Warning: Bricolage.

via FuKung.net

“… and, whether it began as an investigation into the bicameral mind or merely a creative outlet, (perhaps an escapist refuge or fugue limbo the individual entered upon encountering stressor which he was not prepared for?) it has clearly devolved into something less cogent. It has become a spectacle so ugly as to suggest that it has taken on a life of its own and will proceed without intervention to its logical conclusion: reality.”

We’ll get there. Hold on just a little longer…

Psychiatric Evidence – Schizophrenia: Auditory hallucinations of a critical nature. A large percentage of patients with schizophrenia experience “command hallucinations.”

Relevance to Bicameral Mind – Patients suffering from schizophrenia experience a partial relapse to the bicameral mind. In the absence of consciousness, bicameral man hallucinated a commanding voice that instructed him in times of stress or decision-making.

- Summary of Evidence
Julian Jaynes Society

No. Too far. Step back slowly.

Working night shift at the building at       in       it’s not uncommon to see people hiding out smoking glass pipes (highly doubt they’re hiding out to smoke tobacco) and engaging in prostitution in the back alley when I go out for a cigarette break.

All very true – just saw a male crackhead performing fellatio on another, uglier male crackhead.

I’ve seen patrol cars in the alley a handful of times, however, the one time there was someone presumably smoking drugs in the alley and a patrol car came through the officers appeared to be looking for someone else already and paid more attention to me (and the fact that I was waving them towards the woman hiding out in the corner) than whom I would consider to have been the suspicious person.

The incident in question was definitely good for a laugh.

The neighboring business whose portion of the alley is most often used has installed cameras which probably catch most of the activities in the alley, though I would be interested to know whether their recordings are ever reviewed and what would be the best recommendation you can offer to get an available patrol car through the alley on short notice to reduce the amount of illicit activity going on back there.

There was a nasty car accident the other night and it took the police a full 15 minutes to respond – they arrived long after the ambulance and a horde of concerned bystanders.

Why this letter will never be sent: Another appearance in whichever database the local police department uses to aggregate their complaints, victims, and perpetrators isn’t worthwhile.

I figure that it does not pay to make a name for oneself anywhere in there and the most I can hope for is some bad advice on top of that…

Crackpot theory of the day: Police budgets are manipulated to allow portions of a city to go downhill – whether it be in the interest of the real estate owners who often happen to comprise the city council or some Illuminati master-plan to scare honest, god-fearing `Merikuhns into submission, it definitely seems as though most cities have corpulently-safe little suburbs surrounding their invariably-rotten cores (though there is always that one part of town with all the big houses which seems to receive just enough extra police attention to keep graffiti in check).

Update T+13.23:10

Supporting evidence?

Allen Carrel recently called police to tell them about the latest drug deal he watched go down in his Columbus city, South Side neighbourhood.

“Police say, ‘Well, why did you move here? Why don’t you move out if you don’t like it?’” said Carrel, who said he calls police at least once a week.

- Crime-ridden residents say police suggest they move elsewhere
Arbroath 2009-11-01

Somehow I ended up on the Smoky Mountain Knife Works mailing list and was thusly graced with their 2009 Christmas Edition Catalog.

Nothing inherently wrong with this, in and of itself (if you discount the waste of paper and ink that represents this 5oz homage to all things `Merikuhn) – and, on the plus side, Smoky Mountain Knife Works has given me a window into the soul of their demographic; nestled within the 172-page document I was able to find a handful of products which say so much more about what it means to be `Merikuhn than all the cheap it’ll-rust-if-exposed-to-humidity pocketknives and daggers they’re schilling.

Sad but painfully true: The Instructor in that Surviving Edged Weapons training video was right… danger comes in all shapes and sizes (not the least of which would be ideas).

Desiderata Maledictus

Note: Spelling and grammatical errors preserved from original.

We Don’t Dial 911 Sign (REP1401 pg #97) – 10-5/8″ x 3-5/8″ x 1/8″.

My favorite.

This makes it really easy to determine which houses have guns and are, therefore, worth robbing. Just wait until occupants leave, or ambush them on their way into the house from their car or garage – rough them up a little bit, you could even shoot one of them, to ensure that they tell you where all their guns are hidden.

SOG Fusions (pg #72) – “Fusion is the merging of several different elements – sometimes violently! This line from SOG melds technical excellence, ingenuity, and affordability to yield products that are distinctly different from the mainstream!”

SOG Real Knife Series (pg #74) – The SEALs are elite among specialized military groups in the world today. Only a select few endure, earning the right to wear the SEAL trident on their uniform. The knife chosen by the Navy for the SEALs must be no less worthy. (Until you remember that the government buys weapons from the lowest bidder…)

Ninja Viper Sword (FRHK6634270 pg #O) – Blood grooves, notched thumb rest, deep notches in blade spine. Features: One piece black coated stainless steel construction, cord wrapped handles, lanyard holes, 27″ overall, nylon belt sheaths also have adjustable shoulder straps.

It’s all about the blood grooves.

Robert E. Lee Rifle/Sword (926802 pg #107) – This rifle replica has a secret weapon. If Gen. Lee had owned such a weapon, the South might have won! Features: Wood and cast metal construction Civil War-era non-firing rifle replica, 27″ stainless steel blade hidden inside the barrel, shoulder strap.

Because we all really wish that the Confederate army’s soldiers had swords instead of rifles because that would have given them a distinct military advantage which would have allowed them to triumph over the Union soldiers and isn’t it a pity that their secession was unsuccessful?

Drymate Gun Cleaning Pad (GPG1654 pg #127) – Features: non-woven fabric construction, Zorb-tech anti-flow absorbency technology, clear bonded backing prevents soak-through, rounded corners, stain resistant, machine washable and dryable, measures 54″ x 16″ x 1/16″. (Gun and accessories not included.)

I wonder how many angry customers call in to inquire why the gun and accessories were not included with their $10 purchase?

Disclaimer: I am not in any way affiliated with Smoky Mountain Knife Works – in fact, I’m making fun of their catalog (parody) so any use of their marketing materials should fall under the Fair Use provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

I hope that doesn’t make you angry, Smoky Mountain Knife Works employees. Please, whatever you do, don’t wield your terrible murderous arsenal against me… it’s very rainy here and it would be further embarrassing to you should all that “affordable stainless steel” rust through and/or disintegrate.

Many great points, all explored ad nauseum by agnostics or atheists and all refuted ad infinitum by fundamentalists… though I hold no love for the clergy, I am far more concerned with the driving forces behind religion.

Yes, it is concerning that there are people willing to step in and guide their fellow man into deception and subservience, but their methods are merely deviations on the tactics of thieves, slave-catchers, and pimps which likely existed prior to the advent of clergy or a religious caste; clergy have generally eschewed physical violence toward their congregations in favor of inciting violence against the other (be they Muslim, Native American, heretic, et cetera).

It is the motive and construct (the universality and persistence of religious belief and order) which particularly concerns me and provides a basis for belief in The Operator as a thanatotic or entropic force which exists at the core of the human psyche.

Religious orders exist which do not materially reward their clergy in the ways that Catholicism, Scientology, and televangelism do – why do these orders persist?

The mechanism operates itself, as if by unseen hands.

While this will likely come off (initially, at least) as a kind of self-absorbed diatribe against the way some comport themselves, I firmly believe that you should stick with it – I do not claim to have the answers here, but the issues at play are well worth examining for a variety of reasons and, if one is to be an agent of change, one must apply oneself and one’s social relations to the problem of rooting out the rancor of competitive bias, misinformed opinions, and needless argument.

The Problem: Overconfidence

Aristotle could have avoided the mistake of thinking that women have fewer teeth than men, by the simple device of asking Mrs. Aristotle to keep her mouth open while he counted.

- An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish from Unpopular Essays
by Bertrand Russell

We are all guilty of this basic interpersonal faux pas – we play the part of the know-it-all because, in most cases, it works.

In every walk of life – and in the information technology sector especially – personalities and careers are built around competence and knowledge. Many strive to be the go-to person or the lynch-pin of the organization: a cushy salary and job security are the obvious rewards.

Overconfidence kicks in when an individual assumes his or her abilities or knowledge in one specialized task will carry over into others; in the past week I have seen a handful of patently-incorrect statements of fact (all of them easily debunked) made by well-intentioned individuals when answering the questions of novices in technical forums.

While there should be no competition in the context of answering a simple technical question, some Reptilian-complex self-preservation response must be kicking in and triggering the default response – overconfidence (often coupled with a competitive attitude).

The tendency toward competitive action arises from a lack of understanding – particularly in the context of a technical forum: to make inaccurate assertions is damaging to the knowledge and growth of the individual asking the question and the reputation of the individual answering the question. So why do it?

A little note to the spammers – you guys seriously need to get organized…

The first fifteen times I received this notice (alternately addressed to “jimmy”, “josie”, “pete”, “theresa”, et cetera) I did my best to ignore it, however, (and I’m sure you’ll agree if you see my inbox) sending fifteen copies of the same e-mail template in one day is going to make it a little hard to overlook the fact that you don’t know my name when you prompt for my personally-identifying information.

Please, get your shit together – impress me if you think I’m that stupid. I’ve got my doubts about you and I will need to see something clever if I’m going to buy into the scam.

Atrocitas Sui Generis

The company that employed me strived only to serve up the cheapest fare that its customers would tolerate, churn it out as fast as possible, and charge as much as they could get away with. If it were possible to do so, the company would sell what all businesses of its kind dream about selling, creating that which all our efforts were tacitly supposed to achieve: the ultimate product – Nothing. And for this product, they would command the ultimate price – Everything.

- My Work Is Not Yet Done
by Thomas Ligotti
via Steve Dekorte

Quoque tractus; EGO mos non lego

First off, let me honestly say that I am very unhappy to be writing a negative review of a Ligotti book. I was infatuated with Shadow at the Bottom of the World; after Teatro Grottesco, it was love. So I pre-ordered this book months in advance and squealed with glee when it arrived.

. . .

In short, I would NOT suggest this book to a first-time Ligotti reader. It is not only bad, it is a poor representation of Ligotti as a writer. He can do, and has repeatedly done, much better. Go get Teatro Grottesco, NOW, and see cosmic horror at its contemporary best.

- I LOVE Ligotti, but I hated this book review at Amazon.com
by Alice Lander (2 stars)
2009-05-31

It bothers me when I see reviews which present information which is both critical and incorrect – given that Alice is reviewing a work originally published in 2002 approximately seven years after its initial publication, I would hazard a guess that she is not following Ligotti’s work closely enough.

The third story, “The Nightmare Network”, is a fairly radical departure in Ligotti’s style. It reminded me somewhat of the condensed novels of J. G. Ballard. Frankly, I found the story of two megacorporations seemingly warring across time, largely incomprehensible . . . another Ligotti parable for life I suspect. An interesting failure.

- My Work is Not Yet Done Reviews at Amazon.com
by Randy Stafford (4 stars)
2009-08-08

… and then there is the spoiler review… don’t read the spoiler review in its entirety.

I found The Nightmare Network to be one of my favorite Ligotti tales of all, in no small part because it is so loosely strung together.

Consider it a series of drugged flashbacks, the prophetic walkabout vision of a man wearing a “The End Is Nigh!” sandwich board, or a half-remembered nightmare that ebbs from memory just slowly enough to demand your acknowledgment and ruin your day.

Ligotti again transcends the horror genre with this influential piece of contemporary horror. If you have enjoyed Ligotti’s work in the past this book will be right up your alley. For newcomers this is a good place to start and I guarantee you will be searching for more of this brilliant author’s work. This re-release along with Teatro Grottesco helps bring newcomers into Ligotti’s diluted reality. Buy it! Read it again and again and share with everyone you know!

- My Work is Not Yet Done Reviews at Amazon.com
by Jacob E. Snead (5 stars)
2009-05-02

Ah, finally – someone who gets it.

Ligotti at his worst remains stellar (five-star-stellar) in comparison to the rank-and-file hack-and-slash throes-of-agony-and-torment horror author… the lingering malaise and the insufferably real anhedonia his work inspires may not change your life, but it will resonate with the Reptilian complex of your brain and, perhaps, inspire you to give up joy for just a moment and succumb to the problems of your own existence.

How does the world appear through the eyes of the disaffected monster…
… what do you see?

The surest defense against terrorism is to refuse to be terrorized. Our job is to recognize that terrorism is just one of the risks we face, and not a particularly common one at that. And our job is to fight those politicians who use fear as an excuse to take away our liberties and promote security theater that wastes money and doesn’t make us any safer.

- Refuse to be Terrorized
by Bruce Schneier
2006-08-24

This statement echoes the words of Paul Krugman in 2001… the politicians have most certainly been winning and, in many ways, we’re farther from the truth than we were before – we’re more tightly-leashed and more inclined to follow blindly as one disaster follows another without questioning why it is that we’re in this sorry state.

Someone is making a fortune on this wholesale misery.

Our bank accounts are drained, credit is drying up, we’re mired in a war we cannot win, and the corporate media’s treatment of politics in the United States has devolved into portraying the antics of a daytime television talk show… is it safe to say we’re hitting some new low-points as a country?

And is it too late to turn things around?

You’d be foolish to demand change solely because you voted for that particular campaign slogan – you can get change, but it will have to start within.

Refuse to be terrorized. Refuse to act in doubt. Refuse to react irrationally and with fear. Refuse to believe in promises – demand facts, action, and accountability.

Turn off that damning television.

There is nothing on that television that hasn’t passed been pre-approved by a corporate interest.

Live well within your means.

You are powerless if you are not in control of your own finances.

Educate yourself.

If you’ve had the misfortune of being a product of the US Department of Education, you’ve got a lot to learn.

There is no argument that Sigmund Freud was an odd duck.*

* See also: quack

Dominic Streatfeild writes of Freud’s passion for medicine in Cocaine: An Unauthorized Biography – the father of psychoanalysis was a driving force behind the introduction of cocaine as local anesthesia (for treatment of “nasal reflex neurosis”) and an antidepressant in European medicine. Freud was also a regular user.

The pernicious roots of Freud’s theories have been intrinsic to psychoanalysis from its very origin – from the infantile incest fantasies and bowel-related neurosis to disjointed psychic apparatchik and the interplay of Eros and Thanatos.

William James, pragmatist and author of Principles of Psychology described the psychologist’s fallacy thusly: “The great snare of the psychologist is the confusion of his own standpoint with that of the mental fact about which he is making his report. I shall hereafter call this the ‘psychologist’s fallacy’ par excellence” (p. 196)

Do Freud’s theories apply? Should they apply to anyone, that person would be Freud.

If you abused cocaine for twelve years you would probably have some crackpot theories, too.

Freud’s pseudoscience (and countless watered-down but no less incorrect derivatives) remain en vogue with some mental health practitioners to this day, despite ample evidence that the theories are bunk. It helps that the theories and attendant therapies do not resolve problems: a lifelong prescription of psychoanalysis for every patient ensures that Freud’s followers will be billing at $75.00 an hour well nigh to eternity.

Against all odds, some followers of Freud’s cocaine-fueled fallacy are starting to see the light:

But that course is now extinct, and readers of my latest book, The Imprinted Brain; how genes set the balance between autism and psychosis (Jessica Kingsley May 2009) will find that a part of the last chapter reads a bit like those product-withdrawal notices you see in your supermarket. Certainly, this was an important aspect of the book for me: it gave me a chance to recant my Freudian faith and confess to the egregious errors I had made.

What had happened? You need to read the whole book to understand that, but a short answer is: I discovered autism, and more important still, I began to see that, far from being a cure for mental problems, psychoanalysis was a cultural embodiment of what I would now call hyper-mentalism.

- Product-withdrawal Notice: I was wrong about Freud
by Christopher Badcock, Ph.D.

While it is admirable that Dr. Badcock would retract his support for Freud’s work, the “product withdrawal” metaphor is patently disingenuous … generally when an actual product recall occurs the consumers who’ve purchased the product receive a replacement or refund.

Do you plan to refund those who bought your prior books, Dr. Badcock?