“The simplest Surrealist act consists of dashing down into the street, pistol in hand, and firing blindly, as fast as you can pull the trigger, into the crowd.” So said Andre Breton, the founder and leader of the Surrealist movement. But this simplest Surrealist act, for the modernist, is always a mere thought, a provocation, … Continue reading Preliminary Sketches for a Baudrillardian Hermeneutics of the Mass Shooting
Implosion: Oceangate, the Cage Match, and Accelerationism
This world wants to be childish in order to make us believe that the adults are elsewhere, in the "real" world, and to conceal the fact that true childishness is everywhere Jean Baudrillard, Simulacra and Simulation Now that we’re done collectively laughing about the inanity of the Oceangate imbroglio, perhaps it’s time to more soberly … Continue reading Implosion: Oceangate, the Cage Match, and Accelerationism
An Overheard Dialogue: Language sans Verbs
Overheard conversation from a gastropub in Cambridge, England. In honor of my pen and notepad, always carried in my back pocket, in wait of remarkable transactions like the one transcribed below. "You familiar with Michel Thaler?" "Michel Thaler? Yes, that eccentric French author, the novelist, right? A charlatan, maybe, but an entire novel without a … Continue reading An Overheard Dialogue: Language sans Verbs
Short Note on Deja Vu as a Social Phenomenon
La Jeune-Fille baigne dans le déjà-vu. Chez elle, la première fois vécue est toujours une seconde fois de la représentation.Tiqqun, Premiers matériaux pour une Théorie de la Jeune-Fille Deja vu is a phenomenon produced by modern times. Still, no one suspects that centuries of homogeneous manufacturing could’ve had such a profound psychological effect. Nonetheless the … Continue reading Short Note on Deja Vu as a Social Phenomenon
Four Ways to Teach Old Dogmas New Tricks
1. Just add a generic prefix Adding “neo-” or “post-” in front of your ideology of choice is a great way to give it a more qualified, sophisticated flavor. Perhaps the most entertaining example of this technique occurred during the historical-philosophical transition from Structuralism to post-Structuralism. A subsection of the intelligentsia of the United States, … Continue reading Four Ways to Teach Old Dogmas New Tricks
The OnlyFans Volte-Face
Le monde moderne n’est pas universellement prostitutionnel par luxure. Il en est bien incapable. Il est universellement prostitutionnel parce qu’il est universellement interchangeable.Charles Péguy According to its website, OnlyFans is a “social platform revolutionizing creator and fan connections. The site is inclusive of artists and content creators from all genres and allows them to monetize … Continue reading The OnlyFans Volte-Face
The Dr. Seuss Imbroglio: Exegesis on Mulberry Street
Seussian Racism, Hyperreality, and Community Dr. Seuss Enterprises, the company “committed to care taking Theodor Seuss Giesel’s (Dr. Seuss) legacy,” recently decided to halt the publication of six Dr. Seuss classics due to their apparently racist undertones. The company’s official statement explains that “these books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong.” To … Continue reading The Dr. Seuss Imbroglio: Exegesis on Mulberry Street
A Radical Critique of Netflix’s Social Dilemma
“It is necessary to follow what is common. But although the word (λόγος) is common, most people live as if they had their own private understanding” (DK 2).“They are at odds with the word (λόγος), with which above all they are in continuous contact, and the things they meet every day appear strange to them” … Continue reading A Radical Critique of Netflix’s Social Dilemma
On the Figure of the Clown
“The United States is the wealthiest nation in the history of the world, yet its inhabitants are strikingly unhappy. Accordingly, we present to the rest of mankind, on a planet rife with suffering and tragedy, the spectacle of a clown civilization. Sustained on a clown diet rich in sugar and fat, we have developed a … Continue reading On the Figure of the Clown
Halos Ever Brighter: From the End of History to the Genesis of Dance
Your ideas should be as irresponsibly free as a bird. Let us create a fresh atmosphere, a pure aura of spirit, wit, and joy. Where are you, prophets?--the heralds of the new life, telling of the new suns--moons--and stars!Wenzel Hablik We are on the extreme promontory of the centuries! What is the use of looking … Continue reading Halos Ever Brighter: From the End of History to the Genesis of Dance
Notes from the Ultra-Left 