The words of curse

Is it now okay to say 'shit' on TV before 9pm? It happened twice today on Channel 4; once on 'Richard and Judy' when they showed a clip about disruptive kids in schools and again on the news. Don't these people watch South Park?

Also, for your good health and so that you are revitalised with the joy of life, I believe that you should all watch this. Enjoy!!

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gilles and the lambs

I had an extremely quiet night at work last night so I decided to look for some more philosophy quizes to try an relieve some boredom; and of course because I need to be told by the internet who and what I am. I am across one of the Spark Notes revision quizes on the 'Genealogy of Morality' and since I'm currently rereading it I decided to take a look. All was going well until I came across this question:

Who is the ultimate "doer" behind the deed of killing a lamb?
(A) The bird of prey
(B) God
(C) Gilles Deleuze
(D) There is no "doer" behind the deed.

This made me laugh too much to continue. I wonder what sort of crazed person made this question up or if it is some sort of wierd 'in joke' from the people at Spark notes.

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back to books

It's strange how little reading I do these days, despite the fact that I am doing a Philosophy MA. I don't really think that a day spent reading a mere few pages of 'The Fold' constitutes reading. At least, not reading in the sense that I used to overindulge myself in. That said Smokewriting has expressed a wish that I answer these questions and since I would answer them even if he hadn't wanted me to I will do it happily.

1. You’re stuck inside Fahrenheit 451, which book do you want to be?
2. Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character?
3. The last book you bought is:
4. The last book you read:
5. What are you currently reading?
6. Five books you would take to a desert island.
7. Who are you going to pass this stick to (3 persons) and why?

1. I have never read nor seen Fahrenheit 451 but having read a synopsis of it over at imdb I'm assuming that either I'm a book that is to be burnt or a book that is to be saved. If I am one that should be saved I would go for Dostoevsky's Notes from the Underground, perhaps one of the best books ever written and one that I always reread when I'm pissed off with the world. If I am one that is going to be burnt I would go for anything by Wittgenstien, purely for the fact that I haven't read anything by him and if it was burnt I wouldn't have to.

2. Absolutely; continuing with the Dostoevsky theme I would have to say that my biggest Literature crushes are Raskolnikov and Ivan Karamazov. Although I must say that despite my dark, brooding nihilist fantasies I don't think that I would like them if I actually met them.

3. Leibniz's Philosophical Texts, purely for the collection of letters to Arnauld which I am loving right now. I think that the Leibnizian world is a wonderful one, and I also find Leibniz very cute.

4. Last book I read? I have a bit of a problem in that I find it very difficult to finish a book. However I did almost finish Lecourt's The Mediocracy when I was on the train one day. It's a fairly entertaining read about French intellectualism.

5. Flaubert's Madame Bovary; a book which I will finish as it ranks among my list of books which everyone must read.

6.

a) Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. Despite my constant bemoaning of the fact that I must read it I think that if I was stuck on a desert island I would be quite happy to have it there. Enter the Matrix et al....

b) Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich as I read it when I was about 14 and keep meaning to read it again but haven't got round to it.

c) Deleuze and Guattari's A Thousand Plateaus. I was going to say Deleuze's Difference and Repetition but I really need a library around when I'm reading that text; a few years on an island with D&R would drive me insane when I couldn't chase up the footnotes. However, ATP would be more fun and I might be able to construct a nomadic war machine at night when there's no light for reading.

d) Tolstoy's War and Peace, another book which I have always planned to reread but since it is such a commitment I haven't got round to it.... in fact, thinking of literature crushes, I had a huge crush on Prince Andrei.

e) Anything that anyone could recommend to me that's been written by Murakami. He's an author that I'm told is fantastic but I havent'read anything by him yet so that would be something new.

7. Nina Infinite Thought, Catherine & So this is christmas, johneffay Sweet Effay.

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The internet speaks...

I am frequently accused by a friend that I am a nihilist. I neither think this is accurate nor a particularly bad thing. Yet however much I defend my stance he seems to get very upset that I don't believe in any fundamental meaning. Still, I would not call myself a nihilist.

But the internet thinks differently;

You scored as Nihilism. Your life is marked by strong Nihilism: You feel that nothing in the world, even your life, has much or any meaning. "For out of fear and need each religion is born, creeping into existence on the byways of reason." "There are no facts, only interpretations." “Every belief, every considering something-true, is necessarily false because there is simply no true world” --Friedrich Nietzsche More info at Arocoun's Wikipedia User Page... Nihilism 70% Existentialism 65% Hedonism 60% Justice (Fairness) 55% Kantianism 40% Utilitarianism 40% Strong Egoism 20% Apathy 20% Divine Command 0% What philosophy do you follow? (v1.03) created with QuizFarm.com

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I am Me, Me Me, Me, Me!!!

After frequent assertions by Infinite Thought that 'The Century of the Self' is one of the best documentaries ever made I finally realised that Warwick has a huge video library and managed to get a copy of it. And now I must agree with IT.

I have to admit though that I found myself with a grudging admiration of Bernays. Obviously there are huge problems with manipulating the masses but I did find myself thinking that if the masses are so stupid then why the hell not? Bernays' genius lay in selling people things that they didn't actually want (i.e. breaking taboos on women smoking) which founded the whole institution of public relations of mass marketing.

But then this wasn't the stuff that was so troubling about the program. It was the liberal reaction to Bernays' manipulation; what Curtis calls the 'Me generation.' Essentially it was a bunch of hippies yelling at eachother and lying on the floor in giant halls screaming.... scenes that are pretty reminiscint of Von Trier's 'The Idiots'. Theoretically what you are left with is a person stripped of all social control who has the power to build themselves back up the way they want. But of course, corporations managed to adapt to these movements and rather than people creating their own self, they bought it based on what marketing targeted towards various psychological groups. Ha ha, right back where you started.

Anyhow, it once again confirmed some of the various problems with rabid liberalism. A society of self-absorbed selves lacking any sort of social taboos is easily manipulated when told "this car will confirm your identity to the world," or "why not wear these jeans, they'll make you far more sexy." And I couldn't say that I am impervious to such maniuplation, I watch some adverts like a magpie eyes a shiny object. So hats off to Bernays who managed to start the reaction that created a society of 'idiots' who affirmed liberalism and embraced the capitalist trap with such pleasure.


Incidentally, I recommended that a friend of mine who works in advertising read 'Anti-Oedipus,' it should be interesting to see what he makes of it.

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Some of you may be interested in this workshop that we're organising on Deleuze and 'The Fold.' I think I'm going to be giving a paper although I will be arriving back from Glastonbury that morning so I may not be too sharp.

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