A couple of times I've co-written with people who don't use the Oxford comma. It can end up being a big headache when the usage isn't consistent, and then it's also weird to realize just how many times you conjoin three or more words in a phrase. Putnam's book came out in Cambridge University Press,…

Interesting article here by Princeton English professor Raphael Allison comparing literary theorists and rock bands. There's some good stuff on the anthropology of subcultures to explain the weird ways that people talk at thea annual MLA convention, but the author's main conceit is as far as I can tell completely undermined by the radical uncoolness…

Philosophers' Carnival #165 is HERE.

Update: In the comments below philosopher Shelley Tremain takes issue with me posting this song and philosopher Christy Mag Uidur argues that the song's casual use of a derogatory term for disabled people is offensive. When I initially posted it I hadn't realized that it had the word "spastic" in it, nor even that it…

Visits of condolence is all we get from them.They squat at the Holocaust Memorial,They put on grave faces at the Wailing WallAnd they laugh behind heavy curtainsIn their hotels.They have their pictures takenTogether with our famous deadAt Rachel's Tomb and Herzl's TombAnd on Ammunition Hill.They weep over our sweet boysAnd lust after our tough girlsAnd…

Lots of nice reflections here about how fear undermines our vocation. Though much of it is (appropriately) scary, there's some optimism too. Arvan's post ends with: The only final thing I would suggest–following Zombie's remarks above as well as my experience with the Cocoon–is that whatever risks you take, whether they are blogging or whatever, commit…