What Has Been Learned This Week

Cats are crazy demanding love machines. Watch out!

Atl 4

Ugh, That Was Totally Uncalled For! What Was That Lady Thinking? Gross!

Okay, two things.

One:



OMFG, how did I not know about this ahead of time? I suppose this raises a question: what's more important - religious sentiment or sheer awesomeness? Cause, you know, they're dunkin' for Jeebus, people. (via)

And two: Have you seen Rachel Maddow's interview with Gov. F-word, a.k.a. Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich? If you have not, you need to download it on the itunes or get it on the youtube or whatever. It is mesmerizing. This man is an absolute maniac and I found it nearly impossible to turn away from his car-wreck of a self-defense. Here's how crazy it was: I actually agreed with him about the "innocent until proven guilty" thing and wished that other politicians *ahem, Eliot Spitzer* would stick up for themselves a bit more instead of slinking off and letting those sharks have the last laugh. What?! Eliot "I am a fucking steamroller" Spitzer? This is some strong brew. Fasten your seat-belts.

Quiddity, n.

1. a. Chiefly Philos. The inherent nature or essence of a person or thing; what a thing or person is; that which distinguishes a person or thing from others. Opposed to haecceity.

b. Something intangible. Obs. rare.

2. a. A subtlety or nicety in argument; a quibble. In later use also: a witticism; a quip.

b. As a mass noun: subtlety (of wit); ability or tendency to employ quiddities in argument.

3. In pl. Idiosyncrasies, eccentricities, peculiar features. Chiefly in quirks and quiddities (cf. sense 2a , QUIRK n.¹ 5).

(Source: OED)

I love how, like much bad academic writing (my own recent attempts proving most exemplary), the definition of quiddity devolves from attempting to describe the intangible truth or essence of something, to treating just the argument or meta discursive level, to finally settling on the amusing quirks with which a reader might identify and therefore justify the reading of said text.

Sawaki Suushi, Mikoshi-nyuudou from the Hyakkai Zukkan, 1737

On perhaps not an unrelated note, this is a picture of Mikoshi-nyuudou, the cross-eyed mendicant monster monk from a set of Edo-period Japan picture scrolls. According to this source, the more you look up at him, the taller he grows. If you look up for too long, you die. Unless you say "I see higher," in which case he disappears. Now that's a mantra I can get down with. (More pictures of the Sawaki Suushi scroll here.)