Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Basic Values of Western Civilization

Sorry to regurgitate this one, but it comes from Dave Pires comments. Ja I stole your comment for my main event, so thanks for that. I hope you don't mind. Given the political heat here in the States, I had to "run some game."
This snippet comes from the 1960's piece of literature titled, "Basic Values of Western Civilization" and reads as...

"Whatever deviations from the ideal values of Western culture exist because of differences in education, status in society, or professional affiliation, the fact remains that the most remarkable digressions from the norms are the result of extraordinary situations. In the case of war, for example, we throw off our respect for human life, our taboos regarding killing, our appreciation for conducting ourselves according to the Golden Rule, and our ideas about progress toward higher levels of civilization. All things which we consider to be the very goals which constitute purpose in life are, at least temporarily, thrown into the discard.
That our basic values should be put so completely aside under the stress of certain situations is extraordinary. This very fact constitutes an aspect of our cultural behavior which requires serious consideration, for it prompts the question whether or not certain values are really basic if they cannot control our actions in moments of crisis.
An easy way to avoid this problem would be to say that in the case of war some groups within the culture - and very small groups at that - decide to get what they want by means which are incompatible with our values and that part of the culture which is attacked has to defend itself. Thus all the culture is thrown into a deviant position by a minority, and a struggle goes on in which some values are disregarded in order to preserve most of the values in the longer run. In some instances such a rationalization of our shortcomings might be in conformity with the facts, but there are others when it is not...
...Because the maintenance of our value system depends so heavily upon social organization, it follows, of course, that when there is social disorganization, the behavior of people departs from the culture’s norms. If, for example, men are brought under arms and told to kill to preserve their nationality or themselves, they have to give up some of their values in order, so they are taught to believe, to keep other values. Moreover, both the military and nationalist leaders provide sanctions against those who do not conform to wartime behavior. Then, too, as men are separated from those groups from which pressures emanate to make them adhere to the peacetime value line, they indulge in behavior that is at odds with ordinary basic values.
Consequently, any movement in society which results suddenly in social disorganization - that destroys those agencies which make people conform to social prescriptions or which free men from those agencies - is certain to result in variations in our value behavior. From this it follows that if we would keep our value system intact, we should maintain our organization of society. There may be a necessity for change, but change is realized with the least amount of disorganization if it takes place slowly. Peaceful change and effective social organization are the chief pillars which sustain our value system.”

Monday, October 27, 2008

Skin and Bones

Went to Body Worlds recently. Saw some neat things. Only had my camera phone. It won't do the exhibit justice, but I had make due with what I had.








Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Elliot Smith

August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003. The guy was talented, hands down. May or may not like his music, but he was one of the better lyricists that's shared his music with the world.
Sean, I expect you to hold up to your claim of remembering Ronnie Dio or some other rocker when their time comes.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Freedom of Space

The good friends behind Ranch Exit shared their latest work with "Freedom of Space", an insight into the culture and adaptation of skateboarders. Either use or find an hour of your time for this film, it will be well spent. Here is a taster for the film, but follow the link below to watch the whole piece from the convenience of your computer. Enjoy.

Scroll your mouse and click on me to watch the whole thing.
Thanks Steve and Tim. I really enjoyed that.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Friday, October 10, 2008

New car, caviar, four star...think I'll buy me a football team

The floor is falling out from underneath us. Heard an interesting story on NPR this morning. Gave a brief, simple explanation of our current situation. Follow the link and click "listen now" to hear the audio story...
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95591162
Also came across this stock market visual on Yahoo Finance.
"The times, they are a changing." - Bob Dylan

Thursday, October 09, 2008

CPFMP #2

I work with this guy named "Tall". I think he's shorter than me though. Anyway, he's the type of guy you can usually rely on for some interesting entertainment. The other day he showed up at the office with a wasp tied to floss. Good pet for a day.

Thursday, October 02, 2008

CPFMP #1

My digi camera has taken some beatings and the shot quality hasn't been able to quite keep up with the current technology, so I've been utilizing my cell phone camera a lot. Due to that, I'm going to start a series of photos for this blog titled, "Crap Photos From My Phone". This will allow me to make more frequent posts on my blog that don't require as much effort because my job is still currently consuming approximately 94% of my week. Anyway, enjoy.
The Godfather. Discovered somewhere in the middle of Wyoming. This beaute is about 7' tall and has to be broken down into three separate pieces to fit in a car.