Facebook Causes is an interesting application on the now-ubiquitous social networking site which allows anyone to start up an activism group and recruit helpers, without the need for funding or geographic proximity. The about page explains: “Facebook Platform presents an unprecedented opportunity to engage our generation, most of whom are on Facebook, in seizing the [...]
Posts under ‘philosophy’
The Emergency of Life in a Modern World
On a very un-nauseating inauguration day for the 44th President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, I turn to a book about a much less appealing human experience than we Americans are currently going through. The first novel by Jean-Paul Sartre seems to be one of the best templates for the Existentialist fiction [...]
The Sin of Lifelessness
During grad school I was drawn away from Kerouac, not out of disinterest, but just simply because I was so damn busy. Now that I have some more time and mental energy, I’ve jumped back “on the road.” Every time I read one of his books, I find it simultaneously challenging and rewarding. There are [...]
For Madmen Only!
After finishing Steppenwolf, I have to say that it might be the densest 218-page book ever written. Not dense as in unenjoyable, but dense as in containing an incredible amount of useful information and quotable statements. However, thanks to Colin Wilson’s book The Outsider, I had distorted expectations going into Steppenwolf. For some reason I [...]
An Enlightenment Steak, With A Side Of Karma
I just finished listening to the audiobook version of God Is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens. While the subject material is quite controversial, Hitchens’ approach is not. He focuses much less on vague concepts like faith and belief, and much more on the real-world concerns surrounding religion. Hitchens concedes that he pays respect to all [...]
2008 Election Endorsement: Abstinence
Since this is sort of a publication, and many other publications — like newspapers, for example — offer election endorsements, I thought I would do the same. Hence, the official Supraterranean.com endorsement for the United States election in 2008 is…..(drum roll)…..total abstinence. I know what you’re thinking. “Abstain from voting?! But that would mean surrendering [...]
Tuesday Grab Bag
Last week at a Vietnamese restaurant, I received a fortune cookie with the following message: “Mediocrity is self-inflicted. Genius is self-bestowed.” I thought it might be the wisest fortune I’ve ever seen in my life. It reminded me of my favorite line from The Matrix. “There’s a difference between knowing the path and walking the [...]
Civilization Is Sterilization
Today’s lesson comes from Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. It is the tale of a future society in which everything is completely controlled through eugenics (i.e. – managing human breeding for a desired outcome), psychological conditioning (so that people’s tastes, desires, and turn-offs are all as the government wants), sexual promiscuity (to keep everyone [...]
Wherever You Go…
I want to return to Into The Wild to discuss the author himself. Jon Krakauer waits until the third act of the nonfiction book to discuss his own life, but doing so adds a lot of depth and context to the story of Chris McCandless. Krakauer is a climber and avid outdoorsman, and he has [...]
The Cunning of Desire
Aside from The Outsider and Tropic of Cancer, the other life-changing book I read this year (yes, it’s been a big year of reading discoveries) was Life Against Death by Norman O. Brown. I actually heard about it last fall, when I bought a large book on Stanley Kubrick as a Christmas present for my [...]
