Part 1: Meditations on a Radiant Fish

Part 2: Future Gnostic

Part 3: Adventures in the Dream Factory

Together these three pieces give a pretty good introduction to the philosophies and ideas of gnosticism as well as a general over view of the weird and wild life and works of Philip K. Dick.

I was mostly attracted to these pieces because I have long been a big fan of the works of Philip K. Dick (though, admittedly, I have only read a small fraction of his works and he was quite the prolific author in his lifetime).  From my encounters with Dick’s works, I have recognized a singularly unique voice in the genre of science fiction.  While many of the elements (robots, aliens, spaceships, time travel) riff on familiar themes, the nature of Dick’s stories have always struck me as different from most (if not all) of his contemporaries in the genre.  There is overwhelming paranoia and pessimism in his stories.  His characters are rarely self-confident role models of a better way of life, but instead are often loners, stifled with self-doubt, and constantly on the fringe of full mental breakdown.  The futures he painted with his words were rarely beautiful or inspiring, and while not always apocalyptic (though occasionally that too) they are dismal, dirty, and dark.  The worlds of Philip K. Dick’s imaginations are almost wholly places we’d rather avoid. And if you accept Mr. Critchley’s thesis of Philip K. Dicks gnostic tendencies, then this is what you would expect in the works of the tortured soul of a man.

Personally, I tend to consider Philip K. Dick more as an interesting lunatic rather than an visionary madman. Certainly, his ideas and stories are worthy of fascination and further discussion, but I am not certain that there is an overwhelming reliability or validity to the ideas.  The paranoia is a little too prominent, and much of it reads like the rantings of an unhinged conspiracy theorist rather than a person of grand philosophical insight.  That all being said, I still find the works enjoyable.

In much the same way I find an interest in the ideas of gnosticism.  Though there are many variations and concepts involved in gnostic world views, the main central theme is the idea that humanity is being deceived by some malevolence, and thus are denied access to a real and better world or existence.  Personally I can see much of the appeal in gnosticism, especially in that it moves the guilt of “evil” out of human control and places the blame on some other entity.  However, as an open and honest atheist, I take issues with a number of the more religious elements of a lot of gnosticism.

Perhaps then that is why gnosticism is effective as a philosophy in the works of science fiction.  In these stories the deception need not be some innately divine or religious occurrence.  The deception can just as much be the work of some alien intelligence, some thinking wicked thinking-machines (see “the Matrix” for a great example of this), or from the poor luck of just being a bunch of brains in jars (also see “The Matrix”).  The idea of the world not being all that it seems to be, and that in fact there is a malevolent intent in the deception, is a very common theme throughout much of science fiction, in part because it sets up a grand conflict to be faced.  I am currently in the process of rereading another work of sci-fi/fantasy that plays heavily with the gnosticism themes, that being the grand series by another horse-lover, Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” books.

Gnosticism provides part of its appeal in that we can explain our imperfect knowledge of the world on some exterior force that is actively trying to prevent us from this all-knowing (the divine).  I can see the draw to that.  The idea that one could be enlightened to divinity if only he or she could transcend the deceptive malevolence of cruel and misleading forces.  However, I personally think that this is banking on a lot of assumptions about the universe and existence.  My personal views on grand knowledge of things tends to be much more agnostic, in that I think it is less of a matter of a direct deception, and simply the nature of humanity that there are things we just won’t or can’t know (bleak in its own right perhaps, but in the very least it avoids the assumption that there is some evil in existence that is purposely targeting us with cruel and controlling illusions, which I consider to be significantly more bleak).

Anyhow, if you claim to be a fan of science fiction then I strongly recommend that you pick up some Philip K. Dick (I’d recommend “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” simply because it is the novel on which “Blade Runner,” one of the greatest sci-fi films of all times, is based).  I’ll admit that Dick can be a bit difficult to read at times, mostly because there is a lot of rambling tangents and distractions for both the characters and in turn for the audience, but if you can get past the often unfocused writing style, there are some very neat science fiction ideas, as well as some interesting philosophical insights.  Definitely worth checking out.  And if you are into philosophy or theology, reading up more on gnosticism is worthwhile, whether you agree with it or not.

Look, I love tacos.  I have always loved tacos.  I just made tacos (my sweet potato and black bean variety) earlier this week and will likely make them again soon. 

I really enjoy pretty much all Mexican style cuisine.  Everything from the very authentic right up to the mass marketed and super commercialized Taco Bell (that’s right, I’m not embarrassed to admit I love me some Taco Bell).  But the taco, as a vehicle for delightfulness, is definitely at the top of my list as the ideal (though burritos are a real close second).  Honestly a lot of what we think of as American-Mexican cuisine is just variation on a theme of the same basic food stuff (just served in a different way) but what really makes the taco so ideal and stand out is its handheld quality making is mobile and kinetic.

Personally, I like soft tortillas for my tacos.  I won’t refuse a hard shell taco, but I like the ability to kind of wrap the filling up.  Honestly I’d be happy to eat just about anything (well anything that is reasonably ate that is) in a taco form . . . yes, including ice cream, haven’t you ever had a Choco Taco?  So flippin’ awesome! (In high school the Choco Taco was my frozen dessert of choice, fyi).

So yeah, taco knowledge and history has just about made my day.  Pretty much the only thing that could make it better now, besides getting to eat some more tacos today, would be if, when I left work, I discovered that pterodactyls had returned and the government was handing them out as licenced aerial steeds . . . I mean seriously, how could anything up that?

Thanks for sharing Dan. You can read about my wedding brews in this blog post.

Par of why I like it is because I have seen all but two of the movies on the list (“Time After Time” and “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.”) and I am pretty happy with the eight that I know and have seen having made it on the list.  Beyond that, putting “Time Bandits” in the #1 spot and saying off it “This is one of the greatest movies of all time, period” earns some major respect points from me.  I love “Time Bandits,” and am in agreement that it is an absolutely brilliant film (also it is real kick ass that Terry Gilliam landed two movies on the list, the other, besides “Time Bandits” being the also-very-awesome “12 Monkeys“).

All around a great list with some definitely must-see movies for the curious about time travel.

Besides just enjoying talking about topics we have a lot of passion and interest in, we were pleased with the days success in selling seedlings.  We made some extra cash that we’ll be able to apply towards more garden work or a trip up to Vermont in the next several months.  Part of the day’s enjoyment came from seeing all the different people who come out to the event.  It is encouraging to know that some many people are interested in urban gardening and sustainable and organic practices.

The work in our garden is still far from done.  Besides having more stuff that needs to be planted, we are preparing to plan and order our drip irrigation system (which will hopefully make our water needs easier and more economical in the long run), we need to get more mulching done, and we have goals of improving some of our raised beds.  On the raised beds note, the word of the weekend for me was “hügelkultur” which is the practice of burying logs beneath raised beds and letting them decay.  The decaying logs act as a sponge and can very significantly reduce the need for watering.  Additionally as they decay the provide a heat source and more nutrients in the soil.  You can read a real good bit about hügelkultur here.  We are hoping to put some hügelkultur into effect ourselves.

So all in all, the second annual Urban Farm Tour was a good time.  We were glad to do it and now we are glad that it is done and we can relax a bit more (while there still is garden work, we are not as worried about making the place as presentable).  We are looking forward to devoting some more time to some of our other hobbies for a while.  Yesterday we already went for a hike and looked for some mushrooms (we didn’t find anything besides some amanitas, and seeing as they were probably poisonous, they were not all that exciting).  I am looking forward to brewing some new beer, making some new pickles, and devoting more time to drawing and writing.  I know Eliza’s got a list of things she’s wanting to do too.

Until next time, take it easy.

Eliza’s and my house will be on the tour again this year and we are anticipating a large crowd (last year, we supposedly had the most people visit our site, some 600+ people).  We’ve been working really hard (Eliza definitely more than me) over the last month getting our yard ready for this event.  While we would unquestionably be building up our garden anyways, the Urban Farm Tour has become a really good incentive for us to hunker-down and get work done during the spring.  This year we’ve done some intensive leaf mulching (completely covering our front yard), rebuilding our raised beds (which had been rather devastated by a year of free roaming chickens), and getting some new plants bought and established (citrus, pineapple-guave, elderberries, additional herbs, etc.).  All and all the yard is looking pretty kick-ass and jazzy.

The weather forecast is looking great for Saturday, not too hot, but nice and sunny (basically perfect) so we’re expecting a pretty big crowd throughout the day.  Both Eliza and I love talking up our passions of gardening, organic food, chickens, bees, mushrooms, home food processing (brewing, canning, lacto-fermenting, etc.) and all those other things we do, so while the day may be tiring, we’ll be having a blast promoting things that we love.

If you happen to live in Greenville, or just be around for the weekend, definitely consider coming on the tour.  Tickets are only $8 ($7 for people in groups of five or more) and the money supports a really good local cause.  Also, it is just a lot of fun to see all the impressive stuff being done in the city.  Anyhow, check it out, maybe we’ll see you out there.

As with the other performances this season “The 39 Steps” was superbly acted and directed.  This was the second show this season (the first being “Stones in His Pockets“) that relied on a minimal cast to play many roles (only four actors but a great many parts) which makes the acting all the more impressive.

I like the basic concept of “The 39 Steps” in which a Hitchcock suspense story is turned into a comedy almost purely by the absurdity of circumstance and the utilization of the minimal cast.  In many ways, making the story into a comedy turns the whole concept of a noir-ish suspense story on its head, which is deserving of praise.

The first act is tightly written and hilarious.  Hardly a moment passed in which we were not laughing.  Unfortunately the second act slows down quite a bit,  and while there are still laughs, it is not quite as tight or enticing as the first act.  I should not, however, that I do not attribute this slow down to either the acting or directing, but more to the writing of the story.

All around a worthwhile show though.  Very funny and entertaining.  The continuing theme of relatively simple set design (more than say “Stones in His Pockets” but still quite simple) worked well for the show.  The use of shadow puppets and voiceover narration was highly effective in the comedic production.  All around he look and feel was wonderfully enjoyable.

The Warehouse Theatre continues this season by demonstrating how professional and entertaining a small non-profit theatre can be.  Each show has been a pleasure to attend and “The 39 Steps” does not disappoint in this regards.  The show runs through May 12th so definitely try an check it out if you are interesting.  It is a very good time.

Anyways, if you are a fellow doodler and are looking for a bit of ammunition to hold off the naysayers (“Stop drawing!  Pay attention to me!”) give this here article a skim, you’ll probably like it.

I am not all about the whole “minimalism” movement that seems to be happening to all sorts of stuff (movie posters, songs, etc.) but I think this move works very well with the Mario mechanics.  At its heart Mario is an incredibly simple game – that is part of the appeal – and stripping it down to its bare essence makes for an enjoyable and surprisingly challenging game.

Anyways, for those Mario fans out there give it a shot.  I made it through level three before I got frustrated at not being able to time my jumps just right (I’ll be back at it once my heart rate decreases).

PKNGVL8 – Nathan Lord from Pecha-Kucha Greenville on Vimeo.