Advocacy...
An interesting read over at Disenchanted regarding the games of science versus faith and... "the difference between knowing something, and knowing the name of something" got me thinking about advocacy. In creating a metaphor to describe "the game", the author suggests that "it's human nature to advocate your lifestyle".
I guess it is human nature. Recently I've been struck by others' (and my own) urge to advocate a particular "thing" (from a particular ideology to stereo equipment), doesn't matter what "it" is -- we love to talk stuff up.
ad·vo·ca·cy: (n.) The act of pleading or arguing in favor of something, such as a cause, idea, or policy; active support.
As much as I can surmise, there's a few reasons we're driven to advocate. Advocating our choices is a form of external validation. If humans find something they believe in, they want to tell their friends about it... and their friends friend's. Their "advocating" is tainted by their own experiences and beliefs -- which, while totally appropriate to them, are very unlikely to be compatible with your own life.
I now find myself more carefully considering the other person's situation before speaking up. If I do open my mouth, I try to give pros and cons as well as set their expectations at the proper place. I basically want a disclaimer card that I can hand to people listing all my biases and points of view, complete with a reminder to take everything I say with a grain of salt.
Posted by ben at
12:30 PM
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Lessons in Division
This fairly interesting article (you might need to register to read it) was in the LA Times Magazine a week or so ago...
The article tells the story of a progressive orthodox Jewish private school (I know - I know, 'progressive' and 'orthodox Jewish' don't normally go together) and a secular Jewish instructor taking the ideals of the school too far for the administration. Sounds like an incredible learning environment for these kids.
Posted by ben at
10:00 PM
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Watterson
Nice article (although not much new info) about Bill Watterson floating around the net this week.
If Bill wanted to 'roll his own' and start self-publishing Calvin & Hobbes again (or something new), I can't imagine a more popular blog. He'd certainly not have to battle over the time crunchs or space limitations that so perturbed him while working with the newspapers.
In other C & H news, someone (can't remember who now) pointed out a site featuring RSS feeds of popular comics -- you can enjoy C & H and others in your favorite RSS reader.
In other comic news, Berkeley Breathed returned Opus to us after nearly a decade. What took so long? Now if only Gary Larson would check-in!
Posted by ben at
07:16 PM
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TMGAIHAA Newsletter
Mil produces a quite famous "website" (ok, design isn't his thing...), "Things My Girlfriend And I Have Argued About" or as Mil says, TMGAIHAA for short. 
His writing style is brilliantly funny and I find myself laughing out loud when reading his stuff. His situational humor and insight into his own and his girlfriend's psychosis's is absolutely spot-on, all published with his perfect British dry wit.
A sample from his latest newsletter to wet your appetite:
We were in London earlier in the week. Margret and I were their together, but also apart; sometimes I had to go and do writery stuff, while Margret went elsewhere and, well, I don't know what she did. Probably best not to think about it. Anyway, Margret borrowed my backpack for one of her jaunts because she needed its extra storage space to hold the severed heads of her enemies or something. When we briefly crossed paths later in the hotel, she gave it back to me; I flung my wallet into the front section and raced out on my own to somewhere else.
Skip forward about an hour and you find me in a department store. This is central London, a little over three weeks before Christmas - the place is *packed*; every shop looks like it's 1949 in Kiev and there's been a delivery of meat. I'm standing in front of a till with a writhing mass of people around me; all of them are staring at me intently as, in unison, they think this thought: "If he gets out a card instead of cash to pay for that item - thus making me wait another four seconds while he receives a slip and signs it - then, so help me, I will kill him... or sigh really, *really* obviously." The woman on the checkout scans my barcode.
'Ten pounds, please,' she says.
I reach a hand down into the front of my backpack. The crowd tenses in anticipation. I dash out my wallet. I look at my wallet. The woman on the till looks at my wallet. The other shoppers look at my wallet. Stuck flappingly to the front of my wallet is a self-adhesive panty liner.
We share a moment.
I instinctively know that there's no point trying to explain. Saying to the woman on the till, 'Ah - my girlfriend must have left some spares in there,' would surely be greeted by the worst of all possible replies:
'Of course, sir.'
It's also frankly insane to try to take command of the situation is some kind of "Never mind that. Just expedite my purchase, for I have an important meeting with a famous international publisher to attend" way. People admire you blustering on tenaciously if you have only one leg, or no eyes, or an extra nose; it doesn't evoke the same kind of nodding respect for your indomitability if the handicap is a winged sanitary product adhering to your wallet, however. So, I say nothing whatsoever. In the now noticeably quieter shop, I simply peel away the liner, place it back in my bag, and pay. I then thank the woman on the till, calmly walk out of door, turn left onto the street, and run and run until my lungs explode.
He also has a book, which is so-so. There's some great "scenes" peppered throughout it, but it's not as consistent as the vignettes that appear on his website or in the mailing list newsletters. Be sure to sign-up for the newsletter. He's also got a new book coming out soon, which hopefully will be of the same caliber as his website.
Posted by ben at
12:15 PM
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