needle drugs: throw them all in jail, or start a needle-exchange program? Gay men (and of course, many, many others) are having unprotected sex, contracting and spreading AIDS: call it God's punishment and counsel abstinence, or distribute condoms and educate people (which might help reduce promiscuity)? There are of course a lot if issues, but this is the basic pattern I see. And when I see it elsewhere--people trying to enforce an idealized version of reality, what Rush calls "The Way Things Ought to Be," and complaining or punishing, rather than adapting and trying to help a situation--I get frustrated.
Of course, I did antagonize Mai a bit. If I knew where she was today, I'd ask for her forgiveness: in my reactivity, I became part of the problem.