Dreaming Aristotle.

The acorn has a the potential to become an oak tree. It may not succeed but given various conditions it can actualize that form. A cat cannot become an oak tree. If the animal dies and rots the soil can fertilize the oak tree but that is not the same. It does not contain within it an unactualized form. Nothing about a cat can be enmattered such that it will become an oak tree.

I like Aristotle's ethics. I like them because I feel as if using them I can actually aim for being a good person, as averse to simply knowing the appropriate thing. In a given situation I will talk as if I am a Utilitarian, but in my moments of reflection I think as a Virtue ethicist to the degree that I can. In my reflective moments I realise that a month's study of the Ethics isn't really enough for a forgetful creature like myself, but no matter.

My Medieval History teacher keeps talking about causes for the renaissance. There are various types of causes necessary for a renaissance, he says. He talks as if he has read Aristotle. I do not think, however, that he has done so. I dislike self-help books, but I find the Aristotle in them interesting. Self-actualization is a lovely concept. Why? Because it's got Aristotle in it. The only trouble is the Self-help people confuse it. A sparrow has the potential to fly. If it does not there is something wrong with it. If I have the potential to make friends but never manage to actualize it I cannot defend myself with, well I had great potential! Potential says nothing. It cannot speak. Lack of actualization can make us less human, but potentials are equal to everyone and do not make us more human.

The same goes for many people. People keep talking about actual and potential, various causes, the nature of the caused, the essential qualities of things, and so on. But I don't think they have read Aristotle. Aristotle is in our way of thinking. Hume may come along and talk about cause and effect. We may have overthrown Aristotilian logic and science and cosmology, but we still dream Aristotle. I often have vivid dreams. I have dreampt of streets and buildings but I have never dreampt of using a computer or being in a car. I think it is the same way with Aristotle. Our knowledge and our tools advance but unless we overhaul our entire conceptual framework we will still have Aristotle in there. We give him breath and voice two thousand years after his body is gone to dust. Now that is immortality!

Omnivorous tomato plants!

Last Fall I put off pulling out my plants. It seemed cruel in some irrational way. They might keep growing! Maybe they were happy! But I knew if I put it off too long I wouldn't have time to prepare the bed before the ground got soaked. So one day I picked all the remaining green tomatoes and pulled out my plants. I had to scrub my hands clean afterwards because they were covered in this green goo from the stems of the tomatoes. I was somewhat surprised but nothing came of my curiosity until last Friday.

On Friday I read about carnivorous tomato plants. It isn't true. They are actually omnivorous if anything. It is never good to ignore a plant. Tomatoes are the worst. A recent study has shown that a tomato plant's use flies as fertilizer. The theory is that without a high enough nutrient content the tomato goes carnivorous. See those little hairs on the stem of the tomato? When a fly lands there the hairs close on the fly and hold it until it dies. After that the fly is released and acts as fertilizer for the plant. Why didn't we know this before? Because tomatoes kept in captivity don't need to function as omnivores, much like people. Also on the list are some potatoes, petunias, tobacco, and maybe eggplant but I can't remember.

But you probably know all that. Why? Because in a very short time this information has spread across the internet and between people. It is the epitome of random knowledge. I may not know about the wars and the floods and the fires but everyone around me is now talking about carnivorous tomatoes. When it is something that will change our conception of the world we spreed it as fast as possible. Maybe because it fascinates us. Maybe because it will disturb others. But the important question here is does this pose an ethical dilemma to vegans? And is this why the macrobiotic diet bans foods in the nightshade family?

Why don't you blog about it?

My roommates and I are loud overdramatic people so when I disagreed with something my roommate said instead of responding politely I yelled, "you're weird!" and ran into my room.

He yelled back, "Why don't you blag about it?"

This is his usual response when I comment on or complain about something. If I take his advice I'll be blogging about the dishes next.

I sometimes mention that I have a blog. I do not particularly want my friends reading my blog because there are only so many things I can be excited about on one day. It just gives us less to talk about. But that isn't the issue. The issue is that people often react negatively when I mention blogging. Somehow each time it happens I forget, because the reaction just doesn't make sense. If I told them I had been writing poetry or working on some personal work they would be fine, but somehow blogs are different.

There are issues in blogging. Sometimes people are always looking around for a new topic, or spend all free time reading other peoples blogs and updating. But those aren't issues everyone has. There are many worse things to be doing with spare time. Really that doesn't sounds like being a writer.My friends don't think I'm spending all my time working on my blog, so that can't be the issue.

No, it's the perception blogging a sign of mental ill health. In spite of all the great blogs out there most people still think that blogs are a place for high school kids to rant and moan about how hard they have it and how no one understands them, and assert their pretentious understanding of the world. This is a sign of ill health because it displays a level of obsession with personal experience that prevents any focus on the external world. I have always believed it is better to focus outward. There is only so much you can understand, and like a windows os there is much more that can go wrong then right.

Me and my Nanonovel

I got a letter from Chris Baty (from National Novel Writing Month) a few weeks back. He said he ran into the novels all us nanoers write. They miss us, I guess. He told me I should give mine a second chance now that the heady November writing spree is in the past. That in that little novel I might just will a lasting relationship.

I loved 2009s novel. I wrote the better part (and the best parts) of it in three bursts. I sat down from time to time and spent eight hours typing and plotting and losing my sanity. Somehow this year I ended up with protagonists that I love. I write fantasy, and every time I want my characters to be heroes. The more so because somehow whenever I write they turn into this horrid creatures who betray their friends and destroy themselves. It is rather depressing. But this year I managed to write characters who were not exactly heroes, but were close to it. I think it is probably because I did not aim to write heroes. The characters I chose as my protagonists weren't meant to be from the beginning. The story was about the antagonist and a bunch of people trying to get rid of him. But these two characters just ended up being so lively and interesting that they took over the story.

So I think I will start editing. To be more accurate I think I will start some major surgery and then grow a bunch of new story-matter. At that point I might start editing. I have a bit of hope. I knew going in that what I was writing was not necessarily worth publication, because that is what everyone knows going into Nanowrimo. But I did feel that the story was good enough to try for, and I came out feeling the same.

So over the next few months I'll post a bit on my editing adventures. This is my first time with major editing. I guess it will be good practice for my thesis. Eep!

"To Harvard."

I took a philosophy of film class last Summer. One day before class I was siting in the corner reading the newspaper.

"Anxious for class to start?" Asked the student sitting in the hall. I recognized him from class He was dressed in a suite, like the law students do, and obviously took care of his appearance. Most of us are scruffy. All us girls seem to have the same sort of casually messy hair, and the boys never have time to shave. Whenever I see him I am startled.

I remarked that I usually felt too shy to talk to the other students, and he discouraged this. He pointed out that there are lots of us who are shy, and that is why the classes tend to be so quiet. So it isn't that the other students are aloof, just that we appear aloof to each other. Over the last year I have seen this to be true.

But this story isn't about me. It is about him. There is a scene in certain movies where the father pours his son a drink and toasts 'to Harvard.' It does not need to be Harvard. But somewhere with equal prestige. No one toasts 'the the University of Toronto,' and really who would toast 'to Uvic?' I might toast 'to Victoria' but as great as these schools are it has to be better then that. But these are movies. This is the American dream of higher learning. Sending the son off to law school. Off to Oxford. Off to somewhere where anyone who gets in has a grand future ahead of them.

My roommate and I arrive early to the Philosophy Christmas Party. There aren't many people yet and there is a loll in conversation. Over by the bar the student who encouraged me to do things like go to Christmas parties is talking to his friend. I glance over in hopes that someone I know has arrived and see them raise their glasses. I hear over the noise of the room, 'to Harvard.'

New years resolutions

There are times for originality but New Years is not one of them. In other words I couldn't think how to meta-blog New Years resolutions so I'm just going to post them.

1. More adventures: I have a bike now, which makes this easier. Adventures of the physical and mental kind. Somewhat equivalent to Nanowrimo's 'big, fun, scary.'

2. Pursue my personal projects: I need to edit my novel, paint more (I haven't done much art in a while but my grandmother sent me water colour pencil crayons for Christmas and inspired me to start again by telling me how much talent she thought I had,) write some short stories, and suchlike.

3. Learn social skills: I'm going to take a public speaking class and I might consider going to some nicer parties and trying to smooze. I also want to make sure I stay in touch with people better.

4. Less procrastination:  I am going to very slowly increase the amount of work I do and encourage myself to use my time productively. I have come to terms with the fact that this is not something that just changes. I did better last semester and I will do even better this spring.

Kitchen garden planner

Gardeners.com provides a lovely online planner.

Select the space you have available and the plants you want to grow.

It provides planting time. Spacing. Days to harvest. Hints and tips, temperature, and more depending on the plant.

If you are thinking of gardening this spring it is a nice little applet to check out. Kitchen Garden Planner.