Here’s some needed Monday fare. It’s an Alan Watts lecture snippet about nothingness. I’ve read a fair amount of Watts since college, and I find him to be the most effective philosopher at temporarily separating the reader from his or her daily routine, and allowing for some metaphysical reflection. Of course, just as nothingness exists in balance with existence, Alan Watts readings should exist in balance with more concrete studies, applicable to the real world. But, for a rainy, Christmas Angst-filled, consumerist Monday, a little Wattsian etherealism may be in order.
Though it isn’t quite a tricorder, Patrick Stewart’s life is now dependent on his iPhone. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to get a block of cheese from the replicator.
Admittedly, my non-Celtic fan Mep friends may disagree…but this picture, taken right after Paul Pierce’s game winning shot against the resurgent but still not rival New York Knicks, is priceless. (Not pictured: Nate Robinson almost killing himself jumping over Pierce, and Spike Lee almost killing himself in an apoplectic fury off camera as Kevin Garnett bows to him. Who says civility is dead?)
Apparently, Arnold Schwarzenegger has his own, little-seen YouTube channel, through which he addresses netizens and informs them of California’s progress. What seems initially to be a farce, actually turns into an informative lecture on, among other things, California’s bulky permit process.
This article at The People’s View should be required reading for all those interested in discovering what some parts of both the right and left of the blogosphere have to gain in trying to destroy (fortunately unsuccessfully, I think) President Obama–or, more accurately, what they have to gain in upping the ante on false outrage in a public forum. (Here’s a hint: it’s the same thing anti-corporatists are always claiming (often rightly) is the end goal of every politician.) One wonders how much time MLK or Gandhi would have had for this kind of kabuki.
Here’s a treat for you Meppers. It’s a full-length documentary about Wikileaks and the intrepid man of mystery, Mr. Assange. Confidence is low that this link will remain up forever, so enjoy it while you can.
Who knew that Chaplin was so politically motivated? This clip comes from The Great Dictator (1940). If the armband and moustache look vaguely Hitler-like, it’s intentional. Chaplin plays an autocrat for most of the movie, in addition to playing a doppleganger who switches places with him, in time to rally a fascist regime to nobler causes with this speech.
