Camp. I find it unbelievable that a movie about kids who are amazing actors was so poorly cast. All the kids are terrible. Terrible. And Anna Kendrick is so much cuter than Alana Allen, aka Zombie Eyes.#

Relationships and Politics#

I was talking to a friend who suggested that I would probably care a great deal about the politics of girls I might be interested in. I tried to explain that this was not the case, but my explanation was sub-par, so I will reiterate here.

The core the idea is that there are many more important things in a relationship than politics. Particularly when neither person is incredibly involved in implementing their politics beliefs, whether as a politician, evangelist, or serial volunteer.

The main exception is that many times political ideas are inspired by moral ideas, and I do think that having a morality that is basically the same as your partner is important.

So, if you are cute and not politically engaged, email me. Even if you are a dirty commie.

Keith and the Girl, episode 76 was great.#

Faré writes about some odd stuff.#

Natural Rights: A New Theory, by Richard D. Fuerle, is a fresh and clear perspective on rights, from an angle that is familiar to classic liberals. But familiar is not identical, and Fuerle certainly has something to add.#

Criteria#

An interesting part of this theory is the clearly stated criteria the Fuerle sees for any theory of rights. One is interesting:

A theory of rights should be economically efficient. A theory that leads to the conclusion that, for example, animals and plants have rights and cannot be eaten, would force us to discard either the theory or the human species. A theory is unsatisfactory to the extent that it leads to economic inefficiencies. In evolutionary terms, if competing societies operated under theories that differed only in efficiency, that society using the most efficient theory would be more likely to survive. If there can exist a theory that maximizes efficiency and is otherwise acceptable, then any theory that does not maximize efficiency must be considered defective and unacceptable.

Torts and Crimes#

The following is a taste of the style of analysis of crimes:

A person who intends to violate a right but does not violate a right does not commit a crime because a "crime" is defined as an intentional violation of a right. Bob shoots at Joe but misses and the bullet does not hit Joe's property or someone else's property and Joe does not know that he was shot at. Bob has not committed a crime because no rights have been violated. If Joe sees Bob shooting at him, Bob has violated Joe's rights by sending images into his eyes that he did not consent to see.

Principals and Agents#

A great discussion of government 'representation':

Is a government official an agent of the voters, who are the principals? A government official is considered to be a "representative" - someone selected to represent the interests of his constituents, since it is impractical for everyone to consider and vote on each bill of proposed legislation (a poor argument, as legislators commonly vote on bills they have not read, let alone given careful thought to). But the only "agreement" between each voter and the official is the state or federal constitution. It might be argued that, by voting, the voters agree to the terms of the constitution under which the official is elected. (That argument would not apply to those who do not vote, of course.) But voting cannot, in itself, prove that the voters consent to the rules of the constitution. There is a knock on your door and you answer it. Two men are there. One says, "Hi, we represent the government. We're going to take some of your money every month. If you don't give it to us, we will put you in a cage and if you resist, we will use whatever force is necessary, including killing you. But we're going to give you a chance to vote on whether I, Francis, or Dumbo here decides how to spend your money." You vote for Dumbo and turn over your money to government people each month. If you would not have paid them in the absence of their threat to violate your rights, you do not consent to pay them and you are not a co-actor with them, even though you voted. If you would have paid them even without the threat, you waive the threat as a right- violation as it was made within the scope of the agreement with them that you consent to support (i.e., the Constitution), and you are a co-actor with them. If you are a co-actor and they kill some innocent people within the scope of the Constitution, you are equally liable for the murders.

Government#

The propaganda that government people are the servants of the people, who are really the masters, would be hilarious were it not taken seriously by so many. What servant tells his master what he can eat, smoke, grow, produce, who he can hire, promote, and on and on? What servant shoots and kills his master because he does not comply with the servant's orders? What servant lets his master die in agony by preventing his master from taking life-saving medicine or pain-killing drugs? What servant takes his master's guns away so that his master can no longer defend himself from his servant?

Overall#

I would recommend reading this book.

The Complete Essays of Montaigne, by Michel E. de Montaigne, contains reams of fabulous translated (presumably) prose by Montaigne.#

Before I look at some specific chapters and quotes, I will give my overall feeling on Montaigne.#

Suppose a group of people were to play a game where they tried to quote Roman writers in context and muse about Roman history, with subtle links to the present. Suppose that the winner was obsessively impressed with Sparta, Alexander, Caesar, and Cicero. This winner might as well change his name to Montaigne.

While very little of Montaigne feels like it is unique, the artful way he combines many stories and quotes (sometimes of many pages and unattributed!) is interesting.

The nuggets of himself that he puts in are, again, interesting, but I don't see myself in them like Emerson did, probably due to my preference for Athens over Sparta, etc.

I/4: How the soul discharges its passions on false objects when the true are wanting#

Plutarch says of those who grow fond of monkeys and little dogs that the loving part that is in us, lacking a legitimate object, rather than remain idle, thus forges itself a false and frivolous one. And we see that the soul in its passions will sooner deceive itself by setting up a false and fantastical object, even contrary to its own belief, than not act against something. [p. 14]

The other application of this idea is, of course, when people are attracted to the idea of a loving relationship, but do not actually love the person they are with.

I/20: That to philosophize is to learn to die#

Caesar, observing the decrepit appearance of a soldier of his guard, an exhausted and broken man, who came to him in the street to ask leave to kill himself, replied humorously: "So you think you're alive." [p. 63]

I think a person on the verge of suicide is not very much alive for different reasons than Caesar and Montaigne. In my opinion, such a person has such low regard for themselves that life is worthless in their eyes, and thus not truly experienced.

I/39: Of solitude#

Reason and sense remove anxiety,
Not villas that look out upon the sea,
- Horace [p. 175]

I/40: A consideration upon Cicero#

The companions of Demosthenes in the embassy of Philip praised that prince as being handsome, eloquent, and a good drinker. Demosthenes said that those were praises more appropriate to a woman, a lawyer, and a sponge, than to a king. [p. 184]

II/2: Of drunkenness#

A man advanced in dignity and age counted drink among the three principal comforts that he used to say he had left in life. But he took it in the wrong way. Fastidiousness is to be avoided in it, and careful selection of wines. If you make your pleasure depend on drinking good wine, you condemn yourself to the pain of sometimes drinking bad wine. We must have a less exacting and freer taste. To be a good drinker, one must not have so delicate a palate. The Germans drink almost all wines with equal pleasure. Their aim is to swallow rather than to taste. They have much the better of the bargain. Their pleasure is much more plentiful and ready at hand. [p. 247]

This was the first real time I saw something in Montaigne that I see in myself. I have made a comment almost exactly like this to my friends and family with regards to preferences for high varieties of anything. I commonly say that connoisseurs actually appreciate and enjoy less than others.

II/12: Apology for Raymond Sebond#

People are prone to apply the meaning of other men's writing to suit opinions that they have previously determined in their minds; and an atheist flatters himself by reducing all authors to atheism, infecting innocent matter with his own venom. [p. 327]

A vice of many.

When I play with my cat, who knows if I am not a pastime to her more than she is to me? [p. 331]

I was surprised at the age of this idea.

Man is certainly crazy. He could not make a mite, and he makes gods by the dozen. [p. 395]

A clever way to put this belief.

II/17: Of presumption#

[Remember] this saying of the late Chancellor Olivier, that the French are like monkeys who climb to the top of a tree, from branch to branch, and never stop moving until they have reached the highest branch, and show their rear ends when they get there. [p. 490]

Straight from a French mouth.

II/32: Defense of Seneca and Plutarch#

Montaigne is talking about this author, Bodin, who does not believe the amazing things that Plutarch has written about the Spartans as part of his effort to deify the Lacedaemons.

There was nothing, according to their custom, in which their reputation was more concerned, or for which they had more blame and shame to suffer, than being caught stealing. I am so steeped in the greatness of those people that not only does Plutarch's story not seem incredible to me, as it does to Bodin, but I do not find it even rare and strange. Spartan history is full of a thousand more cruel and uncommon examples: by this standard it is all miracle. [p. 547]

This is one of the comments that makes me really dislike Montaigne for having idiotic blind faith in the ancients, wound up with a dogmatic insistence of the superiority of the Spartans.

If I sound exaggerated, read what Plutarch actually wrote about them.

II/37: Of the resemblance of children to fathers#

As for me, I'd rather be a good cook, if I didn't have one to serve me. [p. 596]

Book Three#

I don't know how, but someone turned up the obnoxious on Montaigne when he wrote the third book. It was painful to get through. Maybe it was trying to do all 850 pages at once and the first 600 rubbed the wrong way, so I might try to read it again in the future.

English#

Alright son, your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to devout your life to the study of algae activity.

Spanish#

Corriente hijo, tua misión, si escoges aceptación de lo, es dedicar tua vida a el estudio de actividad de algas.

Bueno, hijo, tu misión, si escojas aceptarla, es dedicar tu vida al estudio de la actividad de algas.

French#

D'accord le fils, ton mission, si tu choisis accepter il, c'est consacrer ton vie à l'étude de l'activité de l'algae.

Allors, mon fils, ta mission, si tu choisis l'accepter, c'est consacrer ta vie à l'étude de l'activité de l'algae.

Faré: Bon, fiston, ta mission, si tu choisis de l'accepter, est de consacrer ta vie à l'étude de l'activité des algues.

Italian#

Esatto figlio, tua missione, se decidere di accetto lo, è dedicare tua vita a il studio di la attività de alghe.

Allora, figlio, tua missione, se decida l'accettare, è dedicare la tua vita al studio di la attività de alghe.

German#

Schön Sohn, dein Lebensaufgabe, wenn [wählen] du annehmen es, [widmen] [essen] dein Leben zu das Studium von Tätigkeit von Algen.

Nur zu, Sohn, dein Lebensaufgabe, wenn wähle du es anzunehem, ist dein Leben zum Studium von Tätigkeit von Algen widmen.

Mandarin Chinese#

Zan4tong2 er2zi, ni3 de dai4biao3tuan2, jia3shi3 ni3 xuan3ze2 xiang4 tong2yi4 ta1, shi4 ba3 ni3 de sheng1ming4 feng4xian4 gei3 xue2xi2 de huo2dong4xing4 de zao3lei4.

Hao3 ba, hai2zi, ni3 de shu3ming4, ru2guo3 ni3 jue2ding4 jie1 shou4 de hua4, jiu4shi4 zhi4li4 yu2 zao3lei4 huo2dong4 de yan2 jiu1.