deliisle
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Review of Route 181 (2003)
Route 181, recorded in 2002 in Palestine, is an important documentary for anyone who wishes to understand the psychology of the perpetrators and victims of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Filmed by Michel Khleifi and Eyal Sivan, the premise of the documentary is to travel along the borders outlined in UN Resolution 181, attempting to locate the…
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Some Further Thoughts on the South Thailanders
Do you know just how many South Thailanders there are? Millions, tens of millions. Maybe even hundreds of millions. Oh so many! Are they all unique, or do they repeat at some point? Did God make each and every one with his hands, painting each mole and scar upon their person, forming each of their…
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European Disneyland
The perception of Europe in the United States has, over the past few decades, shifted and evolved into some jarringly disfigured homunculus. This is, of course, in response to the question of a “white identity” within America, specifically in attempt to find (or invent) a cultural distinction between white Americans and their non-white cocitizens. For…
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Twenty Thousand South Thailanders
Of the South Thailanders, there is the aforementioned cat breeder. When he is not engaged in his contemptuous commerce with the dog breeder, which, as previously explained, threatens to destroy the very boundary between the two species, he is engaged in a mad quest to selectively breed larger and larger domestic felines. To what end…
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Marriage
Marriage is necessarily a stabilization and anchoring of the spirit. It is a calcification, a stiffening of the soul. In an honest marriage, man must necessarily kill some part of his dynamism, gently smothering that portion of himself that is still wild and unchained, holding the pillow to its face until it no longer thrashes…
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Why are goods more expensive in wealthy nations than in developing nations?
When traveling overseas, I’m always amazed at just how much cheaper certain goods and services are compared to the States. In Jordan, I can get a taxi ride into town for a dinar and a half (approximately two American dollars), a haircut for two or three dinar (about three to four dollars), and a whole…
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Hills of Ajlun
He stares blankly into the horizon, his gaze resting gently on the crests of the green hills. It is a lethargic gaze, which, without the hilltops to support it, would surely fall freely to the ground. In a similar manner, he was resting his chin on his hand, with his elbow propped against the hard…
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Violence
There are four major kinds of violence, ordered from most human to least, or in ascending inhumanity. The first, and most understandable, violence is tragic violence. Tragic violence includes violence on accident, unintentional harm imposed unto others. Children hurting one another in play, a traffic collision, a work accident. It may also be deliberate, as…
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The Virtualization Singularity
In the virtual sphere, twitch streamers debate with academics, comedians converse with the president, adult film stars do stand up, every single sphere has converged into a single point. There are no longer the categories of comedy, political, advertisement, pornography, etc. Everything has collapsed into one point, a simultaneous and continuous consumption of the virtual.…
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Spotify Wrapped and the Social Panopticon
Today the Spotify Wrapped playlists have been rolled out on the app (as well as the analogous thing for Apple music I guess, if you use that). Of course, being the beacon of taste and sophistication that I am, mine is beyond reproach. I have listened to the exact calculated permutation of songs, at exactly…
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