(no subject)

From pouk23:

The Zen of W.

Oh, here's a bit of W Zen right now.

America wants to reduce dependence on foreign oil, but now there's a good reason for business owners to buy huge SUVs instead of cars.

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Edit 11:14 AM
You can also blame pouk23 for linking me to this utterly hilarious, and very well done, time abuser:

MC Hawking's Crib -- listen to Stephen Hawking's little-known gangsta rap recordings.

(no subject)

Reported in transnews:

A QUIET trailblazer from Perth's Hills has become the first in Australia and probably the world to hold a passport acknowledging that not everyone is male or female.

for rothko's amusement and my own

Here's an excerpt from The Gnostic Paul by Elaine Pagels, regarding Romans 10.

( Romans 10, take two: The Valentinians )

(no subject)

I'm copying here a few thoughts I posted in response to this post by alobar that I thought were worthy of keeping.

Not long ago I was introduced to the word "reify," which I consider a very handy word to have around.

We "reify" our conceptions when we convince ourselves that they have objective truth. It is impossible for us without conscious effort to distinguish between perception (sensory data) and conception (intellectual commentary on sensory data) -- both slam against the lens of consciousness the same way.

The best sages and mages manage somehow to avoid reifying virtually all of their conceptual commentary on existence. But it takes unceasing effort. What is even more difficult is communicating effectively from the perspective of "unreification" to someone who has "reified" their thoughts on God or reality. Language presupposes reification -- and this fact is probably the single largest factor in the development of fundamentalism (ANY fundamentalism).

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Edit 11:43 AM: After reflection based on Alobar's comments, I would have to clarify that what mages and sages strive for is avoiding involuntarily reifying their conceptions.

Mages then attempt to affect reality by voluntarily reifying what they select, while sages/mystics attempt to avoid all reification whatsoever.