Another Davidson College Blog
I discovered another Davidson college group alumni blog. It's called Alenda Lux and is not to be confused with the other Davidson group blog, Alenda Lux Ubi Orta Libertas. I suppose the class of '04 can create Alenda 3: Resurrection.

Movies to Review

Bad Santa

Discreet Charm Of The Bourgeoisie, The

Bob le Flambeur

Don't Shoot the Piano Player

La Femme Nikita

Jean de Florette

Manon de la Source

The Quiet American

Central Station

Political Correctness and Ice Cream
Last week I found out from a (feminist) acquaintance that a woman complained that a flavor at Jake's Ice Cream called Chocolate Slap Yo Mama encouraged violence against women. So a friend of hers suggested they offer a limited-edition flavor called Chocolate Bust a Cap in Yo Mama's Ass. (Chris rotfl)

So yesterday I walked into Jake's and discovered they actually caved in! I'm writing them a letter to protest that I am offended by their craven behavior. If you'd like to write them too, their corporate office at 655 Highland Avenue, Suite 5, Atlanta, GA 30312.

Have you been mugged today?
Not one, but two of the bloggers on my blogroll have been mugged in the last week. The rest of you, be careful.

Michael Kamen RIP
Michael Kamen, 55, died November 18 of a heart attack. Kamen composed and conducted some of the music for the '96 Olympics here in Atlanta. He wrote the music for the Die Hard and Lethal Weapon films, License to Kill, and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, including (Everything I Do) I Do It For You, which you either loved or hated. He orchestrated Pink Floyd's The Wall and Metallica's S & M. Terry Gilliam, a friend of his, invited him to write the music for Brazil. Yes, he also perpetrated the finale of the American Symphony from Mr Holland's Opus, but the rest of the symphony, which you can't hear in the film is better. His last film was Open Range. No, he wasn't a classical composer, but his music is a veritable joyride. He will be missed.

Theories of the Mind by Stephen Priest


Since I'm not an expert on the mind-body problem, I can't say if Stephen Priest has written a fair survey of the attempts to solve the problem. His writing is lucid, though, and Priest does not neglect recent neuroscientific research. One annoying feature is that he repeatedly explains that certain hypotheses. Perhaps he intended to write a textbook, in which case only arbitrary excerpts might be read.) According to Library Journal, this book also offers "a valuable corrective to the materialism of Daniel Dennett's Consciousness Explained," a book that gets a lot of blogospheric attention. Priest's own theory, which he saves for the conclusion, is that mental events occur and material objects exist. Mind and matter, however, do not exist, and there really is no mind-body problem, just as there is no motion-car problem. (Incidentally, Priest considers Kant a materialist, but he understandably believes that to explain why would take another book. If anyone has written such a book, please let me know.)