It’s An Actual Conversation Post! (AFTF #5)

Please note: readers of the previous post may be disappointed that the post was not labeled “Ha Ha.” That is why I have written this post. This actual conversation is one hour old.… Continue reading →

It’s A Really Short Link Post!

Dear readers, There’s one theory of blogging that says something like “bloggers should write blogs about their work, because that way they only get about fifteen seconds of relaxation per day and can… Continue reading →

Taking Exception

Adam Kotsko writes, Take, for example, racism. It is perfectly fair to say that “white people” in the US are racist against African-Americans. The fact that an individual white person does not consciously… Continue reading →

Ocean’s 13 and Pearl’s 1

Ocean’s Thirteen was wretched. It had a bunch of good moments in it, apparently because it was written by the same guys who scripted Rounders. But that is no excuse. Al Pacino was… Continue reading →

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Dear readers, My schedule will be more than full-time work for the coming weeks, until August: teaching, coaching tennis, residential life. (Also, writing a paper on Derrida and knot/navel/flower/virgin imagery in medieval tales… Continue reading →

The History of Nice Guys

Dear readers, I am suddenly in Boston, still exhausted from 23 hours in planes and airports. In two days I begin teaching at a prep school here, all the way until I return… Continue reading →

There Is No Such Thing As Intelligence

(x-posted to The Valve) The abstract personal definition of “intelligence,” reified in our minds thanks to IQ tests and their derivatives, is a source of social ills and should be abandoned. It impedes… Continue reading →

Theaters of Comity and Cruelty: The Ethics of Performing Selves

(x-posted to The Valve) In his Introduction to the Reading of Hegel, Alexandre Kojeve gives a succinct and compelling account of the irony of the “fight to the death” which occurs (in G.… Continue reading →

Back In The Saddle Again, Plus Meta-Blogging and Rorty

Dear readers, Thanks so much for bearing with me during my hiatus, brought about my exams and last-minute wrap-up for the school year. I’m delighted to report that I passed my comprehensive exams,… Continue reading →