you respect the one who got shot; I respect the shooter

I’m putting the mind-body dichotomy series on hold for a while in order to read some more on the subject. Currently I’m Kindling my way through Stephen Pinker’s How The Mind Works, which has astonished me and lost me a dozen times already. You’re all disappointed at not getting to hear my half-baked [...]

I watched the children scurry in circles around a two-way mirror

From a high enough perch, all of us are hypocrites.
Conservatives praise the power of the free market to fulfill desires, then rant about indecently dressed pop starlets and the drunken crowds downtown. Liberals insist that the government “keep its laws out of my bedroom,” unless, while in your bedroom, you enjoy consuming trans fats [...]

bow down before the one you serve

When I wrote last Friday about where my desires come from, I used the example of Laughing Cow cheese. My desire for this cheese went from non-existent (before I tried it) to compulsory (after). I thought that was pretty extraordinary.
Some folks, commenting on my LiveJournal, observed that the manufacturers of Laughing Cow cheese [...]

there’s someone in my head, but it’s not me

While visiting Chicago, waiting for a bus at Addison with my man Hawver, two street hawkers approached us. “Would you like to try some Laughing Cow light swiss?”
“Sure,” I said, being hungry. One handed me a sample pack of swiss cheese, about the size of my thumb; the other, a pack of crackers [...]

hit me with your best shot

I got a flu shot on Wednesday.
When filling out the consent and information form prior to getting stuck, I had to think for a moment on whether or not I’d ever had a flu shot before: that’s how long it had been. But I definitely had in college, if not somewhat later. It [...]

you know that I wouldn’t say something I didn’t mean

It took me a while to realize, even after I became a humorless atheist, that my thoughts and feelings come from somewhere.
Even if you don’t believe in a soul, or a consciousness separate from the biological processes of consciousness, you probably believe in some distinction between the “nobler” passions, like love and hope, and the [...]

night swimming deserves a quiet night

My latest post on Overthinking It compares The Demolished Man vs. Demolition Man – the 1951 Alfred Bester novel to the 1993 Sylvester Stallone action flick. They have more in common than a name, you know. (Serpico deserves some credit for inspiring the initial comparison: thanks Serp)
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Imagine the following two different [...]

last sunday morning, sunshine felt like rain

It’s been a pretty good seven days here in Boston.
The weather has finally turned around, giving us sunny mornings and temperate evenings. I’ve made an effort to get outside and be more sociable, making some new friends in the process. I switched up my exercise routine at the gym a bit, leading to [...]

hunger hurts, but starving works

“GYAARRGH,” I yelled. “How do they expect people to work under these conditions? It’s stupid! This is insane!”
A slice of Upper Crust pizza appeared in my hand – spinach, mozzarella, feta, garlic, no sauce. I ate it in about two bites. Then I ate another, slowly.
“Huh,” I mumbled through a [...]