Bigotry requires being an utter dolt, unsurprisingly

Iain M Banks. His writing could vary from the bitterly poetic – such as the story of the passionate and tragic sexual relationship between an aristocrat brother and sister (A Song of Stone); to the purely silly – such as the alien humanoid who medically enhances his body to be covered in functional penises (The Hydrogen Sonata).

Yes, say what you will about Banks; but he certainly didn’t like to limit himself.

Despite the range of his imagination, one concurrent theme throughout all Banks’ science fiction novels – and in much of his ‘mainstream’ fiction – was egalitarianism.

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The Noumenon-Numinon Nominum

The terms “Noumenous” and “Numinous” have both been used to describe the psychedelic experience, despite having etymologically distinct origins.
 
Noumenon is a term popularised by Kant to be contrasted with the term “phenomenon” – interpreted either as meaning “that which is thought” (as opposed to “that which is perceived”), or as the “unknowable nature of things.” It is derived from the Greek “noûs” meaning “mind.”
 
Numinous means “spiritual, mystical or religious in nature,” but can also be interpreted to mean a form of knowledge that can only be evoked through direct experience (rather than rationalisation or objective learning). It is derived from the Latin “numen” meaning “a deity or spirit residing over a place.”
 
These two words could arguably be sorted into the same Nominal (derived from the Latin “nomen” or “name”) category, since they both describe common facets of the psychedelic experience.
 
The “Noumenon-Numinon Nominum”

Pushing Us Away to Bring Us Deeper: The Shining, Caché, and Funny Games

I’ve just rewatched Room 237, a documentary about Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining and some of the fan theories surrounding it.

In my opinion, much of the purported hidden messages and subtext passionately presented by the fanatical Kubrickians in Room 237 can be disregarded as mere coincidence, continuity errors, or pure fantasy (for example, one pertinent theory is that Kubrick faked the moon landings and is using the film as his own personal catharsis).

However it’s hard to argue that Kubrick wasn’t a meticulous filmmaker who was keen on symbolism, imagery, and subliminal messaging. And there are certainly big themes in The Shining that are hard to explain away.

Kubrick made many changes from Stephen King’s novel in adapting it for the screen. Kubrick even tells us this at the outset of the film – he changes the colour of Jack’s car from red, as it is in the book, to yellow. Later in the film, as Hallorann is driving towards the hotel in a snowstorm, he passes a red VW beetle that has been crushed by a large truck. The shot lingers.

Kubrick has made his point. This is his story now.

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Stansted 15 freed – but proto-fascism still alive and well in the UK

All information obtained from the End Deportations website.

In March 2017, a group of 15 activists snipped through a fence and walked onto the apron of Stansted airport. They carefully and safely chained themselves together under the wing of an aircraft that was unjustly deporting 57 people from the country.

The aircraft was grounded, the airport was closed for an hour, and a dozen or so flights were diverted to other airports.

The 15 activists were arrested, and later sentenced with an anti-terrorism law that carries a maximum life imprisonment.

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“It’s women’s fault that we’re terrible men”

Even before the recent Gillette ad (and the backlash it sparked from angry “men’s rights activists” who felt personally attacked by the assertion that some men are not good role models), I was seeing this little gem being copied around on twitter:

“In America 43% of boys are raised by single women. 78% of teachers are female. So almost half of the boys have 100% female influence at home, and 80% female influence at school. Between 2009 and 2011 children from single parent households (overwhelmingly single mothers) accounted for 80% of rapists motivated by displaced anger. Toxic masculinity is not the problem. Lack of masculinity is. Meaning, we need more intact families.”

This has appeared on my twitter feed dozens of times, and now it is also being propagated on Facebook.

Let me first summarise what it’s saying, then debunk the stats, and finally expose the motives behind it.

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“Suffering is a Lie”

There’s a saying that there are two kinds of people in the world. Those who have suffered and do not wish others to suffer; and those who have suffered and believe others should go through that too.

A friend recently mentioned that there is a third type. The people who believe that suffering is not real.

These people have either not suffered themselves (e.g. through privilege), and don’t have the scope of imagination to conceive of higher realms of suffering – or they believe that the only kind of suffering that matters is their own.

I think this is a much more dangerous kind of person than the first two.

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A sense-themed movie pitch

From the creative minds that brought you Birdbox, Hush, and A Quiet Place:

“unBEAKable”

A new psychological thriller set in a post-apocalyptic wilderness where SMELL IS THE ENEMY. Could you survive being pursued by a mysterious presence that YOU CAN’T DETECT WITH YOUR OLFACTORY SYSTEM?

Would YOU be able escape the forest and avoid a SCENT-LESS SLAUGHTER?

Starring Adrien Brody and Claire Danes.