Metaphysics, violence and pitiful non-questioning graffiti

J.H.G.: You’ve had more experiences with women than I Also, seems weird to go into stock trading for women Andrew money, power, women, darryl hannah in the oliver stone film Wall Street Mary Ruggerio was my Darryl Hannah she was a movie star J.H.G. Yeah, it always seemed coke-powered I never found Wall Street to be depicting anything enticing. Interesting how many people took the opposite message from what was intended I remember Heather Lynch Andrew I was also enticed by Hugh Grant's chracter in Woody Allen's Small Time Crooks J.H.G. And of course, I knew Missy Andrew I was also in love with a prostitute named Tangerine. J.H.G. How’d you meet Tangerine? Were you a client? Andrew Yes, I found her ad in the back pages of the Village Voice after I got back from Basic Training. J.H.G. You’re kind of a paradox; do you shift back and forth between Catholic moral traditionalism and sexual permissiveness or do you have an unconventional understanding of religion? Andrew I'm not certain (I lack insight into myself, in this respect) i have written about your specific concerns in your last statement on my blog in the most recent posting J.H.G. So you name these childhood crushes on your blog? Andrew yes J.H.G. Do they know? Andrew no i just posted it i am deeply influenced by dostoevsky, nietzsche and henry miller those are my three main influences i am also schizophrenic, like antonin artaud, dont forget that ! J.H.G. I never forget that! MAR 31ST, 8:33PM Andrew it explains why i thought of myself as "Superman" and felt myself to be of a divine nature of sorts.... Seen by J.H.G. at 1:25pm 8:50PM Andrew I'm going to see a movie in about three hours from now, called "I Can Only Imagine." My mother called me yesterday and told me she wants to see this movie and would I go with her ? I said, "Sure, of course" as I hadn't seen any of the previews, reviews or advertising for this movie or of its promotion or trailers. I could easily solve this informational deficit by opening another browser window and searching for the movie, but I prefer to go in tabula rasa. It's more fun that way, I think. My mother also wants to see the new film about Ted Kennedy's car accient that killed Mary Jo Kopecknie, called "Chappaquiddick" (I think I spelled that correctly). I think we ought to see that one as soon as possible, as I might not play for ore than one or two weeks, especially here in Kennedy country! The movie I Can Almost Imagine was great, it brought tears to my eyes. My mother and I are going to the movies again next Tuesday, to see Chappaquiddick, about the scandal that sort of ruined Ted Kennedy's political career. I don't really know the history so well, was he a viable Presidential candidate before the events the film depicts? What is your opinion, I am interested. 10:58AM Andrew Hi, J.H. ! Andrew I have almost finished the complete short stories of Guy de Maupassant - looking to start reading Ford Madox Ford's The Good Soldier online next and, as far as paperbacks go, I read the first essay in Jacques Derrida's Writing and Difference, which I understand a lot better than when I read it the previous time, which was in my early twenties. Andrew In terms of music, I am currently listening to Eric Clapton's last release, called "I Still Do", which I somehow forgot to play yesterday - to be followed by the Grateful Dead's "American Beauty" CD, which I play in the morning every other Friday. 4:56PM J.H. Hey Andrew. I've never been into the Dead. I like Phish. I mostly listen to classic rock/oldies radio for 70s/80s/90s and Pearl Jam on Sirius Yankees looked weak! How about the Mets and Ohtanhi? Seen by Justin Heiferman at 4:56pm 6:47PM Andrew I got to see the two Angels games where Ohtani hit home runs, as they were on the MLB Network. He is great ! I am really excited to think the Angels could be in the post-season this year, they have not made the post-season more or less since they won the World Series in 2005. Andrew I like Phish a lot, in fact I am listening to them for the next two weeks straight, I have several of their CDs lined up, including the triple-disc release called "Live in Brooklyn" - that's my favorite - along with another live release called "Slip Stitch & Pass." I have been sitting on these discs (not playing them) for the last three years ! Andrew I think this is the year of the Mets (and the Red Sox) - the Yankees are "dirty" players - I was glad that Joe Kelly treated Tyler Austin like a punching bag. LOL! ========================== Dear Jacob, "I'm One" and "The Real Me" are my favorite songs by The Who, so Quadrophenia is probably my favorite album. (I bought it in 2016 but I still haven't played it.) 1:53PM Rabbi Goldfarb What about Who By Numbers? Andrew That's YOUR favorite, I understand. I also can say that I finally have a real liking for Who's Next, not to mention Tommy. Rabbi Goldfarb I grew up with Sarah listening to those albums Seen by R M. Goldfarb at 1:57pm 7:11PM Andrew Interesting. My edition of Tommy comes with a second disc, a live version of the entire album (with the exception of one song), performed in Canada - very powerful. Towards the end of last year, I had planned to collect the Pete Townshend solo albums I had yet to purchase, including Psychoderelict and The Iron Man and White City, as well as the three Scoop double-disc sets, but I decided to put it off. (I did, however, purchase a used version of White City: A Novel because it appears to be going out of print. I just checked Amazon and it is available as an import only.) Those are really my favorite albums of all time, the albums that came out in the mid- to late-1980s, albums that I acquired while shopping with my mother, mostly at Pic-a-Disc in Nyack, NY: when I hear Radio Kaos by Roger Waters, Sentimental Hygiene by Warren Zevon, Workbook by Bob Mould or Gaudi by The Alan Parsons Project, I remember my childhood growing up in Rockland County, New York. ==================================== Dear Marcel, I have been re-considering Ivar's inclusion of the Sermon on the Mount in his course in Western Philosophy, in the light of a recently discovered series of quotes related to the primacy of ethical thinking, which I feel could also inspire you to do the good work that you do. Jacques Derrida makes use of the following texts by Martin Heidegger and Emmanuel Levinas, a long amalgam of quotes within quotes, a segment of which runs as follows: "If for example there is an ontology or the Logos of the comprehension of the Being of beings, it is in that already the comprehension of Being is said to the existent, who again arises behind the theme in which he is presented. This 'saying to the other' -- this relationship to the other as interlocutor, this relation with an existent -- precedes all ontology; it is the ultimate relation in Being. Ontology presupposes metaphysics, [and] prior to the unveiling of Being in general, as the basis of knowledge and meaning in Being, there is a relationship with the existent which is expressed; before the ontological level, the ethical level. Ethics is therefore metaphysics, and morality is therefore the basis of first philosophy." What do you think of this quote ? Now what do you think of Heidegger as a Christian philosopher ? Best wishes, abn===================Andrew, when I read Heidegger in seminary, I asked the professor what he understood H's 'Being' to mean. I don't recall exactly what he said, but I do remember that it involved grappling with the non-intuitive product of intense systemic intellectual effort. After 30 years reflection I would say two things: philosophy at this level requires serious work, context, meaning-making from precedents. To fairly understand H on his terms requires an elite effort of systemic study. I think H appreciates that the Christian faith/practice gets to the big, foundational questions and truths, (I think he calls that "Being,") but instead of being intellectually "woke" to get there, Christians get there by way of accessible moral ideas (Christian "ethics") and so Christianity makes these big notions accessible to all by serious Christian practice. Christian discipline is an on-ramp to H's Being. Being for the masses.---------------My response: Got ist Zein, ist Dasein nach der Psyche