so I suppose I will have to reveal myself. Unless George W. Bush is consumed by a self-loathing so deep that he has spun off an entire other identity to harbor it, and so deeply hidden that neither he not I know about it, I am not he; and while I would have no objection to being Smoove B Love Man, I am neither male nor (alas) especially smoove. I completely agree that Katherine is irreplaceable, and I’m honored to be at the top of any of her lists. I’m hilzoy, and as Moe said, I am neither right-wing nor a Republican. I teach moral philosophy for a living, and in my free time I read, play guitar, and wander around looking at birds. I am wildly patriotic and passionate about ethics, and tend to get annoyed when people suggest that either of these things should make me a Republican. One of the things I like about this blog, apart from the quality of the posters and the diversity of views, is the fact that no such assumptions are made here: Obsidian Wings seems to me an ongoing demonstration of the fact that we can have strongly held views without abandoning generosity and civility, and I’m honored to be a part of it. Next time I post, though, I will try to talk about something more interesting than me.
One more thing: I have never before used typepad and I do not speak html, so if my posts come out funny, be forgiving 🙂
You’re stepping into big shoes, hilzoy. Lots of luck and don’t worry about the html.
Welcome aboard. And we can be civil about anything other than open italics tags. 😉
Welcome aboard, indeed! We’re very happy to have you.
Yeah!!! Another non-right-wing writer!!!!
Welcome hilzoy! Very much looking forward to your posts.
Yeah!!! Another non-right-wing writer!!!!
Who ya callin’ “right wing”? 😉
von
Ya know von, I actually thought about changing that. Well, in fact I had. I originally wrote “non-Republican” but stopped, thinking, “von’s not a Republican.”
Then I realized that I “could” be speaking for both of us (or that you might not notice). ;-]
I originally wrote “non-Republican” but stopped, thinking, “von’s not a Republican.”
Well, that may not exactly true. If the liberal Republican wing of the party still existed, I’d be happily in it. ‘Till then, I cut my checks both ways — and, always, person by person and race by race. (Which means I receive a ton of junk mail, including, on the same day last week, one letter that opened with “Dear Loyal Republican” and another that opened with “Dear Hoosier Democrat” ….)
Welcome aboard, I look forward to reading your stuff — it’s always good to have a moral philosopher along for the ride with all these lawyers about (some trial lawyers, no less!)
“so I suppose I will have to reveal myself. Unless George W. Bush is consumed by a self-loathing so deep that he has spun off an entire other identity to harbor it, and so deeply hidden that neither he not I know about it”
Hmm, that seems like the plot of a sci-fi book I read in the last year or so. What was that? Oh I remember now, but I can’t tell you which book because that twist doesn’t come till the end.
Your coming at a great time. The nation is becoming aware of their liberal leanings (at least the swingers are); George Bush is turning out to be neither Conservative* nor Compassionate and some of these folks at OW have been losing a bit of wind in their sails.
Welcome.
(I’m fairly new here myself so it’s actually a bit presumptive of me to be rolling out the welcome mat.)
*socially conservative yes, not the more traditional fiscal way.
Welcome, hilzoy! Funny posts are highly cherished, here.
And thanks for inducing carsick to at last say something I agree with.
At least von isn’t getting letters that begin:
Hoosier father:
Welcome Hilzoy! any voice with warmth is appreciated as it’s been getting quite cold lately and poor Katherine got a bad case of frostbite. I see from Slarti’s post above mine that old Mr. Winter has been blowing upon Carsick in my 24 hour break from ObWi. Please remember Hilzoy to wear your thermals and when the blast from the Triplets of Hellville descend upon you as they did on Katherine two nights ago, it gets mighty nasty at times. Beware and prepare and the best of luck to you.
You mean Hoosier Daddy?
Ah, I miss Knight. What’s that you say? He still has a coaching job in Texas? Crazy Texans.
As an itinerant*, unwashed** and doubtless unwelcome*** member of the dysfunctional**** ObWi family, let me also extend my greetings!
* I don’t actually move my lazy ass anywhere, I just read lots of other sites. It’s really my mouse that’s on the move, but people tend to look at me funny when I tell them that my right hand does all the travelling…
** Not my fault I had to deal with massive paperwork right after racquetball this morning. Hey, I got a shower as soon as I could!
*** <Giblets> Feel the love! Feel the love nooooooooooooow! </Giblets>
**** They’re actually quite functional, I just wanted an obscene number of asterisks here.
***** And damn you sidereal for stealing the joke. Damn you noooooooooow!
Anarch, if you were playing racquetball today, you certainly aren’t lazy! i think you’re being way to hard on yourself 🙂
Thanks, everyone. I’m trying to ignore Katherine’s enormous and obviously unfillable shoes for now, and being half Swedish, the cold doesn’t bother me. And carsick: welcome; I’m fairly new here myself. von: I have a collection of “signed” photographs of George W. and Laura Bush on my refrigerator, each of which thanks me for my stalwart support. I can’t imagine why the Republicans send me these things; whenever they do, I send them polite letters asking to be removed from their mailing lists in the postage-paid envelopes they so kindly include, and which, I am told, they must pay postage on if I send them. (“Dear President Bush, As a lifelong Democrat, I am delighted to learn that I am one of your strongest supporters here in Maryland. Even so, I feel I should tell you that your campaign funds would be better spent on letters to someone else…”) Thus far, my requests have had no effect, and the photos, pins, and membership cards keep coming.
and being half Swedish, the cold doesn’t bother me.
I’ve been to Sweden, and cold it was not. Of course, it was August, and for some odd reason Sweden seems to be almost universally unequipped with air conditioning.
But the reindeer is good, there. Mmmmmm….reindeer.
Welcome, Hilzoy!
(Good choice, Moe.)
Welcome.
And I must chime in on the Indiana undercurrent of this thread…
Gene Keady. Worst hair in college basketball, but he rises above it. I’ll never forget a shirt I saw a couple of years ago: “Indiana, you won’t have Bob Knight to kick you around anymore.”
Keady is a good coach. Hell, he was a good coach 25 years ago, when I was a Purdue freshman. His hair looked a bit like an obvious hairpiece back then, too.
Ah, I miss Knight.
Although I received my undergraduate degrees from the Finest Institution of Higher Learning in the Great State of Indiana (and perhaps the nation — nay, perhaps the world), I grew up in West Lafayette, Indiana, with a season pass to Mackey Arena.* Basketball memories run long in Indiana, and I can neither forgive nor forget Bobby’s chair-toss at Steve Reid.
von
*Home of the Boilermakers, don’cha know.
I don’t miss Knight. I respected him as a guy who can hone skills rather than egos, but he’s not a guy I’d choose to hang out with. Two of my brothers were at IU while I was at Purdue, and they thought he was great.
Wow — moral philosophy. I like dat!
Welcome to the fray, Hilzoy!. But don’t be gettin’ too metaphysical or abstruse on us…..
Abstruse? Moi?
I hereby promise not to try to explain the Categorical Imperative unless I get a request in writing.
“unless I get a request in writing.”
I Kant bring myself to do it.