some words on seflishness--from Abe Osheroff

13
13
RJ: How can we overcome that problem of affluence?
AO: Well, the first thing is to do as much as you can by personal example, though I never totally
succeeded. I still feel guilty about living in this house, for example.
RJ: This house you’re in, which is a very modest bungalow?
AO: Yeah, but this house can certainly support more than two people. When I was a kid we had
a one-bedroom apartment with no private bathroom for four people, and we had a good life. We
thought it was pretty good. My mother could turn the handle and water would come out, and she
had just come from a place where she had to walk a half a mile with a couple of buckets. You
know, people on welfare in America have a richer life than more than half of the people in the
world. We have to remember that once in a while.
RJ: There’s a UN statistic that half the people in the world live on less than $2 a day.
AO: That means they don’t have clean water, they don’t have medical attention, they sleep on
the fucking ground. In the U.S., we whine all the time, but a skilled worker in this country lives
like aristocrats used to live. They buy cars, buy a house.
RJ: So is this the problem of greed? Is that simply an enduring reality, that people will…
AO: I don’t want to put it that way.
RJ: Then should we call it self-interest? You’re saying that whatever calculation we make, our
own self-interest is going to be part of the mix?
AO: Exactly, exactly. We have to get people to understand that it is in their self-interest not to
yield to that crasser kind of greed. Let me give you an example. When I was young I was offered
an uncontested seat in Congress by the Democratic Party in Brooklyn. This was an era in which
there was no Republican Party there, and the machine decided who the candidate would be. They
came to me and said, “You are our next congressman. All you’ve got to do is publicly separate
from what you’ve been doing.”
RJ: Which would have meant denouncing the Communist Party, to which you belonged at the
time, yes?
AO: Yes, and even more than that. But that was pretty easy for me to turn down because at that
point my Marxism was almost an obsession, almost a religious experience. But later, when I
lived in California, in Venice, I had a much tougher decision. We fought a land redevelopment
project, a multi-multi million-dollar project. We lost, but we held them at bay for about seven or
eight years and protected that community for those years. These were very poor people living on
the banks of shitty canals, but it was in many ways a nice place to live, and it had a good
community life.
14
During that battle, a member of City Council offered me a bribe. In a very private discussion,
isolated from any possibility of observation, he offered me two corner lots in the canals, which
today would go for between $2 and $5 million. They offered me a house built to my
specifications. They offered me a dock and two boats, sail and motor. And I’ll tell you, it took
me a hard, painful night to turn that down.
RJ: If you had taken it, the deal would have been you that would abandon the organizing? And
that was an offer you had to think about before saying no?
AO: That’s it. I was the principal organizer in that struggle. And I did think about it. I was very
tempted. It appealed to a side of me that wasn’t totally gone. I’d love to get into a powerful
position. I’d love to design the house I’m going to live in. I love the idea of my kids being
guaranteed certain things. There’s a part of me -- it’s not a big part of me, but I was surprised to
find that it was still a part of me -- that wanted all that shit. And if it’s a part of me, with my
politics and background, then it’s a bigger part of a lot of other people. I could see that my real
self-interest was with the people in my community, that was where love and affection come
from, but it was tempting.
Human nature and “enlightened selfishness”
RJ: Let me push this a bit. There are two different paths to go down here. One is to say to
people, “Listen, I understand that you want all these material things, but if you put aside that
greed there is something in the long run that will serve you better.” Or you could say, “I know
you want these things, but you have to train yourself not to want them because they aren’t of any
real value.” Which is politically more effective and more realistic?
AO: I recognize that people want these things, and I’m saying there is something else that is
even more valuable. You don’t have to get rid of the instinct for material things to do this. You
begin to practice, to learn that it’s more rewarding to pursue a path that brings real love and
affection. Everybody needs love. Everybody needs affection. Everybody needs validation. It’s a
central problem of human life, and very few people really get those things.
RJ: I’m not sure I agree. Let me tell you what motivated the question. Someone might say, “I’d
really like a fancy car, but I’m going to commit my life to activism and I know I’m never going
to get that kind of car.” But I never wanted a big car in the first place. I don’t mean that I live
like a pauper. I make more money than I need. I eat regularly and well, and I have an apartment
to myself. I’m incredibly privileged. But I live in the same little apartment that I’ve lived in for
10 years, and people who come to visit often say, “You can afford it now, so why don’t you buy
a house?” The truth is that I don’t want a house. I never wanted a house. I feel like my one-
bedroom apartment is too big.
My point is, as long as people want the goodies, the perks of affluence, for most the temptation
will be too great. Should we be challenging people to rethink the value of those things, not only
in relation to other choices but in some more fundamental way? Is the politics of reducing
15
consumption not just about being ecologically more responsible, but about creating a way of life
that is more likely to sustain people in radical political activity, making it more likely they’ll
resist the goodies, because they see that the goodies don’t mean much?
AO: You see, we come from different places. I don’t know where you come from, but I grew up
in the slums...
RJ: I didn’t grow up rich. It was lower middle class when I was young, and eventually middle
class. But I understand your point: It’s easy to not want lots of things when you’ve never really
been deprived of the basics of life. And I’ve certainly never gone hungry or been homeless, or
been threatened with anything like that.
AO: I lived my youth in a place that didn’t have hot running water, didn’t have electricity. Radio
had been invented, but we didn’t even have a Victrola. I lived in an environment in which we
weren’t destitute, but we sure didn’t have a lot of money. I lucked out by becoming a leftist,
because it opened up another path that wasn’t about money. So when I faced that bribe, I
discovered there was a part of me that wanted the money, but luckily there was something else I
wanted more of, something I had learned about through leftist politics. And I can articulate that
now, even if I couldn’t always: The only thing in human life you can give away and not be left
with less is love and affection. It’s simple, but not everyone understands this. If I give you a little
of my money, I have a little less. If I give you a lot of my money, I have much less. That’s true
of many other material things I can give you. But if I give you love and affection, I don’t have
less, I have more. It’s the only thing in human relations that is guaranteed to grow like that. I’ve
learned that the hard way, and I still have, even at this rate, things to learn about it. But that’s at
the center of what I try to teach activists -- the importance of the role of love.
RJ: That sounds a lot like therapeutic talk.
AO: I don’t care what the fuck it sounds like, it’s true. What should we value more than material
comfort? Love and affection, respect and validation. I’m lucky because I’m bathed in it all the
time, as a result of my political activism. And it’s one of the big motivations for what I do. It’s
one of the things that keeps me going, even though my life these days is dominated by pain, very
often physical agony, because of the spinal surgeries. I spend most of my day here in this chair,
reading or on the phone, sometimes watching a movie, because I can sit in this chair in a way
that relieves some of my pain a little bit. This would be impossible if I didn’t have what I’m
talking about, that love. Without it, I’d be just a lonely old man in pain, suffering like most. And
I’d be worrying about my pain medication, which alone is $600 a month, and insurance and all
that shit. But I’m not. I have an incredible old age. Nobody I know at my age has this kind of
life. I can’t think of anything that’s more important to a human being than having that. No other
form of success can match that.
When I used to talk at schools, I would tell kids that I’m richer than Bill Gates. It stops the
audience because they don’t at first know what I mean. I say, “Bill Gates is not stupid. He looks
in the mirror and he sees what we all see: A nerd. And when he gets affection and love, he can’t
help but wonder why he’s getting it.” I don’t have that problem. I certainly don’t get attention
16
because of my physical appearance. I have no money or jobs to offer anyone. All I have to give
people is a connection to activism.
RJ: That’s great. I understand the appeal of your life, of what you have. But I’m back to my
question: Will that sustain most people, or do the comforts of an affluent society obscure their
ability to see that? It’s pretty obvious that one of the reasons capitalism can continue at all is
because it plays to that instinct in people. It’s based on a certain conception of human nature that
says we’re all, in the end, greedy in the material sense.
AO: In some ways, that’s right, of course. I don’t believe in a perfectibility of human beings. I
believe a lot can be done to make life different, to change the way we relate to each other. But I
don’t think we’ll ever eliminate greed. It’s part of being an animal. That force cannot be totally
eliminated from human life. But the other side of it is they can never totally silence certain other
forces in life, other parts of our nature. There will always be also in the human community --
sometimes on a larger scale and sometimes on a smaller scale -- a deep-seated resistance to greed
as the dominant feature of life. Even without being political, people live that way, just out of
being loving people.
I’ll give you a wonderful example. About two years ago, a dozen or more miners were buried
underground, in an accident in Pennsylvania in a coal mine. And that incident revealed the
incredible strengths and weaknesses of different ways of living. On the one hand, that accident
was avoidable, and the only reason it took place is that the owners of the mine were greedy,
period. We have to abolish that kind of ownership. The other side of it is, which was totally
missed, not only by the press but by much of the left, was that it also exposed some of the most
wonderful qualities of human beings. Every single guy who worked on that mine and everyone
on that shift volunteered to go down to help those guys out. So the press was talking about the
enormous technological success of drilling with such accuracy and such shit. But the real point
was that it was a marvelous story to explore what it is to be a human being, because to me that
incident represented the finest and the lowest.
RJ: So, if those forces are always going to be in conflict, how should those of us who want a
more just world with less suffering try to present this to people? How should we think about
greed?
AO: I think we need to talk about what I’ll call, for lack of a better term, “enlightened
selfishness.” Selfishness, in the capitalist sense, will play a negative role in human life in our
kind of culture. People may buy the big house and get the big car, and even think of themselves
as happy, but there’s a big vacuum in them. You don’t overcome loneliness, human loneliness,
by accumulating.
But at the same time, in some sense everything I do is selfish. The Peace Mobile -- totally
selfish. I’ve never engaged in any political activity in my life that didn’t turn out to be highly
rewarding. And the only one that really could have cost me my life was the Spanish Civil War,
and occasionally maybe in Mississippi and Nicaragua. But the risks involved in that were more
than counterbalanced -- because I happened to be one of the survivors, of course -- by the
benefits I derived.
To be successful as an activist, you have to be able to teach people -- not only verbally but by
example -- that it’s a good way to live. It is not martyrdom. It is not just sacrifice. I’m involved
in the highest paid profession in the world -- social activism. Take this little exchange right now
between you and me. What does that mean to me as a person? Okay, it means that you, an
intelligent human being that’s got a fairly decent life, finds it of value to give up a piece of that
life to fly to Seattle to learn something, hopefully, from me. You can’t even attach material value
to that -- it’s enormous. To me, it’s very pleasant to know that somebody -- and somebody I have
a fair respect for -- thinks they have something to learn from me. It’s a marvelous feeling, and
it’s another example of what I’m talking about.

Flawless Business Opportunity

http://eternal-earthbound-pets.com/

THE PEOPLE's MARIO

this is a crazy set of photos

AMAzing stuff

Facts for the bored

HUMAN WORLD

It's Here!!!

So here's a video I recently put together. In case you were wondering, yes, I did watch all thirteen seasons of South Park before making this. I hope you enjoy it.

Bike porn

These guys were at the Campbell Club showing bike porn 3; cycle bound. I couldn't control myself I had to walk out halfway through

http://bikeporntour.blogspot.com/

back on bainbridge

when are people coming home for break? I am done friday and at the lastest will stay until the 16th. Then I am heading back on the second? Maybe the third?

-Winter Adventure-

so there seems to be a general consensus that a winter hiking/camping trip would be the shit

lets do it.

what time works best for us??

any ideas??

my friend over here--nick the guy we went climbing with michael said that upper lena lake would be a great short hike-- the lake freezes over and allows people to walk over it???

we should do some research.


check this web site--its a great resource

You laugh, you lose

ha.

Secret Someone

I had this idea a while ago, but since it is now December, and the holiday season is soon approaching, i thought that i'd bring it up again. REI Secret Someone! (was secret santa, but is now secret "someone" to respect the jews amongst us.)

Over the break, before Christmas or Hanukkah, we should pick names out of a concave down object, such as a hat, and then get them something nice from REI. Then we can all get together and have a merry time exchanging gifts, blazing in front of a fire and the like. What do you guys think?

.Things to Consider.

this sleeping bag is crazy!!!...wtf.


oh and this god damn guy!!--he is the shit.

Christian Side Hug

Just saw this. Sign of the apocalypse.

"We are rough riders, filled up with Christ-love."

awesome band

crystal castles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56E8yYgLNHE

EAT'EM UP BOYS

Rappers That Suck

Gotta check it out: http://rappersthatsuck.com/

$

If it’s any incentive to come to India, here are some quick price facts:

Average per hour internet rate: 60 cents
Good motorbike: $150-$500
Hash & Weed: free-dirt cheap
Nice hotel: $5-$20
Cheap hotel- $2-$5
A very large and delicious meal: 3o cents to $4

Kurt Vonnegut!!

its like some jazz with Kurt Vonnegut reading an excerpt of his book--reverse time

Biking around South America

I don't know if any of you remember my Ecuadorian exchange brother Alvero but he just gave me a standing invitation to visit him and bring friends. He is one of the most legit dudes youll ever meet and he would provide us with free lodging, free food, free access to his motorcycles, and probably free weed(seeing as weed is cheaper than food down therrr). we could perhaps tie it in to a summer bike trip around south america?? just throwing ideas and oppertunities out there for brainstormings sake...

Plans for Thanks Giving

I was wondering what everyone's plans are for Thanks Giving. I, for one, will be here on Bainbridge until further notice, except for Thanks Giving itself which will be spent at my Mom's house. What day is everyone coming back? And what day are you leaving again?

Marina & The Diamonds, "I Am Not A Robot" from Neon Gold Records on Vimeo.

just found a stash of sick shit from kanye's blog--gotta move some over here

EMBED-Hot Girls Risky Business Fail - Watch more free videos

good stuff

http://thechive.com/2008/12/collection-of-live-action-sports-photography-70-photos/

Here is the website
http://philosofucked.blogspot.com/

Philosofucked

A new blog has been created! under the moniker; philosofucked.

Cool website. Its one of those mental organizing things that shouldn't matter but it definatly keeps me focused at times.
Press done until you can create a new list and then don't press done until you have done what is on the screen. Its crazy

http://nowdothis.com/

did some one loose a black jacket???? tresspass???

Organ sacrifice

found photage of a pround achievement
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=163445391470&subj=19712917

has anyone seen DIE--LON's back pack---please i don't want to be stabbed :(

and just for kicks

Hmmmm....

-what do you guys think???

Would anyone be up for a parallel blog devoted to more esoteric philosophical and cultural discussion? It might clear up the logjam of posts that we have here a little bit; things tend to get posted and then immediately buried as new posts come in, so a new forum might allow for more extended discussion. We could use it to just post whatever comes to mind throughout the day or to delve into more specific stuff. Any takers? Ben? Bueller?

weekend plan

Okay. Friday at 4 leaving the Lorax via Roger. Head up to Lewis and Clark be there 6-7 depending when we leave. Can I score some cafeteria food chris? Chris and I drive forth unto Seattle, meeting young Alexander at Seattle-side dock. Upon rendezvous, proceed to Bellingham with an estimate time of arrival midnightish. Party til we puke. Saturday round two. Sunday morning, we leave bright and early, dropping Alex back in Seattle before driving down to Portland.

Loose ends;
1. Changing over cars. How we doing that. Are we doing that.
2. Alex; Is there way you can have time to go over to my house on Tolo to grab Nathan's North Face? I would be indebted to you and it would spare me Nathan's wrath.
3. I am bringing sleeping bag and hammock just in case I don't make it all the way back to Eugene that night. Hammock sess on Saturday? Hike + plus Hammocks? Good?

Good?
My phone is also dead so if anyone wants to get into contact with me use other means.

I love Tevon Dubois

bad ass dogs

I'M GOING TO COME TO WESTERN THIS WEEKEND!!!

i will admit that emma watson is hot, but i still maintain that her charm is more girly in nature that than of bonnie wright. she has a more mature sexy look.

BORING BUT GOOD

NOAM CHOMSKY

--nathan you would like him pursue some of his youtube videos he covers a wide variety of ideas

PROOF THAT HERMOINE IS HOTTER THAN GINNY

chris check this out--just scroll through!!

This is a ballin ghetto anthem. By T-baby.

hahahaha

HAS ANYONE SHITTED WHILE HIGH???--is it possible

just a question me and nathan were discussing earlier at dinner???

REALLY?....REALLY??

As groups compete to shape public policy, the government is a relatively neutral referee that ensures the competition is fair; it is not the instrument of any particular group or class there is a dispersion of power, of resources, and of benefits from policy decisions, not a pattern of "structural inequality." Everyone wins some and loses some, but the losers can always win on the next issue.
-253 Understanding the Political World

it is so frustrating to come upon such blatant propaganda...no wonders people sit idly back

too tired to be really critical and to expand upon the implications of such a statement within an educational text book

A little New Zealand love

So this is mainly (entirely?) for Ben: The Gathering Storm, part I out of III of the final installment to the Wheel of Time, is out. Fuck yes.

chris we never knew....

found this in derek's year book --looks like chris !

Happy birthday Alex!!!!!

Happy birthday to you. happy birthday to you. happy birthday dear alex. happy birthday to you! Happy birthday Alex!!!!!Happy birthday Alex!!!!!Happy birthday Alex!!!!!Happy birthday Alex!!!!!Happy birthday Alex!!!!!Happy birthday Alex!!!!!Happy birthday Alex!!!!!Happy birthday Alex!!!!! Cant wait wait for you to come up to WWU! Happy birthday Alex!!!!!Happy birthday Alex!!!!!Happy birthday Alex!!!!!Happy birthday Alex!!!!!Happy birthday Alex!!!!!Happy birthday Alex!!!!!vHappy birthday Alex!!!!!Happy birthday Alex!!!!!

party all the time

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5LX16zia2k

dinking out of cups!

So did the layout of the blog change, or is my computer funky? Did I like it better before? Probs...

PLEASE ALEX!!

alex you should try and make one of these movies: download some animated movie and then begin to develop a sound track rooted in the sounds produced from the movie--along with your own arrangement of noises too!!!

What weve all been waiting for... (sorta)

Boondock saints 2, unfortunately it doesn't look like its gonna be as good...

wow.

this is why raven may not appreciate the blog...

My dad showed me this video, he said it reminded him of Michael

My solo hike

On Monday I went on my first solo hike in the Olympics. I was looking at a map of the Olympics and I realized that despite having gone hiking there every year since I learned how to walk, I still have not been on the vast majority of the trails. There is still so much of the Olympics that I haven't even seen. So rather than sit around like I've been doing most Monday Tuesdays, I decided to go hiking. My trail was a 7 mile trek up to Royal Lake located in the North-East corner of the park where I would camp and than come back the next day. I expected it to be rainy, so I packed everything in plastic bags. On Monday morning, as I started driving out, it was rainy. But after I crosses the Hood Canal bridge, it lessened up, and even stopped. At the Ranger Station in Port Angeles I got a Bear Canister and the Ranger told me to be careful of snow on the road and the trail. As soon as I started hiking it became apparent that neither was going to be a problem. The path was a little soggy, and as I got higher, it even started to snow a little bit. Must have been one of the first snows of the season. The higher I climbed the more the snow stuck to the leaves and grasses until it was even on the path. I met one guy coming down, the only other person I saw, and he seemed disappointed with the weather, I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I got to Royal Lake earlier than I expected, I didn't have a watch, but there was still a lot of light, so I continued up the path hoping to find a campsite with a better view. But the snow just kept getting deeper and the trees sparser, so after enjoying the view I want back to the lake. That night was cold. I guess my sleeping bag was inside out or something because I could not stay warm. I spent most of the night fantasizing about turning on the heat in the car. The next morning everything was frozen. The path crunched underfoot and there was a skin on all the puddles and part of the lake. The sky had also cleared up and much of it was blue. I enjoyed a leisurely walk back to the car and promptly turned on the heat. I posted the photos on facebook, you guys should all go look at them.

Sweet Song

Alternitive to Girl Talk

Click the photos to get a larger picture!!

have you seen the vid??

Aesop Rock--Coffee

amazing little kids.

they can do some of the same stuff those ripped black guys can.

thomas edison: the original stunt cyclist

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZjd9pBmLoU

Truth probably doesn't exist

I had a philosophy debate (for class) today, and was on the side of epistemic relativism, arguing against epistemic realism (which holds that there is absolute truth). We didn't get to choose our sides, which was probably good, cause I learned some neat stuff and it's good practice arguing things you don't necessarily agree with. While I was preparing for the debate and debating, I wrote/said the following:

Generally speaking, I think we can agree that the accumulation of knowledge is dependent upon our sensory apparatus. Something happens in the outside world, we actively or passively gather information about it, our brains process the information, and the end result is conscious perception. Implicit in this argument, and throughout society, is the concept of causality. Causality says that there is a cause for every effect/event. While the concept has proven convenient for survival, the existence of causality cannot be substantiated. In gathering knowledge, we are stimulated by something we consider to be external; however, if there is no causality, there is no stimulus, and no evidence of an external reality.

Now, there is substantial evidence for causality, and we base our actions on its consistency in our every day life. However, if we accept causality, we have to ask where Truth comes from; if the response is "we created it," then it is necessarily relative to the self, because realism argues that truth and reality exist independent of individuals. This argument is self-defeating, as causality necessitates a cause for every effect/event/existence. If you make an exception for Truth, then causality goes out the window, because a true theory requires 100% consistency. So there is no truth independent of the individual.

So it leaves you with two options, each with rather large implications. I think it's a pretty successful argument against either A) absolute truth or B) external reality. Thoughts?

such a great vid--Passion pit.

The Waking Life

This is a pretty sick/trippy movie about lucid dreaming and other neat things. It is kind of a mind fuck at times, but a very good experience while high. I recommend that everyone watch this (stoned) if you get the chance

THE WAKING LIFE

meet up nov 7 weekend

hello all - travel plans.
I am thinkin trying to make it western on the weekend of the 7th. is anyone thinking of coming down or do western people wanna meet halfway? possibly olympia or portland? or all the way to eugene? lets talk about it. it took about 3 hours to get portland via thumb and charlie powers attersted to the ease of getting from western to olympia. also corbin said that you can catch two buses for two dollars that can get you too seattle. point being that we could make this happen without chris's car if need be and that this could happen without having to deal with greyhounds or amtraks and such.

free information

if anybody is interested, today i got my hands on a u of o student's doctoral thesis on the history of oregon forest defense 1980 -2005. its a fat pdf so if anybody wants it, i can send it via email. i would highly recommend it, even just as a reference

Sprint Triathlon

Ive decided that Im going to train for a sprint triathlon over winter break instead of an olympic in the spring. Presently I spend 2 to 3 hours a day running 2 miles biking 8-15 and swimming 1/3 of a mile. this is about a third of an olympic and 2/3 of a sprint. While what I am doing is physically sustainable, and satisfying besides, it would be a seriose time commitment to do the 5 hours a day nessisary for an olympic. on a side note im finding strength training is waaayyyyy easyer for geting quick easy results... If the sprint is gratifying then I can continue/increase my regimin for a spring. otherwise F dat S all I need is fluffy muscles.

So I just wrote an email to Ben and realized this portion of it might be a good brief update on the trip so far:

I flew into Mumbai a couple days ago, stayed with a guy I met on couch surfing, and flew to Delhi yesterday morning. If one word were to encapsulate India so far it would be paradox. It is the most beautiful, ugly, human, inhuman, sweet smelling and stinking place I have ever been. The list could go way, way on. It also fills the outsider with paradox: mine right now is feeling immensely poetic and utterly speechless. Another way to describe it, more succinctly, would be fucking insane. I couldn't begin to say more than that. It's only 1 in the afternoon, and I've already ridden in four autorickshaws, two cyclerickshaws, a donkey, and a horse carraige (not costing more than a dollar), and walked entirely lost through an endless labyrinth of alleyways lined with shops selling everying on the face of the earth, pushing my way through a shouting throng of men and women and children, stepping over and around dead dogs, human feces, children playing dice, beautiful women in spotless saris crouched in the mud spinning cloth, legless half starved men staring blankly through gaunt eyes muttering unintelligibly and holding up fingerless, filthy stumps of hands...

sick nasty

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/news/trip-jennings.html this guys moved out of the coops this fall. puts andrew shurka to shame. trip jennings

two more for perspective

quality.

this is crazy

this hammock looks simply amazing--saw this on a website ben shared with me earlier today--www.newtribe.com

pickaxe

the main guy in the title sequence dropped by the lorax last night - check out this movie it has ten parts that you should watch in succession - also the oft refered elliott forest defenders are all current loraxers. this video is amazing. when you have some time please watch it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPELRGjuEB0

Insight

"There is a myth about such highs, the user has an illusion of great insight, but it does not survive scrutiny in the morning. I am convinced that this is an error, and that the devastating insights achieved while high are real insights and the main problem is putting these insights in a form acceptable to the quite different self that we are when we're down the next day... If I find in the morning a message from myself the night before informing me that there is a world around is which we can barely sense, or that we can become one with the universe, or that even some politicians are desperately frightened men, I may tend to disbelieve; but when I'm high I know about this disbelief. And so I have a tape in which I exhort myself to take such remarks seriously. I say, 'Listen closely, you sonofabitch of the morning! This stuff is real!"

~Carl Sagen

This is from a book I just read.

dante versus nathan

thats wassup

Anderson silva triangle chokes !the shit! out of george pussy saint pierre

just so it can be known---Dante 1---Nathan 0
time: 2:37
by way of triangle choke

I AM NOT GOING TO CALIFORNIA

REPEAT: I AM NOT GOING TO CALI

I WOULD BE DOWN TO GO TO WESTERN

CALL ME ASAP

-MICHAEL

WEEKEND OF THE 10TH -update-

alright everyone--i have been making phones calls today and it looks like for the weekend of october 10th i will be heading back down to bainbridge on thursday to say goodbye to tevon. on friday i will leave with michael and chris to go to bellingham and on sunday they'll head back to the island. Alex that means that i will see you on the island on thursday and thursday night and that chris and michael will be back on sunday to hang out too!!

Alex Watch This

The Avengers Promise (Promissum Vltoris) from Nick Mikula on Vimeo.

Osho on 'Fuck'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D7rWLzloOI

anyone watch the movie!???

music

Hey whats everyone listening too? I am interested to see if you guys have found some new stuff - looking for suggestions. Been super into Hieroglyphics and the Roots. What about you?

Matt porn

So me and dante were talking about merits of cross fit vs more conventional training and dante cited matts body, specifically upper body, as a reason why crossfit is better. He mentioned that it has a very unique build. Needless to say I find it hard to believe that your physique using crossfit could be any more spectacular than it was previosly. please post a photo (pants optional)

MUST SEE!!!!!

matt chris ben --you guys MUST watch this video all the way through--it's a documentary on netflix and it is VERY insightful you can stream it


please watch and let me know when you have

the union: the business of getting high

WFR

I don't know who may be interested in this, but I am strongly considering taking this course over winter break. It is a little less than ideal in terms of matching up with western's break dates, i.e. it is 10 days long and runs right to the end of it.

HAHAHA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss8LDBNcsWc

the real mgmt

the original video is soo much better

I don't know if all of you have seen this, but it comes out on the 9th, and we are all seeing it.

there you go nathan

see what i mean

best song ever. this is a new level.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruef7aYCEbc

MMmmmm... Bacon

Who ever makes this first wins the game! Everyone else just lost it... hopefully some of you private school snobs will have the resources to get to work on CaNDieD BACoN!!!!! (please describe its divine flavor in vivid detail after completion)
Even if we're the only ones who find ourselves testing recipes far later than most, time had no effect on our senses when we declared Candied Salted Bacon to be the greatest thing since sliced bread. In fact, had candied salted bacon been discovered before sliced bread... well you get the picture.

It's a super easy treat that is perfect for any array of things. For starters, it's amazing in its own right and can be eaten solo as a snack or served as a starter. It would make a great accompaniment to sweet desserts and savory dishes alike and best of all, requires little attention or preparation time.

The quality of bacon used is the key to making the end result as triumphant as it should be. We used center cut, thin bacon from our local butcher, but there are acceptable versions at the grocer near you (although it usually runs a bit higher in price). Here's what else you'll need.

Candied Salted Bacon
Yields: 8-12 pieces (depending on package size)

1 package center cut bacon
3/4 cup light brown sugar
Kosher salt to taste

The oven method works best for this treat, simply line a cookie sheet (with sides) with parchment paper or silpat in preparation. Place bacon on cookie sheet, making sure not to overlap any edges. Lightly sprinkle each piece of bacon with brown sugar (1-1 1/2 tablespoons/each) and place cookie sheet in cold oven. Set temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake 20-25 minutes, keeping an extra careful eye on them starting at the 18 minute mark.

Remove from oven and place cookie sheet on wire rack. Sprinkle kosher salt over bacon pieces. Enjoy!

We want to warn you ahead of time that it will take all of your strength to not eat the entire pan before it all cools. It's just as tasty cold mind you, but while warm it's a perfect food that will take you away to your happy place. If you claim to not have a happy place, the warm candied, salted bacon will provide one for you.

Add it to a salad or pizza, add it to your next batch of ice cream or fudge or just eat it in your underpants in the kitchen at 2am like we do. Any way it's served it's sure to be a hit!

welcome to college!

this is my roomies history text book--such an ironic name for an american history book, i really hope the title doesn't have a direct correlation to its information!!

sorry its backwards but i don't have a camera connector so i used photo booth

FALL BREAK !! october 9th weekend

so i'm just starting this post so that we can discuss the logistics of the weekend--if chris and michael make their way up to western and possibly tevon and alex i would love to go explore the north cascades and do a two day hike!!

please post your ideas and what days your thinking of visiting !!

salvation

I'm posting this here so it doesn't get buried.

Ok I'll elaborate cause I don't think I was very clear about what I was talking about with the salvation/retirement analogy. Stick with cause I want some intelligent intellectual retaliation. (first when I say retirement I'm also referring to the state of having enough money to allow us not to work for the rest of our lives.) I am not comparing the reality of retirement to heaven. That would be stupid because they are apples and oranges because one exists and one does not. I did not say that retirement is the secular substitute for heaven sociologically, I said it was a psychological substitute. Some of us talked about how the concept of suffering now in order to achieve happiness later is a concept very specific to western culture. It's very obvious in every aspect of our media and education. It is also at the core of our cultural narcissism disguised as selfless respectability. Pirsig talked about the implications of the word 'just' in the phrase 'just what you want.' Same idea. I know this isn't a very complex idea, but it's not the endpoint of my argument. Another perhaps contradictory aspect of our cultural consciousness and subconscious is strict rationalism. It is not rational, when we know as a fact that our life is finite, to waste it not doing what we want to do. It takes a very sophisticated, convincing moralist indoctrination to convince a person to suffer, or at least conform to a whole complex of social obligations. So when I say that what salvation and retirement have in common, and what necessitates them in the social consciousness, is that they immortalize the boon of our materialistic strife, immortalize is the key word. In order to rationalize the sacrifice of whatever will make us lastingly happy, no mere mortal, transient boon will suffice, because we die and all material possessions we've acquired along the way are meaningless. So our boon must be timeless, eternal, and provide bliss that would never have been possible following our own path, which is dismissed as hedonism. Not that we consciously believe we will live forever after we retire, but the way retirement appears in our fundamental social conditioning is as a timeless state. None of this is conscious. It is the way the West as always reconciled its method of relinquishing the individual from suffering with death. Now, I'm using specific examples to describe a general pattern, so there are semantical arguments and inter-social variants, but they are all faces on the same ghost. I'd point out, for old times sake, that this is a good example of subconscious logic. Now have at me.

posing by my bunk

I don't have the connector for my camera. so, until i find someone with one or am able to get one I won't be able to post any of those photos. but here is one of my room --its fairly large, 200 square feet. rocking the sinchila got the apples to apples and ginger ale

From my economics textbook: "More surprising, however, is the study's additional finding that the personality traits rewarded with high grades in the classroom are the same as those rewarded with favorable rankings by supervisors in the workplace." Children are groomed for authoritarian domination.

heading home

hey guys - i am heading back home for a bat mitzvah on the 17th of october. the bat mitzvah is on saturday morning. I was thinking of coming up to portland on friday then when the bat mitzvah is over, heading up to western for the night and then coming back down to eugene on sunday. does this work for respective visited parties? does anyone want to join a pilgrimage in either direction? chris can i borrow your car from portland upward?

Immortal Technique, November 12th, Portland, OR. http://apps.facebook.com/ilike/concert/Immortal+Technique/1710852

UFC 106 Carwin vs Lesnar. This will be sick, best upcoming fight by far.

shit my pants

best video ever!

The Medusa

Okay so there was this piece of glass that I made a while ago when I was in an experimental phase in my glass blowing. I never really knew what to do with it. My dad tried hanging it in the window, but it looked awkward. Recently I noticed that it had an interesting shape. This weekend I went up to Bellingham with a drill and a diamond tipped bit. I bought a downspout and a bowl at the local head shop and drilled a hole in the side and then inserted the parts I bought. The result was a beautiful bong. We took it into Nathan's bathroom and smoked out of it. It got me higher than I had been in a while. Dante, Raven and I decided to take a hike up to the watchtower and take along my new baby. We got half way when we stopped for a smoke break. When we took the Medusa out and to our horror, some of the glass around the newly drilled hole had broken off in the backpack. The broken part is a single piece, so I think will a little epoxy and a little luck, it'll repair with just a crack to remind me to be gentler to my art. Here's a photo of the Medusa after the deflowering. Nathan came up with the name "Because it gets you stoned."

Also Dante and I decided to make this blog private so that we can post this kind of thing. If someone who isn't an author want's to follow, I'm pretty sure we can add other people.

FIVE DAY BREAK?

So I am pretty much free on the 9th of October, which is a Friday, until Tuesday night that week. I might even be able to leave Thursday night, the 8th, and get in about 12:00 on Friday. I am tentatively thinking about going back to the rock for a night or two, then heading up to Western to kick it for a few days. Or go to Western first, then the BI. Dunno. I'm trying to convince Chris to do the same.

What are your guys' thoughts on this?

I get it now.

Fat Kid Successfully Avoids Ridicule By Swimming With Shirt On

hahahha

Little Boy Heroically Shoots, Mutilates Burglar

whew day 3 at the lorax. this is ridiculous! this is like the equivalent of the culture shock of meeting danielle but in the crustiest punkest fashion possible. its great though alot of my housemates are into some really sweet shit. we have an awesome bike workshop with an unbelieveable amount of bike stuff - literally 50 plus spares wheels, 30 plus bikes in some form of disrepair. a mechanic is boarding in the house who fixes up bikes and sells them for his rent. alot of the guys did alot of work with nps - fire work trail maintenance all sorts of cool shit. bunch of people are into climbing and hiking. kinda sucks because our neighboring house also part of the coop, the campbell club, kitchen is under renovation. somebody put a chicken in the oven and forgot about it - a absolute brawl broke out complete with a girl crying over the chickens plight, people beating each other up with various bike parts and kitchen implements. my favorite was walking downstairs to see someone throwing bike handlebars at shane whom retaliated with throwing this kid off the deck ... ridiculous. to misquote its like the volume on life has been turned up. last inight we had a water balloon fight with the frat next door. my favorite part was throwing balloons from the roof into an open window, coating this guys bedroom with olive oil and water while trying to juggle a spliff and a forty - alcoholism is immanent ... its gonna be good here. signed up for classes today - arabic 101, two philosophy classes, one on ancient philo. history and the other on the philosophy of culture, and a general education class on writing. the credit transfer worked great. I have just about all of my general education requirement taken care of plus my pre-requisite philosophy courses. pretty sweet as far as a philosophy degree i am a junior which is really nice. i can easily get the degree in the next two years and maybe find room for a minor in there. happy about that. my room is really ghetto - i am on the third floor, with a nice window and right by the fire escape. i have a single too which is nice. looking forward to classes
whats everyone elses situation like particularily matt and nathan whats happening with you guys. and what happened to the poem? it was a masterpiece is there another place it can be continued?

no wonders kids keep smoking!!--read the side affects!

Some people have had changes in behavior, hostility, agitation, depressed mood, suicidal thoughts or actions while using CHANTIX to help them quit smoking. Some people had these symptoms when they began taking CHANTIX, and others developed them after several weeks of treatment or after stopping CHANTIX. If you, your family, or caregiver notice agitation, hostility, depression, or changes in behavior, thinking, or mood that are not typical for you, or you develop suicidal thoughts or actions, anxiety, panic, aggression, anger, mania, abnormal sensations, hallucinations, paranoia, or confusion, stop taking CHANTIX and call your doctor right away. Also tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems before taking CHANTIX, as these symptoms may worsen while taking CHANTIX.

Some people can have serious skin reactions while taking CHANTIX, some of which can become life-threatening. These can include rash, swelling, redness, and peeling of the skin. Some people can have allergic reactions to CHANTIX, some of which can be life-threatening and include: swelling of the face, mouth, and throat that can cause trouble breathing. If you have these symptoms or have a rash with peeling skin or blisters in your mouth, stop taking CHANTIX get medical attention right away.

The most common side effects include nausea (30%), sleep problems, constipation, gas, and/or vomiting. If you have side effects that bother you or don’t go away, tell your doctor.

You may have trouble sleeping, vivid, unusual, or strange dreams while taking CHANTIX. Use caution driving or operating machinery until you know how CHANTIX may affect you.

CHANTIX should not be taken with other quit-smoking products. You may need a lower dose of CHANTIX if you have kidney problems or get dialysis.

Before starting CHANTIX, tell your doctor if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or if you take insulin, asthma medicines or blood thinners. Medicines like these may work differently when you quit smoking.

CHANTIX is a prescription medicine to help adults 18 and over stop smoking. You may benefit from quit-smoking support programs and/or counseling during your quit attempt. It’s possible that you might slip-up and smoke while taking CHANTIX. If you do, you can stay on CHANTIX and keep trying to quit.

From Nietzsche:

"Let at least this much be admitted: there would be no life at all if not on the basis of perspective estimates and appearances; and if, with the virtuous enthusiasm and clumsiness of some philosophers, one wanted to abolish the "apparent world" altogether - well supposing you could do that, at least nothing would be left of your "truth" either. Indeed, what forces us at all to suppose that there is an essential opposition of true and false? Is it not sufficient to assume degrees of apparentness and, as it were, lighter and darker shadows and shades of appearance - different "values," to use the language of painters? Why couldn't the world that concerns us be a fiction? And if somebody asked, "but to a fiction there surely belongs an author?" - couldn't one answer simply: why? Doesn't this "belongs" perhaps belong to the fiction too? Is it not permitted to be a bot ironical about the subject no less than the predicate and object? Shouldn't philosophers be permitted to rise above faith in grammar?..."

HENRY DAVID THOREAU

such a bad ass
--what do you guys know about him??

first day of classes--tomorrow

all right you guys i've finally moved in!!...tonight was a positive one. this would be day 2 of our 180 day journey and its looking up. im excited. dillon is an interesting guy and so is derek--both in their own ways. i went to a party with derek and some of his friends from high school. the monkey man jacket trick worked!! :D not sure who had originally formulated this theory???--but it seems to be true--a couple of his girl friends noted me for my exquisite jacket and there i was the kid with the nice jacket--

to make a long story short, one girl ended up asking for it--"if your hot you can just take it off and i'll wear it!"
I had to walk home without a jacket at like two in the morning which sucked balls but hey, there you go theory proved !!

NATHAN dude there is so much potential in the pond right now!! threre are so many fresh many girls who would dig you!!--only if you got out there more--me and raven just walked out to the arboretum with a bunch of kids and played apples to apples in the middle of the woods!! your missing out : (



this is such an objective rant. simply one perspective of the college life and my interactions with college people--lacking all acknowledgment of the you and i relationship that existed between me and 'those' people


dante

Michael after a few years at the frat.

Lets keep this moving

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT--EVERYONE MUST POST A MINIMUM OF FIVE PICTURES OF THEIR DORM SITUATION
i know everyone has a camera or at least has a roomie that has a camera so take a couple pics to keep us all updated!!!!!

Ok so what do you think. Retirement has become, or evolved as, the secular substitute for Salvation in (in the Judeo-Christian sense of the word) in the cultural psychology. The state of comfortable retirement is equivalent to Heaven. This is a necessary component of the western psychology because it immortalizes the boon of our materialistic strife. Just as the suffering of the God-fearing, church-going, self deprecating Christian is rewarded by atonement with Christ and an eternity in Heaven in the presence of God, so is the torment of the cubicle imprisoned corporate peon rewarded by a peaceful, carefree life behind the reassuring walls of a gated retirement home.

watch this win your feeling good!!!

Sweet Shit

These guys are ridiculous, I think it's real.

The Master

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkRS3wDg1xU

Videogames = Death