So Brian and I have started watching the American remake of the BBC programme 'Life on Mars'. In it, Lisa Bonet plays Maya Daniels, the modern-day girlfriend of Sam Tyler, a detective who has mysteriously traveled back in time to 1973.
So my question is: if Lisa Bonet is 'Maya Daniels' in Sam Tyler's world, does that mean he lives in an alternate dimension, where the Cosby Show never existed? And if so, does Obama still get to be president there?
Take that, Bishop Berkeley.
Showing posts with label philosophy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label philosophy. Show all posts
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Aaaaaand Scene.
Brian and I are walking down the street. A man walks by in stylized safari getup, including combat boots with the pant legs tucked in, and a wide-brimmed hat.
Me: Do you think he's a Man in the Yellow Hat fetishist?
B: What?
Me: That man (points exaggeratedly with eyes). Do you think he's a Man in the Yellow Hat fetishist.
B: Because he's got a hat, he's a man in hat fetishist?
Me: Man in the Yellow Hat. Didn't you ever read Curious George?
B: I'm familiar with the concept, but not really, no.
Me: Well, the Man in the Yellow Hat is his friend. He's an explorer. He finds him in the jungle.
B: Curious George finds the man, or the man finds George?
Me: They kind of find each other. And then the man takes George home and then he drinks ether and paints a jungle scene on his bedroom wall.
(beat)
B: So you think because he's a man in a yellow hat, he's a Man in the Yellow Hat fetishist? Does it work that way?
Me: If he was wearing leather chaps, we'd say he was a leather fetishist. Ergo, man in yellow hat, Man in the Yellow Hat Fetish.
B: But we wouldn't say the man in leather chaps was a Man in the Leather Chaps fetishist.
Me: (disgruntled silence)
Me: You're an obtuse dingbat fetishist.
B: (wraps his arms around me) Which is why I like you so much.
Me: Do you think he's a Man in the Yellow Hat fetishist?
B: What?
Me: That man (points exaggeratedly with eyes). Do you think he's a Man in the Yellow Hat fetishist.
B: Because he's got a hat, he's a man in hat fetishist?
Me: Man in the Yellow Hat. Didn't you ever read Curious George?
B: I'm familiar with the concept, but not really, no.
Me: Well, the Man in the Yellow Hat is his friend. He's an explorer. He finds him in the jungle.
B: Curious George finds the man, or the man finds George?
Me: They kind of find each other. And then the man takes George home and then he drinks ether and paints a jungle scene on his bedroom wall.
(beat)
B: So you think because he's a man in a yellow hat, he's a Man in the Yellow Hat fetishist? Does it work that way?
Me: If he was wearing leather chaps, we'd say he was a leather fetishist. Ergo, man in yellow hat, Man in the Yellow Hat Fetish.
B: But we wouldn't say the man in leather chaps was a Man in the Leather Chaps fetishist.
Me: (disgruntled silence)
Me: You're an obtuse dingbat fetishist.
B: (wraps his arms around me) Which is why I like you so much.
Monday, December 11, 2006
On the killing of darlings
The hardest thing about writing a syllabus is the editing down. Last semester, I had the gall to actually edit the Iliad (and I questioned throughout the course whether I'd done the right thing, though I'm happy I included all the supporting texts I did).
But this time it's even worse. There are stacks of texts I consider essential to a course in Classical Philosophy, and only a finite number of classes in the semester. Must I sacrifice the pre-Socratics in order to include Seneca and Epicurus? But the pre-Socratics are so nutty and fun! And how can we read the Republic in its entirety if it means sacraficing either the Crito or the Apology? And what about the Phaedrus (my absolute favorite)? Aaaaugh!
So, brilliant readers: what texts do you think are absolutely essential readings in Classical philosophy? What shouldn't students be allowed to live without?
But this time it's even worse. There are stacks of texts I consider essential to a course in Classical Philosophy, and only a finite number of classes in the semester. Must I sacrifice the pre-Socratics in order to include Seneca and Epicurus? But the pre-Socratics are so nutty and fun! And how can we read the Republic in its entirety if it means sacraficing either the Crito or the Apology? And what about the Phaedrus (my absolute favorite)? Aaaaugh!
So, brilliant readers: what texts do you think are absolutely essential readings in Classical philosophy? What shouldn't students be allowed to live without?
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