“As people who have been shaped by the current empire–first the European, and then Euro-American, and then the global economic empire that we’re a part of now–we have to realize our survival now depends on disentangling our identities from the values and assumptions of this empire.“ –Brian McLaren The above quote comes from an interview…
Diary
Colorless Green Ideas Sleep Furiously: Difference, Repetition, Implicit Cognition, and Gibberish
“Such a situation may be better understood if we consider that concepts with indefinite comprehension are concepts of Nature. As such, they are always in something else: they are not in Nature but in the mind which contemplates it or observes it, and represents it to itself. That is why it is said that Nature…
Heart Below The Blanket Wrapped | A Poem
Watching Waiting Winking A soft flutter In a mellow mood Between the here and now Of a shallow moon Breathing Beating Being Heart below The blanket wrapped Wandering wayward flow Accounts of all the time elapsed Shifting Sensing Seeing Apprehensive moments Glimmering light arise Tenderness awakes Hopeful glowing skies
Towards Ever Deeper Fractals of Relationship: Entropy, Chaos, Anarchy, and Panentheism
“I’ve succumbed [to panentheism]…but here’s the thing about panentheism: there is a reasonable probability, and it’s a reasonably well received theory that the Universe is running down, the law of entropy is inevitable, and the arrow of time is irreversible and the best estimate we have right now is that the expansion will expand to…
The Power of Powerlessness: Tough Guys, Weaklings, Patriarchy, Plants, and Meat
“In her 1990 classic, The Sexual Politics of Meat, Carol J. Adams connects the oppression of women to the oppression of non-human animals by examining the cultural roles and meaning of meat. She first identifies the association between meat and masculinity, noting how men consume the lion’s share of meat while women, due to various…
Pictures Are Worth a Thousand Feelings, I think: Media Ecology, Feelings, and the Decline of Abstract Rational Thought
“Regardless of what is being depicted in a photograph, the form itself evokes in us a particular pattern of intuitive, holistic thinking and emotion—the exact opposite of the pattern evoked by printed works. We have all heard the cliché “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Implied in this sentiment is the idea that images…
You can’t start with 1949 if you want to understand China: Martin Jacques and When China Rules the World
“Emmanuel Daniel (ED): Now, how would you apply your book, when you open the newspaper in the morning, and you read some of these issues coming out? What would you like to see China do? What would you like to see the West do? It shouldn’t be just capitulating that China owns the South China…
Mindless Rage Gives Way to Focused Wonder: Girard, Mimesis, and The Origins of Religion
“As we have seen, Girard regards religion and culture not as the inventions of rational human beings but as essential processes in the evolution of humanity. For him, the scapegoating process functions as a catalyst in the development of symbolic thought. This increased mental capacity leads to ritual and myth, which in their turn develop…
The Desecration
The following is a short fantasy story I wrote and posted online in 2013 as an episode of a discontinued podcast of mine called Unfolded. I remember that I was reading a lot about disgust psychology and radical theology when I wrote this story so I wanted to re-post it here for those who may…
The Trembling Gift
It has become a habit of mine over the years to make gifts for friends and family for Christmas, and this year my spouse, Erin, and I wrote, designed, illustrated, and produced home made Christmas chapbooks. This was a wonderful process! I thoroughly enjoyed writing the story and, astonishingly, the writing part came together rather…