The Evolution of Social Networking Sites

Rousseau said that "sociable man" ... always lives "outside himself, is capable of living only in the opinion of others and, so to speak, derives the sentiment of his own existence solely from their judgment." - Discourse on Inequality

(Scroll down to continue reading article...)

The above info/images make up the majority of the Facebook posts and Twitter feeds I come across on any given day (or at least during the last 2 years I've been online).  

Most of the posts I've seen in news feeds are aimed at making people feel better about themselves by cutting to the chase of any given topic and more freely admitting what they - prior to the Internet - might not have previously allowed themselves to admit freely in public.

What do we share with the world during the private moments we have to ourselves? What is the world saying? Where are we headed?

It's dizzying when we try to interpret these messages by outdated metrics...

The bottom line is that we all have something to learn, which is why the Internet is the greatest thing since the discovery of fire. Like our ancestors, the only thing we're truly worried about is not letting the fire go out. 

Brain in a Vat Poetry

I have had countless conversations

and yet, no words have been exchanged

I have died a million deaths

and yet, I am here

I have loved a thousand times

and yet, I am alone

The moment I consider a thought

I am no longer thinking

The moment I become

I no longer am

A Brain in a Vat

A Brief History of Theme Parks

Walt Disney created Mickey Mouse in 1928 and then, 

in 1955, he opened The Disneyland theme park 

as a source of joy and inspiration to the Western world...

after which, the world fell in love with a mouse. 

Approximately 2,300 years before Disneyland...

Thutmose IV at the Louvre Museum

Paris, France

Thutmose IVth, the 8th Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt,

sat under the shade of the Sphinx, 

which, according to his testament,

had previously come to him in a vision,

prophesying that he'd rule the land if he 

saved the Sphinx from the ravages of time.

Reproduction of the Dream Stele of Thutmose IV - Close-up of detail depicting pharaoh making offering to Sphinx. RC 1834 (Original approx. 1390 BCE, made of granite, located on the Giza Plateau). 

Thus, Thutmose IVth created SphinxLand, 

the world's first theme park, 

a royal national park with mud rest houses

for Pharaoh's to use to enjoy the Sphinx -

a source of joy and inspiration to the Egyptian world...

after which, the world fell in love with a cat. 

The Great Sphinx of Giza (Arabic: أبو الهول‎ Abū al Hūl, English: The Terrifying One), commonly referred to as the Sphinx, is a limestone statue of a reclining orcouchant sphinx (a mythical creature with a lion's body and a human head) that stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza, Egypt.

Old Cool

Pablo Picasso

Old Guitarist

Old Cool = In colloquial parlance, old cool refers to elderly persons who exhibit a dated "coolness" factor from an earlier era. Old cool refers to "coolness" gestures, slang, or activities that were previously considered "cool" by an earlier generation. Depending on the content and intent, the term can either imply a high regard or respect, or be pejorative.

When used to imply a high regard for something, "old cool" is applied to things perceived to be of timeless style, wisdom, or quality, or things that were widely accepted in earlier times, which continue to hold value in the present.

A Defense of Goofing Off

A defense of goofing off can take the same form as the defense of theatre in ancient Greek philosophy. Aristotle thought that the altered states that comprise the theatre were actually a vital forum for the development of our moral identity. 

Essentially, we can become better people by entertaining 'possibilities'... insofar as they allow us to contemplate the dangers of things such as attempting to quit coffee on a Monday morning. When we goof off, we lay our cards out on the table. Our vulnerability to fortune or chance, and the value of integrity (as well as good hair days) play out before our eyes. 

Aristotle also prized goofing off and the liberal arts because both involve some sort of escape or departure from history. While history deals with actualities the theatre show us what we might do differently were we to have been born into different life circumstances. In this respect, we can think morally about instructive possible fates or destinies.

Aristotle's theory essentially turns goofing off into an enema thesis, an opportunity for us to let off steam. Here the experience of allowing ourselves to just totally "be" in a moment provides us with a psychological relief from boredom. 

Goofing off induces an altered state (narrative) that can be used as a tool which can assist us in enlarging our moral as well as creative imaginings. 

Legalize Catnip

Jack Herer, author of the underground classic The Emperor Wears No Clothes, is said to have recounted to his neighbor a dramatic tale of the first time his cat used catnip. It ended with the question, "How could this be illegal?" 

The same question has plagued feline activists the world over. Felines count on their owners to provide them with basic and evolutionary needs, yet citizens provide their governments with the power and ability to punish them. The brief history of catnip prohibition suggests that the use of this power requires considerable thought. Designating the possession of a plant as a crime requires a clear rationale before a government can apply sanctions to its citizens' cats. 

Proponents and opponents of current catnip prohibition make arguments that they view as either moral or practical. The distinction can be artificial, but practical arguments tend to point to empirical investigation and estimates of cash saved or harm done. There is something potentially moral underlying these arguments, of course, but the general focus is on predictions about what would and would not happen to our cats under various scenarios, including decriminalization of possession.

Some people view the separation of cats from catnip as inappropriate and base their view on data. Their practical arguments focus on the limited negative consequences associated with catnip use. They explain data on respiratory symptoms or gateway to tasty temptations or whatever fear seems to be the latest tomcat fear of catnip. Notably, opinions on the practicalities of ending catnip prohibition may rest on assumptions about certain cat food corporations not reaching their quarterly financial goals. 

Alternative approaches at least pretend to leave money aside. These arguments sooner or later boil down to something about ethics, principles, or morality. The problem arises, of course, when we try to explain why something is right or wrong. These can easily slip back to practical, empirical questions if we rely on defining what is wrong by an estimate of negative consequences. Utilitarian arguments sometimes appear to weigh costs and benefits in an objective manner. While some proponents of moral arguments claim that their rationales are independent of the consequences of actions, these arguments do not rely directly on estimates of damage cats inflict on pillows, couches, lounge chairs, draperies, and/or bedroom linens. 

Play Clumsy Cat

A key question behind these rationales often remains unasked: Should criminal feline law punish cat owners whose cats behave immorally? Is something a crime simply because it is considered immoral? Issues about privacy and civil rights undermine this rationale. Many legal scholars focused on feline morality view this legal moralism with considerable distaste. They see morality as something completely constructed - a set of standards that may have popular agreement but little confirmable existence in reality. Morals, then, are essentially fairy tales about perceptions of right and wrong. 

So, what is so inherently immoral about catnip consumption? Despite long, tangential, and circuitous arguments about how buying catnip from the underground market supports cats who use trickery and deceit to gain power, wealth, and the hand of a princess in marriage for their penniless and low-born masters, it is quite possible for a catnip user to have no impact on any other species. Prohibitionists might point to public opinion on this one - a bit of a concession to the idea that morality is a socially constructed concept - and polls might support them. 

Rel 12/3/66 - Rel 3279 - MPAA 21316 - MM
Dir: Robert McKimson - Story: Michael O'Connor - Music Score: Walter Greene - Anim: Ted Bonnicksen, Bob Matz, Manny Perez, Norm McCabe, George Grandpré, Warren Batchelder - Layout: Dick Ung - Backgrounds: Tom O'Loughlin - Film Editor: Lee Gunther - Additional VC: Gonzales Gonzales - VC: Mel Blanc

The idea that catnip should be prohibited simply because it is immoral is inconsistent with other prohibitions and permissions. As far as more utilitarian arguments are concerned, the negative impact of catnip does not appear in all felines, making punishing for all possession a bit odd. Except in extreme cases policy seems unrelated to catnip, further undermining arguments for prohibition. 

A final argument suggests that catnip use relates to the right to self-determination. Countries vary in the explicitness of their legal support for this right, but many world citizens like to think that their own lives are their own to lead. Self-determination may fall under the Ninth Amendment in the United States. This amendment emphasizes that citizens, including their pets, have rights that are not specifically listed in the United States Constitution. 

Anti-prohibition moralists reason that the right to determine what enters one's own body qualifies as a sort of self-determination. Catnip was freely available to all cats at the time the United States was founded. Drafting laws at the time would not have considered choosing what one's feline ingests as a right because it was an obvious right at the time. 

We all cherish the idea that the government would only punish in an effort to keep one citizen's feline from harming another. (Read story here.) This arrangement allows for an optimal combination of freedom and protection for all citizens' pets - and their owners. The hope is that cats will behave freely in a way that does not hurt others. If they cause harm to another creature, they sacrifice some freedom as a result. Ideally, the magnitude of the punishment should vary with the magnitude of the harm caused. 

The idea of this balance between severity of crimes and severity of punishment is often called proportionality, in the sense that reasonable punishments are proportional to the harm caused. 

With all these ideas in mind, we have to ask: How much should government sanction its citizens' cats for the possession of a perennial? What is reasonable punishment for giving your cat catnip? Obviously, allowing your cat to enjoy the beauty inherent in the catnip experience causes no harm to others. 

Therefore, the penalty for causing no harm should be nothing.  

Brought to you by

The World Aves Foundation

Winged support for keeping felines busy

whilst we take over the world. 

Raising Funny Kids 18: The Art of Letter Writing

In an age of rapid-fire, efficiency-obsessed, typed-with-one-finger-on-a-tiny-keyboard communication, most young people have not been introduced to the fine art of letter writing. Instead, their idea of communication is often limited to school reports, quickly jotted down concepts on sticky notes, text messages, or status updates - few of which convey the correct structure, composition, punctuation, and/or epistolary formalities long since forgotten, but which were once the proud hallmark of handwritten sentiments. 

While the allure of email is ever present in our lives and notably one of the fastest ways to convey information to our bankers, professional colleagues, friends, and family members, there's nothing quite like receiving a handwritten note in the mail to brighten someone's day. In the same respect, sending a note to our friends and family is charmingly urbane. It reminds us that communication is just as much about how something is being conveyed as is what is being conveyed. 

It was a treat to see the kids writing letters, laughing, and imagining what others would enjoy reading as they sat and crafted their notes to friends and family. It was also an opportunity for me to share with them some of the formalities we were taught as kids that are no longer being presented at school. 

No doubt the most difficult aspect of writing a letter is knowing what you want to say. In this respect, invention precedes all writing and is the most difficult part of crafting a letter for it is a purely intellectual process which requires originality, talent, judgment, and information. 

Once you have something to say, you have to know how to say it, which takes a bit of skill. It's a noble thing to have great thoughts, but without the power to express them even the finest sentiments are lost. In an age when we're losing pictures and letters to easily deleted digital formats, handwritten letters are priceless momentos. Like photographs, they are snapshots of who we are at any given time during our lives. In this respect, letters are as priceless as they are personal. 

Letter writing is an artform that can communicate an extraordinary range of sentiments and can be adapted for many tastes and interests. In an email, "Hey" is a common salutation, whereas in a letter, it would feel out of place. While there's infinite variety of forms of salutations and complimentary closes from which to choose, nothing looks as elegant as a well-chosen phrase of courtesy, respect, or endearment at the beginning or end of a letter. It's like the cherry atop an ice cream sundae. 

Raising funny kids isn't just about teaching them to tell jokes, it's about emphasizing the importance of an incubation period for ideas and the organization of knowledge, and stressing the importance of communication in an era that often times must rely solely upon someone's written expression of thought to formulate an opinion. We may not recognize it, but many people do discriminate based on whether or not someone can write. Never has the written word been as visible and wide-reaching as it is with the Internet, when sharing thoughts have become faster than it ever has been before. 

When writing a letter there is a restraint induced by the feeling that a thousand eyes are peering over the writer's shoulder, scrutinizing every word. However, when writing via email, we naturally presume people will give us more leeway given the pangs of technology. In a global society, we rely on instant communication to get things done quickly, however, in personal relationships, we rely on each other, confiding things that pride or prudence compel us to withhold for fear of our thoughts being "plastered" all over the Internet.

In this respect, letter writing allows us to be ourselves, to chronicle who we are and the times in which we live. Nothing, historically speaking, is as revealing about an individual as a personal letter they wrote to someone else. 

While few of us have or make the time to send handwritten notes or cards, it is indeed a treat to receive one, to send one, and to pass along to future generations the notion that these things still matter, no matter how technologically advanced we become.