Vancouver Phil says "no mo' winter!"

But Punxsutawney Phil apparently disagrees.

On this day in 1882, the world's first electric streetlight was installed, in Wabash, Indiana. Two years later, James Joyce was born. Coincidence??? Yeah, I think so. Pretty much. Stan Getz was also born on this day, in 1927.

Lord of the Flies?

It's Rick James' birthday, bitch!

And in 1662, Taiwan surrendered to the Chinese pirate Koxinga, after a nine-month seige.

Continuing from yesterday's post:

So, what kind of kids might you expect from a situation like the one I described? Clinical psychology can tell us something about this. It seems that lab animals which are conditioned to believe something and then have the circumstances changed so that their old beliefs are no longer valid, become introverted, exhibit symptoms of extreme emotional and mental stress, and become more easily controlled, apparently because they no longer trust their own minds.

They no longer trust their own minds.

Kids today are told that they have to attend school because they need to learn. But this is only part of the truth. Kids are also sent to school to keep them supervised until they can be trusted, but more importantly, they're sent to enculturate them, to teach them things by rote and example as opposed to by lecture and practice. I mean things like "we wait in lines," and "this is how to budget your time," as well as "you are not in charge," and "you are a tiny cog in a system so large that you can't possibly comprehend it." Kids know this, too; you may even remember knowing it yourself (I do). They realize it early, but adults continue to tell them that they go to school "to learn." Observed truth (that they aren't really learning anything new after about 3rd grade) does not equal Revealed truth (that they go to school 'to learn'), and cognitive dissonance arises. They no longer trust their own minds.

It's no wonder that they turn to video games instead of homework, television instead of conversation with their parents or adult friends, or use experience-expanding drugs instead of mind-expanding books.

Yeah, honest to god, once upon a time, people had friends of wildly different ages. It was a cheesy TV show, God knows, but "Dennis the Menace" was also a snapshot of its era (early-mid '60s), and Dennis had a good, friendly (however antagonistic) relationship with his adult neighbors. They talked. They had a complex relationship. Yes, it was fiction, but we can read it just like we read Shakespeare: of course it didn't really happen, but events like the ones described almost certainly did.

That it doesn't happen anymore -that kids are becoming increasingly less-well-informed and more apathetic-- is a result not only of this cognitive dissonance and the resulting mistrust of authority, but also as a result of the culture of fear developed by the TV industry to boost ratings ("Don't talk to strangers! You could be next! News at 6!"), and because of the deadly combination of our fascination with shiny things, and our ability to produce ever-more-captivating ones.

I am generalizing, of course. Not every kid is like this, and I don't know the relevant statistics, but I see it everywhere, and whenever I bring this up, I am met with a chorus of agreement. I am led to believe it's true, generally speaking.

So, what's going to happen when the last of the Responsible Adults dies? Lord of the Flies??

These dreams

On this day in 1886, a substance like charred paper but much heavier, fell over Norway and parts of northern Europe. This is not a photograph of that event.

Franz Peter Schubert celebrated his birthday (1797) on this day, as does Johnny Rotten (1956).

Now, let me bend your ear for a minute.

Imagine a world in which parents teach their children nothing but outrageous untruths. I'm talkin' things that are so untrue as to be unbelievable, like, "Mommy and Daddy are the same person," or "Dogs chase cars because cars are made out of meat." Yeah, I mean things you just know can't be true. And yet the parents keep feeding their kids these lies, in spite of how obviously ridiculous, or apparently untrue, and in spite of the kids' reactions. What will those children be like? Will they be curious and playful, as they should be, or will their curiosity be squashed by being told that what they see is not the truth? What kind of adults will they turn out to be? Monkey see, monkey do, after all; the apple never falls far from the tree. How intelligent might we expect those children to be, when they're trained to ignore sensory data in favor of fantasies and fabrications? How well might we expect them to deal with the unexpected?

For several generations now, we have been living under the impression that the State is our parent: it takes care of us when we're young, it sees to our education, it makes sure we stay safe at night, it even cares for us in our old age. In many cases, politicians on TV -our visible symbols of the State-- are the only mature adults some kids see outside of school. The State is a big ol' Mommy.

And it lies like a big ol' rug.

To be continued.

Have somma this!

Today in music history: Thomas Tallis was born, in 1505. And The Beatles played their last concert together, a live impromptu gig on the roof of Apple studios in London. It was broken up by police, because it was jamming traffic on the streets below (go fig!).

It's also the anniversary of the birth of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882), and the death of Mohandas K. (Mahatma) Gandhi (1948).

And in 1835, Richard Lawrence attempted to assassinate President Andrew Jackson, but both his pistols misfired. President Jackson instead beat him with his cane. Take that!

Agenda temporarily derailed

Didn't get any new pictures yesterday, because Monday's agenda was derailed into Tuesday. Today I have more administration and errands, but may be able to do some real work later. I'm hoping.

Coincidence?? I think not!

Old pic of the old bag. I hope to get a new pic of it today, so maybe tomorrow we'll be able to compare. Monday is my work-on-the-house day, so I didn't take any pictures.

Today is the anniversary of the births of Emmanuel Swedenborg, Thomas Paine, and Leadbelly.

Also, in 1978, during Mass in Madaba Greek Orthodox church, south of Amman in Jordan, an icon of the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus sprouted a third hand. Perhaps co-incidentally, on the same day in the village of Zlafon near Jerusalem, a calf was born with three mouths.

"Romeo and Juliet" is believed to have debuted on this day, in 1595. "The Raven" was published, too.

Teo Torriate

I spent all weekend working on masteristvan.com, and I feel like it's finally coming together. New this week: The Istvan Boot, kits and patterns for same, and more information for the DIY-ers out there (an article about the tools you'll need, and an article about measuring for footwear). I may have a Belts page up as soon as tomorrow. Coming soon: panniers (saddlebags for bikes), guitar straps, and erotica (as soon as I can find [a] decent model[s]).

thrill-a-minute

Exciting picture, I know. I'm very busy developing masteristvan.com - this picture illustrates some measuring instructions.