dagblog - Comments for "Falling Sideways Some More"

Maybe. It is one of the

Elusive Trope — Sat, 04 May 2013 02:29:53 +0000

Maybe. It is one of the threads of thought that is in there right now. But one of the things that has seemingly become clear is I can't mesh some professional choices with a life that is conducive to writing a novel (or any other artistic medium). Some people can and that's cool. It requires maybe a particular level of discipline that I don't have.

I won't hold my breath, but

Elusive Trope — Sat, 04 May 2013 01:52:11 +0000

In reply to I can certainly see the

I won't hold my breath, but maybe her role in this will at least get a few of the pundits to look beyond the simple singular explanation for the bombings and terrorist actions.

I can certainly see the

AmiBlue — Sat, 04 May 2013 00:07:44 +0000

In reply to In this particular legal

I can certainly see the bombers' mother being a black widow, all in the name of Allah. In fact she seems to have been a catalyst for Tamerlan, at least.

I was going to ask, AT.

AmiBlue — Sat, 04 May 2013 00:02:34 +0000

In reply to Maya: What's the

I was going to ask, AT. Could this be the time to write that novel?

Once again, I am impressed by

artappraiser — Thu, 02 May 2013 19:53:22 +0000

In reply to There are still a number of

Once again, I am impressed by the comprehensiveness of your thought on this.

Myself, I am grasping around the edges of there being some important difference in the alientaed loner thing vs. the gang thing.

There are still a number of

Elusive Trope — Wed, 01 May 2013 16:23:46 +0000

In reply to This paragraph really jumped

There are still a number of threads I wanted to touch on which I haven't yet. One of these is the lack of ritual passage for males (and females) in this culture. When some men decided to go bang drums in the woods and howl at the moon, they were generally considered "out there," and probably a number of them were. But ritualizing the transitions, it would seem, are a crucial facet of navigating the process of living in this mad, mad world.

These days we not only lack the rituals, but often do not even acknowledge the existence of these transitions. It is bad enough that one moment, we're a kid, then an young adult, then an adult. But we can't even agree as to when that moment arrives. (watching the recent NFL draft, the twenty-something athletes (and future millionaires) are generally referred to as "kids," immature behavior and comments are dismissed as the result of "still being young.") Maybe why over the years there have been frats that have gone over the line in their hazings is they lack any experience with ritual forms that facilitate healthy and sustainable unity. (There also seems to be a long history of frats using methods such as humiliation to forge bonds of unity--i.e. we can only trust one another if we each have some knowledge of the skeletons in each others' closets).

A key reason why so many young men (and older ones, too) romanticize things going off to the woods to become a guerilla warrior is because it appears to be clear path toward becoming a 'real' man.

In this particular legal

Elusive Trope — Wed, 01 May 2013 16:02:25 +0000

In reply to That said, the female DNA on

In this particular legal case, this is true. But looking at things through a broader context, would it "surprise" or "shock" you to learn a woman had been as much a mastermind or the mastermind for such an heinous act as the Boston Marathon bombings. When we stop to ask "how could she commit such an act?" is the answer a variation of the same dynamics that drive men, or is there some other qualitatively different dynamic in the "radicalization" of females? What role does gender politics and identity play in this process?

That said, the female DNA on

Verified Atheist — Wed, 01 May 2013 14:09:58 +0000

In reply to Now they have found female

That said, the female DNA on that bomb (AKA a crock pot) could just be from the clerk who sold it, or a store assistant who stocked it.

Now they have found female

Elusive Trope — Wed, 01 May 2013 04:22:32 +0000

In reply to Wonderful read. So glad I

Now they have found female DNA on one of the Boston bombs. Earlier today, saw on CNN they were running a story on "black widow" terrorists in Russia.

Wonderful read. So glad I

anna am — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 20:58:02 +0000

In reply to Falling Sideways Some More

Wonderful read. So glad I breezed through today and caught it. And, yes, it's not just guys who figure in here.