tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post3664347433032164699..comments2024-03-29T06:03:45.545-07:00Comments on One Cʘsmos: In Order to Know Much, You Must Know LittleGagdad Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-74013782360583132332014-08-14T09:25:59.441-07:002014-08-14T09:25:59.441-07:00Van Harvey, it only just hit me what you meant by...Van Harvey, it only just hit me what you meant by David Carradine and I went to Wiki, and yes, that is exactly what I meant. I have a friend who is a medical examiner and I have seen photos I wish I'd never seen. Things that no one should ever see.<br /><br />I'm exactly where you are describing you were ten years ago, and thank you, I'll take the help anywhere I can get it.Christina Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03026226686936294936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-35257784700586887882014-08-14T08:01:33.345-07:002014-08-14T08:01:33.345-07:00Heh, when you reach the point that everywhere you ...Heh, when you reach the point that everywhere you look you see almost nothing but zombies, especially with the glamorous and fashionable who are held up as titillating ideals yet you see only putrid decay and oozing sores, when you attempt to control yourself and remain calm as you slowly, gently try to wipe the green smudges from friends and family - from your kids - only because you know that if you give it the urgency it demands it will result not only in your being distanced from them but with the intensification of the rot... come see me; that's where I was ten years ago, I'll try and give some tips on how to get by as you realize that things are much, much worse than that.<br /><br />[insert smiley here]Van Harveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08470413719262297062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-31119272520675936942014-08-14T06:34:06.056-07:002014-08-14T06:34:06.056-07:00"Cognitive dissonance isn't an aberration..."Cognitive dissonance isn't an aberration for the left, it's a model. Disintegrated thought, 'Compartmentalization', is the sought for norm, and is the means of intellectual and spiritual free-fall."<br /><br />Agreed.<br /><br />I am becoming more and more intolerant of cognitive dissonance as the days go by. I'm sorry for the people who have to put up with me on day-to-day basis right now. The plan at the beginning of this year was to weed out my own cognitive dissonances. It's had unintended consequences, not necessarily bad, but hard to live with until I figure out the next step.Christina Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03026226686936294936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-60833625775016337872014-08-14T06:28:58.522-07:002014-08-14T06:28:58.522-07:00http://lotsofmarblesinajar.com/2014/07/27/commenta...http://lotsofmarblesinajar.com/2014/07/27/commentatulus-distracted-nihilism-the-failure-of-existentialism/<br /><br />" Rebellion against absurdity and convention are everywhere. Pick any given pop song, and odds are it supports a lifestyle of impulse and indulgence. If you’ve seen the movies Titanic, Dead Poets Society or more recently The Fault in Our Stars, you’ve seen some of the most successful Existentialist propaganda ever produced. One can even see it in the works of popular comic strips such as Calvin and Hobbes, Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal and xkcd. Perhaps most obviously, you can see it in the bastard son of Horace’s ancient maxim “carpe diem.” I.e. “YOLO.” From all of this it seems evident that Existentialism has permeated contemporary west quite thoroughly, and that the threat of Nihilist despair has been neutralized.<br /><br />Or has it? When you consider all things honestly, an Existentialist is still a Nihilist at heart. The only difference is that they’ve found a way to distract themselves. They can tell themselves that they’re infusing their own meaning into the universe or that they’re living authentically, but any meaning they infuse will still decay into absurdity again (if it wasn’t absurd in the first place), and no matter how authentically you live you still die alone. In this sense Existentialism becomes less of a philosophy and more of a drug. It certainly helps you forget about the world for a while, but no high lasts forever, and the universe will still be depressing once you come down."Christina Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03026226686936294936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-13149303811439642342014-08-14T06:10:51.505-07:002014-08-14T06:10:51.505-07:00Cognitive dissonance isn't an aberration for t...Cognitive dissonance isn't an aberration for the left, it's a model. Disintegrated thought, 'Compartmentalization', is the sought for norm, and is the means of intellectual and spiritual free-fall.Van Harveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08470413719262297062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-47328499237219649202014-08-14T05:42:59.258-07:002014-08-14T05:42:59.258-07:00"The spirit that goes into a thing when it..."The spirit that goes into a thing when it's created is what comes out of it when we experience it."<br /><br />Exactly.<br /><br />By the way, doing things for the troops is not a "Get out of Jail Free" card. It's like buying indulgences. The cognitive dissonance of someone supporting the troops and then supporting, politically, all the things that undermine the troops the most, is stunning to behold.Christina Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03026226686936294936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-89219477357826663782014-08-13T16:58:56.656-07:002014-08-13T16:58:56.656-07:00I guessed the plot of Dead Poets Society 5 minutes...I guessed the plot of Dead Poets Society 5 minutes into it. It had the stench of death from the git-go. <br /><br />The spirit that goes into a thing when it's created is what comes out of it when we experience it.Joan of Argghh!https://www.blogger.com/profile/14729682908266300507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-76923692840082861682014-08-13T08:56:44.283-07:002014-08-13T08:56:44.283-07:00Ooh... flashback to David Caradine. Yuck.
I'...Ooh... flashback to David Caradine. Yuck. <br /><br />I've only ever listened to his first album, other than Academy Awards, etc, I've never watched his routines because they did get too ridiculous.<br /><br />But I've thoroughly enjoyed his movies, even in recognizing where their message was unsound (good luck finding movies free of such).<br /><br />No matter the details, it is very sad, maybe all the worse because I've yet to hear someone describe him as anything other than a kind, generous guy & good friend, who went out of his way to help, one of those who did the USO tours, etc.<br /><br />A person died, and that's not politics or philosophy - he's beyond both now, and his family has to deal with it.<br /><br />It's just very sad.Van Harveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08470413719262297062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-84416173984667170802014-08-13T07:55:06.202-07:002014-08-13T07:55:06.202-07:00For some reason, I was always able to overlook Den...For some reason, I was always able to overlook Dennis Miller's hatred for all things conservative (I have several of his stand-up routines done prior to 9-11), but I was never able to make it past Robin William's hatred for all things conservative.<br /><br />When I was young and stupid, I liked the movie "Dead Poet's Society", but then I grew-up and realized that glorification of "the rebel" and "sparks of madness" limits employment satisfaction and can be deadly.<br /><br />There are other forms of death by asphyxiation that have nothing to do with depression, and everything to do with depravity. The last stand-up routine that I saw, done by Mr. Williams, which was fairly recently, was pretty depraved. I gave the DVD away. I wish I had destroyed it instead.Christina Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03026226686936294936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-19399334084170055772014-08-12T18:55:40.715-07:002014-08-12T18:55:40.715-07:00"It is not that we should ignore the lower ve..."It is not that we should ignore the lower vertical, but rather, see it in the light of the upper vertical. It's simple, really: see the relative in light of the absolute, or time from eternity, or individuality in terms of transcendent communion and love."<br /><br />Very well said. USS Ben USN (Ret)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07492369604790651538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-12196780789188617692014-08-12T18:22:11.630-07:002014-08-12T18:22:11.630-07:00You are right, EbonyRaptor, suicide is indeed a mo...You are right, EbonyRaptor, suicide is indeed a most selfish act.<br />I don't know how much drugs or depression or hopelessness convinced Williams that his loved ones would be better off without him, which would be self-delusional anyhow, but he still had to make a choice.<br /><br />Hopelessness leads to this dark selfishness and often a premature death.<br />I do hope for his sake that Williams looked up rather than down before he killed himself, and hope his family gets through this alright.<br /><br />I am grateful Williams volunteered his time and talents to help veterans, and others.<br />It's sad to see people destroy themselves.USS Ben USN (Ret)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07492369604790651538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-74192949847269670692014-08-12T18:04:23.098-07:002014-08-12T18:04:23.098-07:00"FORCED to be "free,"" is as n..."FORCED to be "free,"" is as nuts and diabolical as it means.<br /><br />And of course the "frightful abuses" Rousseau refers to is liberty, truth, and reality itself.USS Ben USN (Ret)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07492369604790651538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-13939697456919709702014-08-12T16:59:47.800-07:002014-08-12T16:59:47.800-07:00"This constricted way of looking at things te..."This constricted way of looking at things tends toward what Voegelin calls a pneumapathological rejection of reality, or a "counterexistential dream world." The modern ideologue collapses this divine-human space because he refuses to live in the unresolvable tension of its complementarity."<br /><br />Aye. Those on the left are like the panicky drowning victim who attempts to drown his rescuer, Truth, rather than allow Truth to save them.<br />Actually, the left is worse, because of their envy, fear and hate which drives them to try and force everyone else to drown with them.<br /><br />For leftist belief's, or rather fantasies lead to a baptism of death.<br />And Leftists think that their loontopia is waitin' on the other side.USS Ben USN (Ret)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07492369604790651538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-12705194293826324232014-08-12T14:01:22.982-07:002014-08-12T14:01:22.982-07:00Robins Williams' joke about being Episcopalian...Robins Williams' joke about being Episcopalian: “Catholic light: half the religion, half the guilt.”<br /><br />Good joke. He was certainly was under the comedian's curse: frustrated and cynical, finding an outlet in humor; but that levity was constrained, in that, it was not a lightness towards oneself, that surrenders itself to God, but a false lightness that offers a deflection of one's own darkness in a Godless universe.<br /><br />The interview with <a href="http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episodes/remembering_robin_williams" rel="nofollow">Mark Maron</a> is revealing.tedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07354048695798015131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-32706431716288158512014-08-12T13:00:43.783-07:002014-08-12T13:00:43.783-07:00Yeah - in truth, I have no idea where he stood on ...Yeah - in truth, I have no idea where he stood on matters of faith. I only know that for myself, I was at the greatest state of despair when I had lost all faith, and concluded that nothing was.juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15975754287030568726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-88813389445209024232014-08-12T12:42:02.171-07:002014-08-12T12:42:02.171-07:00I assumed Williams was agnostic or atheist because...I assumed Williams was agnostic or atheist because of his language and lifestyle, though he was very good about doing shows for the troops while keeping a low profile. He used to joke about being Episcopalian.mushroomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07651027035577798096noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-70210764090762766042014-08-12T12:21:01.209-07:002014-08-12T12:21:01.209-07:00The beauty of God's plan, His love for us, His...The beauty of God's plan, His love for us, His relationship with us, demonstrated to the ultimate in Jesus, is that we find fulfillment in life when we live to love others. Suicide is the opposite of that. It is the ultimate selfish act. It is leaving your loved ones with the pain of abandonment, not to mention throwing away the gift of life that God has given you.EbonyRaptorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02483546359869912858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-81440205095912825532014-08-12T12:05:14.157-07:002014-08-12T12:05:14.157-07:00Apropos suicide, Father Stephen put up a timely po...Apropos suicide, <a href="http://glory2godforallthings.com/2014/08/10/comfort-one-another/#comments" rel="nofollow">Father Stephen</a> put up a timely post a couple of days ago on God as Comforter:<br /><br />"The Son is Himself the Comforter, the Spirit being “another Comforter” (Jn. 14:6).<br /><br />This dynamic goes to the heart of repentance, which in many ways is the root of our true existence (so far removed from a legal and moralistic understanding). For it is when our hearts are broken and do not run away or hide that we can call on God to comfort us. And He does.<br /><br />That comfort is the gift of His own life within us, a sharing of His own joy and love. The hardness of our hearts creates walls and obstacles that refuse to be comforted. In our suffering and pain we enclose ourselves and the ego anxiously seeks to escape (which is the source of most of our sin)."juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15975754287030568726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-64597567119521121272014-08-12T10:54:29.885-07:002014-08-12T10:54:29.885-07:00Julie said "Yes, I think they must believe th...Julie said "Yes, I think they must believe that if only there were enough laws, nobody would have to be good, and everything would be okay."<br /><br />Or that those laws would force everybody to be politically correct, and <i>that</i> would make them good and then everything would be okay. Or as our old buddy <a href="http://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/638#Rousseau_0132_138" rel="nofollow">Rousseau put it</a>, <br /><br />"<i>In order then that the social compact may not be an empty formula, it tacitly includes the undertaking, which alone can give force to the rest, that whoever refuses to obey the general will shall be compelled to do so by the whole body. This means nothing less than that he will be forced to be free; for this is the condition which, by giving each citizen to his country, secures him against all personal dependence. In this lies the key to the working of the political machine; this alone legitimises civil undertakings, which, without it, would be absurd, tyrannical, and liable to the most frightful abuses.</i> "<br /><br />Laws, what can't they do?Van Harveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08470413719262297062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-40210918672101042112014-08-12T10:53:05.528-07:002014-08-12T10:53:05.528-07:00"There's nothing intrinsically wrong with..."There's nothing intrinsically wrong with the lower vertical, mind you. It's just that you need to be accompanied there by an adult. In the absence of adult supervision, it redounds to hell. It will "grow claws and start to tunnel" downward, breathing life into envy, resentment, auto-victimization, entitlement, and illegitimate violence."<br /><br />That is One apt description.<br />Van Harveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08470413719262297062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-60210692201443351182014-08-12T10:22:11.348-07:002014-08-12T10:22:11.348-07:00Yes, I think they must believe that if only there ...Yes, I think they must believe that if only there were enough laws, nobody would have to be good, and everything would be okay.juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15975754287030568726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-28649784615075350722014-08-12T10:20:32.737-07:002014-08-12T10:20:32.737-07:00Which is why it's so hard to fight that irrati...Which is why it's so hard to fight that irrational leftist energy...Gagdad Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-30324617684272178092014-08-12T10:19:48.796-07:002014-08-12T10:19:48.796-07:00I suppose a lot of disordered souls must imagine t...I suppose a lot of disordered souls must imagine the state will order them...Gagdad Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-75011510052105629382014-08-12T10:14:01.025-07:002014-08-12T10:14:01.025-07:00Re. Williams, I was reminded again that for an ath...Re. Williams, I was reminded again that for an atheist, depression seems like it would be particularly deadly - for in the absence of god, there is no possibility of meaning in the suffering, and no compelling reason (beyond the instinct for survival) to endure through the anguish.juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15975754287030568726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-18008126779290235502014-08-12T10:03:37.066-07:002014-08-12T10:03:37.066-07:00I was just thinking about this in the context of R...I was just thinking about this in the context of Robin Williams, whose profound sadness was matched by his profound hatred for all things conservative. As if the the fulfillment of his political fantasies would have had any impact on his own misery. If anything, a person who is subject to depression should know better than anyone how -- well, as Samuel Johnson put it,<br /><br /><i>How small, of all that human hearts endure / That part which laws or kings can cause or cure!</i><br /><br />Of course, that was written prior to the emergence of the modern state, and the unimaginable miseries it has caused since then... <br /><br />Gagdad Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.com