Not a bad mission statement /
“We aim to humanize those who have been objectified.”
– Jessie Kornberg, Director, Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles
ideas
Whatever Happens This Year /
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
Third Places
American suburbs provide an excess of privacy, but deny proximity to those places upon which a community life depends.For 2024
Ten days in, my theme for 2024 is: “Be attentive”:
- Pay attention to what I pay attention to, and jettison stuff that doesn’t pay back with value.
- Improve focus on stuff that is valuable. (Takes practice!)
- Be attentive and responsive (or least present) to others.
(NB: They all take practice.)
from Symmetries & Asymmetries | W.H. Auden
Could any tiger Drink martinis, smoke cigars, And last as we do?
Pitiable, foolish, and cruel, all at once
Louis Menand: “[Sontag] forbade her son to look out the window when they rode in a train; he needed to read about a place if he wanted to understand it. She never looked out the window herself.”
not so funny anymore
Mike Godwin:
... has the sheer absurdity of so many hyperbolic Nazi comparisons in popular culture made us less vigilant about the possible reemergence of actual fascism in the world? I think it shouldn’t — comparisons to Hitler or to Nazis need to take place when people are beginning to act like Hitler or like Nazis...
We had the luxury of deriving humor from Hitler and Nazi comparisons when doing so was almost always hyperbole. It’s not a luxury we can afford anymore.
A thought
Generally, the world says, "Work first, and benefits come after." (E.g., exercise, then fitness.) That's good, because, even for bad work, anticipating the reward eases the pain. But if you must pay after, that looming bill taints the enjoyment of the thing enjoyed. (Of course, taking joy in the work is best of all.)
You are what you eat
David French:
We’re misinformed not because the government is systematically lying or suppressing the truth. We’re misinformed because we like the misinformation we receive and are eager for more.... The market is very, very happy to provide us with all the misinformation we like. Algorithms recognize our preferences and serve up the next video or article that echoes or amplifies the themes of the first story we clicked.... It’s important to recognize that no person or movement is immune to the temptations of bespoke reality. We’re all vulnerable... That means following as many or more people who disagree with me as agree with me. That means reading the best and smartest people I can find who disagree with me. These practices help both challenge me and humanize my opponents.
A difficult question
Jonah Goldberg: "If Hitler’s bunker was in a hospital in 1945, you can be sure we would have flattened it from the air (no doubt after dropping leaflets—just as Israel has). But Israel has not done that. Nor should it do anything of the sort. They sent troops in—carrying incubators by the way—to minimize collateral damage...
[What's a real solution to] the very real problem of Hamas using Palestinian babies to protect their murderers and rapists?"
[What's a real solution to] the very real problem of Hamas using Palestinian babies to protect their murderers and rapists?"