The monopolist: Elon Musk’s delicate balancing act

First published on 31 October 2022. It is often said that Elon Musk is reckless. Is he? Middle-class people sometimes claim it’s strange to ‘Tweet’ if you are that famous. Isn’t all the online advice to avoid controversy — to stick to the party line? Even get-rich-quick schemes maintain controversy is the fastest way to … Continue reading The monopolist: Elon Musk’s delicate balancing act →

Love is Loss

So many people Hate me The fallen, the foes, the free Love they have But not for me It’s my power they seek Alas Is there anyone who wants Me? Begin again? From King Arthur (2004) All of me Every stupid blog post Every WebArchive-d offense Every defensive sublime Every lost dream and broken heart … Continue reading Love is Loss →

Youth

The vibrant colours of childhood grow into the dull monotones of adulthood. What was is now lost, and what remains is a pale, horrifying imitation of what was. Light in the dark. Only one thing can free us from this living death — The energy of youth. A new beginning. Begin?

The birth of the market state

First published in June 2022. In the beginning, there was power. This was the power to sort and arrange the layers of reality into a complex whole, reassembling what had been divided into something resembling unity. In Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan, the 'real unity' of the state plays this role, uniting the divided 'Multitude' into a … Continue reading The birth of the market state →

The philosophy of life: Arendt, Heidegger, Foucault

First published on 6 July 2022. In the late 1920s, Hannah Arendt helped fellow philosopher Martin Heidegger on a book that took the intellectual world by storm. Being and Time (or Sein und Zeit in the original German) contended that the human being, Dasein, was a being that took its own being into question. But … Continue reading The philosophy of life: Arendt, Heidegger, Foucault →

The counterrevolution to Blackpink is here, and it’s a little bit awful

So, Blackpink is the revolution. Why? Because the counterrevolution is already here. After Blackpink followed the trailblazing artistry of Kanye West, now K-Pop bands are taking after Jacob Collier’s neo-jazz counterrevolution to the romantic excesses of hip hop in Drake. But alas, the course correction is tired and the jazz/romantic era is over. Blackpink is … Continue reading The counterrevolution to Blackpink is here, and it’s a little bit awful →

Tenet, trade, and time

I have previously analysed the film Tenet from two angles: political economy, and philosophy. I have viewed the film through the lens of István Hont’s Jealousy of Trade, on the one hand, and the prism of Martin Heidegger’s Being and Time, on the other. Now I would like to consider Tenet as a totality: through … Continue reading Tenet, trade, and time →

Time of Ending

This world is ending Dying Robert Frost’s poem. The last Elizabeth age Eclipsed By the moon The dark side Has won All is lost But there is one who can Save Us all His name is Salvator Mundi He only asks for Power For you I was entrusted With the task Of giving power To … Continue reading Time of Ending →

New Day

There is something Something I cannot recall Sunset in California (Wikimedia Commons). That you were my all That what I lost was found That when I hit the ground Was it you? Who are you? Who am I? Where am I? What is this place? When will I be free? How do I get out? … Continue reading New Day →

Ending = Beginning

You still don’t get it You think you made me Artwork by Thomas Moran. But you destroyed me I am nothing My life is nothing You killed me This wound will never heal It will fester It will grow Until it consumes me I cannot stop the inevitable I am stuck I cannot escape God, … Continue reading Ending = Beginning →