Sunday, August 21, 2016
The
title says it all – Mike Judge was planning to release spoof campaign ads
featuring the hilarious U.S.
Saturday, August 20, 2016
This
blog post contains a curious comic illustrating Neil Postman’s fear that “Huxley,
not Orwell, was right” in describing the totalitarianism of the future. Of
course, with the growth of government and corporate surveillance, it has become
a lot harder to dismiss Orwell. Postman was the most famous media critic – and skeptic
– since Marshal McLuhan.
Saturday, July 30, 2016
This article tries to explain “why apocalyptic fiction and film haven’t caught on in
the Middle Kingdom.” It makes a curious comparison to American mass (and
high-brow) culture, rife with dystopian visions. It also suggests things may be
changing, but quite slowly…
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
The
strapline for this article says “the Enlightenment philosopher’s attack on
cosmopolitan élites now seems prophetic.” The piece also suggests Rousseau knew
from personal experience haw hard it is to resists temptation without fear of
God. The author of the profile is a famous Indian writer – and I assume the
title comes from the editors.
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
A contemporary American conservative
argues that John Stuart Mill’s understanding of liberty and the harm principle is
a poor guide in addressing today’s drug epidemic.
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
A
hopeful piece on one of my favorite topics – the dystopian imagination. Here is
a brief quote that sums it all up: “As with Orwell, Bradbury recognised that
tyranny is at its most potent when it’s superficially most benevolent, when it
dresses up coercion and censorship in kindly, caring language.” On my laptop, the
article ends with a stark pro-Brexit ad. If this is targeted advertising, I
guess they need to fix their algorithm – for the next campaign.
Saturday, June 18, 2016
Artistic
masterpieces are sometimes born under the most unusual of circumstances. This
piece describes the peculiar writers’ workshop that 200 years ago gave birth to
Mary Shelley’s literary masterpiece – when she was not yet 19.
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