Posts Tagged ‘Rabelais’
Shadows and Booms
Posted by: adonis49 on: May 21, 2016
Shadows and Booms; (Jan. 26, 2010)
Jotted down words; erased many.
Kept words reminding me
Of shadows, reflections, music,
And images glowing in the lights
In humility, simplicity, and candor
I receive the “Torma”
This loaf of bread left in Tibet
On distant roads
For passing pilgrims to feed on.
Never mind that birds get first serving.
Amid the vacarmes of the battle,
Everything froze: warriors and horses.
Frozen words, in mid air, melted.
Like cannon ball echoes,
Words reverberated in living booms.
Note: Borrowed ideas from Rabelais and Mounir Abu Debs.
Why women write?
Posted by: adonis49 on: February 1, 2010
Why women write? (February 2, 2010)
A gathering of 50 Lebanese authors, mostly women, were invited to contribute a chapter on the topic “Why I write”. The volume collected 50 developed reasons for the desire to write.
I intend to classify the reasons accompanied with succinct summaries.
An abbot wrote in 1771 “We have got to steadfastly refrain from writing. If we have to write, then it is better be worthier than silence”
“I got an ink pen as gift at the age of nine. It was meant to write with. I was trained to write: I am a shy person and writing was deliverance. Writing is now a fatality” said Fifi Abou Dib
“I send letters; thus, I consider that I publish”
“I write to reduce the distance that separates me with the other”
“Words and ideas do not procure pleasure: it is the attention and expressed solicitude that grab the emotions of the reader”
“The frozen words, suspended in mid air, melted. Like cannon ball echoes, words reverberated in living booms” wrote Rabelais.
“I jot down words and erase many. I save words that remind me of shadows, reflection, music and lighted images. In humility, simplicity, and candor I receive the “Torma”, this loaf of bread placed in Tibet on roads for the hungry pilgrims. Never mind that birds get first serving” wrote Mounir Abou Debs.
“Writing is breaking the silence. More importantly, publishing is to animate discussions, rectifying idiosyncrasies, and giving meaning to our belief that mankind is one species.”
“Writing is a mode of existing, of identification, and of resistance”
“I write because voices demand it”
“Writing is the best technique to training my mind: I write to recollect my mostly forgotten childhood; I write to glorify youth by pitying mine; I write to chastise grandly my adulthood; I write to rejuvenate my feelings in middle age; I write to live the rebirth child in me, eyes wide opened, as years advances.” Adonis49
Shadows and Booms
Posted by: adonis49 on: January 22, 2010
Shadows and Booms; (Jan. 26, 2010)
Jotted down words; erased many.
Kept words reminding me
Of shadows, reflections, music,
And images glowing in the lights
In humility, simplicity, and candor
I receive the “Torma”
This loaf of bread left in Tibet
On distant roads
For passing pilgrims to feed on.
Never mind that birds get first serving.
Amid the vacarms of the battle,
Everything froze: warriors and horses.
Frozen words, in mid air, melted.
Like cannon ball echoes,
Words reverberated in living booms.
Note: Borrowed ideas from Rabelais and Mounir Abu Debs.
You have the rights of the donkey
Posted by: adonis49 on: May 8, 2009
“What are the rights of the beast of burden; like a donkey?”
November 13, 2004
Note: I am re-publishing professional articles instead of updating them for readers who missed then 5 months ago.
People used to own donkeys for special works and they still do in many places.
Donkeys are relatively cheap, if you can find them, and are quite obedient and resilient.
Donkeys can endure hardships if you provide them with food and minimal lodging.
Low level employees in data input jobs are far less loved and appreciated than the former hot blooded mammals.
They helplessly endure repetitive musculoskeletal pains and many of the clerks do proudly claim these pains as a badge of honor.
They are remunerated cheaper than donkeys because all that their job entails is to just sit and do monotonous work.
They suffer all the sedentary diseases: neck, head, shoulders, and back pains.
They suffer irremediable hands, fingers and wrists handicaps for the rest of their wretched lives.
Graphic designers are certainly a tad better:
They are paid slightly better not for their artistic imagination but, may be, because they can also use a few more computer application programs.
Historically, the design of the characters on the first typewriters was meant to slow down typing:
Fast typing used to jam the arms of the mechanical typewriters.
A large order by a big company at the time hampered any redesign of the characters for the newer technological advances in the manufacture of typewriters.
Still, secretaries had to awkwardly learn typing fast to meet production and greed.
The benefits of redesigning the shapes and forms of computer keyboards, which could temporarily alleviate the many cumulative musculoskeletal disorders from harsh continuous and daily typing, did not reach the common typists and data entry clerks.
These low level employees were not worth any investment in upgraded keyboards.
Higher level employees, who barely use computers for any productive task, were honored with the latest gismos.
In fact, I believe that even the best ergonomically designed keyboards cannot solve these disorders:
Heavy computer users, for eight hours daily, are still performing repetitive movements, sitting still, eyes riveted to a display.
They are still asked to perform maximally, under the watchful and tireless computer supervisor:
An efficient program embedded in the computer itself; a program that collects data and analyzes performances of the donkey clerk.
Employees should not demand any redesign of the characters on keyboards.
Any faster typing design will be at their detriment and they will pay the price bitterly.
Their task will come to higher risks to their health and safety with no increase in wages.
They should know that faster standards will then be required of them;
Instead of 60 words per minutes Mr. Greed might ask of them to be able to type 300 wpm.
It is not enough to improve technology; we need to restrain its consequences.
Bless Rabelais who said: “Science without conscience is the ruin of the soul”.
Famous Manuscripts Banned by the Vatican: (Part 2, April 19, 2009)
Thousands of literary works were indexed by the Vatican from around 1200 to 1966.
Virtually no author was spared indexing. Pascal, Descartes, Locke, Spinoza, Rousseau, Kant, Diderot, Stendhal, Lamartine, Hugo, Flaubert, Balzac, Saint-Simon, Proudhon, Zola, Sartre, and even Gide were indexed for part of their work.
Voltaire was the most indexed: each of his manuscripts was automatically indexed before reading it. Voltaire would occasionally sign Ecralinf meaning (Let us crush the despicable infamous Church of Rome).
Ironically, Darwin, Karl Marx, and Hitler were spared INDEXING.
“The Defender of Peace” by Marsile of Padua (Rector of the University of Paris) is published in 1324 and banned by the Church. The manuscript said that the function of governance does not suit the Bishop of Rome (the Pope) because this urge for domination of the Church is the bane of all discords. Communities should be governed by their own councils.
Baruch Spinoza published “Treaty on Theological-Politics” in 1670. He is excommunicated (herem) by the Jewish Wise Men of the synagogue of Amsterdam and later indexed by the Vatican. Spinoza claimed that the Torah is false, that soul dies with the body, and that God exist only philosophically. Religions instituted a God with 7 main characteristics so that their logical scaffold can hold: God should be One, Unique, Omnipresent, has absolute authority and rights over everything, that obeisance to God consist in justice and charity, that Heaven and Hell are the consequences of our behaviors, and finally that God is forgiving because everyone is a sinner. Faith does not dwell on whether God is fire, spirit, light, or thought.
Pierre-Augustin de Beaumarchais published “The Wedding of Figaro” in 1781. This manuscript said of the aristocrats “You were given the pain of being born, and nothing else”; and thus was blamed for disturbing the social construct. Beaumarchais published also “The Barber of Seville”
“Praise of Folly” (L’Eloge de la Folie) by Erasmus of Rotterdam was indexed in 1511. Under the mask of irony, Erasmus creates a Foul dominating the World and supported by ignorant idiots with humongous Ego; he attacks the theologians and scholastic specialties whom thrive in adding subtlety over subtlety in order to obscure any kind of comprehension. In just the same century, the manuscript is re-edited 600 times.
“The Prince” of Nicolas Machiavelli is published in 1513 in Florence. The book explains how a Prince should behave to acquire and then retain power and would be one of the founders of modern political thinking.
“The Third Book” of Francois Rabelais was published in 1532. The previous publications “Pantagruel” and “Gargantua” were not spared indexing too. The art of mockery far exceed that of Erasmus and his farces scorch all the princes. Moliere would rely on Rabelais’ works for his comedies.
The Essays” of about 107 of essays by Michel Montaigne are published as of 1580 and was censured by the Church Inquisition. The Church didn’t like the offhandedness of mixing sacred topics with profane subjects and the manuscript was judged morally too permissive.
“The new Stories” succeeds the famous fables of Jean de la Fontaine and are published as of 1674 and mocks the clerics and was indexed for “corrupting the moral and inspiring libertine behaviors”. Before he dies, his confessor forced him to recant, and he did so that he may die in peace of that pest of cleric.
“The Spirit of Laws” by Charles-Louis of Montesquieu was published in Switzerland in 1748 to avoid censuring. The author demanded that the three branches of executive, legislative, and justice enjoy independent powers for check and balance in governance.
“Therese the Philosopher” by Jean-Baptiste Boyer was published in 1748, in the same year that “Fanny Hill” of John Cleland was published. This manuscript described in details the bacchant sacrilegious ceremonies that a Pope relished. The Marquis of Sade would imitate that genre of pornography. It is rumored that these kinds of books influenced the French Revolution more than any other manuscripts. The French National Library cataloged this book under “Hell” section.
“Emile” by Jean-Jacques Rousseau was published in 1762. Rousseau offered a new educational system for kids so that the natural kindness of humankind is preserved; that kids enjoy their lives as kids and refrain from reading before the age of 12; that they wear loose garments to play leisurely. The manuscript was indexed and publicly burned in Paris for inciting man to follow his instincts. Rousseau will publish “The Social Contract” in 1766 and Geneva Council banished it. In reaction, Rousseau abandoned his Switzerland nationality.
State Laws on Eugenics (killing): premises (February, 8, 2009)
The West might have been familiar with the Greek manuscript “The Republic” of Plato since it staunchly decided that the genesis of civilization began with the Greeks of Athens. Plato said “Permitting random marriages constitute impiety in a happy City. We will legalize sane unions that are more advantageous to the aristocratic class. We want sane offspring of the elite men and women to render high quality services to the Republic”
Since time immemorial, and mostly during Patriarchal social structures, a female baby life depended on the father’s decision to survive birth. It is argued that this kind of Eugenics was due to lack of resources to feed useless mouths that have no physical capabilities to defend the tribe. That is the rational cause that sociologist and politicians want us to believe, but I strongly doubt that is the main and deeper reason for selective decision on life and death. Under harsh survival conditions, communities much prefer the association and communion with same sex: The same process was applicable during matriarchal institutions when girls were given preferential treatments. We hate to say the truth that genders in mankind, when resources are scarce, select the “undesired sex” for elimination.
Today, millions of female fetuses are aborted each year in China and India. Even after birth, Indian baby girls are left to die of famine and negligence. Minority ethnic groups in China are experiencing State Eugenics Laws since 1995; the Chinese genetic physician has simply to state that the expected baby of the minority parents is found to be physically or mentally handicapped to sterilize the parents; reactions are lukewarm; as they say “it is economics, stupid”.
Mothers in India are cutting stones with stones (no stronger equipment are offered to facilitate their tasks) sitting by the new highways (the babies huddled in a makeshift tent by the roadside), so that cars, and particularly the inexpensive cars that India is ready to flood its market with, would have luxurious infrastructure to drive on.
In the second half of the 19th century, the British scientist Galton, a cousin of Darwin, loathed the charity associations because they cared for the “degenerates” and thus were an obstacle for the normal functioning of “natural selection”. Darwin had stated a fact that “Among the savages sick people, physically or mentally, were quickly eliminated. Civilized nations build sanatorium for these handicapped citizens. In the breeding business of animals they comprehend perfectly the concept of natural selection”
Alexis Carrel, Nobel Prize of medicine in 1912 for organ transplants, and who lived in New York, wrote in 1935 “A Euthanasia institution should use appropriate gas to dispose of assassins in an economical manner. We should not hesitate to organize modern societies around sane individuals.”
Politics have their own agenda to interpret statements delivered my famous scientists. The French author Rabelais in the 16th century said “Science without conscious is the ruin of the soul”. State Eugenics practices, in militaristic and dictatorial States, are rampant in this century. But what about eugenics practiced in civilized and democratic Sweden? Up to 1975, Sweden would not allocate family support for the disadvantaged unless the parents “voluntarily” agreed to be sterilized. Women who wanted permit to abort were asked to sign a form agreeing to be sterilized. The Swedish Alva Myrdal, Nobel Peace Prize of 1982, wrote in 1946 “Sterilization is necessary in order to avoid State aid encouraging births that harm the collective interest”
Modern DNA analysis of potential handicaps of the fetus offers parents preventive choices from a single drop of the mother’s blood. We should know that all these tests for intelligence IQ or SAT or psychological tests abounding in universities are basically eugenics instruments: They were proven to have no validity or power to forecast anything in people’s potentials and capability; still, they are used as a big business and misleading excuses to selecting students and hiring people in companies. In the US, a prisoner with IQ lower than 70 is not sent to death raw: He has to improve his score to be elligible to die!
You may read my article “Free-will Eugenics: Finally you have Choices” and https://adonis49.wordpress.com/2009/02/13/digitizing-human-memory-any-problems/
“Rights of the beast of burden; like a donkey?”: Human Factors in Engineering…
Posted by: adonis49 on: September 24, 2008
“What are the rights of the beast of burden; like a donkey?” (Written in November 13, 2004)
Article #4: Human Factors in Engineering
People used to own donkeys for special works and they still do in many places.
Donkeys are relatively cheap, if you can find them: They are quite obedient and resilient.
Donkeys can endure hardships if you provide food and minimal care.
Low level employees, such as in data input jobs, are far less loved and appreciated than the former hot blooded mammals.
They helplessly endure repetitive musculo-skeletal pains; many of the clerks do proudly claim these pains as a badge of honor.
They are remunerated cheaper than donkeys because all that their job entails is to just sit and do monotonous work.
They suffer all the sedentary diseases: neck, head, shoulders, and back pains.
They suffer irremediable hands, fingers and wrists handicaps for the rest of their wretched lives.
Graphic designers are certainly a tad better: They are paid slightly better; not for their artistic imagination, but, may be, because they can also use a few more computer application programs.
Historically, the design of the characters on the first typewriters was meant to slow down typing:
Fast typing used to jam the arms of the mechanical typewriters.
A large order by a big company at the time hampered any redesign of the characters for the newer technological advances in the manufacture of typewriters.
Still, secretaries had to awkwardly learn typing fast to meet production and greed.
The benefits of redesigning the shapes and forms of computer keyboards, which could temporarily alleviate the many cumulative musculo-skeletal disorders from harsh continuous and daily typing, did not reach the common typists and data entry clerks.
These low level employees were not worth any investment in upgraded keyboards.
Higher level employees, who barely use computers for any productive task, were honored with the latest gizmos.
In fact, I believe that even the best ergonomically designed keyboards cannot solve these disorders:
Heavy computer users, for 8 hours daily, are still performing repetitive movements, sitting still, eyes riveted to a display.
They are still asked to perform maximally, under the watchful and tireless computer supervisor:
An efficient program embedded in the computer itself; a program that collects data and analyzes performances of the donkey clerk.
Employees should not demand any redesign of the characters on keyboards.
Any faster typing design will be at their detriment and they will pay the price bitterly.
Their task will come to higher risks to their health and safety with no increase in wages.
They should know that faster standards will then be required of them;
Instead of 60 words per minutes, Mr. Greed might ask of them to be able to type 300 wpm.
It is not enough to improve technology; we need to restrain its consequences.
Bless the French Rabelais who said: “Science without conscience is the ruin of the soul”.
Adonis Diaries 