The Guild

For anyone who has ever felt like they might be spending just a little too much time on the internet, check out this web series. It is hilarious.

http://www.watchtheguild.com/episodes/

From their website:

The Guild is a independent sitcom webisode about a group of online gamers. It is written for gamers, about gamers by a gamer. Episodes vary from 3-5 minutes and length, and follow the Guild members’ lives online and offline.

The funny side of the elections

P.J. O'Rourke is one of my favorite political writers. His humor cuts through so much bull and often through the laughter one recognizes the truth.

His "Letter to Our European Friends" explains the US elections in a way that has to make everyone from all political stripes laugh out loud.

Here are some gems.

Explaining our two party system:

Democrats are in favor of higher taxes to pay for greater spending, while Republicans are in favor of greater spending, for which the taxpayers will pay.

On Mitt Romney as a conservative:

But Mitt was governor of Massachusetts. This is like applying to be pope and listing your prior job experience as "Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem."

On the Presidents as the Seven Dwarves:

We've got Dopey right now. We had Sleazy before him. Grumpy lost in '04. Sleepy was great in the 1980s, but he's dead.

On the libertarian side, my friend Patrick has done a thoroughly hilarious analysis of the libertarian candidates. They almost make Ron Paul look normal.

Seize this Honkus!

I'm posting this video excerpt in honor my classes this week. In Ethics, we are discussing punishment and in Business Ethics we are starting on Frankfurt's "On Bullshit". This first part of this clip (about 1 3/4 minutes) has one of my favorite scenes: an exchange between Mel Brooks and Bea Arthur on bullshit. The latter half (About 7 minutes) asks the question: what is the punishment for a slave who strikes a Roman citizen. Now, let's be creative folks!

New twist on an old thought experiment

Cow and Boy offer a new twist on the standard trolley thought experiment in moral philosophy.

Some light-hearted material

First, forwarded from Virginia (originally from KELO-FM 92.5 in South Dakota):

The next time you hear a politician use the word 'billion' in a casual manner, think about whether you want the 'politicians' spending YOUR tax money. A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in one of its releases.

A. A billion seconds ago it was 1959.
B. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.
C. A billion hours ago our ancestors were
living in the Stone Age.
D. A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.
E. A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it.

Second, from Philosopher Stone:

A funny (if you're a philosopher) parody of presidential attack ads: Kant is Bad for America

How to cover the elections

The most honest news story on the presidential elections:

More Python...No it isn't

The famous Argument Sketch:

Nietzsche's piling up the yellow cards

Monty Python's International Philosophy Match sketch:


Favorite Line: "Aristotle very much the man in form"

Hat tip: Philosopher Stone

Look Ma! More Quizzes!

Here's one that Patrick discovered. Results are a little surprising, but not that much. I wouldn't have expected that Existentialism would be so high, but the rest of it seems in order.

You scored as Existentialism, Your life is guided by the concept of Existentialism: You choose the meaning and purpose of your life. “Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.” “It is up to you to give [life] a meaning.” --Jean-Paul Sartre “It is man's natural sickness to believe that he possesses the Truth.” --Blaise Pascal More info at Arocoun's Wikipedia User Page... Existentialism 100% Strong Egoism 90% Justice (Fairness) 85% Hedonism 80% Kantianism 55% Utilitarianism 25% Nihilism 5% Apathy 0% Divine Command 0% What philosophy do you follow? (v1.03) created with QuizFarm.com

Ethical Philosophy Selector

I took this quiz years ago, and had somewhat similar results (though I don't remember the exact ordering).

Here's my Top Ten:
1. Aristotle (100 %)
2. Ayn Rand (97 %)
3. John Stuart Mill (94 %)
4. Epicureans (91 %)
5. Aquinas (86 %)
6. Plato (81 %)
7. Nietzsche (78 %)
8. Thomas Hobbes (78 %)
9. David Hume (73 %)
10. Jean-Paul Sartre (73 %)

Try it and see what you get!

The New Kiekekaard

Cow and Boy is a relatively new strip and has quickly risen to one my favorites. It's got a Calvin & Hobbes feel, but instead of a stuffed tiger, it's a talking cow.

Proper Grad Student Etiquette

For all those who ask this of me regularly:



From PHD Comics. (click on image to see it in full resolution)