Archive for June, 2007

English teeth

English teeth, English teeth, Shining in the sun. English teeth, happy teeth, Each and every one. Spike Milligan I predict that you are wondering how anyone could have written such a poem. After all, what is more hilarious than English teeth? What nation has worse dental care? Well, clearly the British don’t share your view. […]

My last patient

I have found myself thinking about an episode from ER a lot in the last couple of weeks. The Mark Green character, played by Anthony Edwards, is dying of a brain tumor and working his final shifts. In the episode I am remembering, there is a scene where he takes care of a young girl […]

Talk yurty to me

So here’s another thing I love about California: in almost any area with perhaps the exception of Orange County, you can still find small hippie enclaves just outside the borders of “regular” society. Ever been to a yurt? (Know what one is?) A yurt is an East Asian round latticed tent with a skyhole in […]

Against certainty

One of the most appealing thing about philosophy is its claim of universal jurisdiction. It claims to police the boundaries of the most fundamental of categories, making rulings on issues like what kinds of statements are coherent, what kinds of arguments are valid, what kinds of claims are warranted. All other disciplines of human inquiry […]

Monday open thread

— So, how was your weekend? — I dunno, how was your weekend? &c.

Missing the prom

I was not the best person to go with my son to rent a tux for Prom. My husband would have been nonchalant and price conscious. For him it would have been another errand like buying new air conditioner filters or bread. For me it was complicated. But then, my husband went to both his Proms and I did […]

On seizing the Thursday

Okay, I’ll bite. My new left shoulder. Sounding my barbaric yawp since 1970.

Thursday open thread: State of nature edition

Trust me, you’ll want to watch the whole thing. Via Unfogged.

On not seizing the day

Here’s a conversation I have fairly often with my writing students: Me: So the point of your essay is, what, “carpe diem”? What does that mean to you, exactly? Student: It means “seize the day.” Me: I know that. But what do you mean by “seize the day”? Student: You know. Like, living life to […]

The script, part 2

So basically I promised a second part and then realized all it was going to consist of was an extension of the metaphor from the first part. Read it or skip it as you like. Like Ruben said in a comment, talking about Friends is talking about “growing up, selling out, and how pop culture […]