My hatred of corporate magazines.

So, a few days ago I received my copy of the first issue of the illustrious content magazine, The Freaky Jason. I should note that my sister is among the editors of said publication, but, nepotism aside, it's great. This issue, the first, is about Jesusy Boys, that class of fellows with glorious, flowing manes, and typically some degree of facial hair, of which I have occasionally counted myself a member. I was set to write some kind of article for it early this year, but laziness and uninspiration intervened. Still, they somehow managed to do damn excellently without me, with some fine articles, random asides, and an interview with Warren Ellis.

He... Plays with Dirty Three. Err, and Nick Cave. He... He has a beard.

Anyway, awesome. But, all that said, it's not been distributed in Australia anywhere yet. Just London. So if you have a particular compulsion to read any of it, you'll have to harass me. Unless the content goes up on that website any time soon, which My Sources reliably inform me it may.

Excessively needy.

iTunes' new "Album Rating" feature is snazzy and all, but sometimes I wish I could make some true convoluted Smart Playlists. Like a list containing all the songs such that:

a) Their Album Rating is 5 stars, and
b) I have every song from that album.

or, to put it another way, such that:

a) Their Album Rating is 5 stars, and
b) The amount of tracks I have with the same Album Title as the track in question is equal to the second element of this track's "track number" tag.

But... But yeah, I'm pretty sure I can't do that.

(Also, one month until my Thesis is due. AIE!)

Qudote!

This is probably my favourite quotable (as in, stirring, and not overly technical) philosophical passage, which I came across when I was studying Hume last semester. I was going to shove it in my Facebook Favourite Quotes section, but it's a bit long.

"What philosophical truths can be more advantageous to society, than those... which represent virtue in all her genuine and most engaging charms, and makes us approach her with ease, familiarity, and affection? The dismal dress falls off, with which many divines, and some philosophers, have covered her; and nothing appears but gentleness, humanity, beneficence, affability; nay, even at proper intervals, play, frolic, and gaiety. She talks not of useless austerities and rigours, suffering and self-denial. She declares that her sole purpose is to make her votaries and all mankind, during every instant of their existence, if possible, cheerful and happy; nor does she ever willingly part with any pleasure but in hopes of ample compensation in some other period of their lives. The sole trouble which she demands, is that of just calculation, and a steady preference of the greater happiness." - David Hume.

A wonderfully flowery defence of Utilitarianism, years before Bentham came along and... Formulated Utilitarianism.