Philosophy Now Forum

Henry Miller: "Back in the old shit hole, New York, where I was born."

davidm wrote: ↑Fri Oct 13, 2017 6:57 pm Henry Miller: "Back in the old shit hole, New York, where I was born."

Love that accent.

Great sense of humour (VT likes it spelled that way).

“As I remember it now an eight cylinder car fires 2,3,5,7 with one cam and 3,4,6,8 with the other. I may be wrong on the figures but the word cam is what interested me. It's a beautiful word and when he tried to point it out to me I liked it still better - the cam. It has a down-to-earth quality about it, like piston and gear. Even an ignoramus like myself knows that piston, just from the sound of the word, means something that has to do with the driving force, that it's intimately connected with the locomotion of the vehicle. I still have to see a piston per se, but I believe in pistons even though I should never have the chance to see one cold and isolate.”
- The Air Conditioned Nightmare

"I had heard a lot about thermostats, and I knew there was one in the car somewhere, but just where, and just what it looked like, I didn't know. I evaded all references to the subject as skillfully as I could. Again I was ashamed not to know where and what this piece of apparatus was. Starting out from New York, after receiving a brief explanation about the functioning or non-functioning of the thermostat, I had expected the shutters of the hood to fly open automatically when the heat gauge read 180 or 190. To me thermostat meant something like a cuckoo in a cuckoo clock. My eye was constantly on the gauge, waiting for it to hit 180. Rattner, my then side-kick, used to get a bit irritated watching me watch the gauge. Several times we went off the road because of this obsession on my part. But I always expected that some time or other an invisible man would release the trap and the cuckoo would fly out and then bango! the shutters would open up, the air circulate between the legs, and the motor begin to purr like a musical cat. Of course the damned shutter never did fly open. And when the gauge did finally hit 190 the next thing I knew was that the radiator was boiling over and the nearest town was forty miles away."
- The Air Conditioned Nightmare

Walker wrote: ↑Fri Oct 13, 2017 7:45 pm

davidm wrote: ↑Fri Oct 13, 2017 6:57 pm Henry Miller: "Back in the old shit hole, New York, where I was born."

Love that accent.

Great sense of humour (VT likes it spelled that way).

“As I remember it now an eight cylinder car fires 2,3,5,7 with one cam and 3,4,6,8 with the other. I may be wrong on the figures but the word cam is what interested me. It's a beautiful word and when he tried to point it out to me I liked it still better - the cam. It has a down-to-earth quality about it, like piston and gear. Even an ignoramus like myself knows that piston, just from the sound of the word, means something that has to do with the driving force, that it's intimately connected with the locomotion of the vehicle. I still have to see a piston per se, but I believe in pistons even though I should never have the chance to see one cold and isolate.”
- The Air Conditioned Nightmare

"I had heard a lot about thermostats, and I knew there was one in the car somewhere, but just where, and just what it looked like, I didn't know. I evaded all references to the subject as skillfully as I could. Again I was ashamed not to know where and what this piece of apparatus was. Starting out from New York, after receiving a brief explanation about the functioning or non-functioning of the thermostat, I had expected the shutters of the hood to fly open automatically when the heat gauge read 180 or 190. To me thermostat meant something like a cuckoo in a cuckoo clock. My eye was constantly on the gauge, waiting for it to hit 180. Rattner, my then side-kick, used to get a bit irritated watching me watch the gauge. Several times we went off the road because of this obsession on my part. But I always expected that some time or other an invisible man would release the trap and the cuckoo would fly out and then bango! the shutters would open up, the air circulate between the legs, and the motor begin to purr like a musical cat. Of course the damned shutter never did fly open. And when the gauge did finally hit 190 the next thing I knew was that the radiator was boiling over and the nearest town was forty miles away."
- The Air Conditioned Nightmare

Henry Miller learning to drive around age 50.

vegetariantaxidermy wrote: ↑Fri Oct 13, 2017 12:25 am


American idiomination is galloping across the planet like the final stages of cancer, getting into every nook and cranny. There are a multitude of reasons, but clearly the internet and its obvious bias towards the US is the driving force behind its escalation in recent years. The US has the monopoly and the big money to do it. Of course this is immoral-- to use something as all-encompassing as the internet (which happens to belong to everyone) as a tool to destroy everyone else's culture and unique identity except your own questionable one. 'Resistance is futile' as the Borgs like to say. Hmmm. How appropriate... That should make America happy. Signs are that in just one more generation the entire population of the earth will be as moronic as its own, give or take a few individuals, unless something major happens eg. the idiocracy manages to start a nuclear war that sends the survivors (if there are any) back to the caves.

I fully agree.

It would not be too far of a stretch to state: American Culture is simply technological based hedonism whose "democratic" standard places emphasis on the "stomach" over the "mind" as the primary reasoning faculty.

If we look at the nature of "stupidity" it really breaks down to one emphasizing sensory impulses over the rational faculties. "I feel this sensation in my body, therefore it must be the "truth"" is the moral axiom of the modern world.

Heidegger made the observation that in the future (he wrote this in the 30's or 40's) all civilization will be run by "tool using brutes". The nature of modern technology is strictly the eradication of the human element's divine spark of reasoning in turn for replacing it with bestial nature. The problem with "beasts", if you ever grew up on or observed a farm, is that they are guided by appetites and "distractions". This emphasis on "distraction" over "meaning" (or centering/balancing oneself and their corresponding environment) will inevitably lead to a great degree of chaos whether it be through war or simple relationship breakdowns as the nature of distraction is inevitably rooted in conflict of various degrees.

The inability for kids, heck even 30 somethings, to be able to focus on a simple task already gives evidence to how "torn up" psychologically and emotionally the newer generations are. This inability to focus, or maintain a unified way of observing, not only results in the "idiocracy" we are observing, but it also paves the way for future conflicts.

Stupidity and war are bedfellows.

vegetariantaxidermy wrote: ↑Fri Oct 13, 2017 12:25 amAmerican idiomination is galloping across the planet like the final stages of cancer, getting into every nook and cranny. There are a multitude of reasons, but clearly the internet and its obvious bias towards the US is the driving force behind its escalation in recent years. The US has the monopoly and the big money to do it. Of course this is immoral-- to use something as all-encompassing as the internet (which happens to belong to everyone) as a tool to destroy everyone else's culture and unique identity except your own questionable one.

I don't see how that is 'destroying' everyone else's culture. It's not like we're prying it from anyone's hands, or putting a gun to anyone's head forcing them to talk about America. I would say those wishing to force diversity are the ones aiming to destroy cultures. There are a multitude of reasons why the majority of online news publications are fixed largely on US affairs, if that specifically is something you're referring to. I mean, we just have a larger population than most other countries, as one of the main factors.

'Signs are that in just one more generation the entire population of the earth will be as moronic as its own, give or take a few individuals, unless something major happens eg. the idiocracy manages to start a nuclear war that sends the survivors (if there are any) back to the caves.

What are these "signs" you speak of? I know it sounds like a cute meme to pretend like the general populous is getting dumber, and it's become such a cliche to say that everyone just parrots the idea and assume it's true - the reality is that the average IQ in America, and as far as I know the developed world in general in places like the UK, is actually on the rise.

Sir-Sister-of-Suck wrote: ↑Wed Oct 18, 2017 8:13 am

vegetariantaxidermy wrote: ↑Fri Oct 13, 2017 12:25 amAmerican idiomination is galloping across the planet like the final stages of cancer, getting into every nook and cranny. There are a multitude of reasons, but clearly the internet and its obvious bias towards the US is the driving force behind its escalation in recent years. The US has the monopoly and the big money to do it. Of course this is immoral-- to use something as all-encompassing as the internet (which happens to belong to everyone) as a tool to destroy everyone else's culture and unique identity except your own questionable one.

I don't see how that is 'destroying' everyone else's culture. It's not like we're prying it from anyone's hands, or putting a gun to anyone's head forcing them to talk about America. I would say those wishing to force diversity are the ones aiming to destroy cultures. There are a multitude of reasons why the majority of online news publications are fixed largely on US affairs, if that specifically is something you're referring to. I mean, we just have a larger population than most other countries, as one of the main factors.

'Signs are that in just one more generation the entire population of the earth will be as moronic as its own, give or take a few individuals, unless something major happens eg. the idiocracy manages to start a nuclear war that sends the survivors (if there are any) back to the caves.

What are these "signs" you speak of? I know it sounds like a cute meme to pretend like the general populous is getting dumber, and it's become such a cliche to say that everyone just parrots the idea and assume it's true - the reality is that the average IQ in America, and as far as I know the developed world in general in places like the UK, is actually on the rise.

Do you know where the whole 'diversity' 'multiculturalism' and 'Progressivism' movement started? Where was 'dumbing down' invented? What is IQ? Is that a scientific measurement?

vegetariantaxidermy wrote: ↑Wed Oct 18, 2017 8:59 am

Sir-Sister-of-Suck wrote: ↑Wed Oct 18, 2017 8:13 am

vegetariantaxidermy wrote: ↑Fri Oct 13, 2017 12:25 amAmerican idiomination is galloping across the planet like the final stages of cancer, getting into every nook and cranny. There are a multitude of reasons, but clearly the internet and its obvious bias towards the US is the driving force behind its escalation in recent years. The US has the monopoly and the big money to do it. Of course this is immoral-- to use something as all-encompassing as the internet (which happens to belong to everyone) as a tool to destroy everyone else's culture and unique identity except your own questionable one.

I don't see how that is 'destroying' everyone else's culture. It's not like we're prying it from anyone's hands, or putting a gun to anyone's head forcing them to talk about America. I would say those wishing to force diversity are the ones aiming to destroy cultures. There are a multitude of reasons why the majority of online news publications are fixed largely on US affairs, if that specifically is something you're referring to. I mean, we just have a larger population than most other countries, as one of the main factors.

'Signs are that in just one more generation the entire population of the earth will be as moronic as its own, give or take a few individuals, unless something major happens eg. the idiocracy manages to start a nuclear war that sends the survivors (if there are any) back to the caves.

What are these "signs" you speak of? I know it sounds like a cute meme to pretend like the general populous is getting dumber, and it's become such a cliche to say that everyone just parrots the idea and assume it's true - the reality is that the average IQ in America, and as far as I know the developed world in general in places like the UK, is actually on the rise.

Do you know where the whole 'diversity' 'multiculturalism' and 'Progressivism' movement started? Where was 'dumbing down' invented? What is IQ? Is that a scientific measurement?

I don't see what any but the last two those questions have to do with what I just said.

If your implied answer to most of those questions is "America", I still don't see what it has to do with what I just said.