Monthly Archives: August 2023

What’s Going On (Thoughts on a Train)

image: creative commons CC0 license from pixabay The mass of [humans] lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called ‘resignation’ is confirmed desperation. Unconscious despair is concealed even under what are called the games and amusements of [human]kind. There is … Continue reading

Posted in Collapse Watch, How the World Really Works, Illusion of the Separate Self and Free Will, Our Culture / Ourselves | Comments Off on What’s Going On (Thoughts on a Train)

Conditioned Incompetence

“The New Leader Holds Court”, by Midjourney AI; my own prompt Aurélien has been writing lately about how much of the malaise of our crumbling modern systems can be attributed to the incompetence (defined as inability to do the job) of … Continue reading

Posted in Collapse Watch, How the World Really Works, Illusion of the Separate Self and Free Will, Our Culture / Ourselves | 6 Comments

As Fit As I Was In My 20s?

I confess: I hate exercising. I’ve been doing it, on and off, for more than 50 years. Partly this is out of vanity, since I do look better for doing it. And partly it is because I just feel better … Continue reading

Posted in How the World Really Works, Our Culture / Ourselves | 6 Comments

Lost in the Moment

the pictures in this post are Midjourney AI’s attempts to mash-up two selected elements of my Ikigai; other than these three images, Midjourney did not do particularly well; these are my own prompts I’ve written several times on the subject … Continue reading

Posted in How the World Really Works, Illusion of the Separate Self and Free Will | 5 Comments

The Love of Weary Animals

cartoon by Michael Leunig, of course Turn away from your animal kind, Try to leave your body just to live in your mind. Leave your cold cruel Mother Earth behind. Gaia. As if you were your own creation, As if … Continue reading

Posted in Creative Works | 1 Comment

A Scientific Explanation of Nothing (Appearing As Everything)

Midjourney AI’s take on scientists debating the existence of time and free will. Apparently Midjourney is of the impression that all scientists are male. I wonder where it got that idea? ChatGPT did no better with its all-male list of … Continue reading

Posted in How the World Really Works, Illusion of the Separate Self and Free Will | 8 Comments

Links of the Month: August 2023

Midjourney AI’s take on “pointing the finger of blame” You are not responsible. Not for your actions, or your inaction, or anything that has happened or will happen or failed to happen. Not for the world’s fuckedupedness. I’m not saying … Continue reading

Posted in Collapse Watch, How the World Really Works, Our Culture / Ourselves | 1 Comment

Moving Beyond Ideologies

My essay last week attempted to draw together three sets of ideas (those of Aurélien, John Michael Greer and Tyson Yunkaporta) about how and why political collapse is now unfolding. The gist of these ideas is that politics has become … Continue reading

Posted in Collapse Watch, How the World Really Works, Our Culture / Ourselves | 3 Comments

Just Beautiful

screen cap from Ryan Woodward’s award-winning short animation Thought of You About 20 years ago, when I was speaking at an event in the UK, I was asked to pick three adjectives to uniquely* describe myself. After thinking about it, … Continue reading

Posted in How the World Really Works, Our Culture / Ourselves | 8 Comments

“What is the Matter With Young People These Days?”

Pew Research surveys of other countries’ view of China, over time; if you ever doubted the power of propaganda, this should set you straight; thanks to Indi for the link Over the past five decades I have watched the political … Continue reading

Posted in How the World Really Works, Our Culture / Ourselves | 13 Comments