"Isn’t it, then, rather an enormous relief for us men to see that the plant and animal world is no problem to itself, and that we are wasting intellectual energy in making moral judgments about it? But of course we can’t return to the unreflective consciousness of the animal world without becoming animals. To be human is precisely to have that extra circuit of consciousness which enables us to know that we know, and thus to take an attitude to all that we experience. The mistake that we’ve made—and this, if anything, is the fall of man—is to suppose that that extra circuit, that ability to take an attitude to life as a whole, is the same as actually standing aside and being separate from what we see. We seem to feel that the thing which knows that it knows is one’s essential self. That, in other words, our personal identity is entirely on the side of the commentator. We forget that self-consciousness is simply a subordinate part and instrument of our being; a sort of mental counterpart to the finger-thumb opposition of the human hand."—Alan Watts, 'Love of Waters'
Alan Watts remains a somewhat polarising figure some 50 years after his death, but his recorded lectures and radio programs still continue to grow in influence and popularity. Much of his work—both in those recordings and in his books—remains valuable to Western audiences as a gateway to Eastern religion and philosophy. While something like the above quote is not extremely difficult to understand on an intellectual level, trying to actually live with this outlook in Western society is a Herculean task. The entire culture mitigates against seeing the world this way.
In a sense what it boils down to is this: the civilisation we inhabit views death as entirely terrifying (in fact, it seeks to promote how terrifying death is at every possible opportunity) and is destroying everything in neurotic flight from it. Another Watts quote went something like, "this culture is so terrified of death it is committing suicide to avoid it."
As I've commented in the past, one of my favorite places is a good bookstore. The used bookstore here in our county, impressively stocked considering that its host city has less than 50K people, is a great place to spend hours, even if I don't end up buying anything.
Some "big bookstore" experiences stick in my mind. One is Brentano's in NYC, where I spent half a day back in the 70s. I'm sure it has changed since then, but at the time, I'd never been so overwhelmed by the sheer size of a bookstore.
Another is Powell's in Portland OR, which I visited for the first time in the '90s. It is especially cool because they shelve used books right along with new ones. Although we travel to Portland every year to visit friends and family, I don't go there any more--downtown Portland has gotten to be too sketchy a place, and with all the boarded-up storefronts, it's a bit spooky now. It's ironic that a century ago, Portland was referred to as "Stump City", and it has now become "Plywood City". A boon for their dying lumber industry, no doubt.
Regarding Israel, I read a very interesting piece just the other day right here on Substack, which spins a pretty alarming tale about the state of things there, and seems to predict Israel's coming extinction if trends do not change. I could not find much to fault in the blogger's conclusions:
Not convinced Israel will be dissolving anytime soon, but that blogger stretches out the timeline to 2050-2075 and, I mean, who knows what this world looks like that far out in the future? Seems more likely than not to be by then some ash-covered, global wasteland. Civilisations without habitable biospheres die.
Greying and flabby Uncle Sam may not have the sort of military fitness he did 35 years ago, but with that no-limit credit card handy he can ride to Israel's financial rescue more or less indefinitely, unless and until the dollar collapses. Trying to monkey-wrench BRICS is what the adventures in Taiwan and Ukraine are all about; putting off the day the US runs the credit card, sees D E C L I N E D, and the world asks if it has some other way to pay.
Fact is, having to hear about Israel constantly is like having to hear about dog shit or maggots all the time when any ordinary person is disgusted and revolted and just wants it out of their face.
Chào quý ngài, it is unfortunate that you have gone healthy. Your descriptions of eateries and meals, along with the prices, were enjoyable as well as being useful to travelers. Perhaps you could include examples of items even if you are restricted from eating them now. Or the healthy-type items you are able to indulge in. The beer descriptions are also missed.
Regards, Expatrader your longtime reader (from the Counterpunch days)
When and if you can grasp how there's never been any way for anyone to tell who is, or is not, any of those fake, man-made religion labels, please let your readers know. Also let them know that the fake word "Nazi" is an epithet which came from "Ignatz" which was commonly given to peasant boys in Bavaria and Austria. In reality, Ig "natz" or "Nazi" is just the equivalent of "bumpkin" or "simpleton." There is no such thing as "Jews," or any of the also-fake, branched-off versions of that label. There never has been anything such as "Nazis" or any "Nazi Party" as promoted by adult scam artists. Nazi has never been an acronym for National Socialism. The word holocaust has always just meant a burnt offering or sacrifice completely consumed by fire. Touché.
"Isn’t it, then, rather an enormous relief for us men to see that the plant and animal world is no problem to itself, and that we are wasting intellectual energy in making moral judgments about it? But of course we can’t return to the unreflective consciousness of the animal world without becoming animals. To be human is precisely to have that extra circuit of consciousness which enables us to know that we know, and thus to take an attitude to all that we experience. The mistake that we’ve made—and this, if anything, is the fall of man—is to suppose that that extra circuit, that ability to take an attitude to life as a whole, is the same as actually standing aside and being separate from what we see. We seem to feel that the thing which knows that it knows is one’s essential self. That, in other words, our personal identity is entirely on the side of the commentator. We forget that self-consciousness is simply a subordinate part and instrument of our being; a sort of mental counterpart to the finger-thumb opposition of the human hand."—Alan Watts, 'Love of Waters'
https://youtu.be/nelu1VAfQLM?feature=shared
That is very profound--thank you for sharing!
Alan Watts remains a somewhat polarising figure some 50 years after his death, but his recorded lectures and radio programs still continue to grow in influence and popularity. Much of his work—both in those recordings and in his books—remains valuable to Western audiences as a gateway to Eastern religion and philosophy. While something like the above quote is not extremely difficult to understand on an intellectual level, trying to actually live with this outlook in Western society is a Herculean task. The entire culture mitigates against seeing the world this way.
In a sense what it boils down to is this: the civilisation we inhabit views death as entirely terrifying (in fact, it seeks to promote how terrifying death is at every possible opportunity) and is destroying everything in neurotic flight from it. Another Watts quote went something like, "this culture is so terrified of death it is committing suicide to avoid it."
"We are the people
Who do not know how to die peacefully and at ease..."
https://youtu.be/Yd7Pughcb_4?si=vVAqExU5IXPfKKoa
"Nations without nationalism die."
__
Another Linh Dinh quote to be etched in stone at the base of the Statue of Liberty? Do you think Governor Hochul would go for it?
Hmmm
Here's the Bellows painting, 42 Kids, that was scandalous at the time and perhaps still politically incorrect in 2024. I'd rate it PG.
https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.134485.html
Seems pretty tame to me, especially when I like Balthus, definitely R. https://marketsharegroup.com/most-scandalous-paintings-created-by-balthus/
As I've commented in the past, one of my favorite places is a good bookstore. The used bookstore here in our county, impressively stocked considering that its host city has less than 50K people, is a great place to spend hours, even if I don't end up buying anything.
Some "big bookstore" experiences stick in my mind. One is Brentano's in NYC, where I spent half a day back in the 70s. I'm sure it has changed since then, but at the time, I'd never been so overwhelmed by the sheer size of a bookstore.
Another is Powell's in Portland OR, which I visited for the first time in the '90s. It is especially cool because they shelve used books right along with new ones. Although we travel to Portland every year to visit friends and family, I don't go there any more--downtown Portland has gotten to be too sketchy a place, and with all the boarded-up storefronts, it's a bit spooky now. It's ironic that a century ago, Portland was referred to as "Stump City", and it has now become "Plywood City". A boon for their dying lumber industry, no doubt.
Regarding Israel, I read a very interesting piece just the other day right here on Substack, which spins a pretty alarming tale about the state of things there, and seems to predict Israel's coming extinction if trends do not change. I could not find much to fault in the blogger's conclusions:
https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/israels-path-of-peril
Not convinced Israel will be dissolving anytime soon, but that blogger stretches out the timeline to 2050-2075 and, I mean, who knows what this world looks like that far out in the future? Seems more likely than not to be by then some ash-covered, global wasteland. Civilisations without habitable biospheres die.
Greying and flabby Uncle Sam may not have the sort of military fitness he did 35 years ago, but with that no-limit credit card handy he can ride to Israel's financial rescue more or less indefinitely, unless and until the dollar collapses. Trying to monkey-wrench BRICS is what the adventures in Taiwan and Ukraine are all about; putting off the day the US runs the credit card, sees D E C L I N E D, and the world asks if it has some other way to pay.
The prediction is obviously rather subjective. What I found most disturbing is how badly the takeover by "settlers" has progressed.
Fact is, having to hear about Israel constantly is like having to hear about dog shit or maggots all the time when any ordinary person is disgusted and revolted and just wants it out of their face.
City Lights Books in San Francisco remains my favourite; a place haunted in the best way by the ghosts of the Beats.
That's just a few hours from here--I may have to give it a try the next time I'm up that way.
Chào quý ngài, it is unfortunate that you have gone healthy. Your descriptions of eateries and meals, along with the prices, were enjoyable as well as being useful to travelers. Perhaps you could include examples of items even if you are restricted from eating them now. Or the healthy-type items you are able to indulge in. The beer descriptions are also missed.
Regards, Expatrader your longtime reader (from the Counterpunch days)
Hi Dr. MDL,
Here's today's lunch. $8.04 for out of this world smoked veal [bê thui], the best version of this I've ever had. This was enough for two people:
http://linhdinhphotos.blogspot.com/2024/08/8.html
Linh
P.S. And here's a $2 dinner of boiled pork with assorted vegetables and herbs, wrapped in rice paper and dipped in fermented fish paste:
https://linhdinhphotos.blogspot.com/2024/08/tonights-2-dinner-of-boiled-pork-with.html
I think the imprinting of Nazi on the American mind had more to do w/ Winston Churchill's pronunciation "Na-si" than the name Ignatz.
Dear Linh,
When and if you can grasp how there's never been any way for anyone to tell who is, or is not, any of those fake, man-made religion labels, please let your readers know. Also let them know that the fake word "Nazi" is an epithet which came from "Ignatz" which was commonly given to peasant boys in Bavaria and Austria. In reality, Ig "natz" or "Nazi" is just the equivalent of "bumpkin" or "simpleton." There is no such thing as "Jews," or any of the also-fake, branched-off versions of that label. There never has been anything such as "Nazis" or any "Nazi Party" as promoted by adult scam artists. Nazi has never been an acronym for National Socialism. The word holocaust has always just meant a burnt offering or sacrifice completely consumed by fire. Touché.
https://michaelatkinson.substack.com/
Sincerely,
Michael
🦖
The mouse in Krazy Kat, Ignatz, threw bricks at the inoffensive cat out of irritation with its naivety.