Open thread (and a little music)
Bookworm on Dec 10 2009 at 4:00 pm | Filed under: Just Because Music, Open Threads
I’ve been reading the news assiduously today, but just don’t feel as if I have a coherent message or analysis in my own brain that’s worth passing on. I know it’s late in the day for some of you, but consider this an open thread.
Meanwhile, a little Christmas music from Marin County, which as been surprisingly frosty (and, in some places, snowy) during this season of global warming:
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- Food for thought — and an open thread
- Open Thread and Just Because — Bing and Hope
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6 Responses to “Open thread (and a little music)”
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Thanks for posting that.
Tough to post a coherent message when there’s no clarity anywhere.
Thanks, Irving Berlin, wherever you are!
http://www.nononsenseselfdefense.com/AreMASD.htm
That entire website has very good quality articles, courtesy of JKB’s first mention of it here.
But that particular one ties in back with a previous post of Book’s concerning martial arts.
I’m still interested in hearing Book regale us with her tales of the people at her dojo getting into altercations, for I suspect they are 1. not defense of self but either defense of ego or even aggressive seeking of conflict or 2. not really conflict in so much monkey politics.
There are particularly interesting dynamics, which while not prioritized in the website, does leak through if you read enough.
An executive summary might entail the important ideas. Violence proceeds along a continuum mentally from hugging to killing. Those that are most adebt at violence can go from polite socializing to killing in an eye blink, though most people need to take at least some time to ramp themselves up. You can interpret this as trying to get enough ‘aggressive intent’ to harm somebody, which attackers have already arrived at, thus putting the defender one step behind. This is nothing different from the first thing taught in Target Focus Training in the instructor lectures.
One difference is that the website focuses on the priority of prevention, so while it tells you that to win when you are already being attacked means you must utilize justified lethal force, that is not the priority of the site. The priority of the site is to prevent it from getting there in the first place, while the priority of TFT is to provide training for an individual to take their mental status from fully social to fully asocial quicker than the attacker. To win, you must be willingly to do more violence, go farther than the other person, and do it faster. Whomever gets there first, with the mostest, wins. This is, ironically, noted in the website. But again, I cannot stress enough that being told is not the same as doing it yourself in learning or actual wise. I’ve read several long articles on the website and I don’t find much that is important enough to disagree about, but they are only words: you get no benefit if you can’t perform with the knowledge.
However, I would like to stipulate another thing in the summary. By learning to rely upon yourself in lethal situations, you take away much of the ego and fear aspects that might motivate you to do something rash. By ensuring that you actually feel no threat from others, by educating you on the consequences of starting or maintaining fights, you learn to be assert, as defined by the website, and not aggressive or enraged. The website doesn’t tell you how to do it. They just tell you that you need to do it. But while some people can do it [avoid fights], they won’t feel good afterwards. For example, many men who adopt this will still believe, in the back of their minds at least, that they chickened out and must feel ashamed because they now have a lower rank on the social ladder in terms of respect. The social perception of strength is important to men, just as the social perception of cooperation and harmony is important to women, as a primary facet.
Btw, Book, have you told your children the difference between alphas and a beta pretending to be an alpha? What about human territorial aggression? These elements are very important for navigating various social climates, which include school. It’s a sort of light outer defense adequate for most situations, which do not require life or death decisions. Essentially it has two parts: manipulation of others and self control.
My musical entry
(Tomorrow night is the first night of Chanukah) I love the joy on the dancing faces from the religious and secular). Note, the young fella who walks in front of the camera and sings out “Yoffi” (well done) to the camera.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfCzC_X2qEo
I think the Swiss are taking the wrong approach to their ban of minarets. They should be allowed, only they should be required to be 1 foot shorter than the nearest church or cathedral spire.
It’s amazing how good the Beach Boys were– here they’re covering “I Can Hear Music”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hweXcgF1DRI&feature=related
In 1996 they recorded the same song with Kathy Troccoli.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICAsimtEsU8&feature=related