2007-08-29

A link, a valedictory, two observations and a grumble

LINK: A bunch of trolls cogently suggest a materialist viewpoint, although I'd disagree with their overestimation of the extent to which an "ordinary person" can tell what's material reality.

VALEDICTORY: The Beasthouse is closing down. Mad Larry says to copy and paste all the good bits ASAP, and who are we to argue with Grandfather Paradox his own self?

OBSERVATION (1): The "living goddesses" of India bear a striking and important resemblance to the movie stars of Hollywood, in the way that they embody cultural archetypes but only so long as they are hedged about with all manner of taboos. (Of course, the difference is that when a Hollywood star breaks the taboos, if they do it enough they can turn into cultural demons rather than gods, as Mss. Hilton and Lohan demonstrate.

OBSERVATION (2): You want to know what a cultural archetype is? Look at what people turn up to costume parties dressed as. Sometimes these are actual people - Marilyn Monroe, Bela Lugosi and Tor Johnson can testify.

GRUMBLE: I know full well I promised some guest postings a month or three ago. What happened to those? Y'know, I'm kind of wondering that myself.