So one (except ElJay, who asked some pretty good ‘uns) has 3 questions to ask me?
Hmm…
I am in decline…..
Attack the System- Video shows Va. deputies pile on top of Irvo Otieno before his death 21st March 2023Seven sheriff’s deputies and three hospital workers have been charged with murder in the case. By Salvador Rizzo , Laura Vozzella and Samuel Oakford March 20, 2023 at 10:40 p.m. EDT Deputies appear to pile on top of Otieno in fatal encounter Surveillance video from Central State Hospital […]Keith Preston
- Why is America So Anti-City? It Holds Back the Entire Country. 21st March 2023By Lynn Parramore Mar 20, 2023 | Economic Geography | Inequality & Distribution A new book by economist Richard McGahey examines the country’s anti-urban structure and ideology, offering insights on how American cities can thrive. Cities. They’re the places where most Americans live, work and play, but skeptics […]Keith Preston
- Happy World War! 21st March 2023Linh Dinh In Hanoi’s Old Quarter, there are streets named Hat, Fan, Pen, Cotton, Comb and Coffin, etc. As their names indicate, each sells a particular merchandise, though much less so now, to make room for hotels, restaurants, bars and cafes. On Comb Street, combs went from wood […]Keith Preston
- Video shows Va. deputies pile on top of Irvo Otieno before his death 21st March 2023
- Samizdata
- Samizdata quote of the day – moral hazard edition 21st March 2023“Deposit insurance is a cancer at the heart of the capitalist system, destroying its ethical foundations. Rich depositors should not be able to secure returns, in the good times, for investing in fundamentally riskbearing activities (which fractional reserve deposits are, by their nature) but then be bailed out by the government when times are tougher. […]Johnathan Pearce (London)
- The power of studying humanities 20th March 2023I like the following comments by Adrian Wooldridge, the journalist, writing in Bloomberg ($ paywall) a week ago: The humanities at their best are also perfectly equipped to provide an education in something that has been sadly lacking in recent business history: human judgment. The notion of judgment might sound a bit vague — certainly […]Johnathan Pearce (London)
- Samizdata quote of the day 20th March 2023Far from robbing anybody of surplus value, Capitalism is like a benevolent ancestor who, instead of consuming all the port that he could get – as some ancestors did – laid down an enormous cellar of it for the use of future generations. And every one who is now alive in this country, and millions […]Patrick Crozier (Twickenham)
- Samizdata quote of the day – moral hazard edition 21st March 2023
- Wisdom Dancer
- Systems indoctrinate, deprecate questioning and doubt, produce reactive citizens, and blame them(An extension of a few points I mentioned in this video concerning education.) So-called educational systems teach young students what to believe, how to behave, and perhaps skills deemed necessary—not to question. (To a considerable degree, teaching what to believe … Continue reading →Wisdomdancer
- Excerpt: a chorus of the living, an orchestra of echoesA brief excerpt taken from Book III of Volume I of The Constellation of Man. These metaphors, like others I use in the book, introduce realism concerning the novelty of our personal appearance on preconstructed stages of history and human culture, atop mind … Continue reading →Wisdomdancer
- The Liberating Value of ReconciliationTwo things amaze me, again and again, about American enthusiasm for rancor in politics. I. Vengeance welcomes and relishes any opportunities to humiliate or oppress one’s opponents, but shows no foresight of how this creates a precedent—a legal and cultural … Continue reading →Wisdomdancer
- Systems indoctrinate, deprecate questioning and doubt, produce reactive citizens, and blame them
- Mr. Mean-Spirited
- VISITING THE REMAINS OF BENJAMIN DECASSERES IN TUCSON 31st May 2021by John GrauerholzThere are particular geographic locations that, for one inexplicable reason or another, seem peculiarly enchanting. Certain places resonate with certain personalities. There is, somewhere, a precise scenery that speaks to your soul. No matter how many times I visit Arizona, the city of Tucson has always been an endlessly enchanting landscape. Not a […]Mr. Mean-Spirited
- YOUR OWN MEDICAL RECORD WILL BE USED AGAINST YOU 29th April 2021by John Grauerholz Your medical record is something that will always be used against you. Your medical history only exists to record your physical humiliations. A doctor is not there to cure you, but to cause you as much consternation as possible. A physician’s role is not to heal a patient of your ilk, but […]Mr. Mean-Spirited
- THE FUTURE OPPRESSES US 24th March 2021by John Grauerholz It is the future that persecutes us. The communitarians would have us break rocks all day long to bring forth a better world in the decades yet to come. Activists for the long-threatened paradise will not leave us alone – these advance-men will harass and hassle us whenever we attempt to enjoy ourselves […]Mr. Mean-Spirited
- VISITING THE REMAINS OF BENJAMIN DECASSERES IN TUCSON 31st May 2021
- The Hoover Hog
- In Praise of Delicious Tacos 30th May 2019The writer presently known as Delicious Tacos is responsible for, among other things, a series of short confessional narratives that chronicle his agonizing ordeal with an anorectal abscess. That micro-memoir of butthole affliction – the "Ass Variations," as I have...chipsmith
- In Memoriam! Adam Parfrey 19th May 2018A few years ago I was interviewed by Greg Johnson of Counter-Currents Publishing and I banked off one of his questions to talk about some of the publishers who inspired me to start up Nine-Banded Books way back when. Here's...chipsmith
- Book Journal – "How to Judge People by What They Look Like" 19th May 2018The title cracks me up. I mean, it could have been something vaguely academic -- maybe Physiognomy Reconsidered, or Physiognomy: The Abandoned Science; or it could have been something suggesively literary, like Body and Essence or A Book by Its...chipsmith
- In Praise of Delicious Tacos 30th May 2019
- Wandering Near Sawtry
- A Review of Ed West’s “Small Men on the Wrong Side of History”… 21st February 2020One might think that few people were more annoyed by the 2019 British general election than the conservative author and commentator Ed West. Here he was, preparing to publish his book Small Men on the Wrong Side of History (Little, … Continue reading →bsixsmith
- In Defence of Andrew Sabisky… 16th February 2020The first time I met Andrew Sabisky we walked through central London for hours and neither his energy or my interest flagged. This is a rare combination. There are people who can talk for a long time and there are … Continue reading →bsixsmith
- 2019 14th December 2019I began this decade in London, a physical wreck, mentally ruined, almost friendless and facing the grim realisation that not only was “creative writing” a titanically stupid course to pick but my writing sucked. As bad as all this was, … Continue reading →bsixsmith
- A Review of Ed West’s “Small Men on the Wrong Side of History”… 21st February 2020
- Razib Khan
- Introducing the intellectual brown web (IBW) 19th March 2023On this episode of Unsupervised Learning, Razib hosts three guests, Sarah Haider of A Special Place in Hell, Shadi Hamid of the Brookings Institute and Murtaza Hussain of The Intercept. Razib, Haider, Hamid and Hussain discuss the current state of the ...Razib Khan, Sarah Haider, Shadi Hamid, Murtaza Hussain
- Introducing the intellectual brown web (IBW) 19th March 2023On this episode of Unsupervised Learning, Razib hosts three guests, Sarah Haider of A Special Place in Hell, Shadi Hamid of the Brookings Institute and Murtaza Hussain of The Intercept. Razib, Haider, Hamid and Hussain discuss the current state of the ...Razib Khan, Sarah Haider, Shadi Hamid, Murtaza Hussain
- Steven Pinker: The Blank Slate 20+ years later 17th March 2023Listen now (67 min) | Reflections on the blank slate, the ghost in the machine and the noble savageRazib Khan
- Introducing the intellectual brown web (IBW) 19th March 2023
- Entitled to an Opinion
- Permanent post for giving away subscriptions to Substacks 13th March 2023For a while Substack had been giving me 3 subscriptions to Razib Khan’s Unsupervised Learning, roughly every week, and I was finding takers at Scott Alexander’s Open Threads. In the most recent one Scott said enough, so I instead will do so via comments under this post.teageegeepea
- Bloodlands 11th March 2023It has taken me longer than usual to write up a review of Timothy Snyder’s book (subtitled “Europe Between Hitler and Stalin”). Partly this is because I wasn’t taking notes as I read it (often while riding public transit), but also partly for the reason I wasn’t taking notes in the first place: it’s bleak […]teageegeepea
- A comment I would have made at Erik Hoel’s, were I not banned 18th February 2023I attempted to comment on this post about AI, but was blocked with the message that I was “banned from commenting until 100 years from now”. Since one of my first attempted comments there (or perhaps my very first) was a link to Richard Chappell complaining about Erik deleting his comments pointing out how Erik […]teageegeepea
- Permanent post for giving away subscriptions to Substacks 13th March 2023
- Evolutionist X
- To Critical Race Theory, or not to Critical Race Theory? 5th July 2021Like the uncollapsed quantum state holding Schrodinger’s cat in a state of simultaneous life and death, whether a school is “teaching critical race theory” or not seems to depend entirely on whether the inquiring person wants them to. Are you anti-CRT? Then, you may rest assured, American schools most certainly aren’t teaching CRT. (If you […]evolutiontheorist
- Review: Seven Pillars of Wisdom, by T. E. Lawrence 26th June 2021Wisdom has built her house; she has set up its seven pillars. — Proverbs 9:1 T. E. Lawrence is the Lawrence, of Arabia, and Seven Pillars of Wisdom is his autobiographical account of his time spent serving in the British and Arab armies during World War One. If you’ve seen the movie, you’ve got the […]evolutiontheorist
- Review: Lawrence in Arabia 10th June 2021Scott Anderson’s Lawrence in Arabia is, quite obviously, about the famous T. E. Lawrence “of” Arabia. The book ranges significantly wider than Lawrence’s personal account, however, shifting between the perspectives of Ottoman officials, German spies, American spies, Zionist spies, and of course British spies. I read this book concurrently with The Berlin-Baghdad Express, so my […]evolutiontheorist
- To Critical Race Theory, or not to Critical Race Theory? 5th July 2021
- Human Stupidity
- HIgh school teen faces 10 years in prison for sexting female classmate 23rd March 2022HIgh school teen faces 10 years in prison for sexting female classmate Teen sexting case highlights severity of N.C. sex offender laws A North Carolina teenager faces felony sex crime charges after police discovered sexually explicit photographs of a sixteen-year-old girl on his cell phone. Cormega Copening is a seventeen-year-old high school student at Jack […]Human-Stupidy (Admin)
- Vote counting corrupted in USA, infiltrated by dishonest leftist activists 15th October 2021Formerly honest and unbiased vote counting is another institution infiltrated with and taken over by leftist activists. Leftists think deception is virtuous to reach higher goals. Dishonest partisan election officials “cured” problem ballots. This must be exposed, opposed, reversed. Continue at Sincerity.netWait, there is more! This article continues! Continue reading »Vote counting corrupted in USA, […]Programmer
- Afghanistan cannot fit the mold of white Christian democracy 25th August 2021Afghanistan is not Germany nor Japan. Afghanistan cannot be rebuilt like these nations were rebuilt after world war II, with the Marshall plan. To posit insurmountable cultural, religious ethnic differences is taboo to the point that Trillions (one million million dollars) are spent for impossible fantasies of nation building, to turn Afghans into Americans, Germans, […]Programmer
- HIgh school teen faces 10 years in prison for sexting female classmate 23rd March 2022
- Der Geist (Union of Egoists)
- Review: Speakers’ Corner Anthology 1st March 2023Peace News once organised an activist training in which the participants had to stand on a stepladder in Tavistock Square and deliver a speech to the passers-by. It is a skill that people with a political opinion should have. But these days, few do. Many quail at the simple political tool of door-knocking. The Speakers’ […]Trevor Blake
- Max Stirner and the Grisette 28th December 2022Emma Goldman (1869 – 1940) was an anarchist of the collective variety, but she knew her individualist anarchists too. In Victims of Morality and The Failure of Christianity (1913) Goldman gets personal about Max Stirner and his darling in Goldman’s denunciation of morality… Meanwhile the respectable young man, excited through the daily association and contact […]Trevor Blake
- Mother Earth Bibliography 15th November 2022Mother Earth Bibliography BOOKS Michael Bakunin, God and the state (1916) (first MEPA edition; first published in the US by Benjamin R Tucker in 1883.) Alexander Berkman, Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist (1912) Voltairine de Cleyre, Selected Works of Voltairine de Cleyre (1914) Emma Goldman, Anarchism and Other Essays (intro. Hippolyte Havel, 1910. Second, revised edition in both cloth and paper, 1911; third revised edition co-published […]Kevin I. Slaughter
- Review: Speakers’ Corner Anthology 1st March 2023
Actually I’ve just been protesting those things in general, not yours in particular. 🙂
Another abstainee – fair enough then…I ‘ll stick to my new direction then…..:)
Sorry- I’ve been painfully selfish.
It’s just that I always feel like my questions are so boring. I’ll give it a go, though.
1) If you were a corporation, what would your mission statement be?
2) What is the most terrifying experience you’ve ever had- real, or imagined?
3) If you were a child with a terminal illness, what wish would you want someone to grant you? (Something tangible- not world peace, etc.)
Sorry to keep ya waiting….
1) If you were a corporation, what would your mission statement be?
“Progress without passion, pleasure or principle cannot truly be called progress”
I’d want to engender an environment that encourages, rather than dictates to, its employees…
2) What is the most terrifying experience you’ve ever had – real, or imagined?
When something terrible happened to a friend of mine whilst I was talking to her online; she went to get help after it happened and I was just sat there in front of my computer for an hour wondering if she was gonna live or die, knowing there was next-to-nothing I could do to help….I hope for her never to go through that experience ever again….
3) If you were a child with a terminal illness, what wish would you want someone to grant you? (Something tangible- not world peace, etc.)
My wants are humble – I’d want to see the whole output of Transformer episodes from America and Japan..I’m a TF obsessive like that…:p
BTW, your new icons kick arse in so many ways….but what anime/manga did the old one come from?
Hmm…
Hello there…
1. What would you consider a truly selfish act? Selfless? (that may be considered 2 questions…)
2. If you were invisible for a day what would you do?
3. How do you feel about reality t.v.-i.e. American Idol, Extreme Makeover, Survivor…?
Re: Hmm…
Ooh. I like these questions. MRDA, can you answer these for me, too, and count it as half a question from me and let me off the real questions because my eyes hurt? 🙂
Re: Hmm…
Take a peek at the thread – I answered them-there questions, Katy…..
Re: Hmm…
Fabulous, and very good answers too!
x
Re: Hmm…
How are things for you? Feeling any better?
Re: Hmm…
Not feeling too bad at all as it happens. Thank you. 🙂
Re: Hmm…
1. What would you consider a truly selfish act? Selfless? (that may be considered 2 questions…)
Humans are fundamentally selfish, but I don’t necessarily see this as a negative thing…
The way I see it, selfish actions are those from which one benefits (in whatever way, whether materially, emotionally, spiritually etc..), whereas selfless actions are those that have no benefit for the individuals. For example, I consider love -true love of all kinds – to be selfish, as the loved ones have some qualities/interests/traits that resonate and appeal to me. As a result any action, within reason, taken to ensure the happiness, well-being, and/or respect of your loved ones is selfish- a win-win situation if you will. Any action which makes another happy at one’s ultimate expense is selfless; examples are sacrificing dreams, ambitions, self on the altar of parental appeasement or racial conformity or whatever-the-fuck God people invent to excuse their fucked-up actions….
I personally hate it when selflessness is exalted as virtue – is it virtue to make ourselves miserable?
2. If you were invisible for a day what would you do?
I’d probably go round causing mischief for those who’ve given me grief, cos I’m unforgiving like that! A slap in the face there, a jibe there…anything to make ’em shit their pants a little! Nothing too bad tho – I’d be a bastard, but not a fucking bastard, eheh!
EVEN BETTER, I’d use invisibility as my opportunity to escape from Britain, like I long to do one day…..
3. How do you feel about reality t.v.-i.e. American Idol, Extreme Makeover, Survivor…?
I generally have nae time for it. It’s bad enough when celebrities get reams and reams of hard copy/ TV time dedicated to them outside of their chosen profession; it’s even worse when ordinary people get similar coverage for doing next to nada out of the mundane. It’s like “Wow! John Doe picks his nose/farts on national TV” and it’s splashed across the front pages the next day. Mind you, stuff like the Idol shows can be amusing, but in short doses generally….
I despise the concept behind shows like Joe Millionaire and Temptation Island – money may not be a prerequisite for love but honesty and loyalty certainly should be!
Whew! That’s rather a lot to take in….hope I satisfied your curiosity tho…:)
Re: Hmm…
Yes,
you satisfied my curiosity with some very good answers…
I personally hate it when selflessness is exalted as virtue – is it virtue to make ourselves miserable?
You just don’t know how much I agree with you on this point. Really with your whole answer. But this especially b/c it amazes me how many times people list their ‘selflessness’ as a wonderful attribute to their personality. Or just like you said it becomes a virtue…and no it is not virtue to make ourselves miserable…And neither should we idolize our selflessness because to me that downgrades it and it gives me the ‘wrong’ impression making me think the so called selfless act was only done to be glorified…
Don’t even get me started on anything that involves true love…
Loved the answer to the second question….had me rofl…
And the third answer..I totally agree with you.
Re: Hmm…
Glad to see you share my viewpoint on things…:)
I just like to add to the first answer that that a person who acts on whim, instead of thought and true feeling, at the unnecessary expense of others (ie: from people who cheat on their partners, to rapists) aren’t selfish – just fucking inconsiderate bastards…..Being selfish requires a considerable degree of self-respect, something such people fundamentally lack; if someone has nae self-respect, they will almost certainly, as the norm, have disrespect for the rights and feelings of others….
1) What quality in a person is irresistable to you?
2) Who do you admire?
3) Where will you be in 5 years?
I hate to keep a lady waiting (any longer), so….
1) What quality in a person is irresistible to you?
Depth. Or at least the willingness and ability to have a meaningful conversation about the big issues of life, love, the universe and everything…:)
2) Who do you admire?
Bruce Lee, as he used his knowledge and ability to advance himself, whilst benefiting others. He despised the insularity and racism of some of his Chinese contemporaries, and had no qualms about teaching the martial arts to Westerners/non-Chinese…also, he was just an all-round badass! The good always die young, or so the cliche goes…
3) Where will you be in 5 years?
Can’t say that for sure, but wherever I’ll be I hope I’m a)away from the UK (or at least Newham, London) and b)financially independent. I also hope to have made some leeway in my creative pursuits and found someone who has the same idea of love that I do….:)
Icons
I meant to tell you where the anime-style one came from EONS ago. The character’s name is Nami, and she’s one of the three “available” females in the newest Harvest Moon game, Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life.
Nami is: The toughest character to win over. She’s aloof, and a wanderer. She’s borderline rude, but really just having fun with you. I like her the best, as Celia is too complacent and Muffy is too FLUFFY.
Besides, Nami looks like me when I enhance the red in my hair. 😉
Thank you for the icon compliments!