The refusal of mere humans to place all their hopes upon the promise of life after death ...
When governments of old tired of spending lots of resources to beat the public into submission, they created the court priest, who promoted a theology of obedience. Modern governments, by contrast, maintain power by exaggerating crises (or crying "wolf" about non-crises) -- and clamoring for "solutions" that would give them even greater amounts of power and resources. Both responses are propaganda strategies that exploit the public's psychological insecurities for the benefit of the rulers:
"From top to bottom, the government wants us to be afraid, needs us to be afraid, invests greatly in making us afraid," writes Senior Fellow Robert Higgs, in an insightful new article, "Fear: The Foundation of Every Government's Power." How Rulers Exploit Fear
Art of Living & Literature Across Frontiers: It's A Trend Piece!
As they explore the torrid lives of prep school students, three novelists follow in the tradition of 'The Catcher in the Rye.'
First-time novelist Colleen Curran knew she wanted to write about teen sex but then set her book in what would appear to be the most staid environment possible: an all-girls' private school in the Midwest.
While that may seem counterintuitive, it could very well prove to be a stroke of brilliance. Prep schools have become fiction's "new black." Following close on the heels of fellow newcomer Curtis Sittenfeld's wildly successful "Prep," and just more than a year after Tobias Wolff's "Old School" hit bestseller lists, Curran's Catholic school girls join a coming-of-age genre that hasn't seen such attention since the 1950s, when "The Catcher in the Rye" and "A Separate Peace" were published.
• As we know well, in journalism, three of anything makes a trend [A profile of Umberto Eco. Umberto Eco has made a name - and fortune ; Cultural critics lose power: a dark time for the arts, or a new age? Critical condition]
• · Do desperate housewives make better neighbors? Wisteria Lane: Sometimes neighborliness is a pain in the neck ; Pearls grow in oysters to soothe irritation; the high art of the West grew pearl-like in Christendom around an abrasion it could not heal: the refusal of mere humans to place all their hopes upon the promise of life after death Why the beautiful is not the good: clipping the angels' wings; Forgive the pun, but clothes are not immaterial - Why some people’s appearance receives more attention Bad Moves: Don't You Look Pretty Today
• · · A look at what real men do nowadays In praise of noodling ; A nearly naked woman can sell a hamburger. A nearly naked man never could Baaaaad to the Bone: Paris Hilton
• · · · Angus Macqueen on Amaranta Wright's depressing story of global markets and multinationals' greed, Ripped and Torn. Ripped and Torn: Levi's, Latin America and the Blue Jean Dream An anagram for evil ; One calls 'barbarism' whatever he is not accustomed to. - Montaigne, On Cannibalism. Cannibalism and Human Sacrifice
• · · · · 'Gentlemen do not steal the ideas of others.' Oh yeah? Hot Property: The Stealing of ideas in an Age of Globalization ; A Day at the Brain Spa
• · · · · · It's an issue all across the world, and in The Korea Times Kim Ki-tae reports that Online, Offline Booksellers Lock Horns ; James Callan's article from the Daily Telegraph on literary weblogs and their (possible) significance, The influence of the litblog, is finally available online Who reads "blogs"?