chain of being

Posted on May 22, 2013 by troy

I’ve been going through David Livingstone Smith’s Less than Human for a few weeks now and have bookmarked quite a few of the pages. I picked it up because, finally, I found a person who makes a case for the normalization of what we generally view as ‘evil’ – that is; he puts forth honest arguments as to why we do the horrible things we do as a species, and more importantly, posits that anyone is susceptible to these actions; that we have an in-built capacity to engage in what he referrers to as ‘dehumanization’. I won’t get into details as I’ll leave that for when I’m finished reading, but I thought I’d touch briefly on a remark he made in regards to the ‘Chain of Being‘.

I’m not sure if you remember (of course you don’t …I barely do -ha) but I spewed forth in a few posts here and even earlier here, about the idea of ‘value’ being assigned to the concept of ‘life’ …a value that is for the most part dependent on our connection or relationship to whatever it is we’re discussing- be it animal, vegetable and even mineral. Subsequently then, certain ‘life’ would be granted a specific standing in relation to others. I won’t rehash it again as you can get the gist from those posts I mentioned (or others if you can find them for me …note to self; make things easier to find on this blog!) but I wanted to bring you a little of what David has to say about it ….albeit in a much more coherent manner than myself.

In the few paragraphs below, he wonderfully describes how we utilize a ‘foggy intuition’ in terms of sorting and attributing value to things …intuitively, but foggily -ha. Works great though. He also uses the far more appealing term ‘moral standing’ in lieu of ‘value’ (as I’ve referred to it) and as well, stresses the significance in the differences between ‘harm’ and ‘damage’ ….’harm’ as something that can only happen to higher-level beings, while ‘damage’ being something reserved for those of a lower-order. Semantics it seems, are always important when attempting to understand how it is that we intuitively go about the things we do. I mean, we have to try to understand how we understand, don’t we? Failing this, we can go foggily about our merry way …finding ourselves in the same old situations because we just didn’t understand what exactly the problem was the first time it came around. Which always sucks.

It’s a great book so-far, and I’m looking forward to the reread …after the read that is.

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“What kinds of beings have moral standing? What makes the difference between things that can suffer harm and things that can’t? In some cases the answer is clear: People have moral standing and inanimate objects don’t – because people can be harmed, but inanimate objects can only be damaged. But where do all the other life-forms stand? Oddly enough, our judgements about this depend in large measure on where we position them on the great chain of being. This ancient, discredited, prescientific model of the cosmos still unconsciously serves as a guideline for our moral judgements. Recall that the great chain of being classifies things both in terms of their descriptive properties and in terms of their value; it’s therefore thick from top to bottom. Inanimate objects are at the bottom of the chain, and have no value in themselves. Micro-organisms and plants don’t fare much better, which is why even the most zealous vegans can weed their garden and wipe out untold millions of germs with disinfectants (“green” ones, of course) without suffering a single pang of guilt. Intuitions get foggier as we climb higher. Is swatting a mosquito cruel? How about stepping on a cockroach or skewering a writhing worm on a fishhook? Plunging a living lobster into boiling water, or gutting a trout for dinner? Killing a chicken? Slaughtering a lamb? Performing an abortion? Executing a criminal?

There’s no fact of the matter about exactly where in this sequence damage gives way to harm, and destruction becomes cruelty, but the principle governing such judgements is both clear and embarrassingly narcissistic: the closer we judge a creature is to us on the hierarchy, the more inclined we are to grant it moral standing.” p.221

Image from uhillenglish.wikispaces.com

new poem

Posted on May 21, 2013 by troy

Who am I among them;
scattered in thought and plan,
awash in transition,
seeking and not, certain
in that they, alone, are.

Though distant I seem,
I fail to resolve this
query that, of itself, may
arguably originate
from them as much as I.

And so who is whom, and
how frail that line between
question and answer.

stuff 75.233

Posted on May 19, 2013 by troy

I’m addicted to the Big Gulp kids. Kinda. More precisely, I’m addicted to the offering of the 7-11 feature as a 99 cent beverage. I like deals on ‘snacks’. And I like carbonated goodness. Together, they’ve lured me in. My ‘thing’ is to fill the ridiculously huge cup with about 80% ice, add in some Coke Zero to catch those spaces between the cubes and then top it all off with an additional 20% real sugar ….er, Coke. Essentially there’s very little pop (er ….soda) in the mix, but my weakness is in having the drink ice-cold for its duration, and of course the carbonation at the start. Which is why I don’t mind spending a dollar on what ends up being a large glass of ice. I also have a thing for eating ice-cubes. Don’t ask. Of course I can’t resist a few super nibs to ‘make it a meal’ which brings the total price to (depending on the store) anywhere from $1.50 to $1.75.

All summer long? Again!? Will I ever be able to say no?!

I got to play with the DBBB again this weekend which was, as expected, a bitter/sweet ordeal. Sweet because I like playing this music and, generally, like playing the trombone, but bitter because I still can’t read. The mind’s just too slow after all the years of inactivity, and even after getting a chance to see the charts before hand I still find my mind racing during the performance; skimming back and forth between key signatures and accidentals and rhythms and road-maps and key signatures and accidentals and rhythms…. you get the picture. It just never settles down. Over-thinking I suppose (if ‘thinking’ is even the right word) and the result is screwing up when I know that I shouldn’t.

But such is my whacky method.

I did another duo gig with Amber last night as well …which was not so bad. Not so good in some ways (the racing-mind thing, again …but over yet other stupid issues) but not so bad in that it was pretty low maintenance in the whole gig-maintenance department. Yes, they have such a department -next to bath and showers. It was an LP thing and the crowd was its appreciative, pleasant and usual self. I think she even sold a few CD’s this time around. A visiting sis’ and her friend came out for a drink this night too, as well as another friend who came out for a drink and a later Maki Maki hang. This ‘other friend’ was interesting for a variety of reasons, however I’m not at liberty to discuss them because I have to be kind, properly informed of the facts, and generally not weirded out by what is arguably bizarre behavior. *damn self-censorship*

I was too reminded over the last week that I indeed am on the ‘outs’ with Hollywood as of late. I was bored through Ironman and, sadly, uninterested in Star Trek. What?! I know, I love sci-fi, but for some reason (perhaps the pre-Ironman drinks …perhaps) I just found the whole spectacle to be CGI for the sake of CGI and cameo-’feelings’ for the sake of cameo-feelings. As if “Here’s some brilliant things we did with a computer …oh, and here’s some deep/moral/warm-fuzzy crap because we’re under contract to include it somewhere.” There were little things that, yes, were funny and/or interesting, but over all it was just more peddled ‘good-feeling’ schmaltz. And so, in protest against the ‘Man’, I decided to (after waiting with friends through the ending credits) sneak out my camera to record the often revealing ‘after-the-movie-scene’ where Hollywood thanks you for sticking around through the whole show. I know, it’s against all known copyright rules in this and other worlds, but I’ll buck the system and post it here. If you’re somewhat let down by the ‘acting’ between Ironman and his lil’ buddy The Hulk, don’t worry ….it’s not you.

Here’s hoping they don’t force me to watch more of this in the pen.

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Finally, there was the 2+ hour meal with family and friends at the Outback Steakhouse. Two hours. That was kinda long. It was nice in that the family interacted with the friends so well, but at the same time it was two hours. Lol …have I said that already? In this case it’s me, I admit it. I was tired, I was groggy after the meal which came after another meal much earlier, and I was my typical evasive self when it came to general discussions about my life and ‘occupation’. Again, it’s me, and it seems I’m forever on some self-imposed defensive when explaining ‘me’ to others who have chosen a more ‘normal’ path along the economic food chain. I just hate being in that position, which is why I’m fairly skilled in keeping such tribunals to moderate durations. Two hours though, that’s a lot of dodging when you’re not really prepared.

Survival of the fittest though :)

tisdale trip #32.5

Posted on May 13, 2013 by troy

I took my Springly trip out to Tisdale this last weekend (Thru-Sun) to visit the family and such, and I’m happy to report that all is well on the Saskatchewan front.

The Grandpa is doing fine and has decided to cut out my Mom’s food in an attempt to lose some weight, the younger sis is all awash in the toils of her offspring’s adventures in adolescence, the older sis is doing well in her battles with the ‘c‘ word, the niece is busy testing out the ditches with her car, the nephew is slowly becoming immersed in the dreaded ‘game-culture‘ thingy, the Mom is happy her son (that’s me!) got her lawn mower ready for the season and her son (that’s me again!) is happy he hit 148 lbs in the gym when he got back. The son (again….) obviously didn’t take the Grandpa’s cue on the eating thing. That’ll learn him.

For your amusement, here’s some semi-wild animals. The larger of the two animals is a ‘schnauzer’ called Cole and the smaller, rat-like creature is better known as a ‘mini chihuahua’ that goes by the name of Mobey. Cole is 5 and the Mobey-creature is just 1 ….and luckily for it, the schnauzer has honed its patience on larger cats and other domesticated beasts. If he hadn’t, he might find those razor-sharp fangs of the chihuahua a tad annoying after a while, and there’d be one less meal that the sis would have to prepare.

Definitely more patience than me, that’s for sure.

Me, Gramps and sis. And yes, I am rockin’ the antenna.

down-low

Posted on May 11, 2013 by troy

I’ve done a pretty good job of keeping my blog on the down-low. It’s findable, but not easily by my full name. It’s also ‘discouraged’ (via wordpress) when crawled by those pesky search-engine spider-crawler thingys …..so there’s that. I don’t advertise either, not to friends or family. Usually. If pressed I’ll fess up to its existence, but that’s a rare thing. Occasionally I’ll link to a site of those I know …and if they’re web-savvy then they’ll find me that way. However, there’s only a few who know and visit me here (switching blog names is a great way to mix things up btw!) but by and large most are unaware ….and I like it like that.

In my bid to keep up with the times, I opened another twitter account. I’ve had a few over the years just to see what the big deal was, but usually deleted them after a couple of weeks or so. Just bored I suppose, plus I’m more into the media aspect of social media than the social part. All were opened with anonymous names too. This time around however, I used my real name (@firstnamelastname), my primary email and I included my blog address in my profile; what the heck I figured, those who know me here might find something of interest as I test out the twitterverse once again …after all, my intention was to have the twitter account tied in with this blog, and nothing more.

But indeed, it seems we are an increasingly connected race.

Twitter, when taking your email address and mobile number, automatically shares that data (makes searchable that is) with other twitter users; meaning those who have me as an email contact will automatically have access to my twitter account. Kinda like a ‘people you may know’ thing. So, I was kinda surprised when all of a sudden I had a ‘follower’ who, having just signed up with twitter herself and of whom I know personally, had access to my blog address via my twitter profile. Long story short, anyone with my email address or phone number would have access to the information I make public on twitter ….meaning this blog. Eeeks! That’s not exactly the down-low in my books.

Luckily, all those public information settings on twitter are easily found and adjusted, plus I can change my screen name to no longer reflect that I’m actually here. In twitter though, you can browse to see who your followers follow etc., so when one person has access to your profile, so too do all those other shared, casual acquaintances ….meaning of course that you and your followers’ are privy to the info from other followers, by default in this twitter instance. Make sense? *wait, don’t answer that -ha*

But then that’s the way social media seems to increasingly function, by incorporating your online worlds (identities) into these larger wholes that, over time, represent you as not just a you but as a quantifiable substance that is targeted (exploited?) by those interested in obtaining your business. The assumption by these companies is that you want to be connected in this way (“Find your Friends!” they say), and these services (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ etc.) by default encourage this. It is after all, in their business interests to have you completely connected and traceable across the web, and they collectively benefit when they can easily track your interests and spending habits. Make no mistake, you’re a potential customer and not much more ….and they use your desire for ‘friendship’ (arguably creating that desire in step with technology) as a method of tapping into others for the same.

Don’t tell me you honestly thought they cared that you find your friends?

I like technology. I like computers and I like messing around with new devices and exploring their usefulness. I’m somewhat geeky I suppose. What I am not though, is a social butterfly. I’m the introverted guy who likes to stay in the corner …out of sight out of mind in a way. I avoid crowds and I hate having to share personal things with people, especially while in crowds. I suppose that’s the reason I failed on Facebook so often. Probably why this twitter thing will too be another useless attempt in seeing what the Jones’ are up to. I don’t mind being unconnected from my peers and I don’t have that desire to ‘find my friends’ (I actually know where they are if I need them) ….more importantly, I don’t need them to find me here. I have nothing to sell, and I have nothing to say to them that I don’t already say in person. This is for me after all, and for those interested few that may stumble across it now or in the distant future – which is why I like the down-low.

And why I cringe at the connectedness that were increasingly forced into.

the world in a step

Posted on May 7, 2013 by troy

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wrap up…

Posted on May 5, 2013 by troy

Fun gigs :)

Lot’s of neat people. The gig in Demmitt was part of a concert series they’ve been hosting at this new hall ….it was designed with sustainability in mind, and even had composting toilets. Beautiful structure though, and the people were wonderful. We spent the night with our hosts who are both working artists and live on a rustic (ie: natural) section of land close to Demmitt. P was away on business though, but T was very gracious and set us up in their home-built home (they seem to be the best ones from what I can tell) that was adorned with all sorts of intriguing projects (in wood, metal etc) as well as painting, photography and design …internally of course, but externally as well as P is a working architect who seemlessly incorporates the natural environment into his creations, including their wonderful house. Fascinating place though, and the iciing on the gig-cake in my opinion.

We finished things up with a brunch at the farm of some of Rachelle’s relatives. Again, more kind people, and they put out a spread that was way beyond what was needed. Her whole family though, whom I got to meet a lot of on this busy-ish trip, was always warm and personable. That could be why I like playing with her when I can ….she’s one of those well-grounded types who knows what’s important and what’s not worth getting all that upset about. The audience responds to this too, which of course translates into those essential CD sales. But yeah, it was fun to get away from things on the Edmonton front for a while …and I’m looking forward to some of the other festivals and what-not she has lined up for the summer.

As for being back home again? Well, that’s got its ups and downs. I suppose though, in the long run, those ups and downs are of our own making.

Unfortunately at times, I suck at making them.

Matt ….he was the opening act.