Ok, I have pretty much moved to myspace.  Activity is limited but regular.

 

We'll have to be Myspace friends though, it's a friends-only acct.

 

On the plus side - photos!!!

 

See y'all there :D

Australs 06 took place at Vic uni in Wellington at the beginning of July - what a fab week of good partaying times and intellectual porn.

 

I really have soooo many stories that it'd be impossible to tell all here, and ridiculous to start on one and neglect the rest.  Hence, I'll see all you folk at my birthday shingdig and provide you with more recount-ainment than you ever believed possible (subjective analysis).

 

The week after that was spent travelling the North Island, and can I say for those who've not enjoyed a thermal Polynesian Spa yet  - MWAHAHA to you! No really, it was only second to skiing at $45!! Well, that price was gotten after I posed as the offspring of a travel companion half a year my junior - but that's another story altogether...

 

Point is, hope you all had great hols - looking forward to hearing about it all! Pictures attached below selectively detail my adventure - tata!

 

  

Alright; I'm putting off Orientalism for a bit as I must go and watch Angels in America (tops!) followed by Boston Legal.

 

MEANWHILE, I shall take this opportunity to shameless bathe in some self-glory:  guess who's been published in international Newspapers such as...THE SCOTSMAN?'

 

Uhuh, that's right, you are looking at the future uber-reporter (and writer and performer and jurist and....).  Ah, one can always dream.

 

Meanwhile, all should check out my severely edited article on the effect of federal economic policy on trends in births and deaths:

 

 

And a couple of others...but lamed down, sadly, due to uptight sub-editors.  Such is life.

Read some instead of doing my essay research on urban diaspora (hence any ideas on this would be most welcome):

 

The poverty of multiculturalism - some Christian fundamentalist guy

 

British colonialism and post-colonialism in India - insignificant author

 

The latter was inspired by a discussion with an interesting colleague, who is English, and totally FOR colonialism in certain regions. Very interesting; considering the argument was constructed on essentially progressive fundamental ideas.  And the guy is a rugby-playing cad; well what do you know...

 

More on this after assignments and Heidegger reading (will welcome discussion on Dasein) - gah!

 

Ok, I've been skipping my fix lately but tonight's one was fabulous.

 

Basically this show derives its plot/s from real cases/scenarios which have generated or are currently the centre of debate (yeah, that "the situations and events in this show are completely fictional...." msg is utter babble, albeit babble with a simultaneous function of deterring lawsuits, but that's all).

 

Tonight's ep drew on the "superhuman spermbank' case which the herald did a series on a while ago - very interesting for all science, philosophy and ethics students.  Also, the frighteningly insecure female characters in the lead are clearly analogous to crazy lady friends of your work colleagues...intriguing stuff: highly recommended.

 

 

What is morality but a system of thought constructed and/or adopted by the dominant discourse of the present?  Why must one's action, clearly initiated in fulfilment of the subject's desires, be halted or regarded as irrational and/or immoral, if such a definition has no essential right to govern over the individual? 

 

As Foucault rightly asserted, no social body embodies a universality of wills.  Systems of morals are constructed and cast as an overarching method of control over the population by regulators of the social body; those in posession of power (at particular points in time).

 

It's this set of norms which prevents from the mastery and awareness one's own body.  Although I differ from the true postmodernist in my belief that some beliefs, even if they be coincidentally the same, are ALMOST universal.  The idea that muder is wrong for example, may be idea not MERELY indoctrinated by a dominant discourse, but ALSO biologically ingrained into most human beings: in this circumstance psychopaths may be understood not to be mentally abnormal (since psychological disease is a construction of dominant discourse), but merely not a party to the coincidence that has affected the majority of society.

 

So it would seem that so many in society should not be condemned for their so-called lack of morals, but esteemed for their willingness to know their body.

Chances are you're ugly, stupid, unpopular (not to be taken to be opposite in meaning to the word often used to describe a particular (stereo)type of high school girl), incompetent, possibly unintelligent and extremely uncool, because anyone who does not fit into that mould can share your sort of behaviour.

 

Note that when I say EuroPHILE, I mean that you are obsessive to a sycophantic degree: it's not just about being attracted to a certain race of people or allured by a particular geographical destination etc.  It's that sort of repulsive self-denigating attitude toward a certain demographic, to which you belong, and which includes others who can't help nor control this connection even if they groan at the mere mention of you.  It's like we're gay-atheist-artist sons of a homophobic-Republican-attorney-turned-Congressman-father (the allegorical you): and I hear it's BAD to be the son in this situation.

 

Not only that, but when you make your stupid, baseless, imbecilic and essentially retarded comments; you really embarass anyone and everyone at the scene who has SOME ounce of self-respect and/ore esteem for others.

 

To reiterate, frankly no one cares if you prefer to be sexually involved with some people and not others, or prefer to visit some travel destinations over others: just please keep the self (which inevitably includes others) - mockery to a minimum because you're an embrassment to not exclusively the race (to be viewed as same OR distinct from culture) but rather the entire species.

 

Thank you.