Here be some more.
"Dear Bonnie Prince Billy"
"So These Aliens"
"Gecko"
"Cook County Caelus"
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Aunt Pat Responds to Chomsky
Well, Aunt Pat read the post on Chomsky, and asked me a good question.
Let me back up for a moment. Aunt Pat is a Peter Gabriel FANATIC. She follows him around the country when he's on tour, she flies to England to see him record, she undoubtedly dreams about him most nights.
So when she saw that I wrote about Chomsky, she asked about the Peter Gabriel line in "Animal Nation" that goes “Chomsky and Skinner, how could they be so blind?" Well, I'm going to try to make Aunt Pat's day.
I THINK PETER GABRIEL IS RIGHT AND HE IS SMARTER, WISER, AND MORE ENLIGHTENED THAN CHOMSKY AND SKINNER. (And of course, by association, I am saying [in this case] that I am smarter and more enlightened than Chomsky and Skinner too . . . Harvard trains you in this kind of intellectual arrogance). So here's the quick explanation of what I think Sir Gabriel is saying:
Chomsky's linguistic analysis says that language is a specific feature of human beings . . . it distinguishes us from other animals, even more dramatically than opposable thumbs do. This also implies that animals don't have a rich language amongst themselves, either inter and intra species.
But if you're Peter Gabriel, or an American Indian, or a hunter gatherer, or a dweller of the rainforest, (or a white suburban man from the suburbs of Chicago who wishes he was in touch with nature) you would say that not only do animals have rich and ongoing languages, but that the natural world speaks amongst itself all the time. Rivers talk to fish who talk to the wind who talks to the worms who talk to the sunset who talks to the mountain range who talks to the coyotes. And those nature-based people can hear and speak the language too--and NOT as a metaphor. Us "civilized" folks in modern times might say that it's a nice "metaphor" when they think they "talk" to nature. NO. The nature-based people would say they aren't talking to nature as a metaphor, they are ACTUALLY talking to nature. They know the language still, while we have forgotten it. Russian is unintelligible to me because I never grew up speaking it. The language of nature is unintelligible to me because, also, I didn't grow up speaking it.
I know, it sounds crazy . . . it sounds crazy to me too. But I always wonder, who is crazier? The culture that talks to nature, and treats it with respect as a friend and mother, or modern culture that doesn't talk to nature, and has cut down 75% of its trees (globally), and sends 100 species into extinction every single day?
Not bad Peter Gabriel, not bad.
Let me back up for a moment. Aunt Pat is a Peter Gabriel FANATIC. She follows him around the country when he's on tour, she flies to England to see him record, she undoubtedly dreams about him most nights.
So when she saw that I wrote about Chomsky, she asked about the Peter Gabriel line in "Animal Nation" that goes “Chomsky and Skinner, how could they be so blind?" Well, I'm going to try to make Aunt Pat's day.
I THINK PETER GABRIEL IS RIGHT AND HE IS SMARTER, WISER, AND MORE ENLIGHTENED THAN CHOMSKY AND SKINNER. (And of course, by association, I am saying [in this case] that I am smarter and more enlightened than Chomsky and Skinner too . . . Harvard trains you in this kind of intellectual arrogance). So here's the quick explanation of what I think Sir Gabriel is saying:
Chomsky's linguistic analysis says that language is a specific feature of human beings . . . it distinguishes us from other animals, even more dramatically than opposable thumbs do. This also implies that animals don't have a rich language amongst themselves, either inter and intra species.
But if you're Peter Gabriel, or an American Indian, or a hunter gatherer, or a dweller of the rainforest, (or a white suburban man from the suburbs of Chicago who wishes he was in touch with nature) you would say that not only do animals have rich and ongoing languages, but that the natural world speaks amongst itself all the time. Rivers talk to fish who talk to the wind who talks to the worms who talk to the sunset who talks to the mountain range who talks to the coyotes. And those nature-based people can hear and speak the language too--and NOT as a metaphor. Us "civilized" folks in modern times might say that it's a nice "metaphor" when they think they "talk" to nature. NO. The nature-based people would say they aren't talking to nature as a metaphor, they are ACTUALLY talking to nature. They know the language still, while we have forgotten it. Russian is unintelligible to me because I never grew up speaking it. The language of nature is unintelligible to me because, also, I didn't grow up speaking it.
I know, it sounds crazy . . . it sounds crazy to me too. But I always wonder, who is crazier? The culture that talks to nature, and treats it with respect as a friend and mother, or modern culture that doesn't talk to nature, and has cut down 75% of its trees (globally), and sends 100 species into extinction every single day?
Not bad Peter Gabriel, not bad.
What Could Be Worse?
I'm sure we've all had the following experience at some point: as you are saying something TERRIBLE about another person, you realize they are right behind you, listening to your every word.
With the advent of modern technology, I think this happens a LOT more. Landlines, cell phones, lists phone numbers, text messaging, the internet . . . it's all ripe for hitting the wrong button and saying the wrong thing to the wrong person.
(I bet it used to be a LOT easier to cheat on your spouse when you couldn't leave endless clues in your inbox, or on your cell phone bill, etc.)
Recently I wrote an email to a friend in which I called someone "a caricature of a human being." Only I didn't sent it to my friend, I SENT IT TO THE PERSON I WAS INSULTING.
What could be worse? How could I be so careless?
What do you say after that? How can you take it back? You can't. You can only feel sick to your stomach, and resolve that you'll never ever say a mean thing about anyone ever again.
(Which lasts for about an hour, tops).
With the advent of modern technology, I think this happens a LOT more. Landlines, cell phones, lists phone numbers, text messaging, the internet . . . it's all ripe for hitting the wrong button and saying the wrong thing to the wrong person.
(I bet it used to be a LOT easier to cheat on your spouse when you couldn't leave endless clues in your inbox, or on your cell phone bill, etc.)
Recently I wrote an email to a friend in which I called someone "a caricature of a human being." Only I didn't sent it to my friend, I SENT IT TO THE PERSON I WAS INSULTING.
What could be worse? How could I be so careless?
What do you say after that? How can you take it back? You can't. You can only feel sick to your stomach, and resolve that you'll never ever say a mean thing about anyone ever again.
(Which lasts for about an hour, tops).
El Salvador Part 5
I knew there was a reason I'm in an Arts in Education program.
When I was in El Salvador, I had the chance to talk to the director of the only art museum in the country. He started by telling us some of their recent history, including a brutal 10 year civil war, followed by the crime and delinquency that still grips the nation.
I asked him what could curb the violence, and without hesitation he said, "more art."
When I was in El Salvador, I had the chance to talk to the director of the only art museum in the country. He started by telling us some of their recent history, including a brutal 10 year civil war, followed by the crime and delinquency that still grips the nation.
I asked him what could curb the violence, and without hesitation he said, "more art."
El Slavador Part 4
Oscar Romero is the national hero of El Salvador. He was a Catholic priest/activist who stood up to the oppressive, U.S.-backed Guatemalan government in the 70's. He cared deeply about all of his followers and the people of El Salvador. In 1980 he was killed by an assassin (trained by the U.S.) while he was conducting mass.
In as San Salvador university you can find a moving display of Romero's clothing, books, and artifacts, some of them blood-stained from the violence. But most affecting of all is his Bible that was torn through the middle by a stray bullet. It looks like a metal speed boat had cut through the pages, leaving a widening wake behind.
I'm not religious, but I might have been for a moment or two as I stood and stared.
In as San Salvador university you can find a moving display of Romero's clothing, books, and artifacts, some of them blood-stained from the violence. But most affecting of all is his Bible that was torn through the middle by a stray bullet. It looks like a metal speed boat had cut through the pages, leaving a widening wake behind.
I'm not religious, but I might have been for a moment or two as I stood and stared.
El Salvador Part 3
In both Tanzania and Ecuador, the people would often fawn over a white visitor from the U.S. They wanted my friendship, they wanted me as a guest, they wanted me as a connection to the richest country in the world. A lot of it was their kindness and hospitality, but it often felt like it was a sense of inadequacy that made them glorify me and my country.
Not so in El Salvador. The country is so tough, so (recently) war-torn, so crime-ridden, that the people don't have time to fawn. They don't have the same insecurities, because they've seen to much, and they've survived too much. It's sort of like, "Oh, you're from America? O.K. What else have you got?"
Not so in El Salvador. The country is so tough, so (recently) war-torn, so crime-ridden, that the people don't have time to fawn. They don't have the same insecurities, because they've seen to much, and they've survived too much. It's sort of like, "Oh, you're from America? O.K. What else have you got?"
El Slavador Part 2
In every poor country I've ever been to, you can always find a bland, cheap carbohydrate that makes up the bulk of the diet. In Tanzania it was ugali, a tasteless corn mash. In El Salvador it was a thick, heavy tortilla. In Ecuador it was mostly rice.
Pick your 3rd world country, and then look for their cheap calorie-delivery system.
Pick your 3rd world country, and then look for their cheap calorie-delivery system.
El Slavador Part 1
Being in El Salvador reminded me of an unpleasant fact in a world divided into rich and poor.
Some bellies are very full, some are not.
There's usually enough food to go around.
So why are some bellies empty?
Some bellies are very full, some are not.
There's usually enough food to go around.
So why are some bellies empty?
Ethiopian Food
Lord knows I have tried, but you cannot get good Ethiopian food in Boston or the Boston area.
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