It's Getting Harder to Make Farce of Something so Farcical

'As empires decline, their leaders become increasingly incompetent - petulant, ignorant, gifted only with PR skills of posturing and spinning, and prone to the appointment of loyal idiots to important government positions. Comedy thrives; indeed writers are hardly needed to invent outrageous events.'

-Ernest Callenbach

Enough said.

If Everyone Is Playing A Part, Why Do We Need Theatre?

Non Cogito Ergo Non Sum

I'm sitting in a café when Descartes walks in and sits down at the table next to mine.
I pretend not to notice him, finish my coffee and call the waiter to pay. It's then I realise that I left my wallet at home.
I turn to Descartes and say, "Sorry, Monsieur, but do you think you could lend me 5 euros?"
"I think not…" he replies and suddenly disappears in a puff of smoke.

Old Chinese Parable

Two boyhood friends grow up and go their separate ways. One becomes a humble monk, the other a rich and powerful minister to the king. 

Years later they meet again. 

As they catch up, the minister in his fine robes takes pity on the thin, shabby monk. 

Seeking to help, he says, “You know, if you could learn to cater to the king you wouldn’t have to live on rice and beans.”

To which the monk replies, “If you could learn to live on rice and beans you wouldn’t have to cater to the king.”

The Dying Of The Light

Superhero Movie Idea

Our hero, a mild mannered office worker, runs out of staples and on his way to the corner shop takes a wrong turn and stumbles accidentally into a top secret underground laboratory. Here he discovers a chemical substance that swells his body with muscles and transforms him into a historical-materialist with a big beard. Calling himself Theoryman, he dons a cape and ragged trousers and decides to fight hypocrisy and old Young-Hegelians with no sense of humour. After sharing his discovery with his girlfriend -who dresses in tight clothing and becomes his crime-fighting partner known as the Bakunin- the duo fight recurring enemies such as the mutant robot monkey Cheetor whilst highlighting the inherent contradictions of the capitalist method of production. The finale is a spectacular city battle which sees Cheetor unleash his demon undead army and Theoryman respond by telling them that they are oppressed and that education leads to freedom. A fierce criticism of society's superstructure weakens it and it ultimately collapses on itself taking Cheetor with it. Theoryman and the Bakunin make love amongst the ruins as mindless celebrity worship burns brightly around them…

Notes to self: Give Cheetor a flying surfboard? Make demon undead army unionised?  

It's Not Propaganda, It's PR

I recently came across this...

'The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized. Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this manner if they are to live together as a smoothly functioning society.' - Bernays

But also remember this...

'The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion but allow very lively debate within that spectrum - even encourage the more critical and dissident views.' - Chomsky

Unless...

Encouraging the division of a population into groups prone to clash makes rational  debate and agreement between these extremely unlikely. Not only does the population thus become further divided and weakened as a whole but it is also diverted away from the actions behind the scenes...

Oh well, work tomorrow, time for bed.

War Of Position

I was reading about Gramsci and came across this : 

“It is safe to argue that the evolution of the working class out of the simple economic struggle for corporate goals and into the field of complex political struggle proceeds further into the decisive ’war of position’ waged mainly at the cultural front as an ideological struggle.”

Of course, it may be safe to argue that but I feel it may be dangerous on the ears and could cause a headache.

Everything Will Not Be Better Tomorrow

Simplexity

How come, with everything now making our lives simpler, everything now seems more complex?
I call it simplexity: a complex simplicity. (I know, but ‘complicity’ already exists…)
Everything obviously does not make our lives simpler if it makes it more complex. This is because simpler does not equal less complex. In fact, simpler now usually equals more complex. It may be simpler for me but the mechanics will be more complex. I press a button and the car window goes down. I press a button and I call a friend in a China. So it is simpler for me to do more things but I have less understanding of how the things are done. And when the things break down then I have no clue how to fix them.
So everything is not making our life simpler, we are simply introducing more things -complex things- into it allowing us to do ever more things.
God, I miss the good old days when things were simple and we missed the previous good old days when things were even simpler...

The Right to be Lazy

Paul Lafargue in The Right to be Lazy argued that laziness, combined with human creativity, was an important source of human progress.
He was a Cuban-born French revolutionary Marxist, which sounds quite busy.

Robert Louis Stevenson in An Apology for Idlers wrote, 'There is a sort of dead-alive, hackneyed people about, who are scarcely conscious of living except in the exercise of some conventional occupation. (…) It is no good speaking to such folk: they cannot be idle, their nature is not generous enough; and they pass those hours in a sort of coma, which are not dedicated to furious moiling in the gold-mill. When they do not require to go to the office, when they are not hungry and have no mind to drink, the whole breathing world is a blank to them.' 

I need time to think about it. 

Oh, I don't have any...

Tastefully Bland

'Capitalism has made modern life ugly,' said the first.
'The relentless focus on maximising profits has left no room for true aesthetics,' said the second.
'Beauty is now nothing but a marketing differentiator,' said the third.
'And art has become a conspicuous consumption for social status,' said the fourth.
We all nodded.
'What do you think?' said the first, turning to me.
'Well,' I started, 'I... uh... well, beauty should be above utility, but isn't that the utility of beauty?'
They stared at me
'That's funny,' said the second.
I laughed. More out of relief.
'Yes, but what do you really think?' asked the first.

On-line But Off-course

'Hey Max.'

'Hey Max, what’s up?'

'I’m worried that my on-line personal branding campaign isn’t compelling.'

'Oh no, that means that you are decreasing your sphere of influence and diminishing your value.'

'Cripes. What should I do?'

'You need to decide on your core message and the right channels through which to communicate your brand.'

'You mean I need to create engagement around my strategic priorities?'

'Yes, but don’t spread yourself too thinly across irrelevant communities.'

'Thanks. Uh, or…'

'Or what?'

'We could go outside and kick a ball?'

'Great idea, let’s go!'

Thought Leadership

'Look, it’s that thought leader!'
'Who?'
'That guy, the one who’s recognised as being the expert in the field.'
'Really? How come?'
‘Because he wrote a book about it.'
‘Was he a thought leader when he wrote the book?'
‘No.'
'So he became a thought leader because he wrote a book?'
‘Sorry?’
'He became a thought leader because of a book he wrote when he wasn't a thought leader?'
'Yeah, I guess so.'
‘Now, that’s a thought leader!’

I Blame Causality

Flattering My Stupidity

"It’s dumbed down."

"No it’s not, it’s just simplified to make it more accessible."

"Well, it’s so simple now that it has removed all the complex issues."

"Why do I need to know the complex bits?"

"Because they are integral to the subject. You need to understand all the elements and grasp them in their complexity."

"But I don’t understand them."

"That's the point. It's supposed to make you think and learn."

"I don't get that, can you simplify it?"

Immortality Is Harder As You Get Older

“Man lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived,” said the Dalai Lama.

“Huh?” I asked.

But he didn’t answer.

“Dalai, what do you mean?”

He didn’t answer. 

Maybe because he wasn’t there. 

Maybe because it was just something I read. Just something I read to kill time.

The Culture Industry

Causarum Cognitio

The School of Athens is a fresco by Raphael in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican.
Idiocy in ancient Athenian democracy was the state of ignorance that all people were born into characterised by self-centredness and concern only for personal affairs. The opposite was citizenship gained through education and characterised by concern mainly for public affairs.
Horses are born, it was said at the time, human beings are formed.
Looking at the fresco, surrounded by chatting tourists, I could not help but think to myself: 'Who let this rabble in? Why can’t I have this room all to myself?'

Drowning In The Think Tank

'Hey Max.'

'Hey Max.'

'What are you doing?'

'I’m walking.'

'Where to?'

'It doesn’t matter. Apparently, there’s a link between motion and creativity.'

'Really?'

'Nietzsche said that all truly great thoughts are conceived by walking.'

'Well, why don’t you try running? You might get some great thoughts quicker?'

'Good point. I’ll speed up. Here goes…'

'So? Any great thoughts yet?'

'Only one: I think I’m tired.'

'There’s a McDonald’s over there, shall we get a McFlurry?'

'Great idea.'

'See, it worked.'

Don't Think And Derive

A philosopher went into a closet for ten years to contemplate the question, What is life?
When he came out, he went into the street and met an old colleague who asked him where in heaven's name he had been all those years.
"In a closet," he replied. "I wanted to know what life really is."

"And have you found an answer?"
"Yes," he replied. "I think it can best be expressed by saying that life is like a bridge."
"That's well and good," replied the colleague, "but can you be a little more explicit? Can you tell me how life is like a bridge?"
"Oh," replied the philosopher after some thought, "maybe you're right; perhaps life is not like a bridge."

What Else?

Piece Written For An Unfinished Piece

“What do you want to be when you’re grown up?” she asked.

“I am grown up,” I said.

“But older, I mean. Where do you see yourself as an old man?”

“With you, in an easy access bungalow in a quiet residential town,” I said. “I’ll have retired with a meagre pension after having made it to the middle of a company that no longer exists. Our ungrateful kids will be long gone and you’ll be thinking they should’ve married better. We’ll be watching the Antiques Roadshow on some huge television and marvelling how the Swedish furniture we had when we were younger is still considered valueless. I’ll have time for DIY and golf but be too old to swing anything. You’ll spend time in the garden because you can’t think of anything else to do. We’ll take long romantic walks to the front door before getting tired and having to turn back. All our friends will be dead and we’ll only remember the good things about them. We’ll have pictures of our grandchildren on the mantelpiece and I’ll confuse their names especially when they visit so as to annoy them. Everything will hurt and we’ll wonder why they keep mending us. Looking back, we’ll think god, I wish I’d paid more attention.”

“You’ve thought this through,” she said, looking at me.

“Well, it’s just a vague outline, it may change.” I stared at her face. “Any bits you don’t like?”

“It doesn’t sound too bad. It sounds like we had a good run.”