Julia, #69: Two of my friends rescued a very odd rabbit from the streets the day after Easter. They noticed it on their drive home -- obviously domesticated, following an outdoor cat that wanted to be left alone. After their fliers and calls to the Humane Society didn't turn up any prior owners, they kept it and named it Arthropod.
Its enchantment with cats of all kinds has led us to speculate whether it is really an alien scientist that chose the wrong body for its investigations. I've watched it cuddle up to Tina, a fat orange tabby, and flinch violently as she (absentmindedly, I'm sure) gave it some cursory licks during her regular grooming. It was fascinating to see the war between its affection and its hardwired prey impulses -- jumping back, then sneaking up to cuddle again, even pressing closer demandingly. Now they keep it in a cage much of the day so that Tina can have her space.
Greg London@33,
As I see it, the war between physicalism and dualism is rooted in religion, but it goes further than a turf war over mind ownership. If your mind is entirely made of atoms (so the theory goes), then there's nothing to salvage and send to heaven when you die. Therefore there must be an immaterial component of your consciousness that is preserved after the rest of your body decays.
And then there's the subject of free will vs. determinism, which I enjoy as a dilettante but am thoroughly unqualified to discuss.
Surly Ben's Cooking with Anne is a gorgeous, sparing one-off comic in the ostensible form of a recipe. Dicebox by Jenn Lee is an ongoing, vaguely futuristic comic about two strong and interesting women.
As far as paper comics are concerned, I'm partial to:
Action Philosophers - Brief biographies of everyone from Descartes to Ayn Rand, portrayed anachronistically in silly costumes like eccentric superheroes. (I hope this doesn't exclude it.)
The Walking Dead - One reason I think zombies are so popular is, everyone thinks they could stand a reasonable chance. This series displays just how profoundly damaging a world-wide outbreak would be, not only for individuals' lives but for culture, society, and sanity.
The Nightly News - A six-part comic about a fundamentalist, secular cult that starts killing popular media figures with bombs and sniper rifles. It's intensely difficult to figure out whether the author has chosen a side.
A friend of mine has just pointed out the date of the NYT article in question: January 14, 2004. I only read the date at the top-left of the webpage, which is, in fact, today's.
How embarrassing. Sorry, everyone.
Beth@16: Thank you. It must be a very strange coincidence, but these things do happen.
The New York Times is announcing the death of another Robert Jordan, a "leading American bridge player". I can't get through to the Dragonmount website -- too much traffic. Is it possible there's been a misunderstanding?
| Year | Number of comments posted |
|---|---|
| 2007 | 7 |
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