Tsze-Kung asked, saying, "Is there one word which may serve as a rule of practice for all one's life?"
The Master [Confucius = 공자 / 孔子] said, "Is not Reciprocity such a word? What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others."
Time passed.
Jared observed, "I am eating Latin American style rice and beans for dinner. But I have a bad headache."
The internet said, "Wut? Thank you for sharing."
My fifth-grade student who goes by Clara wrote about political economy in her essay book yesterday. I haven't corrected her errors – she's a fairly low level of ability but her meaning is clear. As usual, I type this exactly as written, not correcting grammar or spelling mistakes.
Hello my name is clara. Today I talk about rich pay much more taxes than usuall people today. The first reason is "who have much more money." Think, everyone. Usuall people have much more money? "No." Yes, no is right. Why? Rich dad gives money to his son. Then, Rich dad's son, son's son, that son's son… sons are rich. Usuall people same to rich? No! that is rich pay taxes. thank you.
"One must imagine Sisyphus happy." – Albert Camus.
I'm trying.
"triteness and truth are keen companions." – Conor P. Williams
What I'm listening to right now.
Zambri, "To Keep Back."
There's an excellent series over at the Ask a Korean website about South Korea's stunningly high suicide rate. The blogger there, known by the name "The Korean," generally starts in a humorous vein but his posts often pursue serious topics analytically.
His observation, that I wasn't really aware of, is that the Korean suicide problem is a recent development – very recent: post 1997 (which was a transformative date in Korean history because of the IMF Asian financial crisis of that year). Up until then, Korea's rate was lower than would be predicted based on other socio-economic factors. This is why, he eventually explains, culturalism is not a good explanation for the problem.
Considering that The Korean blogger is, in fact, a lawyer working in DC (according to his online bio), he makes a pretty trenchant observation:
"What
is it about modernization that causes suicide? Modernity comes with
capitalism and individualism, which travel hand in hand. Reduced to its
core (and thus risking gross over-generalization,) modernity causes
suicide because it commodifies individuals."
I found this at MyModernMet. It's by a poster shop called Wordsbrand. Text:
Life*. Available for a limited time only. Limit one (1) per person. Subject to change without notice. Provided "as is" and without any warranties. Nontransferable and is the sole responsibility of the recipient. May incur damages arising from use or misuse. Additional parts sold separately. Your milage may vary. Subject to all applicable fees and taxes. Terms and conditions apply. Other restrictions apply.
One (very) political blogger I like to read goes by the name Michael J. Smith at a blog entitled Stop Me Before I Vote Again. I'm not sure if his name is a pseudonym or his real name, and one thing is certain: I often don't agree with him. But he has a very biting and incisive style, he is a stunningly good writer, and is a genuine radical. He was offering up a paean to the recently deceased Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, and made the following observation:
"Democracy, on any informed understanding of the term, is the negation of ‘rights’. Democracy means that the people rule. They give rights, and they take them away, as their good sovereign pleasure dictates. If you’re really into ‘rights’, you have no use for democracy; and vice versa." – [from blog post here].
I have been trying to wrap my mind around what this means, but my gut feeling is that he is, in fact, on to something important. There is most definitely a tension (not to use a stronger term like dilemma or – god forbid – dialectic) between the field of discourse we call "democracy" and that which we call "human rights." Perhaps if I was better read in Marxism I'd find his remark to be a truism (in that context, anyway), but I think it's more valuable to remove it from that probable origin and confront it head-on, without so much theoretical baggage.
Democracy, at least in the modern, globalist, bourgeois conception prevalent today, is clearly at odds with the "rights" of minorities within democracies, and at odds with the rights of everyone excluded from given "democratic" polities – cf. the US government's attitude, on evidence, toward the rights of Pakistanis living in tribal areas, or toward Mexicans on the wrong side of the border who have failed to jump through previously established bureaucratic hoops. Et cetera.
"Only thoughts reached by walking have value." – Nietzsche.
What I'm reading right now: A Buddhist critique of Nietzsche.
What I'm listening to right now.
Robert DeLong, "Global Concepts."
Korea inaugurated a new president today. I have ambivalent feelings about Ms Park, but I really don't see how she could do worse than Lee Myung-bak's charmless tenure, and I have come to respect the process whereby she became president – it's certainly no less democratic than what we have in the US – not that that's necessarily saying very much.
There was an interesting article at the Ask a Korean blog, ranking the past presidents of South Korea. Despite his dictatorial grip on power for almost 2 decades, Park Chung-hee, the current new president's father, received a high ranking, mostly because he propelled South Korea from "poorest of poor" to "Asian tiger" in a generation. I can see the logic of that. At the end of that article, the Korean (as the author of the blog idiosyncratically likes to call himself, always in the third person) remarks that depending on historical circumstance, Ms Park has the possibility of ending up near the top of that list, too. Arguably, that's true for any leader stepping into leadership, at any time, but I get his point – she seems to have a lot of potential to be a great president, but also just as much potential to be a sort of climax of Saenuri (conservative party) mediocrity, too (which is to say, 2MB [Lee Myung-bak] 2.0).
The Korea Herald posted a translation of her inaugural speech, which I read. It's a long speech, but here's a part that stood out for me, given that I work in Korean education, currently.
Fellow Koreans,
No matter how much the country advances, such gains would be meaningless if the lives of the people remained insecure.
A genuine era of happiness is only possible when we aren’t clouded by the uncertainties of aging and when bearing and raising children is truly considered a blessing.
No citizen should be left to fear that he or she might not be able to meet the basic requirements of life.
A new paradigm of tailored welfare will free citizens from anxieties and allow them to prosper in their own professions, maximize their potentials, and also contribute to the nation’s development.
I believe that enabling people to fulfill their dreams and opening a new era of hope begins with education.
We need to provide active support so that education brings out the best of an individual’s latent abilities and we need to establish a new system that fosters national development through the stepping stones of each individual’s capabilities.
There is a saying that someone you know is not as good as someone you like, and someone you like is not as good as someone you enjoy being with.
The day of true happiness will only come when an increasing number of people are able to enjoy what they learn, and love what they do.
The most important asset for any country is its people.
The future holds little promise when individual ability is stifled and when the only name of the game is rigid competition that smothers creativity.
Ever since childhood, I have held the conviction that harnessing the potential of every student will be the force that propels a nation forward.
Our educational system will be improved so that students can discover their talents and strengths, fulfill their precious dreams and are judged on that bases. This will enable them to make the best use of their talent upon entering society.
There is no place for an individual’s dreams, talents or hopes in a society where everything is determined by one’s academic background and list of credentials.
We will transform our society from one that stresses academic credentials to one that is merit-based so that each individual’s dreams and flair can bear fruit.
It goes without saying that protecting the lives and ensuring the safety of the people is a critical element of a happy nation.
The new government will focus its efforts on building a safe society where women, people with disabilities, or anyone else for that matter, can feel at ease as they carry on with their lives, no matter where they are in the country.
We will build a society where fair laws prevail rather than the heavy hand of power and where the law serves as a shield of justice for society’s underprivileged.
It's also remarkable that someone considered to be the Korean equivalent of a Republican would offer such a spirited (and well-argued) defense of the welfare state. But isn't it always the case that in truth, conservatives in most economically advanced countries are typically somewhere to the left of the US's Democrats?
"Most
of the smart people I know want nothing to do with politics. We avoid
it like the plague—like Edge avoids it, in fact. …We expect other
people to do it for us, and grumble when they get it wrong. We feel that
our responsibility stops at the ballot box, if we even get that far.
After that we're as laissez-faire as we can get away with. … What
worries me is that while we're laissez-ing, someone else is faire-ing." –
Brian Eno (Musician/Composer)
I like this quote partly just for the way he innovates linguistically with the French phrase laissez-faire.
What I'm listening to right now.
Talking Heads, "Listening Wind." (Produced by – guess who? – Brian Eno).
Ta-Nehisi Coates, at That Atlanic, waxes passing eloquent as is his wont on the topic of torture vs the drone-war:
… The president is anti-torture — which is to say he thinks the water-boarding of actual confirmed terrorist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was wrong. He thinks it was wrong, no matter the goal — which is to say the president would not countenance the torture of an actual terrorist to foil a plot against the country he's sworn to protect. But the president would countenance the collateral killing of innocent men, women and children by drone in pursuit of an actual terrorist. What is the morality that holds the body of a captured enemy inviolable, but not the body of those who happen to be in the way?
I present the quote above not entirely in full context – there are other things Coates said that I don't agree with as much. But this paragraph struck to the core of my discomfort with the obvious – to me – fundamental bushcheneyism of Obama's national security policies. Since the main reason I supported Obama in 2008 was his repudiation of Bush's post-ninelevenism, my disappointment, at this point, is complete.
"I've
never seen the Icarus story as a lesson about the limitations of
humans. I see it as a lesson about the limitations of wax as an
adhesive." – Randall Munroe (Author of xkcd comic).
What I'm listening to right now.
Kyasma, "Radioactivity." That's a rather creepy video, but interesting too. Like a feature film in 4 minutes. Well done.
Blogger Michael J. Smith is, as usual, scathingly precise in his analysis of the alleged "filibuster reform" failure in recent US Senate activity. He writes,
It’s a question of supply and demand. If getting something through
the Senate takes sixty votes instead of fifty, the marginal vote becomes
that much more valuable.Econ 101.
Thus none of the senators have an economic interest in surrendering the filibuster as currently practiced and configured.
What I'm listening to right now.
The Steeldrivers, "Can You Run."
I think this song has a Civil War theme involving slaves running for freedom across the battle lines, which was a frequent occurance, but I find the song oddly resonant at a personal level – despite my own utterly different life – without really paying close attention to the lyrics.
It's just a well-done song, I guess: I really like the line "chase the taste of bondage from my tongue."
There's smoke down by the river
Hear the cannon and the drum
I've got one thing to ask you honey
Can you run?You know I hate to ask so late
But the moment's finally come
And there won't be time to change your mind
Can you run?(chorus)
Can you run, to the freedom line of the Lincoln soldiers?
Where the contraband can be a man
With a musket on his shoulder
I've got to stand up tall before I'm done
Wrap these hands of mine around a gun
And chase the taste of bondage from my tongue
Can you run?
Can you run?I'm takin nothin with me
We've just got time to beat the sun
And the boys in gray are never far away
Can you run?(repeat chorus)
There's smoke down by the river
Hear the cannon and the drum
And even if I die, I've got to try
Can you run?(repeat chorus)
Can you run?
Can you run?
My student Harry reviews the movie "Life of Pi" which he apparently saw. I [broken link! FIXME] enjoyed the novel, but based on this 5th grader's review, I'm feeling uncertain about wanting to see the movie.
At
9:30, I went to the theather. and we watched pie story [Life of Pi]. But this movie
is very not fun. so I'm very disappointed. After I'm going to the
karaoke. and I'm sing a song very hard. Then I returned home. and my
mother made a muffin. so I'm very happy.
Juk [rice porridge] for dinner, with kim [seasoned, cooked seaweed]. I'm in a juk-craving phase, lately.
Some random quotes from Sanford and Son. Huh? Why am I thinking about this? I was trying to channel Redd Foxx with some students. I was unsuccessful, lacking both generational and socio-cultural components.
Lamont Sanford: You know what they say, the truth will set you free.
Fred Sanford: Your uncle Edgar told the truth, and the judge gave him six months.Lamont Sanford: [about his cologne] It's called "A Day in Paris".
Fred Sanford: Smells more like "A Night in El Segundo".
Utterly unrelatedly, what I'm listening to right now.
Derma-Tek, "Payback."
I'm in a strange mood, feeling whistfully bitter. My just desserts, for trying explain the anthropic principle (in astrophysics) to Korean 8th graders. I was unsuccessful.
“Virtues are the fruit of self-discipline and do not drop from heaven as does rain or snow.” – from a Zen saying, supposedly.
Although I’m sort of a Buddhist, I find this conceptualization of virtue distasteful, for some reason. I should think that for a well-practicing Buddhist, virtue would indeed come as rain or snow … to those who can reach a state of mindfulness.
Or… perhaps it’s just the term “virtue” that I specifically feel uncomfortable with – I don’t like what I term the “purity-narrative” aspect of Buddhism (or of any other religious/philosophical tradition, for that matter – they’ve all got them).
Another unattributed Buddha-quote, that I prefer: “A man asked Buddha “I want happiness.” Buddha said, “First remove ‘I’ – that’s ego. Then remove ‘want’ – that’s desire. See, now you are left with only ‘happiness.'”
“Most of us, most of the time, are committing suicide. We just do it slowly, and unenthusiastically. We smoke or drink or pursue other vices, we neglect to look both ways crossing the street, we avoid the doctor despite some persistent minor health problem. We will all die, eventually.” – John Lucian Jones.
"No jodas, Señor Facebook … No cuento nada." – quoth an aquaintance, responding to the new facebook feature requesting users' "feelings," etc.
"Distrust all in whom the impulse to punish is powerful." – Nietzsche
What I'm listening to right now.
Barry White, "Never Never Gonna Give You Up."
"I
don't feel that it is necessary to know exactly what I am. The main
interest in life and work is to become someone else that you were not in
the beginning." – Michel Foucault
What is This?
Mud-ox from the bottom of the ocean running away, holding the moon in his mouth;
Stone-tiger in front of boulder is sleeping, holding a baby in his arm;
Iron-snake is passing through Diamond-ball;
Mount-Sumeru riding on elephant's back, being pulled by the sparrow.
– Shin, Myo Vong, Cookies of Zen, p 175.
"…
there’s no country on Earth that would tolerate missiles raining down
on its citizens from outside its borders." – Barack Obama, November 18,
2012. He was talking about Israel, vis-a-vis Gaza. However… How's that work, vis-a-vis the drone war being conducted by the US in countries like Pakistan and Yemen? It's why I was unable, within the scope of my own moral compass, to vote for the man, despite his accomplishments and the symbolism of it.
"Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself." – attributed to a Chinese Proverb
The president of Uruguay, José Mujica, drives a 1987 VW Beetle.
It is his only asset. He is also a flower farmer, a vegetarian and an open atheist. Would this be possible in Mexico or the US or South Korea? Um, no. Someday, I want to go back to Uruguay.
"Does this planet have enough resources so seven or eight billion can
have the same level of consumption and waste that today is seen in rich
societies? It is this level of hyper-consumption that is harming our
planet." – José Mujica
"The arts are not just a nice thing to have or to do if there is free time or if one can afford it. Rather, paintings and poetry, music and fashion, design and dialogue, they all define who we are as a people and provide an account of our history for the next generation." – Michelle Obama.
Factoid-of-the-day, heard on the radio this morning (last night, US time):
There are only 20 countries in the world that Great Britain has not invaded at some point in history.
I didn't watch the debate between Obama and Romney, live. But, being the politics addict that I am, I have followed it through that innovative new medium called "live blogging." And the consensus seems to be that Obama blew it, and that Romney did quite well. I haven't formed an opinion, except to say that Obama likes to play the "adult in the room," which rarely plays well on TV. Romney, on the other hand, comes off as a patriarch high on meth – which might not be that inaccurate.
So far the best part was when Ta-Nehisi Coates, blogging at The Atlantic, quoted Alan Ginsburg. I feel compelled to do the same, though somewhat more at length:
…I had a vision or you had a vision or he had
a vision to find out Eternity,
who journeyed to Denver, who died in Denver, who
came back to Denver & waited in vain, who
watched over Denver & brooded & loned in
Denver and finally went away to find out the
Time, & now Denver is lonesome for her heroes,
who fell on their knees in hopeless cathedrals praying
for each other's salvation and light and breasts,
until the soul illuminated its hair for a second,
who crashed through their minds in jail waiting for
impossible criminals with golden heads and the
charm of reality in their hearts who sang sweet
blues to Alcatraz,
who retired to Mexico to cultivate a habit, or Rocky
Mount to tender Buddha or Tangiers to boys
or Southern Pacific to the black locomotive or
Harvard to Narcissus to Woodlawn to the
daisychain or grave,
who demanded sanity trials accusing the radio of hyp
notism & were left with their insanity & their
hands & a hung jury…
From his poem, "Howl." If you're not getting it, the segment of the poem is relevant because the debate was held in Denver.
"You'll
never see a squirrel trapped by a syllogism. He might be cornered by a
dog, or swept up for breakfast by a hawk, but he won't have talked
himself into his predicament." – blogger Michael J. Smith (I think
that's a pseudonym). He's refering, of course, to the false choice that exists within the American political landscape.
"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." – Einstein, elaborating on (caveating) Occam's Razor.
I was talking about Occam's Razor in my debate class last month. I should bring this quote from Einstein up. as couterpoint, when we start again after the test-prep period.
– Notes for Korean –
따르다 = pour, fill (e.g. a cup)
"One oddity of the current legal situation remains that the U.S.
government needs some kind of court-approved warrant to intentionally
eavesdrop on the telephone or e-mail of a U.S. citizen suspected of
involvement with Al Qaeda, like Anwar Al-Awlaki. However, using a drone,
a missile, bomb or military raid to intentionally kill that same person
requires no approval from the judicial branch." – Josh Gerstein, in his blog about legal issues.
Talk about understatement.
Meanwhile, despite this (or because of it?) Obama is now at 65% at intrade. The elections market-makers appear to have reached their decision point – only a week ago Obama was under 60% on intrade.
"One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries." – A. A. Milne.
I discovered a poem I had tried to write a few years ago. In a box. In Korea. Forgotten. So I wanted to work on it again. But it's not very good.
What I'm listening to right now.
Cibo Matto, "Stone."
… and …
Cibo Matto, "Moonchild."
“Here is the test to find whether your mission on Earth is finished: if you’re alive, it isn’t.” – Richard Bach, in Illusions.
Do you like Mexican aggrotech (electro-industrial) music? Is it odd that I do?
What I’m listening to right now.
[UPDATE 2021-12-19: embedded video above repaired due to link rot.]
Hocico, “Ecos.”
Letra:
Alguna vez te has enamorado, de alguien que no te correspondió,
eso no te impidió dejarlo de amar o ser capas de entenderlo o bien perdonarlo…
Solo era una niña desubicada, era solo un alma perdida….
Era como si pudiera tomar todo el mal y toda la ira del mundo y
con solo una palabra elevarlos al cielo y yo, le ayude, y le prometi que siempre estaria ahi, para protegerla. No es lo que pasa por su mente si no lo que pasa por la mia…
no puedo olvidar mi promesa, es todo lo que me queda
…
Dime, ¿qué es lo crees?
En este mundo de intoxicados
Una voz que te enfurece
hace eco en tus oídos alterdosDeseos muriendo. ¿Crees en ti?
Estas huyendo de algo vil
Violentos cambios sufres hoy
Brutal ausencia. ¿Crees en ti hoy?Y simplemente decides encarar
Lo que aborreces y quieres acabar
Y hasta ahora decides despreciar
Lo que te enferma y no puedes curarDime, ¿que es lo que crees?
En este mundo de olvidados
Un grito que huye de ti
Hacia lugares ya abandonadosNada ni nadie podrá llevarse lo que sabes
Nada ni nadie podrá llevarse lo que puedes ver
Unrelatedly, but perhaps similar in overall tone, here’s another very strange quote I found: “I have a question that’s really more of a suicide note.” – some guy named Dave, in a comment on a blog entry about “Bingo in Utopia” – itself very entertaining, as it tries to discover Marx’s view on bingo. But the quote? Pure genius – utterly worth memorializing.
There's an artist named Ward Shelley, who does this interesting thing where he makes hand-made "timelines" and data visualizations – the kind found in history books, but sometimes on strange or unusual or unexpected topics. I really like his stuff. Here's a timeline of the history of science fiction:
He calls these things "diagrammatic paintings." Also, here's an interesting quote,
The relationship of science fiction to belief is ambiguous but in some
way essential. Science fiction deals with improbable possibilities. It
has that in common with religion and patriotism, except SF is much more
candid about it.
