Read this Machiavelli quote over at Cracked and thought it offered another (mock-Aristotelian?) way for thinking about philosophy’s Idealism against rhetoric’s pragmatism:
there are two means of fighting: one according to the laws, the other with force; the first way is proper to man, the second to beasts; but because the first, in many cases, is not sufficient, it becomes necessary to have recourse to the second
Roar.
I often find myself trying to come to terms with my love of rhetoric; to the point that I try to find traces of this love littered throughout my entire life’s narrative. One such trace, I tell myself, is my lifelong love of the cover song and the remix. Since I was a kid, I have always enjoyed the playful cover or parody–like the Lemonhead’s “My Name is Luka,” Dynamic Hack’s “Boyz in tha Hood,” or even Alien Ant Farm’s “Smooth Criminal.”
So, I tell myself, this clearly expresses an early appreciation for the kairotic dimensions of context. I appreciate a playful re-appropriation. I also can appreciate it as a deconstructionist–something that alerts us to silent norms, to expectations. Such an alert must be respectful, even while playful. For instance: laughing at a funeral. The laugh at a funeral might defy social convention, but it does so (hopefully) as light-hearted remembrance and as painfully playful nostalgia. It manifests the often neglected cliche: a proper funeral celebrates a life rather than mourns a death. So, you can laugh at a funeral. You cannot order a pizza.
I think the playful cover song, one self-conscious of its recontextualization, represents this kind of properly un-kairotic laughter (to borrow DDD’s term). This laughter attempts a self-consciousness tempered by obligation–to the original, to the moment, to something other. All this came to mind today thanks to Mxrk’s sharing the Jim Lehrer piece:
In “Preventing-1984-in-2008” news, the Bush administration and the EFF will be squaring off today. At stake: whether ISPs should be legally accountable for illegally (or “homeland security legally”) passing information to the NSA. Panopticonic issues withstanding, I think this is a very tricky issue. We once impeached a president for messing with tape…
But has our information landscape changed to the point where this kind of surveillance is necessary? I think I would draw on Bush’s own response to the terrorists after 9/11–we cannot allow fear to impinge upon our freedoms. Of course, Bush wanted us all to go shopping. Which, looking at national credit card debt, we did. Now I think we need to heed the same call, and hold our own government, and whoever aided them, accountable.
After teaching my course on the history of education for the second time, I have even more respect for Kant brazenness. I appreciate his crafting of a private “public” sphere… one in which everyone has the right to speak. While Kant might have also mandated that we obey, he saw it as everyone’s right to be free to speak and learn (and read and google search) without fear of impunity. Such “public” learning requires privacy. Those familiar with Kant’s Conflict of the Faculties will get the whole “public/private” scare quoting.
Let’s see how things shake out on Tuesday.
I normally don’t waste time with Bush bashing, its sort of like challenging a sixth grader to a steel cage match, but this shit is too funny.
We are home resting; Rowan managed not to catch my plague. Right now, she’s playing outside with gramma (Meg’s mom just got here this morning to give us some much needed help). Thanks to everyone for their concern and wishes.
We got great news yesterday–the post-op examinations showed no signs that the cancer had left Rowan’s eye. Her optic nerve was clean. This means that we very likely have a cancer-free baby. We’re really grateful for that–we needed a win.
As I recently mentioned, I primarily voted for Obama based on his stance toward net neutrality. Obama has decided to appoint our nation’s first Chief Technology Officer. User Voice, a social aggregator, has set up an interesting forum to discuss the priorities for the new appointment. Very interesting, but it is unclear whether Obama knows the site exists. The site details that “official reviews” are coming, but doesn’t say who the officials are…
Regardless, take a minute to read through some of the excellent suggestions, vote, and ponder whether the previous administration would even consider for a milli-second the idea of digital public opinion.
And, Mxrk, don’t waste a vote on the guy developing sharks with “lazers.”
Things have gotten much better as the day progressed. We stopped giving her the Tylenol w/ codine and her condition really improved. Codine can cause both constipation and nausea, and she hasn’t vomited since last night. She’s eating solid food, playing with her toys, and even dancing a little. We’re still waiting on the poop, but everyone here is in much better spirits.
Things are still not going very well. We spent last night at the hotel, and Rowan did sleep soundly through the night. She’s had a bit of breast milk this morning, but is refusing solid foods (and Rowan never refuses food…). She’s also crying constantly. We’ve stopped giving her Tylenol w/ codine, since codine can cause constipation. As can her chemo drugs. Rowan hasn’t pooped since Wednesday, so we’ve given her some milk of magnesia.
A good sign: in the time its taken me to write this email, she took a bite of watermelon.
It is going to be a very, very long Sunday.
Rowan’s recovery has been rough today–she’s had a real difficult time holding down food or liquid. At this point she’s refusing to take her pain medication or milk of mag (she’s also suffering some constipation). We originally hoped to be released today, but its not looking that way. Currently, she’s sleeping and has managed to hold down some breast milk for about 40 minutes (if she can hold it down for an hour, we might be able to spend tonight at the hotel rather than at the hospital…. fingers crossed…).
Again, we would like to thank everyone that helped make Friday night such a success. Meg and I have no way of expressing what all your support means to us. Thank you all
Rowan is recovering from this morning’s surgery. She is healthy and safe. The doctor saw no signs that the cancer has spread beyond her eye. All news is good news.
We probably won’t get to see her for another hour until we see her. Then we’ll be heading over to Jackson Memorial for her 4th chemo treatment. We’ll be in Miami until Monday.
