The American Civil War in Four Minutes

Did You Hear the One About the Logician Who ...?

Too busy to write much these days, but Jo Wolff's recent Guardian column is very funny.

Check it out here.

Happy Holidays

My favorite duck

Nietzsche for President?

Who says philosophers don't have a sense of humor?



(HT: Leiter Reports)

Chimps 1 – Humans 0

Chimps Outperform Humans at Memory Task

3 December 2007
New Scientist
Rowan Hooper

Young chimps can beat adult humans in a task involving remembering numbers, reveals a new study. It is the first time chimps – and young ones, at that – have outperformed humans at a cognitive task.

And the finding may add weight to a theory about the evolution of language in humans, say the researchers.

Three adult female chimps, their three 5-year-old offspring, and university student volunteers were tested on their ability to memorise the numbers 1 to 9 appearing at random locations on a touchscreen monitor.

The chimps had previously been taught the ascending order of the numbers. Using an ability akin to photographic memory, the young chimps were able to memorise the location of the numerals with better accuracy than humans performing the same task.

During the test, the numerals appeared on the screen for 650, 430 or 210 milliseconds, and were then replaced by blank white squares.

Global Climate Change Cost-Benefit Argument

Hardly the end of the story, but not a bad presentation of the straightforward cost-benefit argument for taking steps to counteract the effects of global climate change:



(HT: Big Monkey, Helpy Chalk)

The Fabulous Moolah

A national tragedy: The Fabulous Moolah, dead at 84.

Here's the New York Times obituary. Money quote:

The Fabulous Moolah enjoyed the mayhem, but she especially coveted the money.

When she started in pro wrestling in the early 1950s, the promoter Jack Pfeffer decided a name change was in order. As she told it in “The Fabulous Moolah: First Goddess of the Squared Circle” (Regan Books, 2002), written with Larry Platt, Pfeffer told her “the name Lillian Ellison wouldn’t do. Not flashy enough.”

He asked her why she was wrestling, and, as she recalled: “Annoyed, I blurted out: ‘For the money. I want to wrestle for the moolah.’”

And here's the great dame in action:

King Tut ... How'd you get so funky?

The face of Pharaoh Tutankhamen is displayed in a climate-controlled case at his tomb in the Valley of the Kings, close to Luxor, 500 kilometres south of Cairo, 04 November 2007. The true face of ancient Egypt's boy king Tutankhamun was revealed today to the public for the first time since he died in mysterious circumstances more than 3,000 years ago. The pharaoh's mummy was moved from its ornate sarcophagus in the tomb where its 1922 discovery caused an international sensation to a nearby climate-controlled case where experts say it will be better preserved. By Cris Bouroncle / AFP / Getty. [HT: The Daily Dish] (And here's the story, in case you missed it.)

But what the researchers have yet to discover is that King Tut was a sax player too! Indeed: "He coulda won a Grammy / Buried in his jammies."

This is an ex-parrot!

Believe it or not, I chanced upon this video as part of some genuine philosophical research. As a bonus, it's hysterical.

"This parrot is no more. It has ceased to be. It's expired and gone to meet its maker. This is a late parrot. It's a stiff: bereft of life, it rests in peace. If you hadn't nailed it to the perch, it would be pushing up the daisies. It's rung down the curtain and joined the choir invisible. This is an ex-parrot!"

So much of Monty Python's style has either dated badly or been incorporated into the fabric of contemporary comedy as to seem passé that one forgets how funny they really were!

Portishead

Little reason but for the facts (a) that this is a good video, and (b) that it's been a Portishead kind of day (whatever that means) ...

American Philosophy?

A new documentary (previously excerpted here) appears to be forthcoming. From the trailer, it looks promising, if (perhaps) confused.

It's an interesting topic: is there such a thing as American philosophy (other than in the merely extensional sense that Michael Hodges mentions)? Certainly, in this extensional sense, I'm an American philosopher, but (qua philosopher, anyway) I am decidedly uninterested in the various themes that are mentioned at the end of the clip (freedom, justice, oppression, etc.).

Moreover, it appears to include a somewhat idiosyncratic selection of interviewees, and some of the filmic outbursts seem sophomoric. Hard to tell what kind of tone it's trying to set, or what audience it seeks. Would this really interest a lay audience? Then again, is it likely to inform philosophers?

Also, there's a rather cruel moment (at about 4:42 remaining), where the editor pauses on the image of Prof. Erin McKenna (Pacific Lutheran University), as if to suggest that it's she who is eccentric. (Watch it in context, beginning at 5:54 remaining.)

But maybe, as they say, any press is good press. Maybe. In any case, here's the trailer:

Shasta Take-Down

I'm not much of a Pat Forde fan, but this excerpt from his column on ESPN.com is pretty funny ...

Shasta To Golden Bear: Duck!

If you're even vaguely acquainted with YouTube, you've probably seen the video of the Sept. 1 mascot throwdown between Shasta (26) the Houston Cougar and the Oregon Duck (27). It's gone worldwide, reportedly drawing especially enthusiastic response in Japan.

NOTE: Somehow I managed to miss this footage myself, so, in case you did also, here it is ...



Hysterical. Back to Forde ...

The video shows a one-sided, web-footed whuppin' at Autzen Stadium, with the Duck abusing poor Shasta far beyond the bounds of normal mascot playfulness. Punches, kicks and a flying elbow drop were enough to get the deranged Duck suspended for Oregon's home game against Fresno State on Sept. 15. But according to Houston, it was selective film usage.

"For what it's worth, [Shasta] did stick the Duck at least once," offered Houston sports information director Chris Burkhalter.

As it turns out, Houston has more than just a fake-furred mascot's manhood to protect. The guy in the Cougar suit happens to be a walk-on wide receiver named Matt Stolt (28) -- and you simply cannot have a football player being owned by a duck.

So Stolt explained his relative passivity: "Being a mascot is for the fans, it's to represent the school. If you want to fight, take off the gear. He wasn't fighting Matt Stolt, he was fighting Shasta. Shasta got his licks in, but he wasn't there to fight. If it was just me and him, I'd take off the suit and fight."

Stolt admitted he has "taken a little flak" from his teammates over the fight.

"They said there's no reason I should be taking it from a duck," he said.

This is just another line on Stolt's varied Joe College résumé. He's a mascot, he's a football player -- and for his first two years at Houston he played trumpet in the marching band. The only job Stolt hasn't had at home football games is selling popcorn.

"I just like being a part of something and I like to represent UH," said Stolt, a Texas native who will graduate in May with a degree in kinesiology.

With California visiting Oregon on Saturday for a major showdown, The Dash thought it wise to get Cal's Golden Bear (29) a scouting report on the Duck's dirty tricks. Oskie once got into quite a dustup with the Stanford Tree (30) during a basketball game, but this could be a step up in class.

Here's the dish on the duck from Shasta:

"My advice to any mascot that goes against him is not to worry. There won't be a problem. I think the duck's in enough trouble right now. But if it comes to that, just turn that duck's head around so he can't see nothin'."

Obama's Strategy

In today's Times (UK), Andrew Sullivan has a perceptive, big-picture take on Barack Obama's strategy and standing in the Democratic primary now underway. Here's the money quote:

In a polarized climate, where Rudy Giuliani is already lambasting Hillary and itching for a fight, Obama is sticking to a disciplined message of reconciliation, unity, responsibility.

Is this a mistake? Whoever won a Democratic primary by insisting on being open to Republicans? That is the risk Obama is taking. But when you observe and listen closely, you see this is what he actually means.

He detects an enormous weariness among Americans about their internal divisions in a time of war, overlaid by the anger and divisions that have deepened and widened under the Bush presidency. He suspects that if he can get past Clinton’s aura of inevitability, Democrats will realise he has a much better chance of winning a real national majority in the general election than Clinton does. Clinton polarises the way Bush polarises. She can hope for a Karl Rove-style 51% majority in a deeply divided country. He’s aiming for 55%.

Clinton, in other words, represents payback for the Democrats and liberals after the Bush era, just as Giuliani is emerging as the inheritor of the Bush legacy of divide and rule. Right now, Obama remains to the side, offering Americans something else: not payback, but a new page.

The rest of the article is available here.

I think Sullivan is absolutely correct about the kind of strategy Obama is relying upon, and he's right that it could well fail. The hard question is whether we should prefer to fail with his strategy or to win with hers. My fear is that we are bound to do both.

Manamana

Classic:


Classic:

R.I.P.

I've long had a penchant for obituaries. Something about the stock-taking involved attracts me.

Something that's always bothered me is how unfortunate it is that the notable-but-not-household-name deaths are over-shadowed by the deaths of the more famous. It's no one's fault, but somehow it seems to add insult to injury.

For instance, while I admit to tearing up every time I hear him eulogize himself through recordings played on TV and radio, Pavarotti's recent expiration outshone that of Alex, the African grey parrot who died the same day, and about whom I've written previously. Alex's last squawk just couldn't compete with Luciano's glorious tenor, but his untimely death (he was expected to live for many more years) deserves mention.

Likewise, amidst the September 11th memorials, we didn't stop to pay our respects to the great Joe Zawinul, who died on that fateful date this year. But Zawinul was an extraordinary composer, keyboardist, and band-leader. Listening to John McLaughlin talk today reminded me of how difficult it would be to conceive of jazz fusion without Zawinul, Bitch's Brew, and Weather Report.

And then there's the recent spate of philosopher deaths. When the big-shots die, the profession bows its head -- or thumbs its nose, as the case may be. But also significant are the less heralded losses: those like Susan Hurley -- whose obituary didn't make the national papers in the UK until nearly a month following her death (The Guardian, The Times) -- Michael Frede -- who drowned off the coast of Greece and whose death has yet to be acknowledged in any national paper (though the Berkeley Classics department has a notice here) -- and Timothy Sprigge -- whose death seems to have attracted about as much notice as his work, I'm sorry to say.

The world has become significantly poorer following these departures. So it seems to me anyway, even if not to the mass media. And so we acknowledge them here, lest they be forgotten.

UPDATE: Okay, so Frede's death was noted in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

It was like this

An exquisite poem, from a recent collection (After) by Jane Hirshfield -- quickly emerging as one of the most significant voices in contemporary American poetry.

It was like this: you were happy

It was like this: you were happy,
then you were sad, then happy again,
then not.

It went on.

You were innocent or you were guilty.
Actions were taken, or not.
At times you spoke, at other times you were silent.
Mostly, it seems you were silent–what could you say?

Now it is almost over.

Like a lover, your life bends down and kisses your life. It does this not in forgiveness– between you, there is nothing to forgive– but with the single nod of a baker at the moment he sees the bread is finished with transformation.

Eating, too, is now a thing only for others.

It doesn’t matter what they make of you or your days: they will be wrong. They will miss the wrong woman, miss the wrong man, all the stories they tell will be tales of their own invention.

Your story was this: you were happy, then you were sad, you slept, you awakened. Sometimes you ate roasted chestnuts, sometimes persimmons.

A nice profile of Hirshfield can be found here.

Fabulous Ad

Antonioni & Bergman

While I wouldn’t go so far as to suggest parity between the talents of these two towering figures in the history of 20th-century filmmaking, nevertheless there is something fitting in the news that Michaelangelo Antonioni has died just a day after the death of Ingmar Bergman -- in the fact that his death will be obscured by the parade of tributes and retrospectives given in Bergman's honor.

While both of these directors (along with Fellini and Godard) came to symbolize foreign, “art house” cinema for American audiences of the 50s, 60s, and 70s, Antonioni’s stature and notoriety paled in comparison to Bergman’s. That’s undoubtedly appropriate. The depth and significance of Bergman’s work are (arguably) second to none in the history of film. Period. But whilst Antonioni’s films were light and accessible by comparison -- no chess-matches with death for this Italian -- they have been, I think, somewhat short-changed.

Dumbfounded by Vanessa Redgrave and the swinging mania of 60s London, it is not difficult to overlook the fundamental questions raised in Antonioni’s Blow-Up (1966). At its core, this film is a remarkably deep interrogation of our preconception that perception is essential to the apprehension of reality: as deep a topic as any raised by Bergman. Not that you’d know it from the trailer ...



Likewise, the incandescence of Jack Nicholson’s presence in The Passenger (1975) obscures (as he does in all of his appearances) the light Antonioni is attempting to shed on the dangers of a fluid conception of identity.



These are serious issues worthy of -- dare we say it -- Bergman. And so they were, but so were they also for this Italian auteur, dead at 94, just hours after the Swedish master.

Other Antonioni films of note:

• L'avventura (1960)
• L'eclisse (1962)
• Zabriskie Point (1970)
• Beyond the Clouds (1995, with Wim Wenders)

A few recent tributes, etc.:

• Woody Allen on Bergman (NYT)
• A Bergman quiz (The Guardian)
• Antonioni's obituary (NYT)
• Notable Antonioni scenes (The Guardian)

UPDATE: The Guardian picks up the scent.

Die Harry

Busy days, these, so I can't really justify devoting the time necessary to articulate precisely why I find Harry mania to be as stomach-turning as I do. Fortunately, Ron Charles (senior editor at The Washington Post) has done a marvelous job of it himself, thus relieving me from my duty. (Similarly minded discussions from literary heavyweights A. S. Byatt and Harold Bloom appeared previously.) Charles' insightful discussion begins with the following anecdote:

Harry Potter and the Death of Reading
By Ron Charles
The Washington Post
July 15, 2007

It happened on a dark night, somewhere in the middle of Book IV. For three years, I had dutifully read the "Harry Potter" series to my daughter, my voice growing raspy with the effort, page after page. But lately, whole paragraphs of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" had started to slip by without my hearing a word. I'd snap back to attention and realize the action had moved from Harry's room to Hagrid's house, and I had no idea what was happening.

And that's when my daughter broke the spell: "Do we have to keep reading this?"

That's as priceless as the rest of Charles' analysis is insightful. It reminds me of this fabulous moment from the Simpsons:



In fact, the parodies may be the best thing about the Harry Potter series. Some of the fabulous Mad Magazine titles from this sub-genre:

• Harry Plodder and the Kidney Stone
• Harry Plodder and the Sorry-Ass Story
• Harry Plodder and the Lamest of Sequels
• Harry Plodder Has Gotta Retire
• Harry Plodder and the Torture of the Fanbase