TBGO ("Blaaaah..."): Solar Savings Shot; Hendrix; Soul Dead; True, Dat.

What Coulda Been:

You see the problem, here?
Yes, indeed: for what we spent on wars these last 10 years, we could have made a significant contribution to arresting climate change, for example. And to changing the energy consumption habits of the average Ummurkin. And to fostering a more care-taker view of our role.
But we can't POSSIBLY do that now.
Because we spent just all of it on wars. It's gone!
And besides, it would cost the utility and power generation companies money, in lost revenues? What about them?
The logic is implacable and impeccable.

What is "Intermezzo" on Korean?




And now back to your regularly scheduled programming...

 Paralysis of the Soul:

 The control of the mass mind/mind of the masses has been the all-encompassing project, almost the sole preoccupation, of the "human sciences," the 'public relations' industry, the press/media, and public cultural institutions for the last 125 years, by my reckoning. They've gotten pretty good at it, judging from the degrees of alienation from the tools of their own power the average citizen now finds themself--if you'll pardon the horrendous prepositional neologism. Everyone perpetually plugged into their tiny, flickering screens, their dog-whistle ear pieces secured to their ears, securely alienated fro everything around them.
The latest, subtlest, and cruelest wrinkle is called "learned helplessness," a technique derived from pavlovian/behavioristic understandings and manipulations which can render a test subject--they started it with dogs, but moved on to humans, in detainee camps, and now, in this case, a whole population--psychologically unable to move. They train the subject to see every choice as bad; Bateson called it the double bind. These fuckers turn the subject's whole universe into a paralyzing double bind.
Here's a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learned_helplessness  Go, read it. And when you finish, ask yourself what you think they did to the dogs they ruined...

True story:

In my ph.d. program, the guy I'd signed on with to be my advisor took a job in another state, and for a variety of reasons, I couldn't follow him. So I was obliged to shop around the Department to find a suitable replacement.
After interviewing with one fellow, who was a personal friend as well as a prof in the Dept with somewhat similar interests, he declined the honor and, in doing so. remarked that he was GLAD he didn't have to spend any time--even half-an-hour--inside my head.