Philosophy
Aubade, by Philip Larkin (Devs, 2020)
A mesmerizing scene from the penultimate episode of Devs, written and directed by Alex Garland. Set in the near-future, the series posits the creation of a quantum computer that can be used to experience any moment of the past or future, and which may bring about the end of reality according to natural law. The … Read moreAubade, by Philip Larkin (Devs, 2020)
“What Justifies a Life? In Memory of Liam McCarty”
Jared Morningstar writes for Medium in memoriam of his friend Liam, and on the intrinsic value of life in relation to death: To be is also to experience, and the conscious experience of human life is something of both irreducible individuality and incomparable richness. In merely experiencing life as ourselves — in all its complexity … Read more“What Justifies a Life? In Memory of Liam McCarty”
Silverweed’s poem and the Death Cult of the Shining Wire
In Richard Adams’ 1972 masterpiece Watership Down, a group of rabbits must leave the doomed Sandleford warren and embark on a perilous journey to find a new home. Along the way they encounter many strange things, including a warren of curiously fatalistic and decadent rabbits, whose philosophy is represented in verse by their poet, Silverweed: … Read moreSilverweed’s poem and the Death Cult of the Shining Wire
Remembering Ecotheologian Michael Dowd (November 19, 1958 – October 7, 2023)
Below is a tribute from Michael’s friend Jordan Perry: Michael Dowd lived a life of love in action and he thrived in the thrill of being alive! On Saturday October 7, while in his sleep, he returned to the infinite joy that he had never left. Michael died in New York where he went to … Read moreRemembering Ecotheologian Michael Dowd (November 19, 1958 – October 7, 2023)
Alan Moore’s “Grandeur & Monstrosity”
Any readers intrigued by the mostly inchoate phenomenon that I optimistically refer to as Poetic Faith – the notion and practice of creating one’s own religion, as a work of art – should track down Alan Moore’s story Grandeur & Monstrosity, which appears in the graphic narrative anthology “God is Dead: the Book of Acts; … Read moreAlan Moore’s “Grandeur & Monstrosity”
“On ‘Choosing Suicide’: Documentary as Confrontation”
In the following article, originally published in the Summer 1980 edition of Television Quarterly, documentarian Richard Ellison describes the production of his highly controversial special “Choosing Suicide”. The documentary was produced at the request of its subject, Brooklyn-based artist and psychotherapist Jo Roman, who had decided to end her own life after receiving a terminal … Read more“On ‘Choosing Suicide’: Documentary as Confrontation”