Friday, May 27, 2022

Triage

(The following is based only on limited freely available audiobooks.)


When triaging an existential wound, first keep the patient from bleeding to death.


The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins

https://youtu.be/1yW2pE2VvbE

https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/10755075


The End of Faith by Sam Harris

https://youtu.be/gvIadvRIwKo


The CIA as Organized Crime by Douglas Valentine

https://youtu.be/0vjYiCl1b38

https://youtu.be/CeEokns0gyU


The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein

https://youtu.be/lPWJu9SO2XA


Capitalism and Its Consequences by Noam Chomsky

https://youtu.be/-h1CyRXHI1c

https://youtu.be/7vSOZQmeB2Y


Drawdown by Paul Hawken

https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/11889095


We Own the Future edited by Kate Aronoff, Peter Dreier, and Michael Karzin

https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/13769750


The Future Earth by Eric Holthaus

https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/12577622




Then treat serious wounds that are not immediately life threatening.


The Geography of Nowhere by James Howard Kunstler

https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/12437421


The Edible Ecosystem Solution by Zach Loeks

https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/14888116


The Attachment Parenting Book by William Sears, MD

https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/12232260


Weapons of Mass Instruction by John Taylor Gatto

https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/11187579


Teaching To Transgress by Bell Hooks

https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/12315281


A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn

https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/11586893


An Indigenous People's History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

https://youtu.be/DrOKOJY0UlE


Feminism is for Everybody by Bell Hooks

https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/12315141


How the World Works by Noam Chomsky

https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/12624247


Permanent Record by Edward Snowden

https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/12693315




Finally, prescribe a complete holistic, preventive care regimen to induce a paradigm shift toward better health.


Ishmael by Daniel Quinn

https://youtu.be/B1gB5YtHC9c


Patterns of Connection by Fritjof Capra

https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/14596469


Biomimicry by Janine Benyus

https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/12340716


Days of War, Nights of Love by CrimethInc

https://youtu.be/V6NdGcgRS-c


Opening Up by Tristan Taormino

https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/10757102


SM 101 by Jay Wiseman

https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/14383332


The Way of Zen by Alan Watts

https://youtu.be/tENPNjPwN_I


Freedom from the Known by Jiddu Krishnamurti

https://youtu.be/lMGe5I8iNEA




See also:

My Youtube playlist "Audiobooks"

My Amazon list "Audible"

My Amazon list "Kindle"


Sunday, May 15, 2022

The Pleasure Gap

This writing is from a heteronormative perspective because I am (mostly*) heterosexual, and because that's my target audience. While many heterosexuals are enlightened on this topic, I have yet to meet an unenlightened non-heterosexual on this topic. I am also a cis male, ethically non-monogamous, and enjoy many BDSM activities and the community.

Growing up I was always baffled when boys would tease and belittle girls who were promiscuous. They would devalue them with names like "slut" or "whore" if only she dared to enjoy sex as much she did!


In addition, it seemed as if no other boys masturbated. You would be teased relentlessly if you dared admit it. The old church myths of hairy palms and going blind were still used as an ineffective club to terrorize you into denial and guilt. Many women never masturbate until adulthood, or rately.


Even then I never understood why this stupid culture did such stupid things. This stupid culture erected struct hierarchies of CEO, Reverend, Professor, and Father, all vying to control your mind through fear and ignorance.

What is wrong with pleasure? I will tell you. Pleasure is self-gratifying. The Pharaohs cannot control you when you seek optimal pleasure--that is, sometimes delaying short-term pleasure or avoiding longterm pain, and cooperating with others for mutual benefit.

I refer you the pleasure principle and the philosophies of hedonism (not self-indulgence) and epicureanism.


Therefore, the Pharaohs tell us we must be Puritans. The Pharaohs tell us who we may have pleasure with, how, and where. More importantly, the Pharaohs tell us who we may not have pleasure with, how and where. The Pharaohs control our access to pleasure, food, shelter, warmth, education, and love, and make us work as their wage slaves for crumbs from their tables. Who can deny this world is a dystopia? Who can deny that a child could easily dream up a much more wonderful world?

And so it is that endlessly abundant pleasure is commodified and artificially made scarce to control people.

And so it is that endlessly abundant food is commodified and artificially made scarce to control people.

And so it is that endlessly abundant shelter is commodified and artificially made scarce to control people.

And so it is that endlessly abundant warmth is commodified and artificially made scarce to control people.

And so it is that endlessly abundant education is commodified and artificially made scarce to control people.

And so it is that endlessly abundant love is commodified and artificially made scarce to control people.

I am not suggesting that everyone should pleasure everyone else. We are all allowed to discriminate how and with whom we wish to be intimate. (One branch of my family Krafted a plan to force a sort of MtF transexual transition against my will so that they could sexually exploit me--a most traumatic experience that I will never forgive).


Likewise, no Authority has the right to take our own individual right to collaboratively decide.

Which brings me back to my original point. Isn't it rather stupid that heterosexual men who desire pleasure deride women who desire pleasure? Isn't it much more intelligent to celebrate and support women who enjoy pleasure? This isn't just feminism and equal opportunity, which is merit enough, but also simple logic.

Therefore, I am among those who reclaim the word "slut," redefining it as a term of endearment and badge of honor for those sexually liberated women who choose to adorn themselves with that term (not all do). While I refuse to use the "N-word," or "faggot," I imagine it is similar for those oppressed populations who say, "You cannot hurt us with this word anymore. It is ours now." In the same light, I love sluts, women who dare to enjoy pleasure without shame--but only in the appropriate setting with those who accept the term from me, and never in a professional environment.

Stupid, primitive, fear-based culture, oh how I loathe thee. You have caused so much unnecessary suffering for me and billions of others.




The following are just a few videos to maybe, possibly, open the minds of a few.







* I identify as about a 1 on the 0-6 Kinsey Scale.



Update: These definitions are not conventional, but allow me to, um, indulge...

Hedonist: One who maximizes the most pleasure even at the cost of pain over time.
Epicurean: One who optimizes pleasure over time by balancing it against the cost of, or risk against, pain.

Using these somewhat conventionally inaccurate, but useful for my purposes, definitions, Epicureans are not strictly ascetics. They are strategists for a thriving, vibrant sustainability. Ascetics strive for an infinite dullness. Hedonists, using the same errant definitions, are ultimately self-destructive. In this sense, I am an Epicurean.

Moderation in all things, including moderation.

Which Shall Not Be Named

If I was a major stakeholder in such powerful industries as media, finance, and government, I would first try to make this fact oblivious to...