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Victorola and scones
What a splendid afternoon! Chris and I descended into the Music Department archives and loaded ourselves up with vintage 78s: Wagner, Caruso, Berlioz, etc. Then we went to his house, cranked up the Victorola, and had a proper tea with raisin scones and jam. Next time we hope to have cravats and waistcoats! Continue reading
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Steampunkery
Tami and Pete enlightened me as to the existence of the “steampunk” genre — folks who write books and make stuff that celebrate the kind of victorian machinery of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells. Check out this website to see all sorts of steampunked computer stuff — really impressive. Continue reading
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Strange, dreamy, techno film
If you have 10 minutes, and (like me) enjoy surrealism and machinery, check out this short film. Continue reading
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His Dark Materials
I recently finished the trilogy by Philip Pullman, “His Dark Materials.” It is a set of books aimed at young adults, but when I saw the film of “The Golden Compass,” I found the ideas appealing enough to give the books a try. I was not disappointed. Most of the action takes place in a… Continue reading
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Memory image retriever
After successfully getting the Monarch Pricemarker to work, Jerry rewarded me with a more difficult task. He presented me with some sort of device (made by Haag-Streit, Bern, early 20th century) with movable arms, multiple lenses, a light source, and calibrated adjustment knobs. The task was more difficult since neither of us knew what it… Continue reading
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IT WORKS!
(Thanks to Jeannine for the excellent camera work.) UPDATE: Here, by the way, is the charmless current model of the Monarch Pricemarker (I think). Continue reading
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Insight into German culture
A very intriguing post over at Forschungsjahr about hidden swastikas in a German clothing store. Continue reading
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Price marker
This, my friends, is a Price Marker, made by the Monarch Tag Company, circa 1916, given to me by my friend Jerry, weighing in at about 25 lbs. A little tinkering with it reveals how it is supposed to work. You select the type from the wooden drawer, arrange it in the magazine, and decide… Continue reading
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Darwin books
I recently finished two good books about Darwin. I haven’t known all that much about the man, apart from scattered biographical references and documentaries. I am embarrassed to say I have never read The Origin of the Species, expecting it to be filled with the retelling of facts about bird beaks, snail shells, etc. Nothing… Continue reading
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Back from vacation
As has been perhaps obvious, my brain has been on vacation for the last month. Finished the Nz book, went to Disneyland, played Wii, drank the kool-aid, etc. Now I’m expecting my brain back any moment. I’ll need it, since as I finished writing the syllabi for my classes in the upcoming term, I realized… Continue reading
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Fuzzy philosophers
A gift from friends Pat and Glen. “Amazing thoughts and ideas. Impressive hair and whiskers.” Continue reading
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Edwards, The Plain Sense of Things
On Rob’s recommendation, I found and read this book. I truly admire it: this is a case where an author has taken his own path toward understanding a problem that concerns him deeply. The problem is, basically, the problem of nihilism. He wants to understand how to maintain the more general feelings of religiosity while… Continue reading
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The end is nigh
I haven’t been posting as much lately, since I’ve been at the last stages of the Nietzsche book. The end is at hand: just assembling biblio, checking references, etc. I usually regret expressing pride, but I still will say I am damned please with the book. It’s an unusual combo of biography and philosophy, organized… Continue reading
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Volte face
After all these helpful comments, I’ve done more reading and thinking about Nz’s politics. One good collection of essays I recommend is Nietzsche, godfather of fascism? (Princeton). The introduction, and essays by Golomb and Conway were especially illuminating. The volume also includes a partial defense of sister Elisabeth, which will probably make me go back… Continue reading
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Nietzsche’s fascism
More bashing of my dear friend. I’m in the last stages of the book ms, and trying to come to grips with his legacy. This following excerpt concerns the seeds he planted for fascism. It is clear that Elisabeth distorted Nietzsche’s philosophy in serious ways. Nietzsche was of course no German nationalist; he prided himself… Continue reading
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Maya Angelou
Follow this link to see an excellent CBS segment on the historic importance of Obama’s election to the White House, with a moving poem recital by Maya Angelou. Continue reading
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Jackson, WY
We went to Jackson, Wyoming two weekends ago to visit with friends Bill and Diane, see wildlife, and eat at unbelievably good restaurants. Some pics: Hanna had gone there separately with a 3-day class field trip. My favorite moment of the vacation was picking her up from the camp early in the morning. Steam was… Continue reading
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Happy Halloween
I tend to drag my feet when it comes to decorating for any sort of festival. But pumpkin carving remains a delight. Continue reading
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My valuation of Nz’s revaluation
(from the book I’m writing) What are we to make of this bold attempt to revalue our values? A first thing to note is that, in some ways, Nietzsche’s new foundation for value is not unfamiliar. Aristotle (whom Nietzsche rarely mentions) based his ethics upon a science of human nature. He believed that, with broad… Continue reading
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The virtue of windows
My son was helping me fill out a questionnaire from his school, answering questions about how satisfied we are with the teachers, facilities, curriculum, etc. At the end, I could leave comments about what we liked most about his school. I said, “Safety, and windows.” Ben found “windows” just hilarious. I explained that, no matter… Continue reading
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Casting votes vs. counting votes
Eye-opening story here (in Rolling Stone) about the insidious operation the GOP has in place for throwing out as many as a sixth of a state’s votes — particularly if they come from the sorts of people most likely to vote Democrat. Like Stalin said: it’s those who count the votes who control the election. Continue reading
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Beethoven & German idealism
I’m lucky to have been invited to present three lectures on “Beethoven & Philosophy” to the Beethoven class being held this semester (see below). They’re scheduled for the end of this month, so I’ve been preparing. Philosophers don’t have a lot to say about music. There is discussion of it in aesthetics, of course, and… Continue reading
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