Thursday, February 28, 2008
The film "I'm Not There" was the first movie to win the Robert Altman Best Ensemble award at the Independent Spirit Awards and it appears that the narrative structure of the film shows it deserves the honor. The film is an attempt to be a biography of a famous person who is known for being a cipher and difficult to define. This resistance to a fixed identity is reflected in the artistic style of the movie, which despite itself or because of it is still enjoyable to watch.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Human relations in many cultures are based on a complex mixture of self interest and altruism, but when something like the market forms that emphasizes self interest then a separate movement emphasizes altruism such as through religion. The conservative movement uses this divide between self interest and altruism as a way to regulate voters in such a way as for them to strive for the one monetary value at the expense of diverse values. This makes it impossible to imagine a scenario where self interest and altruism can be applied together.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Nikola Tesla was an inventor that is overlooked today, even though many of his creations are a ubiquitous part of everyday life. In 1899, through the use of a Tesla Coil he was able to generate a manmade lightning bolt that was over 100 feet long which is still the record.
Saturday, February 09, 2008
The transition from Spinoza to Lacan illustrates an immanent view of the world. It is a world where things exist in contingency, but humans create structures that order the world and give it purpose. Then the world appears to be a necessity. What Spinoza and Lacan share in common is this emphasis on structures in an immanent world, whether through ethics or desire. The structural basis of human ethics and desire suggest a common beginning in human nature that deals with the world and tries to make sense of it.
Saturday, February 02, 2008
The ability to use machines at home to construct things based on open source designs is called fabbing. This can bring about a new type of peer production that moves away from the old industrial factory system. With the modification of designs and the sharing of these modifications through the Internet, one will see a more decentralized economy that can move around the power of corporations.
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