Baudrillard, Simulacra and Simulation, 65.Technorati Tags: baudrillard, signs, simulacra
From today, the only real cultural practice, that of the masses, ours (there is no longer a difference), is a manipulative, aleatory practice, a labyrinthine practice of signs, and one that no longer has any meaning.
I just made a short post over at Church and Postmodern Culture about the future of theology (direct link). In some ways, this is where I find my future research leading.
I want to graduate and move on to a doctoral program, but I feel like I’ve just gotten a feel for my advisor’s work (which is right in my area…see the previous post over at Church and Postmodern Culture!). I would love to collaborate with him in the future.
I enjoy reading way too much. Nearly every book that I read leads me to three others that all look interesting. I’m on a first-name basis with the circulation desk at the school library.
When I first started my MA program, I felt like I knew very little of everything. Some of the links and connections in classes were so foreign (e.g. Deleuze!) that I had no idea how to understand them. It wasn’t until a class I took last year that these connections were understood in rudimentary ways. Now, I feel like every book I read is a new daybreak, a new revelation, a new idea. Some of the more recent books I’ve read have found ways of connecting my interest(s) in technology and programming with philosophy and theology.
I have five weeks left to write my papers. For my class on globalization, I want to explore the notion of identities as multiplicities. For my class on Augustine and Origen, I want to tease out Augustine’s and Origen’s feelings on language and compare them to modern semiotics: their “rule of faith” as a crutch for language.
No TagsIf you are reading this, you are invited to a summer reading group (9 June - 15 August). It will be centered around current theology (and so, this will include recent philosophy as well). I do not want the reading to be too intensive, because it is summer after all. The primary forms of communication will be via a forum/email gateway (yes, that means one can use either and everyone else will see it). For now, if you are interested in joining the discussion, please leave a comment here or send me (christopher@impleri.net) an email.
No Tags
No Tags
This looks very interesting.
My amazing wife got me a new toy, a Logitech Harmony 880 remote. Our old remote was starting to not work properly, so we needed a new one. I mentioned having one of these would be cool never expecting to actually have one. She was able to find it for cheap off of craigslist.org as an early Easter present. My reasoning behind wanting this remote is that it can be programmed to work with our MythBox, something that had been difficult with other remotes. One of the cool things I didn’t know before is that it is rechargeable. Less batteries, yay! The other nice thing is that it can be configured to work with nearly any device, new or old.
The end of t he term is nigh and I’m spending the weekend reading books (8 from my collection, 14 from the school library) and writing my paper. Yet, it never fails that when it comes time to write, I am more interested in wasting time (see here). The most ironic part is that I’m actually interested in what I write, but I always get that last minute urge to do something–anything!–else. Anyhow, as this is one of those moments, I felt that I can reclaim it by narrowing what my paper topic is: the role that “tradition” and “orthodoxy” play in the game of interpreting and defining “sacred scriptures” (e.g. the Canon, the Bible, etc). By looking at the way books such as Shepherd of Hermas, Epistle of Barnabas, and 1 & 2 Maccabees have been treated in 1st - 4th century Christianity (and Judaism where appropriate), I think I will find some interesting ideas behind the process of canonization.
Technorati Tags: Canon, orthodoxy, scripturesToday is my birthday and I’ve been treated very nicely. It’s always strange for me because I’ve never been overly excited about my birthday. For presents, I received a second 19″ LCD monitor from my wife, which was a total surprise. It goes very well with my dual-head video card and my other 19″ monitor. I am receiving a GPS unit from my mom. I also received a new iPod nano (well, a refurbished 1st gen because I don’t like the new 3rd gen ones) to replace the one I lost during Christmas travels. Now, I need to prepare for my wife’s birthday which is in three months.
No TagsI hope and pray that you (my three readers) had and continue to have a wonderful holiday season (Christmakwaukahboxnewivus). My Christmas was relaxing, spent with my family in Philadelphia. I’m on vacation until 6 Jan when I return for school and work.
No TagsI have decided that I hate sites that require javascript and do not offer a “lo-fi” version. When I surf, I have javascript turned off except for the sites I like to frequent. No, it’s not about security because I’m confident in the security of my system/browser. It’s more that I don’t want to watch tons of “cool, flying gizmos” at some sites; I want information and only information. What’s really tacky, in my opinion, are school websites that use javascript for navigation. Most of the time, they don’t even mention that they require javascript! C’mon, even though we’re in “Web 2.x” crap, that doesn’t mean you leave behind everyone who doesn’t have the latest technologies enabled. It’s even worse if a site uses IE-only features because in this day and age, there are many non-IE browsers that are used. It’s about the equivalent of shooting oneself in the foot.
No Tags
Talk
Chris Martin
Wilson, Rick, brad, christopher, brad, christopher, brad, christopher, brad
christopher, Jeffrey Rodriguez
pfunked, christopher, pfunked
Jasen
Ton Zijlstra