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Archive for the ‘Philosophy’ Category

The Throwback Thursday Demon

Posted in History, Miscellaneous, Music, Philosophy, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on September 3, 2026| Leave a Comment »






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Bluebells

Posted in History, Miscellaneous, Music, Perception, Philosophy, Tyranny, Words, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Sex workers have been asking this question for 20 years.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-16T16:58:18.635Z

There is a product called "Suddenly Salad" which I've always thought had the most bizarre name. In my imagination, the ways that product works is one opens the box, then at some unknown point in the next 24 hours the salad suddenly appears in front of one without warning, which could be dangerous.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-19T03:37:39.650Z

Absolutely. Some pictures wordlessly sum up a moment in history.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-20T16:38:43.159Z

Post a Photoshop of Trump wandering aimlessly into an historical event:

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-21T18:06:59.488Z

When you were a weird kid in the '70s and you saw this on your TV, you KNEW you were in for some good viewing!

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-23T06:41:38.881Z

Good thing they added the extra 40 years, just in case he manages to die and come back as a vampire twice.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-23T19:15:36.022Z

The only moral form of warfare is War of Assassins, in which only the rulers of the warring nations, plus their deputies, agents, and operatives, are legitimate targets. In other words, nobody who does not CHOOSE to be a combatant is in direct physical danger except by accident due to proximity.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-24T07:44:29.870Z

People who cannot understand friendship, and truly believe that all close friendships are motivated by a mutual desire to rut, are both pathetic and contemptible.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-25T17:45:06.947Z

Is a "health movement" anything like a bowel movement?

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-26T03:21:25.961Z

I'm sure you feel safer now.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-27T17:21:46.847Z

"The Singularity" is the God of the futurist religion. If you want perspective on anything any tech cultist says about "The Singularity", simply substitute "God", "Providence", "The Force", or any similarly-vague and irrational name for "magic"."The Singularity is coming" = "The Second Coming".

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-28T17:49:37.779Z

Sex workers always warn y'all about predators, and y'all never listen.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-29T17:42:59.877Z

Absolutely. I still laugh at the memory of Mr. Moose and his various tricks to win the Captain's consent to having ping-pong balls dropped on him.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-30T18:28:53.057Z

Apparently it will take more than self-induced terminal illness to teach him to behave normally in public.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-31T17:05:53.189Z

It wasn't really Yoko's fault.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-08-01T07:48:22.576Z

I'm not especially concerned with anyone mistaking my writing for something a chatbot shat out, nor am I willing to change my style in any way to keep stupid people from doing so. I write as the Muse moves me, not by working from some tedious set of guidelines or to please some specific audience.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-08-02T07:51:12.904Z

I miss my late best friend Grace every single day. And yet, there is a part of me which is glad she passed away a few days after Trump's inauguration, so she never got to see what Musk, who was a hero to her specifically BECAUSE of SpaceX, was really like. I'm glad she was spared disillusionment.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-08-04T18:26:25.697Z

Nutritionism is not science, exhibit umpteen thousand, nine hundred eleventy-seven.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-08-05T17:18:45.827Z

Suggestion: limit data centers to whatever size they can power with on-site solar. It would remove the noise & pollution factors, and if the company wanted to go bigger they'd have to have more land, creating more buffer between them and neighbors.Don't bother to point out flaws; I'm just musing.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-08-06T18:07:11.455Z

Oh look, Maggie was right once again, what a shock, etc.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-08-07T17:09:01.629Z

Like all those Bond girls who were the supervillain's mistress, only the villains' schemes are more pathetic, like "I will ruin a beloved corporation, hahahahahaha!" instead of "I will cause World War III so my organization can rule over what is left, hahahahahaha!"

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-08-08T17:07:29.519Z

Your regular reminder that desalination has existed for decades; Americans just don't want to build the plants because REASONS.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-08-10T02:49:12.833Z

If skills were sexually transmitted, I'd be a Renaissance polymath with *exceptional* ability in medicine, engineering, physics, law, politics, music, and several sports including golf and fishing.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-08-10T17:30:33.743Z

The US has become a global laughingstock.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-08-11T17:21:45.852Z

This is breathtakingly brilliant. I don't think I've ever seen such a deft collection of clever, striking, and above all *apt* insults and condemnation of a well-known specimen of poisonous vermin.Well done, @jojofromjerz.bsky.social!

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-08-14T18:31:38.573Z

What avatar will he replace it with next? This?

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-08-16T17:36:54.670Z

Librarians' chief duty is preserving human culture from the stupidity of other humans.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-08-17T17:31:00.759Z

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-08-19T03:52:13.785Z

 

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Throwback Thursday’s Bath

Posted in Miscellaneous, Philosophy, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , on August 20, 2026| Leave a Comment »


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Unwelcome Mat

Posted in History, Miscellaneous, Philosophy, tagged , , , on August 17, 2026| 1 Comment »

Computers can be useful tools or servants, but they are not human; they have no feelings and no dignity, and humans have no more obligation to treat them as equals than we have toward any other machine.  If you don’t think humans need to get the consent of a power saw or dishwasher before using it, you also shouldn’t think computer programs are owed good manners.  Yet since the 1980s, humans have been presented with an ever-increasing number of circumstances in which we are confronted by machines whose owners and operators apparently expect others to treat them as though they were sentient beings.  It was already bad enough when the machines were merely recordings of human voices intended to guide customers through an ersatz replacement for a phone operator by advising us to press this number to speak to that human; by the ’90s they started expecting us to talk back to them, then in this century humans began to be replaced by machines at every step of the process, so a computer operator would switch callers through to other computers which can virtually never do what their corporate owners pretend they can.

But now that we’re several years into the chatbot invasion, a large number of people have not only conceded their right to be helped by other people, but actually expect others to do the same.  Sorry, but no.  When a computer answers a phone I’ve called, I do whatever is necessary to get to a human operator, and when a computer calls me I immediately hang up and block the number, because in my view if something isn’t important enough for a human to make that call, it also isn’t important enough for me to waste my valuable time with.  As if it isn’t bad enough that we’re expected to treat objects as equals, many people apparently feel comfortable taking a subordinate position to objects!  I can no longer use social media without philistines presenting things shat out by chatbots as “art” or “writing”, and though I block strangers who do this, a few of those who have succumbed to this aesthetic disorder are people I otherwise enjoy talking to.  It’s just too much, so I’ve decided on a more aggressive policy:  I’ve already muted a number of phrases such as, “I asked ChatGPT…” yet I am still assailed by people who have surrendered so much of their human dignity that they consider deluxe autocomplete an “authority”.  So from here on out, I’m going to block anyone who quotes a chatbot at me, and I’m only going to give one warning before I do it.

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Heroes of Song and Story

Posted in Current Events, Music, Philosophy, Words, tagged , , , , , on August 10, 2026| 1 Comment »

A classicist recently pointed out on social media that the ancient Greek notion of heroism is so different from the modern idea that mythological heroes like Odysseus must either be adapted for modern audiences, or else they end up looking at least somewhat villainous.  It’s especially apparent when moderns try to adapt Hercules into what we would call a hero, and end up with a character who only barely resembles the one in the myths, because the ancient Greek word which is generally translated as “hero” has nothing to do with morality, self-sacrifice, etc.  As a kid who loved both mythology and comic books, it was always a little jarring to see how differently mythic characters like Hercules were portrayed in the one vs the other.  The most accurate depiction of Hercules on the big screen that I can recall was in Jason and the Argonauts, where he is clearly shown to be a bully, braggart, and delinquent who gets his friends killed and nearly wrecks the entire mission.  Of course, the same movie elides Jason’s awfulness, and ends abruptly to avoid having to deal with the whole ugly business of Jason and Medea, which only goes to demonstrate our initial premise once again.

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Cave of Throwback Thursday

Posted in Biography, Miscellaneous, Perception, Philosophy, Tyranny, Words, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 6, 2026| 1 Comment »






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Diary #839

Posted in Diary, Philosophy, tagged , , on July 28, 2026| Leave a Comment »

When we buried Jonathan in the pit near the propane tank, I decided to plant a tree over him, but I couldn’t decide what kind of tree I wanted.  I really miss the crepe myrtles which are so commonly seen in the New Orleans area, and I’ve seen some beautiful ones in the nearby town of Hoquiam.  But when I talked to a nursery about it, they told me it takes about three years for them to get established, and even a single hard winter in that time can stunt or even kill them.  The lady told me that if I wanted a southern flowering tree that would grow well here, I should consider a magnolia.  Grace liked magnolias very much, and when I mentioned to Chekhov that I was thinking about getting one for the spot, he immediately told me that he had seen them at Home Depot in Aberdeen and offered to buy one for me.  So on Sunday the 19th he brought it in his van and we planted it together; it wasn’t difficult because the soil over the grave was still very loose, and it only took a few minutes of fairly light effort to clear a properly-sized hole for the root ball.  Yellowbird is an avid gardener and advised me to water it every day without rain until the rainy season starts again in October, but luckily we’ve had several rainy days in the past week (unusual for this time of year) so that took care of the watering on those days.  Then on one of the days I was watering it last week, it occurred to me that the area beneath the tree would be a fitting place for most of Grace’s ashes; I’m going to give the tree a few months to be sure it’s taking well, then I’m going to do a little ritual on the Day of the Dead to bury the ashes.  And from now on, I will think of her every time I see it bloom.

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Bluebird

Posted in Current Events, History, Miscellaneous, Philosophy, Tyranny, Words, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 20, 2026| Leave a Comment »

I used to try to explain when a young or pre-menopausal woman makes some sort of confident statement about what she will be like post-menopause. Now I just shrug and say, "You'll find out soon enough."

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-17T17:21:31.990Z

It's always amusing to me when a paywall demanding I provide my personal information is followed almost immediately by a popup admitting they will sell that information to anybody who wants it.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-18T18:46:19.972Z

"Mmmm, a meat-free savoury loaf!" said no hungry person ever.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-19T18:57:53.004Z

The best part of this algae bloom is, it only needs to stay in place for two more weeks from today to achieve maximum humiliation value for Trump and the whole MAGA movement. After the 4th, it can vanish overnight; what will be remembered is the perfect metaphor for the semiquincentennial.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-20T17:51:22.612Z

5 million djinn and imps working 24/7 can build Baghdad in ≈ 6 months. Now just imagine what the world looks like when we have 10 billion of them by 800. Now imagine the year 1000. Amazing abundance for all!

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-21T17:27:00.933Z

I don't generally call attention to toxic filth from Twitter, but if you're still on Twitter at all you may want to look up this sewer outlet which calls human beings "farm equipment" just for the pleasure of blocking it.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-23T17:52:42.652Z

"It’s Donald Trump’s violent, pawing need, not to win, but to be *seen* to have won. To see *himself* as a winner or, when observable reality disagrees, to declare war on reality. It’s the president’s shrieking demand that everyone else join him in waging war upon a mirror."

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-24T16:58:10.225Z

Why are the US media and Democratic politicians so averse to recognizing that SCOTUS judges can be impeached?

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-25T18:01:45.727Z

A new dimension of "throwing like a girl".

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-28T03:27:07.509Z

This is actually a good way to deal with drive-by commenters on social media."This is stupid!""OK."They don't know how to continue when you refuse to give them the theatrical conflict they crave.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-28T18:12:37.049Z

Maybe they're all ninjas, disguising themselves by becoming blades of grass.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-28T18:06:43.769Z

Musk is a Bond supervillain. Zuckerberg is a Batman supervillain.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-30T07:37:56.774Z

Well come ON! If you looked like that, you'd be depressed, too.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-01T17:52:32.638Z

THANK YOU.It's rare to see *anyone* who grasps this nowadays, even though it's right there in the name of the movement.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-02T17:43:57.214Z

The Trump regime keeps people from entering the US "because of who they are" all the time.Monkey see, monkey do.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-04T17:43:32.766Z

Without a doubt, it would have to be the guy who said that any female character in a fantasy story with extraordinary powers was a "Mary Sue".

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-06T19:08:47.786Z

Another American institution destroyed by private equity: http://www.salon.com/2026/07/03/h…

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-07T17:02:26.485Z

As a former reference librarian, I can tell you what people did before Google. (HINT: it wasn't sitting around helplessly wishing for the information.)

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-08T07:57:06.570Z

I spoke with Mitch McConnell for twenty minutes this morning. He told me he had meddled in things that man must leave alone.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-09T08:13:53.616Z

Reminds me of this argument which anyone who knew teen boys in the late '70s & early '80s will remember:Boy 1: Rob Halford is not gay!Boy 2: Dude, he's gay. Look at his costumes.Boy 1: Leather is tough, not gay!Boy 2: What about gay leather dudes?Boy 1: They stole that from bikers!Boy 2: …..

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-11T18:16:55.618Z

Every so often the very first tweet I see from someone is so absolutely, moronically authoritarian, I block them instantly to spare myself from ever seeing another violently-stupid utterance from them.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-12T17:12:55.939Z

"Verify your age"Fuck you! In my day, computers didn't talk back or make demands. And we watched TV by attaching the set to an antenna.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-13T17:03:24.239Z

So very many words to say, "I don't understand the concept of hubris and anyone who tries to explain it to me is Satan."

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-14T17:41:15.926Z

"The alternative would be to admit that we as a nation have done what we have in fact done, which is install a demented narcissistic madman as president."

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-15T17:58:14.068Z

Partisanism is a form of brain rot. Today's example: claiming the increasingly-totalitarian Trump regime is "anti-government".If Trump's metastasizing police state is "anti-government", I shudder to think what a "pro-government" regime would look like.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-16T17:03:55.420Z

People used to think I was kooky for refusing to eat green, leafy vegetables and uncooked or undercooked food.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-18T03:39:10.780Z

My favorite Sanders tell is how his refrain used to be blaming "millionaires and billionaires" for everything until someone correctly pointed out that SANDERS is a millionaire, at which point he switched to just blaming "billionaires".

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-19T16:53:53.906Z

 

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The Invasion of Throwback Thursday

Posted in Miscellaneous, Philosophy, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , on July 16, 2026| Leave a Comment »

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Sixteenth Anniversary

Posted in Biography, History, Philosophy, tagged , , , , , on July 10, 2026| 1 Comment »

I’ll keep going, just as I always do and always have done, until the day finally arrives when I no longer have to. –  “Fifteenth Anniversary”

Sixteen years is a long time by internet reckoning; some of y’all reading this may not have yet learned to read when I started it in 2010, and even I barely remember some of the topics I covered in the first few years because they have since faded from the public consciousness.  I daresay very few people were reading this blog on phones in 2010; now I suspect most read it that way.  That is, most of those who still read it at all; before the enshittification of Google I averaged some 3000 visits per day, and now 500 is a good day.  Of course, that’s not only due to Google; as I wrote three years ago, “the world and the culture have changed quite a bit since I started this project, and in a world of YouTube and TikTok, blogs are beginning to look as quaint as radio shows did in 1959.”  But being considered “quaint” doesn’t actually bother me; after all, 25 years ago I was driving around in this car (though the dress and boots were already about ten years old then; if you’ve ever wondered how long I’ve been doing the snakeskin prints, now you know).  This blog is on WordPress rather than Substack or whatever has replaced it in popularity, and my email address is on Earthlink.  My books are still intended to be read on paper; the Kindle versions are an afterthought I only create to please those readers who prefer electronic texts.  And in philistine circles, even writing essays oneself rather than attaching one’s name to something shat out by a computer program is considered hopelessly passé.  You know what I think of all that?  My 40-years-younger self would’ve rolled her eyes and dismissively said, “Whatever”.  Because I plan to keep doing things the way I prefer doing them until I either croak or the increasing walled-gardening of the internet makes it impossible.

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