Pledge week at Majikthise: Requests?
The first-ever Majikthise fund drive begins tomorrow. I'm raising money to cover DeLay's perp walk for the blog. The first goal is to cover the plane ticket, any extra money will go towards upgrading photo equipment. I plan to bring back some sweet pics of a sweet, sweet day.
So, all next week's blogging will be by request.
What do you want to read about next week? Bird flu? Recipes? The analytic/synthetic distinction? Global warming? Cute baby animals? Bill Frist? The Red Sox?
You name it, I'll blog about it. Leave your suggestions in the comments thread below. Or, better yet, include your request on your PayPal donation form.
This is an honors system. I can't promise to fulfill every request, but I'll do the best I can. Donors get priority. I reserve the right to disregard any request that I feel is inappropriate, unethical, excessively personal, or libelous.
Stay tuned. It's going to be a crazy week.
I miss the discussions on analytic/synthetic distinctions 'n stuff. Baby pandas and baseball are everywhere, intelligent abstract epistemologic discussions are few and far between and I have found them very rewarding. The comments threads have lead me to some good and steady sources. Thanks.
Posted by: Rob Bate | October 02, 2005 at 12:39 PM
Epistemology it is. There was a good discussion in the Crichton thread about the epistemic status of appeals to authority. I thought maybe I'd expand on some of those ideas. Sound good?
Thanks!
Posted by: Lindsay Beyerstein | October 02, 2005 at 12:46 PM
You mean I have to think? Can't I just logon and find wonderful, brilliant commentaries for free?
OK, you get $20, but no suggestions - I like your taste just fine the way it is.
Posted by: pebird | October 02, 2005 at 01:50 PM
Sounds good. Before reading your blog and other sites your commenters have I had little to no idea what epistemology was, so thank you.
I read the Creighton thread and think I missed it when reading your original post because it just seemed like one more thing to be mindlessly outraged about. The thread itself was, in a way, a wonderful discussion on the fundementals of mindless outrage.
Posted by: Rob Bate | October 02, 2005 at 02:51 PM
I'm curious about the use of primates as political metaphors. Some right-wing Christians accuse liberals of promoting sexual promiscuity, unrestraint as might supposedly be shown by monkeys. Other times the strength of a gorilla is put forward as something manly and worthy of imitation. Alpha males, in certain primates, will fight to death to protect their harem, a fact which is sometimes put forward as an explanation for why female monogamy in humans should be more important than male monogamy.
If you'd like to pull together a top-ten list of ridiculous primate political metaphors, actual quotes people have said or written, then I promise to make a donation.
Posted by: Lawrence Krubner | October 02, 2005 at 03:33 PM
Oooh, good --- you're doing the analytic/synthetic distinctiom
Any chance of a little bird flu thrown in?
Posted by: Cookie | October 02, 2005 at 03:52 PM
I'm hoping my $20 will get you to do some feminist epistemology. Specifically, responses to Plato and Descartes. Less of a critique of P's and D's rejection of the body (that's fairly standard); more along the lines of steering me toward some constructive contributions via feminist philosophy.
Thanks.
VJM
Posted by: V.J. Martin | October 02, 2005 at 07:23 PM
Stan Rogers.
If the world needs one thing, it's more Stan Rogers blogging.
Posted by: SifuTweety | October 02, 2005 at 07:49 PM
Bill Frist, sick of bird flu, wearing red socks, giving a recipe for cooking cute animals!
Posted by: coturnix | October 02, 2005 at 08:53 PM
Lindsay, do you need a place to stay when you're in Austin?
Posted by: CattyinAustin | October 03, 2005 at 12:09 AM
One of the problems that Katrina/Rita laid bare, and that is getting more media coverage every week, is the severe energy crisis that America and the rest of the "developed" world is heading into. Natural gas supplies have been declining steadily even as demand rises, which means that the price for gas heating and electricity can only go up from here. The same thing will happen to conventional oil within a handful of years, and gasoline prices are already poised to go up again. Whether we want to our not, our lifestyles will be changing drastically over the next 5-10 years, and the more informed coverage of this we have, the better prepared we'll be.
Just my own little doomsday axe to grind ;-) Have fun in Texas.
Posted by: Liam Roy | October 03, 2005 at 09:44 AM
$20 seems to be the popular amount (NB paypal wouldnt let me attach any commentary during the payout via that link) - no specific topic request, I just enjoy reading your writing.
Posted by: firefalluk | October 03, 2005 at 10:44 AM
Thanks so much, everyone! I'm just floored by the response the fundraiser is getting so far.
Catty, thanks for asking, but I've got a place to stay in Austin lined up already.
Posted by: Lindsay Beyerstein | October 03, 2005 at 10:50 AM
Do you have a postal address for checks? (Send it by email if you don't want it publicized.)
Posted by: Bruce Reznick | October 03, 2005 at 05:41 PM
There's a "consumer-mentality deconstructing-interactive art activity" on the Lower East Side this coming weekend-- called the Swap-O-Rama Rama (or something like that). The outlines of this project are appealing, and I'd love to know how it functions and how it turns out, from the standpoint of a curious and thoughtful observer (who may or may not take an active part in the process)... and the closest I've been to the Lower East Side is an AAA roadmap. But maybe southern hospitality will have you still in thrall. godspeed, li'l blonde chile!
^..^
Posted by: Herbert Browne | October 04, 2005 at 12:30 AM