Beauty Is Not Just in the Eye of the Beholder: “It exists at the intersection of biological, cultural, and individual factors. It is much more malleable than we think. And what we find beautiful is broader than what is publicly expressed.”
How Nature Became the Environment: “…while [Aldo] Leopold sought for balance between the lethal wildness of the natural world and its pastoral beauty, the environmental movement maintained a utopian dimension, a ‘counterworld’ devoid of trade-offs, pain, or ‘cruelty’ that environmentalists could use like a cudgel with which to bludgeon the actually existing world. Pronouncements of fact could now be deployed, entirely unconsciously, as stalking horses for desire.”
Our Knowledge of History Decays Over Time: “Historians fight a rearguard battle against the forces of entropy, buying time for their society to learn the lessons of our ancestors’ experience.”
Reflections on People Writing on Bombs: Resentment, Overkill, and Empty Signification: ” Overkill, argues [Nick Land,] is not an arbitrary miscalculation or mis-usage of military ordance, it is libidinal yearning to wipe something out and reap enjoyment from the excess. Remember taking that extra shot at the bar when you’re already beyond drunk? Is not the hazy thought in that moment ‘fuck it, who cares about tomorrow!’ This is overkill. The annihilation of the present, and forgoing of a future for the present indulgence in excess. The letters written on a bomb would be cut by Occham’s razor. They are excess; wasted time and energy – overkill. ”
The Anti-Boomers: “…the beauty of the scroll evaporates when you look up from your phone and breathe the hostile air of reality. You’re frozen when scrolling, because your consciousness has entered the phone. You’re through the screen, nestled within the rectangular borders. Once you climb out, you try to explain it, but it doesn’t make sense.”
William S. Burroughs, The Art of Fiction No. 36: “[Interviewer:] What do you think of the hallucinogens and the new psychedelic drugs—LSD-25? [Burroughs:] I think they’re extremely dangerous, much more dangerous than heroin. They can produce overwhelming anxiety states. I’ve seen people try to throw themselves out of windows; whereas the heroin addict is mainly interested in staring at his own toe. Other than deprivation of the drug, the main threat to him is an overdose. I’ve tried most of the hallucinogens without an anxiety reaction, fortunately. LSD-25 produced results for me similar to mescaline. Like all hallucinogens, LSD gave me an increased awareness, more a hallucinated viewpoint than any actual hallucination. You might look at a doorknob and it will appear to revolve, although you are conscious that this is the result of the drug. Also, van Goghish colors, with all those swirls, and the crackle of the universe.”