There is in Spinoza several unSpinozic elements that float in his texts, a quoted poem here, a poetic aphorism there. One of these though, is his reference to the courtesan (meretrix in Latin), actually translated out of the English by the usually accurate Curley, as if the specificity of the reference had to be suitably Spinozified and abstracted. It is always interesting though, to watch the “anomalous” features of a thinker, especially those that interpreters and translators seek to erase, for sometimes these “exceptions” prove to be guides of how wrong translators and interpreters are.

I’d like to focus on these rare references to The Prostitute. As Curley in his notes suggests, one must understand that the meretrix is a particular figure in history. She is not the street-walker, that is to be sure, but a woman well-cliented. In fact it is suspected that Spinoza has in mind the meretrix from the plays of Terence (and perhaps Plautus), a woman whose designs and seductions actually operate in such a way as to make a plot turn, comically. So she is not necessarily a figure of moral reprobation, though she is still problematic.

Spinoza approaches the problem of the meretrix (literally in Latin: she who earns), in the Appendix to Part IV of the Ethics, where the general problem of Compassion, generosity and right living is considered in the view of the facts of sociability. She enters at section XIX, which has just followed the call for “care” in “accepting favors and returning thanks”. The call is for prudence. The Spinoza attempts to specify:

Spinoza wrote:

XIX. Moreover, love of a meretrix [Curley translates Amor praeterea meretrix: A purely sensual love], that is the desire of begetting that arises from external appearance, and absolutely, all love that has a cause other than the freedom of the mind, easily passes into hate—unless (which is worse) it is a species of madness. And then it is encouraged more by discord than by harmony.

Spinoza’ criticism is two fold. One is that the love a prostitute arises from (oritur: it is stirred up by) form alone (ex forma). It is fundamentally a reaction. From a form the libido is passively stirred up, and as such, it does not have as its cause, “the freedom of the Mind”. The question therefore is not whether such a love of form results in the freedom of the Mind, but rather what is the cause of such an action. Because the cause of the love of a courtesan is not the freedom of the Mind, it is lesser. And thus, the accepting of her favors, however equal the exchange, is not optimum. The second half of the criticism is that such a love, because its cause is from the form alone, the passions that it gives birth to can easily pass into hate or madness. Because men seek to own and be master of their passions, they become jealous, or drunk on them. The last sentence of the section is ambiguous in the Latin, it can mean that such a love feeds on discord, or that it encourages discord in the world. In either case, the love of the favors of the prostitute produce a fundamental discord, both in oneself and in society.

Spinoza contrasts this state with marriage:

XX. As for marriage, it certainly agrees with reason, if the Desire for physical union is not generated only by external appearance [ex sola forma] but also Love of begetting children and educating them wisely, and moreover, if the Love of each, of both man and woman, is caused not by external appearance only, but mainly by the freedom of the mind.

It is interesting that Spinoza reverses the emphasis, attempting to quality the institution of marriage. First, it is insofar as it is not by form alone, but also to beget children [have legitimate results] and lastly, mainly [another qualification] that is cause is of the freedom of the mind. He seems uncomfortable with the institution itself, but attempts to fit it into the context of courtesan love, well aware of the weaknesses of real life marriages. It is as if the Courtesan love is simpler and easier to assess.

He moves then immediately back onto the sure ground he is attempting to weigh:

Spinoza wrote:

XXI. Flattery also gives rise to harmony, but by the foul crime of bondage, or by treachery. No one is more taken in by flattery than the proud, who wish to be the first and are not.

This is really the core of his critique of meretrix love. For what is weakening in the Courtesan, and the job by which she is forced to earn her living, is that the prostitute is essentially a flatterer, someone who tells you what you would like to hear. What Spinoza is really trying to assess is the role of flattery in social relations. Flattery makes for social harmony, but at a cost. It is born out of fear [Appendix XVI].

“Only free men are very thankful to one another,” he writes at EIVp71, and this is the razor edge that Spinoza is trying to walk, in examining the nature of sociability. Thankfulness does not include the acceptance of all gifts, and it is for this reason that the meretrix is brought in as an example.

For one who, out of foolishness, does not know how to reckon one gift against another, is not ungrateful; much less one who is not moved by the gifts of a courtesan to assist her lust (ipsius libidini inserviat: or, assist in his lust), nor by those of a thief to conceal his thefts (EVIp71s)

Thankfulness is a special prudence in the understanding of what is being produced. It is not the love of the meretrix that is in error, but the specific relation that does not make the most of itself. This is a sub-example of the exchange of flattery itself, as a form of societal transaction, the offering of a surface that does not have freedom in mind as its cause.

Spinoza, in examining the kind of exchanges that are best, calls for great care, for gifts, even of flattery, cannot be simple shunned, without respect of consequences:

To this we may add that we must be careful in declining favors, so that we do not seem to distain them, or out of Greed to be afraid of repayment. For in that way, in the very act of avoiding their Hate, we would incur it. So in declining favors we must take into account both what is useful and honorable (EIVp70s).

The issue of the courtesan cannot be closed so easily though, as one becomes careful in the kinds of relations one takes to external forms, as causes. For any philosophical discussion of courtesans must take in account the figure of Diotima, a Courtesan who supposedly taught Socrates his greatest understanding of Love (told in the Symposium). The Courtesan, as she is the symbol of affective passions, the Latin Comedy spur to action and resolution, and as she is also the fabled source of Socratic wisdom, bringing us to understand the power of sociability itself, becomes not an example to be avoided, but really more, a historical figure, a paradigm of the fact of our affective state. For the Courtesan is one who works (the meretrix being the woman who earns), who must gather around her those that support her, by any lights she can muster, out of necessity. This seems our nature state, one of dependence upon others. Further, as such, she understands better than most, or perhaps any, the nature of desire, of human need and libido, because she occupies that position. It is notable that Spinoza places his discussion of the Courtesan in the context of greater human need and the general necessity of generosity:

XVII. Men are also won over by generosity, especially those who do not have the means of acquiring the things they require to sustain life. But to bring aid to everyone in need far surpasses the powers and advantage of private person. For his riches are quite unequal to the task. Moreover the capacity of one man is too limited for him to be able to unite all men to him in friendship. So the case of the poor falls upon society as a whole, and concerns only the general advantage. (EVI, appendix).

When Spinoza speaks of “riches” I believe he has in mind not only the material wealth that one might have, but also the conceptual wealth. The generosity to save and socialize is beyond the capacity of a single man. I suggest that the Courtesan actually stands as a figure in Spinoza, of what actually is. She holds the secret of our interdependence, and fundamentally passive states, and the secret of our desire to beget ourselves. She also shows our necessity to flatter—but Spinoza is calling for a deeper gift, a freer meretrix, one closer to the Socratic Diotima, who has transcended her economic reality of power, and finds in the gift and giving, something more…powerful.

[written September 11, 2006]

The conclusion many readers have over the two remarks made by Mr Gan and Ms Fu is that foreigners can expect pay increases, whereas our locals cannot expect the same. Hence, we locals are being negatively discriminated against in favour of our "FT".

Question is, based on the given information, is this conclusion valid, or even sound? Comment below, please!

An Internet hoax is like gossip. It evolves as it expands.

This week on the 'Hall-Of-Shame' it's all about an E-Mail that's currently circulating all over the world accusing gas stations of intentionally cheating at their gas pumps by showing more gallons of gas being pumped than what is actually being received by the vehicle (thus inflating the overall cost of the fill-up).

You're not gonna believe what your local gas station may (or may not) be doing to you right before your very eyes. Grab your crew and be sure to catch this EXPLOSIVE edition of the 'Thursday Night Internet Hoax Hall-Of-Shame'. It goes LIVE here on the blog shortly after 5 PM EDT here on the U.S. East Coast. You're not gonna wanna miss it !

Now it seems that there are those out there who want to look at whole brands from this perspective:

Enter Brand Tags, a relatively new website created by Noah Brier (as reported by Gawker and The Wall Street Journal) that places logos immediately in front of a person, and has them write a snap-judgement-like word or phrased reaction to it.  Brands are chosen randomly, and this was what I found when visiting the site:

(screen capture from the website for illustrative purposes only)

You can continue to enter in words or phrases, skip a brand if you're unfamiliar, or go straight to the brand list to see what others are saying--or better yet, type in a potential tag into the search bar, and see what people come up with.

Scientific?  Not really--it's a self-selecting kind of survey among those who hear about it from either an article, or deli.ci.ous, or something similar.  Nonetheless, it's a fascinating--perhaps even sobering--way to gauge how others out there on the Web perceive your brand.

Come on...you know you want a peek...

D'ici 2010, le chiffre d'affaires généré par la presse de petites annonces papier devrait baisser de manière importante. En 2007 ce marché a représenté 1,4 milliards d'euros, dont la presse accapare encore près des trois quarts (72 %), contre 28 % pour le Web. Le cabinet prévient d'ores et déjà que "l'avenir de la presse en tant que support d'annonces est incertain

Etonnant j'aurais pensé que les écarts n'étaient pas aussi importants aujourd'hui....Un potentiel important pour MesBonnesAdresses.com !

D'ici 2010, le chiffre d'affaires généré par la presse de petites annonces papier devrait baisser de manière importante. En 2007 ce marché a représenté 1,4 milliards d'euros, dont la presse accapare encore près des trois quarts (72 %), contre 28 % pour le Web. Le cabinet prévient d'ores et déjà que "l'avenir de la presse en tant que support d'annonces est incertain

Etonnant j'aurais pensé que les écarts n'étaient pas aussi importants aujourd'hui....Un potentiel important pour MesBonnesAdresses.com !

Representative Joe Barton (R-TX) revealed an alternative method that Congress apparently rejected in favor of the more traditional and majestic procedure of calling for a full vote of both Houses:

If all the members of the House would go out onto the steps and clap our hands three times and say, ‘Down prices, down prices,’ that would have as much impact as passing this bill.

Nevertheless, should Tinkerbelle fall prey to poisoning in the future it's reassuring to know that a comprehensive plan for her salvation lies ready on the shelf.

Snideness (was I in prison, or on the Moon when "snark" erupted into public discourse?) aside, what's to be done?

In the short term, quit subsidizing false, cost-diverting economies like subsidizing truck-based gas consumers at the expense of alternate models that consume less.

In the long term, make hydrogen technology the new American IT economy, fueled initially by environmentally responsibly located fission nuclear, with a strong follow-on program to revive the Reagan-era terminated Tokamak fusion research.

Because, surely, any civilization that can give rise to the ponyhawk can teach itself to safely capture a star in a toroidal magnetic bottle.

Pour voir cette exécution, je me rendis chez Bassompierre. Le déjeûner qui m'y attendait était un ambigu de viandes froides et de poissons. Les Liégeois me firent fête. J'étais à table entre les deux demoiselles Bassompierre qui, en me versant du vin du Rhin, me disaient :
« Monsieur Marmontel, qu'allez-vous faire à Paris, où l'on vous persécute? Restez ici, logez chez mon papa; nous avons une belle chambre à vous donner. Nous aurons soin de vous ; vous composerez tout à votre aise, et ce que vous aurez écrit la veille sera imprimé le lendemain. »

Je fus presque tenté d'accepter la proposition. Bassompierre, pour me dédommager de ses larcins, me fit présent de la petite édition de Molière que vous lisez; elle me coûte dix mille écus. "

_{Œuvres complètes de Marmontel, Jean François Marmontel, tome II, Paris, 1818}

_{Le commerce à Liège
Liège et les écrivains
Liège au 18ème siècle}

The giddy excitement of before the meeting can't compare to the energy that was imparted to me during the meeting. I have been glowing for days now. Omaha Nebraska's Qwest Center was filled to capacity requiring overflow rooms for the attendees. The primary meeting was 31,000 strong and I was one!

But the show was nothing compared to the men whose character set the tone, Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger. For nearly six hours the two answered the questions of the audience. Their openness and patience (yes, protesters and just plain goofy people had questions also) was refreshing. They ranged in topics from complex business practices, regulatory role in business, general investing advice, life advice, terrorism, oil, personal religion, education, China, Germany, and of course who would run Berkshire next. They easily held audience's attention the whole time with their whit and insight.

I'd like to go again!

Friday night Ted and I had dinner at Earl's in downtown Denver, before we took in 3 Mo' Divas at the Stage Theater, in celebration of our 32nd anniversary.

Earl's is a popular place with good food and plenty of atmosphere. Noisy, but noise seems to be one of the requirements of a successful restaurant, don't ask me why. At Earl's, I noticed, all the servers were women, and most of them were wearing the same uniform: a swingy little black dress with spaghetti straps and no small amount of visible cleavage. They were all in the vicinity of 21, all very beautiful, all tottering around in strappy sandals with spiked heels, looking like high school girls primping in the bathroom at the homecoming dance.

The vibe of the place was not what I'm used to, but then, I'm not used to eating in trendy downtown restaurants. We were demographically segregated, seated in the back of the second floor where it was quieter. I was grateful for this consideration. On the other hand as I looked around, we were definitely in the geezer zone.

Our server was not only pretty, she was very nice. I got the feeling that when she smiled at us and complimented us on our menu selections, we were supposed to be pleased with ourselves. Proud that we'd scored a smile and a cheer from such a lovely person.

No doubt this blessing of loveliness is an important part of Earl's business plan. Earl knows the precise dollar value of the loveliness he offers, the thin line between loveliness and sleaze. Earl's was way on the side of wholesome, despite the abundance of skin showing. No piercings, no tattoos, no frizz in the hair, no sneer, no smoking, no pissed-off looks. Keep it lovely, girls.

It creeped us out. Both of us.

It reminds me of a story I'll have to tell you tomorrow, about the summer I spent as a bat girl for a local baseball team.

La gazette des communes, 14 avril 2008. Cahier détaché n°3 - 15/1929.

Here are my bets for the cabinet:

Secretary of State: Fareed Zakaria (Madeleine Albright is just too much like Hillary, even though Hillary is no Madeleine Albright.)

Zakaria was the managing editor of Foreign Affairs, the widely-circulated journal of international politics and economics. He is the author of several books, including The Future of Freedom, which was a New York Times bestseller and has been translated into 20 languages. His new book, The Post American World, is being published in May 2008.

********************

Energy: He'll ask Al Gore, because Obama is just arrogant enough to think a former Vice President of the United States and Nobel Laureate will want to work for him. But in the end, he'll save us all money and just let us use the Internet Energy Expert at www.plantservices.com/voices/energy_expert.html

*******************

Agriculture: Shawn Krull, 35, is a fifth-generation family farmer who asked Obama for an assurance that if he and his dad and his brother buy 10,000 hogs, Obama won't pass any new regulations on them. This is to make sure there is a bi-partisan cabinet member and Krull has voted for Republicans in the past. http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/927567,CST-NWS-campweb02.article

**********************

Labor: Obama Girl (Amber Lee Ettinger) the #1 Hottest Woman on the Internet. Check us out at our new home: This is to stave off any fear that Obama is a Marxist and reaffirm that he is instead a Sexist.

*********************

Interior: Jan Galanti, of Red Bank, NJ. She saved 11 kids from a bear attack or something and appeared on the front page of the New York Times the same day as Obama did. He needs to have a woman in the cabinet and Jan is just the kind of outdoorsy gal who can handle Interior but not get in cat fights with Labor Secretary Amber Lee Ettinger.

*************************

Housing and Urban Development: Tony Rezko, who has a lot of experience with slum dwelling and real estate transactions. Need we elaborate? http://rezkowatch.blogspot.com

*****************

Health and Human Services: Dr. Quentin Young, Obama's very own doctor. 'Nuff said.

*******************

Defense: Sam Nunn, Former Georgia senator, who toyed with the concept of a non-partisan run for president last year, has come down on the side of Barack Obama in the Democratic race for president. The former senator, considered one of the nation’s preeminent experts on U.S. defense, met with Obama’s foreign policy team on April 18, 2008. http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/politicalinsider/entries/2008/04/18/sam_nunn_lines_up_behind_barac.html

***********************

Treasury: Tom Hanks, a really likable actor who likes Barack Obama, can have this easy post. All he has to do is sign newly minted money. There will be a new Obama bazillion bill which will be used to pay off the national debt.

***********************

Attorney General: Bob Bauer, Obama's chief counsel and blogger. Obama is saving Prof. Larry Tribe for the US Supreme Court.

***********************

Homeland Security: Louis Farrakhan, leader, Nation of Islam (he is not a Muslim!). Let's face it, this guy is seriously tough. I don't think we need to discuss this further.

**********************

Veterans Affairs: John McCain. Well, he's a veteran. Maybe the only one Obama knows.

*********************

Commerce: Pingpong entrepreneur Robert Blackwell, Jr. He has experience getting grants from the State of Illinois and obviously knows how to make a buck investing in Chinese-type things.

***********************

Transportation: Motorcyclist Timothy Emerson, 41, of Iowa Falls, who was involved in a crash with a campaign van carrying Michelle Obama. He was cited, but this way, he won't sue. This is how they do it in Chicago. You gotta problem? www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/ blog/2007/10/motorcyclist_in_michelle_obama

*********************

Education: William Ayers, Professor, University of Illinois-Chicago Circle
Department of Curriculum & Instruction

Ayers, W.C., Bernadine Dohrn, Jeff Jones (2006), eds. Sing A Battle Song: The Revolutionary Poetry, Statements, and Communiques of the Weather Underground 1970-74. New York: Seven Stories Press.

EDUCATION
1987 - Ed.D, Columbia University, Curriculum & Instruction
1987 - M.Ed, Teachers College, Columbia University, Early Childhood Education
1984 - M.Ed, Bank Street College, Early Childhood Education
1968 - B.A., University of Michigan, American Studies

See www.billayers.org.

************************

Please feel free to contribute your thoughts on the cabinet post nominations or suggest people for necessary government positions like Postmaster General and Surgeon General and National Security Advisor. Obviously this is just the rudimentary stage, and whether these go through depends on lot on how much power Harry Reid retains in the Senate if Obama is elected in November, 2008. Can he get a Democratic Senate? I think Republicans will have no problem with Sam Nunn, but we aren't sure about the others. I hear a lot of Republicans are psyched by the Obamagirl.

The highly coveted Religious Advisor Position remains open.

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Currently we are giving a new look to are website. Hopefully our website will be ready by Summer 2008. It won't be fully ready as we will be updating it regularly. One of the reasons we created this blog is to keep you up-to-date with our updates and changes. Therefore it will be wise to visit us regularly.

Thanks!

Rapidshare

On Thursday, Abdalla El-Badri, Opec’s secretary-general, said the
market did not need more oil. “There is clearly no shortage of oil,” he
said.

Yes, yes I know there are gallons of reasons floating around why the oil price is going up and why it should continue to do so. And to add to the fun, a theme doing the rounds is that oil is a good hedge against trouble in the financial markets... the new gold.

But it is simple, the higher the price climbs the less it will be used and the more producers will pump to maximise profit, its just good old fashioned human nature.

Already alternative fuels are becoming fashionable, not just in response to climate change but also because of the high oil price...

The higher oil price also acts as a kind of interest rate hike, just think of what oil is used for... I do not think that there is a day that goes by when you do not touch something where oil is not involved. And we know what effect higher interest rates has on the economy.

So can oil go up more, sure why not..... but watch for the fun and games when reality starts knocking, knocking the oil price right back down on its backside.

....o and do not expect the oil producers to become charitable all of a sudden, at the moments they feel like they rule the planet... don't interrupt their daydreams quite yet.

Last week, the USCOC joined up with Senator George Voinovich in Columbus, Ohio, for the session deceptively entitled "Comprehensive Approach to Energy and Climate Change". From the speech by USCOC President Thomas J. Donohue, he described the USCOC opposition to the Lieberman-Warner Coal-Subsidy Act because:

"its targets and mandates are simply not realistic or achievable."

I might agree that they are not realistic. Lieberman-Warner's targets are not realistic because they do not do what is required to give a chance of avoiding catastrophic climate change.

"Not ... achievable." That claim is beyond ridicule and disgust. It is willful deceit. Achieving much stronger reductions that outlined in the CISA is achievable, it simply requires the will (political) to set serious targets and work toward them.

Donohue's speech is filled with misleading truthiness. For example,

On the energy front, just when we think prices can't go any higher, they do. In recent days, we have had some analysts talking about $200 oil and $10 gas. Prices for natural gas and coal are soaring as well.

At the same time, demand is growing rapidly. Most experts agree that global energy consumption will increase 50% by 2030. In the United States, it will rise by a third.

Imagine what this demand could do to prices if we don't also increase supply.

Energy use growth is stated as a given. Hmmm ... Perhaps serious investment in energy efficiency?

Perhaps people will start to change their behavior as they begin to understand that fossil fuel energy prices will be higher tomorrow than today, and higher than that the day after tomorrow.

No, in a speech about energy and Climate Change, the words "energy efficiency" don't matter enough to make it into the conversation.

Now, you might think that what is going on in the energy markets today would constitute a wake-up call to end all wake-up calls.

Think again. When it comes to energy production, our nation is still asleep.

We have vast amounts of coal, oil, and gas on our lands and off our shores.

Yet much of these resources have been locked away by lawmakers and regulators.

Oh no, the real problem is clearly the need for more energy production. Never mind that the cheapest source of new power is negawatts (the power that won't be required), what we must do according to Donahue is DRILL, DRILL, DRILL!!!!

And, again, this was a session about Climate Change. Want to talk about the Climate Change implications of using even more of those caol resources?

Where We Stand Today - Climate Change

And how about the current state of play on climate change?

Most Americans accept the idea that the earth is getting warmer. Much of the current science tells us this.

Wow. So generous (and disingenous), "much of the current science tells us." Doesn't that suggest that there are serious scientists that would disagree. Unless you're looking in James Inhofe's files, you will have to look long and hard to find serious scientists who would question whether "the earth is getting warmer".

That "most Americans accept the idea that the earth is getting warmer" is certainly not due to the efforts of USCOC to confuse them. And, sadly, the understanding of Global Warming might be falling (not strengthening) in the American public.

Just as with the "drill, drill, drill the hole deeper" approach to Energy Policy, Donohue is adopting the classic delayers technique: can't do anything without new technology.

In fact, the only way to get there - without shutting down economic activity - would be use to technologies that don't yet exist.

This is bald-faced misdirection and deception. There are, existing, technologies and techniques to achieve huge efficiencies in the US use of energy from better insulation in buildings, white roofing, better lights, better management of traffic lights, hybrid vehicles, etc ... The list is, almost literally, endless. The Lieberman-Warner 2020 goal of 20 percent below today's levels could be easily achieved without a single new invention. In fact, the needed reductions (twice what Lieberman-Warner sets for 2020, 25 percent below 1990 levels) could be achieved with a single new invention. Should we be investing in the development of new technology? Absolutely. But that investment should not preclude broadly and rapidly deploying already developed (and, in many cases, deployed) technologies and approaches for radically improving Americans' efficiency of energy use.

Now, where is Donahue re Climate Change? Embracing paths that would doom us to disaster.

President Bush has also weighed in with a more realistic goal to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions by 2025.

Yes, George the W's wondrous call for halting emissions growth by 2025 which would guarantee catastrophic climate change.

Yet two of the three individuals who hope to replace him in the White House have called for mandatory CO2 reductions of 80% by 2050.

Yes, at least two candidates have energy and global warming policies that made a modicum of effort for dealing with the challenges we face.

Experts a lot smarter than me have run the numbers. There is no way this can be done without fundamentally changing the American way of life, choking off economic development, and putting large segments of our economy out of business.

Could we be snide and focus on "a lot smarter than" Donahue? Let us point out, to start with, that Donahue is referring to deceptive works that even the "independent" organization that did the work disowned in footnotes they inserted into the work.

More importantly, Donahue's assertions are simply not true. And, more importantly, Donahue is only talking solely about cost (and distorted versions of cost) and not about benefit.

Think of his words in light of the transition from lighting our evenings with candles to lighting our homes with electricity. Did that occur without "fundamentally changing the American way of life"? Did that occur without "putting large segments of our economy out of business"? (What happened to candle makers?) What about transitioning from the horse and buggy to the train and automobile? Transitions to more modern economies create disruption.

And, of course, Donahue is willfully ignoring the costs of non-action, of what it will mean to have sea-level rise, disrupted weather patterns, climate refugees, mass extinctions. No, the benefits of those avoided costs are illegitimate to add into the balance sheet for Donahue and his ilk.

Well, every single line of this speech could be disconstructed, with truthiness to highlight and false assertions to challenge and refute. Sad that this needs to occur when our minds, our energy should be turned to solving the problems.

Reckless Endangerment ... and losing opportunity

At the end of the day, there are multiple levels and reasons to be disgusted by the USCOC's campaign against meaningful action on Global Warming.

No, that vision of a stronger economic future that is also a more sustainable one is evidently beyond USCOC's comprehension.

I wanted to love this movie. It was well-made. The visuals were snappy and there was acting. Robert Downey was hot, with the exception of that baffling, shoe-polish mustache that made me think of the mask of V. Gwyneth Paltrow kept her dignity insofar as one could. Unlike “Fantastic Four,” it did not go over the edge into campy fantasy, and unlike “X-Men,” it did not take place in an alternate world fantasy universe. It presented itself in a straightforward manner as something that could have happened in the same world we inhabit. Or, at least, the world as we see it presented on TV, where premieres and galas, wars, trips to Malibu, and other events to which we are not invited are displayed for our edification.

However. So many misogynistic and racist fantasies were embedded inextricably into its worldbuilding that I could not enjoy it. I felt that my mind was divided--half unquestioningly agog at spectacle, like the fangirl I used to be, and half wincing violently at every blatant instance of the dominant paradigm smudging every scene with its dirty bootheel.

Yes, in a way it sucks to inhabit a consciousness that has been raised to such exospheric levels. But then, it always sucked to be disincluded in the structures of power and control. It’s just that I felt that suckage less painfully when I could still numb myself by false identification with the male protagonists. 

Iron Man’s putative hotness died a-borning because he was such an asshole. Case in point: He has hot monkey sex with a reporter--the film even descends to the stale, tiresome trope of having them fall off the bed to show hot it is--and then has her rudely ejected by Pepper, come morning. “Sometimes I take out the trash,” says Pepper. Come to think of it, I don’t like Pepper that much either. What a lackey. So, a (presumably) highly qualified, talented and intelligent professional woman becomes “trash” once Tony Stark has finished dumping his semen into her. This is the opposite of a pity fuck. It’s the contempt fuck, in which sex is used to dominate and invalidate a female who has dared to question the hero. She’s not invalidated, of course--except insofar as her willingness to be fucked by Tony Stark shows a pitiable weakness of mind. In spite of that, her questions were right on target. But the fact that the movie panders to those who would think that she could be invalidated by Tony Stark’s Little Iron Man shows what a piece of trash the film is.

Another character who is invalidated by the sheer overwhelming Power of the White Penis is Terrence Howard, totally wasted in the role of an Air Force officer who lets Stark treat him like a servant. Howard’s character, Rhodey, is also right on target with his critique of Stark as a pathetic, self-indulgent jerk with no sense of discipline or self-respect. But how deficient must Rhodey be in essential self-respect, when he allows this playboy to make a shuck ‘n jive, Sammy Davis personal sidekick out of him? Rhodey refers to Stark in a speech as “my great mentor.” WTF? Isn’t a mentor someone who has vital wisdom to impart? Stark has no wisdom for Rhodey, or anyone.

How could a self-respecting armed forces member fail to be offended by the portrayal of airmen in a Humvee sucking up to drunken Tony Stark like a bunch of fanboys? In a war zone, too, where they know that their lives are at stake. And I see Stan Lee is pleased to be playing Hugh Hefner now. Couldn’t they get the real Hef to do his own product placement? I suppose this killed two birds with one stone--identifying the stale cheapness of the Playboy philosophy with Stan’s comics empire. That’s a pretty clear statement that the Hefner mindset made this movie. It was only a moment in the movie, but a moment that crushed another of my illusions. Ah, but the comics themselves were not always corrupt. There were better stories to tell than the one they picked for this travesty, this betrayal of a true sense of wonder.

Oh, but Iron Man CHANGES, right? Stark has an epiphany! Yeah, right. Here’s where the movie’s approximation to reality becomes a pair of cement galoshes to drag this fantasy confection into a murky grave. The sum of Stark’s metanoia is to go back to the unnamed desert war zone and kill some more people--different people, this time. But still victims of his choosing. You don’t have to go all the way back to Viet Nam and the famous photo of a naked little girl screaming in pain and running in panic from American bombs to feel queasy about an invincible white “hero” raining down fire from on high. Images of blackened Iraqi corpses swelling in the desert sun are closer. Yes, we burn people alive in large numbers. That makes us GOOD, I guess. Works for Tony Stark, anyway.

Well, let’s see . . . doesn’t he use some of those justly famed “surgical strikes” to take out bad guys who are threatening women and children? Yes--but does he spare a moment’s thought for them once he’s done shooting? No, the scene doesn’t focus on the safety of the innocent. Instead, it lingers gloatingly on the opportunity for a large crowd of men and boys to beat another bad guy to death. Fun. What’s being defended here is not women’s and children’s right to live. The important thing is men’s right to kill. Even funky brown men can have the mandate to kill, provided it’s handed to them by a white guy.

Another brief cameo by women and children shows up in the final, laughable Battletech-style robot slugfest. A soccer mom in her SUV is dandled like a toy. She’s both comic relief and a pawn in jeopardy. Never a human being. Women in this movie are plot devices, as are non-white men. All power to the rich pale male. I sure hope Samuel L. Jackson will whup Stark’s narrow white ass. But I fear he’s doomed to be a lackey as well.

Build me an Iron Woman who works with the UN to stop arms sales and warfare and to provide refuge for displaced civilians, who has meaningful sex with equals, and who treats her employees with respect. I’ll go see that movie.

Cette charmante intro pour parler légitimité. Matrix avait tort, on n’est pas le meilleur quand on le sait, mais quand on peut le prouver. J’aurais beau avoir eu toutes les qualités du monde, cet enfoiré ne les aurait pas reconnues comme légitimes. Et c’est là tout le problème. Avec le temps plus que la reconnaissance je me suis mis en quête de légitimité. Il n’y a rien que je déteste plus au monde que de participer à un débat, d’avoir l’argument ou la stat qui permettrait d’y mettre un terme, mais que l’on refuse d'accorder du crédit à mes propos car je ne suis pas légitime à leurs yeux pour détenir l’information. Frustration et colère me montent vite au nez, me hantant pendant des heures.

Je ne parle plus console, cinéma, bande-dessinée ou encore science avec pas mal de monde. Plutôt que de me flinguer le moral, je ferme ma gueule en attendant d’avoir le « titre de noblesse » qui me permettra de convaincre l'auditoire cible. Paradoxalement je n’apprécie guère plus que l’on m’écoute quand je ne peux pas prouver mon savoir, même s’il est correct. Depuis que je suis sur Paris je participe souvent à des soirées remplies d’auteurs et autres artistes professionnels. Ils savent que j’ai les compétences pour parler sérieusement avec eux et les conversations sont toujours passionnantes. Mais moi, j’aimerais bien une preuve, ne serais-ce que pour moi, pour ne plus me sentir étranger.

La légitimité, qu’elle soit artistique ou autre est un de mes talons d’Achille. Je crois que c’est une des thématiques qui m’anime autant dans la vie que dans mes œuvres. Le problème c’est que je pense qu’à moins d’un gros travail psychanalytique, je suis mal barré pour regler tout ça. Serais-je un jour suffisament légitime à mes yeux ? D’ailleurs je ferais mieux d’aller faire signer mon roman au lieu de divaguer.

Ah vous voulez le programme de demain avant ? Soit. A la demande générale demain je parlerais cul, et même manga de cul. Enfin surtout l’un d’entre eux, plus érotique que cul, qui m’a mis sur le dit cul. Quoi c’est pas clair ce que je dis ? Revenez demain alors !

BONUS STAGE !!!

Mort aux cons !

My Mom's been dead awhile, so I'm not faced with updating Mom from carpet to hardwoods for Mother's Day, but it seems that many may be and that salons advertising on the radio right now are considerately determined to give them the best price possible to achieve Mom's dream on her special day.

Of course, the options offered are not limited to genital depilation, just as the customers targeted may not necessarily be adult male sons. Surely many of those taking advantage of these bargains are those like young Jed, blinking owlishly and projectile spitting his food emulsion while his 23-year-old dad buys a gift certificate in his name for Jed's 22-year-old mom. Surely many others are thoughtfully intimate gifts from daughters to mothers, and of course many are just all-purpose certificates bought by sons as well to pamper Mom's desire for hairlessness in any ole way she wants.

Still, it's a bit unsettling to hear the firms that daily advertise rendering your girlfriend as frictionless as a porn star or your boyfriend as metrosexually slick as a giant termite grub coughing up an offering for Mom. Then again, it's probably not about forcing Mom to be gifted with anything she doesn't want but instead about liberating Mom and the holiday itself from the tired and limited options of yesteryear, options that in the past forced Mom into deadly cardiac and endocrine traps such as boxed chocolate.

Today's Mom might very well be just the sort that favors gifts such as professional grooming, or equally such perfectly sensible gifts as a table saw to trim and a planer to professionally thin those custom natural wood covers she favors for her scrapbooking hobby.

In fact, doggoneit, the more I consider what an entirely sensible idea it is I'm going to go out and get my Mom one of each of the latter today.

The following companies just filed for Bankruptcy

Hollywood Video
Levitz
Sharper Image
Performance Team Freight
Linens n Things
Circuit City
Bed, Bath and Beyond

If you have gift cards from the above list use them ASAP, they will not be valid for much longer.

PASS THE WORD.

Actually 3 out of the 7 companies listed above have not filed for bankruptcy, and future variations of this chain E-Mail over the next several months are expected to include even longer (and growing) lists of companies that have not filed for bankruptcy. These chain E-Mails are intended to intentionally frighten the public and slow down E-Mail servers worldwide with bogus information. Don't base your day-to-day life decisions on chain E-Mails. Don't fall prey to Internet hoaxes. Use common sense.

Incidentally just because a company has truly filed for bankruptcy does not mean that they have stopped honoring gift cards (although some do just that).

Read more about it.