If Residency is Optional...Perhaps I'll Choose Exile

Something tells me that Plato would've seriously objected to these guys hanging out up

in the Republic. Commentary in progress...

What I'm interested in here--beyond the obvious coolness of Bad Religion in general-are the following lines:

"So have the told you how to think

Cleansed your mind of sepsis and autonomy?

Or have you escaped from scrutiny

And regaled yourself with depravity?"

I realize that Plato's Republic isn't so much about religion, per se, as it is a sort of military complex-y type thing. But Plato may just be the original instigator of this notion of religion being the opiate of the masses, what with his certainty that all the stories one young citizen will hear about the gods will irrevocably shape his/her worldview and morality. Can't have any contaminating elements in the mix. And no autonomy. A citizen couldn't possibly make an intelligent and well-considered evaluation of some fictional mimesis about the gods. The solution? Revisionist poesy, of course!

Mobile Blogging

Mobile Blogging...test 1 was a success. But it lacks one feature that I, personally, find Very Important: the ability to title one's posts! I must admit, I'm a bit of a title-whore.  Titles are a little peepshow preview into the mind of the text.  An opportunity to seduce the reader with promise of wit and wisdom.  The place for a proper bit of word(fore)play.  Like I said: Very Important.  So I'm not sure I'll be doing very much Mobile Blogging.

By the way, this post was originally posted via my iPhone.  I edited it later. To compensate for aforementioned shortcomings.

And the Supercilious Conceit Award goes to...???

Which is worse: Ion's naive hubris, or Socrates's passive-aggressive antagonism?  They're both arrogant jerks, IMHO.

P.S.  Yes, I get the point, Plato.  The ability to either create or interpret poetry is a divine intervention, a gift from the Muse...not a skill.  Was the whole song-and-dance really necessary?

Bad Etiquette?

Being new to the blogosphere I must ask, nay IMPLORE, my (perhaps non-existent) readers to tell me: is it Bad Etiquette to follow my own blog?  Manifest Narcissism, perhaps?

Hello. Nice to meet you.

This blog represents my official, active initiation into the blogosphere. Blogosphere being a term I bandy about only having heard it in others' conversations. And, to be perfectly honest, in a much more contentious sort of vibe than that I hope to foster here. I'll be posting about literary theory in the context of my journey through aforementioned course in the pursuit of my MA in English: Rhetoric and Composition. And whilst that may sound downright tortuous to many--though it's doubtful those masses have found their way to this description--I find this thing we call theory quite fascinating. In a brain-twisting, beat-your-head-against-the-wall, and epiphanous sort of way. And so, welcome, if you are so inclined. Enjoy.