2004.08.31
Were we all like children, forever, in that time before the Cro-Magnon burst of intellectualization set in? Granted, the ballooning of abstract powers of reason are probably what got us through the last Ice Age. Still, it is that same ability to shift our focus from the eternal present to the never-never land of self-referential abstraction that brought us the Egyptian priestly class, holy wars, the caste system, Machiavelli and trial lawyers.
Whining of the Moment
Weird...I just installed the Google toolbar which shows you the 0-to-10 Page Ranking for whatever you're looking at. Old standbys alienbill.com and loveblender.com both get a 5, and even Johnny-Come-Latelies like kirkjerk.com and mortals.be get a 3, but kisrael.com pegs the meter at...zero. What's up with that? I think it has more incoming links than any of the other sites...am I being blocked for some reason?
Culture Oddness of the Moment
Slowly I turned...Step by step....Inch by inch...the weird thing isn't the background of the story so much as it's one of those things you hear repeatedly but only once in a great while.