Barry Graham's Blog, page 21

Christmas Viewing for Socialists & Grinches

My friend M.V. Moorhead once compiled a list of 12 twisted Christmas films. He included Beavis and Butt-Head’s It’s a Miserable Life, which I recall watching with him many years ago. I recommend watching it back to back with the film it parodies, It’s a Wonderful Life, which W. Andrew Ewell sees as a critique of capitalism, a reading I agree with. By watching these two films, I think you can get a concise and accurate look at the U.S. pathology in the 20th Century, and a look at where we are...

Tanka

so many songs about moonlight
and there is no such thing
only sunlight bouncing off the moon
onto the light rail platform
and people waiting

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thesunshinesushi:like…no way?This reminds me of how I don’t...

thesunshinesushi:

like…no way?

This reminds me of how I don’t understand why in public discourse “hard working” is a compliment (”hard-working familes,”“hard-working Americans,” etc.). Why should living be hard?

Slavoj Žižek: ‘We are all basically evil, egotistical, disgusting’

Slavoj Žižek: ‘We are all basically evil, egotistical, disgusting’:

I love Zizek.

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What Trump’s Latest Picks Mean for the Ag Industry | WIRED

What Trump’s Latest Picks Mean for the Ag Industry | WIRED:

On Wednesday, the incoming chief executive showed his willingness to make good on his promises to keep ag exports booming and gut environmental regulations on farms. Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, Trump’s pick to serve as ambassador to China, has been promoting trade between his state’s massive hog and soybean farms and China since the 1980s, when Branstad served the first of his two stints as governor. Then there’s Scott Pruitt, Trump’s...

Matthieu Ricard’s Journey to Compassion

Matthieu Ricard’s Journey to Compassion

A Move to Scotland, Zen, & a Note on Uncertainty

I’m preparing to return to Glasgow, Scotland, to a city I left in 1988, a country I left in 1995. In the dark light of the election, the U.S. has become a foreign country to me, and in a sense I’m moving to another foreign country. Everything is in flux, and I have no idea what’s ahead.

There’s a name for that. It’s called “life.”

My life is no more uncertain right now than at any other time. Things are always in a state of uncertainty and flux. It&rsqu...

BroadSnark | My Two Cents on Getting Involved in Movements and Activism

BroadSnark | My Two Cents on Getting Involved in Movements and Activism