The new spinach

Rubin tells me beets are the new spinach. I, for one, find this terribly perplexing. But I will adjust accordingly.

Catholic Charlie has sent out the tentative schedule for next season (wisely excluding Bump from his list), prefatory to the 9/6 moderators’ meeting. This is yet another indication that Fall is almost about upon us. O’C tells me that the WTF hardcore is beavering away at researching Sept-Oct, which I would imagine is tantamount to figuring out why beets are the new spinach. I mean, you can read the odd utilitarian, I guess, or the odd utilitarian critique, but that seems like something of a mug’s game. Arguing this one is going to be tough, and rather elemental. The beauty of this topic is not in itself, but in its application, especially with novices, and beyond that with anybody approaching philosophy as a relative beginner. Understanding morality—and I mean understanding the complications, not solving it—is a good preparation for understanding a lot of things. Rationality, relativism, deontology, consequentialism (regularly misdefined as teleology), utility, categorical imperatives, spinach: all of these could come up in the discussion. If you were sitting around knowing nothing about philosophy, but wanting to create it, you would start with these ideas, even if you didn’t know what they were. Except of course for spinach. There, you would have to start instead with beets.

A small dinghy of Sailors is down in Philadelphia being instituted, so I have no idea who will turn up at tomorrow’s chez. Tik (pronounced teek) has been sharpening his teeth in expectation, however. He does love the taste of fresh debater. Anyhow, maybe we’ll end up discussing the draft more than that poor dead theoretical innocent. I have to admit I’m less prepared for that, at least insofar as lately researched facts are concerned. The legendary team of Peanut Butter and Termite will, no doubt, already be ahead of me though. I’m looking forward to hearing them out.

And I guess I should sign up for the Roll (AKA the Kaiser) and the Albino Bagel (as in, the home of, and it’s absolutely true, and if you don’t believe me, sign up for Manchester yourself and when you get there help yourself to one of their amazing albino bagels, which are these rather scary pasty white things that look as if they’ve evolved at the bottom of the dark and deep ocean; all they need is a pair of unseeing eyes to complete the image). Of course both will be mostly placeholder entries, but that’s okay. I figure about 6 novices this year at the point of the Albino, and a goodly load of experienced Sailors at the Roll, because what else will they be doing that weekend? I guess I could look to see if anyone’s signed up, but that would be cheating.