for fellow philosphical illiterates, i discovered why Crooked Timber is so named - (in A&L daily)
Darwinian Politics in its way exemplifies Kant's famous remark that "from the crooked timber of humanity no truly straight thing can be made." It is not, to play on Kant's metaphor, that no beautiful carving or piece of furniture can be produced from twisted wood; it is rather that whatever is finally created will only endure if it takes into account the grain, texture, natural joints, knotholes, strengths and weaknesses of the original material. Social constructionism in politics treats human nature as indefinitely plastic, a kind of fiberboard building material for utopian political theorists. Evolutionary psychology advises that political architects consider the intrinsic qualities of the wood before they build.
and, speaking of philosophy (and via a Crooked Timber discussion -thanks kes), Mark Lawson (presenter, 'Front Row', BBC Radio 4) recounts his Greatest Mistake. you didn't hear it from me.
and, in a not unrelated vein, via Neil Gaiman, Playboy centerfold science - "the result of mean averaging every Playboy centerfold foldout for the four decades beginning Jan. 1960 through Dec. 1999. This tracks, en masse, the evolution of this form of portraiture." (Warning: safe for work.)
to go further yet (but is it "too far"?), Dan Weintraub on the recent Schwarzenegger-Lockyer dustup -
"Unbelievable," said Democratic campaign consultant Richie Ross. "How ironic that California's strangest political bedfellows would find themselves in an argument about groping."
too far: via the memory hole, the infamous oui interview
why the allegations didn't hit a lot sooner - they usually sprout from the tabloids, which (due to business connections) were starry-eyed for Schwarzenegger
re Schwarzenegger-Republican culture shock-
...Or Schwarzenegger could take a pass, and the Republican Party could stay its current course, alternating between Old Testament morality and new age [???! - ed.] sexuality in accord with the demographics of the district. Call it a big-tent party, or a boundless well of cynicism.
on the other hand, last week's AP news article suggesting that he may try to terminate Stupid Growth in CA was encouraging-
[he seems to have] a bent toward "smart growth" which favors transit, rebuilding existing cities and slowing development on vacant farmland. His Web site has pledged wholesale restoration of declining urban environments, criticized "fiscally unsustainable sprawl" and promised new incentives to build homes on blighted, bypassed land in older cities.
...
"I have every reason to think the basic principles are understood by Arnold and are going to be acted upon," said former San Jose Mayor Tom McEnery, a Schwarzenegger transition team member who launched one of California's most striking downtown rejuvenations.
- so here's hoping he surprises us. (but then that's what i was hoping bush would do - and in terms of magnitude he did indeed, just got the sign wrong)
OK, at last, we reach the shocking news - yes, there is indeed a Schwarzenegger - Ackerman connection, and it goes way back! (for you out-of-towners, Jeff Ackerman is the publisher of The Union, Nevada County's one and only newspaper.) not only that, but we come full circle...:
SCHWARZENEGGER - What does it mean?:
Schwarzenegger seems like a pretty typical type of name, describing a person by colour (his coloration, hair colour) and job. The name "Egger" would be pretty close to the English name "Tiller." "Egge" is a big metal square with "teeth" drawn by horses or a tractor. It rakes the field, breaking up the big lumps after the field has been plowed (by the tillerman= Ackermann). Another name of this type is Heidegger (the philospher Martin Heidegger), tiller of the heath.
yes I know, words are failing you too.
(btw, more on the Union when I have more time - time that is not being wasted on trivia - you guys have been doing an excellent job lately.)
p.s. and not just the editorials.
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