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Bret Easton Ellis, British Labour in the Wilderness, and Barszcz Czysty Czerwony (Polish Beet Soup)

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by Daniel A. Kaufman ___ Terrific interview with Tom Stoppard, one of our greatest living playwrights. https://www.spectator.co.uk/2019/12/i-aspire-to-write-for-posterity-an-interview-with-tom-stoppard/ A pretty fascinating dialogue between Bret Easton Ellis and Eric Weinstein on Los Angeles and Generation X. Matthew Goodwin, Professor of Politics at the University of Kent, offers an excellent analysis of Labour’s historic loss in the recent UK election. The bizarre and […]

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3:16, Tarantino, the Avengers, and Apizza

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by Daniel A. Kaufman ____ My interview with Richard Marshall at 3:16AM (formerly 3AM). https://316am.site123.me/articles/anti-theory-philosophy?c=end-times-series Damon Linker on the bizarre 1619 project, over at the NYT. https://theweek.com/articles/859776/new-york-times-surrenders-left-race Caitlan Flanagan nails it with respect to Quentin Tarantino’s terrific Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/08/tarantinos-most-transgressive-film/595309/ Wonderful documentary on the incomparable TV show, The Avengers. For a brief time, Dave Grohl was […]

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Meaning, Hummus Masabacha, and Def Leppard

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By Daniel A. Kaufman ___ Bernard Williams is one of the top 5 greatest post WWII philosophers.  Here is a new website devoted to collecting everything available by and about him. https://sites.google.com/site/bernardwilliamsphilosopher/home Rare and very high quality live footage of Def Leppard, from 1983, when they were still a hard-rocking NWOBHM band. (Concert split into two parts) A classic paper […]

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Oxford, Palm Desert Rock, and Grilled Cheese

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Steve Davies gives one of the best characterizations I’ve heard of the political realignment presently occurring in the West; one that is rendering traditional Left/Right designations meaningless. In-depth, musically scorching documentary on the Palm Desert rock scene of the early ‘90s. And an article about it. https://www.desertsun.com/story/life/entertainment/music/2016/03/10/desert-rock-underground-finally-makes-limelight/81555766/ Interesting piece on Albert Camus, who I always thought was the best of […]

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Bernard Williams, Blackadder, and Latkes

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by Daniel A. Kaufman Terrific piece on the philosophy of Bernard Williams https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/public/bernard-williams-ethics-human-point-view/ Bad Religion, Live in 1989 (Complete show) Talk Talk, “Life’s What You Make it” Live in 1986 Hilary Putnam on Naïve Realism and Qualia Comprehensive Documentary on the Incomparable Black Adder Chanukah May be Over but Here’s a Great Latkes Recipe https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015533-classic-potato-latkes

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Feminism, Mental Representation, and Churros

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by Daniel A. Kaufman A disturbing glimpse into the way contemporary gender identity politics is compromising science and medicine. https://quillette.com/2018/10/18/trans-activists-campaign-against-terfs-has-become-an-attack-on-science/ How progressive politics have ruined comedy. https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/social-justice-warriors-arent-funny/ A detailed history of the original feminists, which their contemporary progeny should read carefully. https://www.city-journal.org/metoo-movement [The late] Jerry Fodor’s brilliant and hilarious survey of theories of mental representation. (I just finished teaching it […]

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Shakshuka, Mental States, and Iron Maiden

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by Daniel A. Kaufman The flagship feminist philosophy journal, Hypatia, still reeling from the scandal involving its treatment of Rebecca Tuvel, finds itself humiliated once again, this time by a Sokal-style hoax. http://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2018/10/sokal-hoax-redux.html For those who need a refresher on the Tuvel affair: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/05/transracialism-article-controversy.html Rare, amazing footage of Iron Maiden from their New Wave of British Heavy Metal days.  (The […]

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Supertramp, Egg Salad and Darwin

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by Daniel A. Kaufman A terrific takedown of the current, narcissistic “self-improvement” madness. https://www.spectator.co.uk/2018/08/why-are-modern-men-obsessed-with-self-improvement/ High quality video of Supertramp playing live in 1979. My dialogue with Justin Weinberg of the Daily Nous on the current state of Philosophy. http://meaningoflife.tv/videos/40774 A deliciously vicious dustup between Patricia Churchland and Colin McGinn.  Plus more from Marcia Cavell and McGinn. https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2014/06/19/brains-and-minds-exchange/ https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2014/07/10/blind-to-mind/ The best […]

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Balthus, Poirot, Strudel, and Rakka

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by Daniel A. Kaufman A beautiful documentary about David Suchet’s remarkable portrayal of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot, for 25 years. A thoughtful, articulate essay on Balthus that is exactly the sort of thing we need more of in today’s rush to “cleanse” history of its “problematic” artists and works. http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2018/06/28/balthus-therese-through-glass-darkly/ The late Jerry Fodor on Kripke, Putnam, modality, and the […]

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Brave New World, 1984, #MeToo, The New Journalism, and Paprikas Csirke

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by Daniel A. Kaufman A remarkable IQ2 debate between novelist Wil Self and New Yorker essayist, Adam Gopnik, on the relative merits of Brave New World and 1984 in understanding our current world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31CcclqEiZw&index=11&t=0s&list=FLQzxHWvrODrO9oA35PHXsIQ Interesting reflections on the #MeToo movement and the sexual revolution of the 1960’s and 70’s. https://www.city-journal.org/html/sexual-revolutions-angry-children-15827.html Two of the best documentaries on Hunter S. Thompson. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlAZV_EsSSE […]

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