Over the last months I have grown very fond of the podcast
Entitled Opinions. The last episode I reviewed is a perfect example of why: the podcast had the audacity to take on the
ideas of the Unabomber and take us on a critical tour through his world. This is Entitled opinions: an exercise in culture that is not taking the easy roads and also courageous to dig deep.
And so, because I was thrilled by that issue, I went deep into the backlog and dug up another conversation with the same participants. This time about my favorite writer of all time: Albert Camus. And also with him, they took not the easy road and had the courage to dig deep. Camus, who is so frequently portrayed as an almost saintly visionary, doesn't come out as the great philosopher or the righteous figure. Yet, this tormented man, who died too early, still wrought some influential works that are still relevant today.
They also paid attention to my favorite quote of Camus: If I have to choose between justice and my mother, I choose my mother. This is not taken as the powerful stance, that I see in it, so I will happily turn you to listen to this wonderful episode of Entitled opinions. But let me say that Camus understood that justice was more of an emotion than a rational idea. And I would add, that justice is more of a bundle of principles that require a complex balancing act and that can always surprise in special circumstances - the mother.
More Entitled Opinions:
Unabomber world views,
Byzantine Culture,
Jimi Hendrix,
Nietzsche,
Romanticism.
Today is Blog Action Day 2009. Today we will pay attention to Climate Change.
They explain how at one time the joint histories of Africa, Europe and the Americas was combined into a composite narrative about the exchange that took place between the four continents especially from the age of exploration until the later days of imperialism - though the field could be taken larger than that. What started off as a composite, developed into a field with its various specialties, divisions and opinions.
De laatste aflevering was ook weer geweldig. Tom Tacken vertelde het verhaal van Edith Cavell, de Britse verpleegster die door de Duitsers werd terechtgesteld op verdenking van spionage. Tacken neemt dze biografie als voorbeeld van nog weer een speciaal fascinerend aspect van de Eerste Wereldoorlog: de propaganda. Meer nog dan ooit was propaganda nodig om de oorlogsmachine draaiende te houden. En het verhaal van Cavell, hoewel ook gebruikt in de Duitse propaganda, speelt toch vooral een betekenisvolle rol in de Britse en Amerikaanse propaganda.
And so, because I was thrilled by that issue, I went deep into the backlog and dug up another conversation with the same participants. This time about my favorite writer of all time: Albert Camus. And also with him, they took not the easy road and had the courage to dig deep. Camus, who is so frequently portrayed as an almost saintly visionary, doesn't come out as the great philosopher or the righteous figure. Yet, this tormented man, who died too early, still wrought some influential works that are still relevant today.
Bryson takes the audience on a tour through the art of painting from the 17th to the 19th century with inspired and informative analysis of specific works, which can be found on the course website. Guided by Bryson we get thoroughly acquainted with assorted artists, mostly from France - or so it went last year. This year the first two lecture were missed in the feed and it only starts with the third.
