From Le Pèlerin (1929)

A Frenchman, an Englishman, and a German each undertook a study of the camel.
The Frenchman went to the Jardin des Plantes, spent half an hour there, questioned the guard, threw bread to the camel, poked it with the point of his umbrella, and, returning home, wrote an article for his paper full of sharp and witty observations.
The Englishman, taking his tea basket and a good deal of camping equipment, went to set up camp in the Orient, returning after a sojourn of two or three years with a fat volume, full of raw, disorganized, and inconclusive facts which, nevertheless, had real documentary value.
As for the German, filled with disdain for the Frenchman's frivolity and the Englishman's lack of general ideas, he locked himself in his room, and there he drafted a several-volume work entitled: The Idea of the Camel Derived from the Concept of the Ego.

Cherem

With the judgment of the angels and of the saints we excommunicate, cut off, curse, and anathematize Baruch de Espinoza, with the consent of the elders and of all this holy congregation, in the presence of the holy books; by the 613 precepts which are written therein, with the anathema wherewith Joshua cursed Jericho, with the curse which Elisha laid upon the children, and with all the curses which are written in the law. Cursed be he by day and cursed be he by night. Cursed be he in sleeping and cursed be he in waking, cursed in going out and cursed in coming in. The Lord shall not pardon him, the wrath and fury of the Lord shall henceforth be kindled against this man, and shall lay upon him all the curses which are written in the book of the law. The Lord shall destroy his name under the sun, and cut him off for his undoing from all the tribes of Israel, with all the curses of the firmament which are written in the book of the law. But you that cleave unto the Lord your God, live all of you this day.

And that's only part of it...

It's quite a reaction considering that Spinoza thought that "a person's actions should not be aimed at pleasing God, but rather at acting in conformity to the nature of God" (in Antonio Damasio's paraphrase--seems accurate enough to me).

Voltaire wrote this about Spinoza:

And then, a little Jew, with a long nose and a pale complexion,
Poor but satisfied, pensive and reserved,
A subtle but hollow spirit, less read than celebrated,
Hidden under the mantle of Descartes, his mentor,
Walking with measured steps, comes close to the great being:
Excuse me, he says, addressing him in a whisper,
But I think, just between us, that you do not exist at all.

That's not really true, of course, but his conception of God is certainly different from that of the Judeo-Christian tradition. After all, he wrote, "He who loves God must not expect God to love him in return."



You've probably guessed by now, but I really like Spinoza.

Mac & PC

Maybe this is Jeff's problem: he's a Mac user. Sure, it's easy to use and does a lot of cool stuff, but does it remind you to update your blog? (I don't know what Cougar Shaman's problem is, though.)

These cartoons aren't merely part of an effort to brown-nose David into forming a reading group with me...







But perhaps he'll find them somewhat amusing.
I know not everyone does.

Rainy again

The overcast skies and cold, incessant rain almost reminds me of home.
But home doesn't suck.



And although I could go on and on and on about how much I love my hometown, one word really says it all: Powell's.


Speaking of things that suck: the basketball season seems to have ended early this year.
I remember losing back in 1990; but if that's an indication of things to come, so be it.

I've been saving this one

Based, as so many of my cartoons are, on a true story.

In other news, I like this drawing. It doesn't really fit my theology (such as it is), but it helps to balance out the late Bob Keck's heartwarming stories of Gypsy-Bear and Angel.








This cartoon is not about Hoosiers, but rather a quote from Dan about early Christians.
So I guess, not about Hoosiers specifically.
Speaking of which, Indiana seems to have three teams at the big dance. I doubt that my alma mater will win, but I can hope.

Bah!

That's all for today:
Bah!

Just Plain Thursday

I can just hear him now: "Don't you mean fifth day?"
The non-plain fellow is John the Evangelist, taken from a medieval illuminated manuscript (or something like that). The quote, however, is taken out of context: it was originally aimed at a young woman who bears a striking resemblance to Mai.

I realize that Plain-man doesn't look like Che Guevara, but I suspect that the reference will make a few people laugh (now that's some obscurely self-referential humor!)
On a completely different topic:
When reading, it's always good to use the principle of charity. However, sometimes it's more fun to take the author literally. Here's rewritten Darwin:
"Our 'imaginary ideas' arise from the monkeys of the soul..."
Speaking of monkeys of the soul, I think it's time for class.

Tuesday afternoon

Not much to say right now, but I thought you might like new cartoons.
Well, as NBC used to say: they're new to you.

The sun is shining: a good day to walk.

Everything frozen melts

And everyone gets wet.

Sometimes it's just like that.

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?

Fan Art: Happy Birthday!

I think the band is the Stylites; I'm surprised there isn't a drummer in there, but who can resist a band consisting in a trumpet, saxophone, and bass?
Singing, I realize, is somewhat more problematic; but as you can see, I play saxophone as well.



("I saw it on the web, so it must be true!")

God's honesty

A god who is all-knowing and all-powerful and who does not even make sure that his creatures understand his intention--could that be a god of goodness? Who allows countless doubts and dubieties to persist, for thousands of years, as though the salvation of mankind were unaffected by them, and who on the other hand holds out the prospect of frightful consequences if any mistake is made as to the nature of the truth? Would he not be a cruel god if he possessed the truth and could behold mankind miserably tormenting itself over the truth?
-Friedrich Nietzsche, Daybreak (trans R.J. Hollingdale)

Am I ready for a new semester at seminary or what?

On the bright side, someone seems to have forgotten to log off of pandora: so when I went to listen to my funky jazz, I was instead treated with some soothing acoustic music. I give David Grisman and Tony Rice a thumbs up!