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The wallet of a petty-bourgeois, but…

“He has the wallet of a petty-bourgeois, but the mindset of a big comprador-landlord.” I first encountered this terse comment about a person’s politics back in the early 1970’s, when Joma Sison was still CPP chair.

Being a prolific writer with an opinion on all topics under the sun, with a rapier wit that flashed into action as needed, he simply had to explain the materialist dialectics and class basis of the “Kit Tatad phenomenon” at the start of martial law. Or was that jibe directed at Sal Panelo? I always forget. Continue reading “The wallet of a petty-bourgeois, but…”

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The Universe is a pretty big place, she said

They will come tonight
MAYBE THEY WILL COME TONIGHT. The universe is a pretty big place, she said. But what she left unsaid is that they’re coming for you. It’s just a matter of time. And they will surely ask: “Are you with us? Or against us?” (Saved from boredart.com via Pinterest)

“The universe is a pretty big place,” Dr. Ellie Arroway used to say in Contact.

So, if you see nothing but stupidity around you these days—and I don’t mean just in your favorite media (including social media)—it’s good to keep this reminder in mind.

It means that sentient beings and intelligent civilizations continue to exist elsewhere—and I don’t mean we need to look in other star systems beyond Earth. Continue reading “The Universe is a pretty big place, she said”

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The six stages in a product’s life

To preempt complaints about the title (with shouts of “Boo! False advertising!”), I should probably include an alternate title or subtitle this early: An Allegory for Historical Materialism and Modern Political Economy. Or maybe this: Science Fiction: Utopian and Scientific.

But let me get straight to the point and answer my own question: What are the six stages in a product’s life? I can think of six. There may be more if you add regional variations, or less if you see enough commonalities. But I’ll stick with six:

Scene from 2001 Space Odyssey: big ape meets monolith.
Scene from 2001 Space Odyssey: big ape meets monolith.

Continue reading “The six stages in a product’s life”