It's a potent sauce; TNF XXXVII
On Take #37, the War Room continued our recent retro tendency to include easily laughable "Fites" with very penetrating conceptual significance. While the selection of these particular bouts may have also been shaped by Leibniz, I am glad to see TNF reminding me of the days of old; the days before the War Room Council. It was another rainy nite in Annapolis, and we always do poorly on rainy nites. But on this particular Tuesday, The Nelson Room maintained a passionate yet casual atmosphere, as TNF Chat was left to the absentees' sole discretion (Read more in Issues). But, without ado, here they are, Title in caps, winners in bold, scores in parenthesis.
The Tuesday Nite "Fites," Wk XXXVII
FORESIGHT vs. SWIFTNESS (33-14)
Toys vs. Tornadoes (28-19)
Erikk Geannikis Covered In Buffalo Sauce vs. Jesus On a Truck (21-26)
The Stars vs. The Score (31-16)
Commentary: The Seminar "Fite" was actually one that we had come up with before Leibniz (we sought to match The Stars up for a while), but applies to Leibniz's theory that every created thing expresses in its own way the entirety of the universe. In my mind, the Score represents the order behind the ordered whole, the cosmos, or the Stars. I think that ancients used The Stars to represent The Score, but now we can distinguish between the order in the universe and the universe itself. Schwartz gave some prior argument about The Stars being man's natural light, which was countered by Toph: "You've got to know the score." The P.R. Vote mainly went to Stars. I only agreed to the Brian Jones "Fite" because I had just woken up before the War Room Council Meeting, and I think Jesus on a Truck is hysterical. We conjectured about what sort of powers a man entirely covered in Buffalo Sauce would have. It is an incredibly spicy sauce. My argument for EG in BS was that it is already predicated of Jesus that he can do anything; walk on water, feed the five thousand, so what's the big deal if he's on a Truck? As far as Erikk Geannikis, I thought it would be a wondrous phenomenon would he be covered in Buffalo Sauce, but some disagreed. From Naphy's response I was able to understand that Jesus on a Truck implied the very earthly presence of Jesus, which I can see being conceptually weighty. Rookie Evan Sgherzi's reasoning was priceless however: "If I saw Jesus on a truck, I'd be like, 'Oh Cool, it's religion on wheels.' But if I saw Erikk Geannikis covered in [Buffalo], I'd say, 'Whoa. Now there is a man who means business. Anyone who would willingly cover themselves in [Buffalo] Sauch is not to messed with.'" As far as the 2-Hole, we spent a lot of time deciding if an object need be designed specifically for idle pleasure in order for it to be a toy, or if a thing's toy-status depended on our use of it. We still never really came to a consensus, and the case is especially murky with educational toys, which aim to disguise the fact that they are actually serving a greater purpose. But for me, ultimately, tornadoes are just a specific, althought devastating phenomenon of Nature. Toys shape the development of childhood and have shaped them for who knows how long, and it won my vote and the masses'.
Ah, the Title. This "Fite" is a more marketable version of the original Celerity vs. Prescience (flipped, of course), which was so long impressed upon me by Monsieurs Steiner and Jones. We talked a bit about how neither concept infers that the action at hand is completed well, or completed at all. One can both be prescient and be swift and still fuck things up. There was a contingent of people who insisted on Swiftness' superiority since it involved the mind and the body. I thought that the power of foresight, indicating the presence of some kind of prophetic faculty. Even if the events you foresee do not come to pass, Spinoza would say that, if you're experiencing divine foresight, at the very least you have a superior imagninative capability, which, while excluding the body, seems to me like a more powerful thing to have than swiftness. Also, taking Swiftness as the essence of Jeremy R. Swift, we see that it, too, is easily defeated by a little foresight. Good "Fites."
Notables: A-Han 2-2; BJ 2-2; Caitlin O'Brien 2-2; Schwartz 3-1; The Fuzz 2-2; Kitch 3-1; G Hinkle 2-2; Gerard Toenjes 3-1; Chris Bea 1-3; BQ 0-4; Kast 2-2; Lauren Robertson 2-2; Sebastian 3-1; Erika Bush 0-4; Hannah Stone 2-2; Mira Johnson 1-3; Erikk 2-2; Allyse 2-2; Schuyler 1-3; Nick Steiner 1-3; Toph 3-1; Aaron Brager 3-1; Vec 2-2; Edel 2-2; EternalOverdrive 3-1; Robinson 2-2; Robert Montoya (R) 3-1; Letz 3-1; Betsy 1-3; Fe Abril 3-1; Ashley 3-1; Bridget 3-1; Naphy 3-1; Bradis' 3-1; Evan Sgherzi (R) 3-1; Connie Carbone (R); Nicky G 3-1; Marc 3-1; Hammer 3-1; Brianne Muscente 2-2. Congratulations to Margot Behrend, Christine Gregory, Derrick, Angelica, and Kevin for their trip to 4-0. Double Congrats goes to Jack-o for his second consecutive 4-0. 47; only 25 on-site. What a disappointment.
Issues: Okay, a bunch of things going on.
Firstly, TNF Chat debuted three weeks ago. The first session had limited success until the last forty-five minutes or so, the second session was pretty much jumpin' all nite long, which I loved. However, having a laptop running a chat room and a person or persons maintaining the chat room over here on-site has become a hassle, and prevents us from arguing with each other and removes all possibility of anyone getting any work done. So, while the screen name TuesdayNiteFites may appear to be a member of the chat, it will be running on my dorm room computer, the chat room will now be solely for absentee voters. This includes off-site Johnnies as well. The whole point of the chat room is to get you guys arguing for yourselves, so I assume that if you care enough about the TNF concepts to vote, and if you have the time (even 10-15 minutes might be enough to get some opinions!) I strongly urge all off-siters to spend some time in the chat room prior to voting. No need to apologize to me if you can't, and of course I don't want to monitor anything like this, but you owe it to yourselves.
Secondly, stickers are in the later stages of design. I believe we will be giving them out free based on strong arguments, and possibly to the 4-0 victors, maybe some to rookies. But, TNFers, let this initially be added insentive to clarify your votes with cogent accounts! More on this system as it arises, and when the stickers are off the presses.
Lastly, I am beginning to realize what a monstrous time commitment TNF is for me. There are four other archons, and two non-archons who help out just as much, but the fact that I am faced with the most responsibility is no one's fault but mine. The system was designed that way, and it was designed by me. The framework for TNF sprung from my fancy and desire to properly accomodate the Internet voters, and it was designed really without me knowing that I was designing a system at all until this thing got too big to be contained. I am letting you all know this because, while things probably won't change a lot for the absentee voter, The "Fites" as a whole may begin to scale back some. Commentary, for instance, may be the first thing to go. Because I am bogged down, I will not be posting commentary on Wks XXXV and XXXVI. This strain was also a factor in the SJC contingent's decision to leave the TNF Chat entirely to Internet devices. I'd love to be there, but it's too much. I know that you guys can step it up and make the chat room a proper philosophical forum.
And that's the story. Now that I'm up to date, and 9PM-12AM Tuesdays will be better delegated amongst the archons, hopefully commentary and results will be a Wednesday afternoon staple every week. I appreciate your cooperation and understanding during this difficult time. KEEP ON FITING! The voting numbers this week were atrocious. But, c'est la vie. Rein
The Tuesday Nite "Fites," Wk XXXVII
FORESIGHT vs. SWIFTNESS (33-14)
Toys vs. Tornadoes (28-19)
Erikk Geannikis Covered In Buffalo Sauce vs. Jesus On a Truck (21-26)
The Stars vs. The Score (31-16)
Commentary: The Seminar "Fite" was actually one that we had come up with before Leibniz (we sought to match The Stars up for a while), but applies to Leibniz's theory that every created thing expresses in its own way the entirety of the universe. In my mind, the Score represents the order behind the ordered whole, the cosmos, or the Stars. I think that ancients used The Stars to represent The Score, but now we can distinguish between the order in the universe and the universe itself. Schwartz gave some prior argument about The Stars being man's natural light, which was countered by Toph: "You've got to know the score." The P.R. Vote mainly went to Stars. I only agreed to the Brian Jones "Fite" because I had just woken up before the War Room Council Meeting, and I think Jesus on a Truck is hysterical. We conjectured about what sort of powers a man entirely covered in Buffalo Sauce would have. It is an incredibly spicy sauce. My argument for EG in BS was that it is already predicated of Jesus that he can do anything; walk on water, feed the five thousand, so what's the big deal if he's on a Truck? As far as Erikk Geannikis, I thought it would be a wondrous phenomenon would he be covered in Buffalo Sauce, but some disagreed. From Naphy's response I was able to understand that Jesus on a Truck implied the very earthly presence of Jesus, which I can see being conceptually weighty. Rookie Evan Sgherzi's reasoning was priceless however: "If I saw Jesus on a truck, I'd be like, 'Oh Cool, it's religion on wheels.' But if I saw Erikk Geannikis covered in [Buffalo], I'd say, 'Whoa. Now there is a man who means business. Anyone who would willingly cover themselves in [Buffalo] Sauch is not to messed with.'" As far as the 2-Hole, we spent a lot of time deciding if an object need be designed specifically for idle pleasure in order for it to be a toy, or if a thing's toy-status depended on our use of it. We still never really came to a consensus, and the case is especially murky with educational toys, which aim to disguise the fact that they are actually serving a greater purpose. But for me, ultimately, tornadoes are just a specific, althought devastating phenomenon of Nature. Toys shape the development of childhood and have shaped them for who knows how long, and it won my vote and the masses'.
Ah, the Title. This "Fite" is a more marketable version of the original Celerity vs. Prescience (flipped, of course), which was so long impressed upon me by Monsieurs Steiner and Jones. We talked a bit about how neither concept infers that the action at hand is completed well, or completed at all. One can both be prescient and be swift and still fuck things up. There was a contingent of people who insisted on Swiftness' superiority since it involved the mind and the body. I thought that the power of foresight, indicating the presence of some kind of prophetic faculty. Even if the events you foresee do not come to pass, Spinoza would say that, if you're experiencing divine foresight, at the very least you have a superior imagninative capability, which, while excluding the body, seems to me like a more powerful thing to have than swiftness. Also, taking Swiftness as the essence of Jeremy R. Swift, we see that it, too, is easily defeated by a little foresight. Good "Fites."
Notables: A-Han 2-2; BJ 2-2; Caitlin O'Brien 2-2; Schwartz 3-1; The Fuzz 2-2; Kitch 3-1; G Hinkle 2-2; Gerard Toenjes 3-1; Chris Bea 1-3; BQ 0-4; Kast 2-2; Lauren Robertson 2-2; Sebastian 3-1; Erika Bush 0-4; Hannah Stone 2-2; Mira Johnson 1-3; Erikk 2-2; Allyse 2-2; Schuyler 1-3; Nick Steiner 1-3; Toph 3-1; Aaron Brager 3-1; Vec 2-2; Edel 2-2; EternalOverdrive 3-1; Robinson 2-2; Robert Montoya (R) 3-1; Letz 3-1; Betsy 1-3; Fe Abril 3-1; Ashley 3-1; Bridget 3-1; Naphy 3-1; Bradis' 3-1; Evan Sgherzi (R) 3-1; Connie Carbone (R); Nicky G 3-1; Marc 3-1; Hammer 3-1; Brianne Muscente 2-2. Congratulations to Margot Behrend, Christine Gregory, Derrick, Angelica, and Kevin for their trip to 4-0. Double Congrats goes to Jack-o for his second consecutive 4-0. 47; only 25 on-site. What a disappointment.
Issues: Okay, a bunch of things going on.
Firstly, TNF Chat debuted three weeks ago. The first session had limited success until the last forty-five minutes or so, the second session was pretty much jumpin' all nite long, which I loved. However, having a laptop running a chat room and a person or persons maintaining the chat room over here on-site has become a hassle, and prevents us from arguing with each other and removes all possibility of anyone getting any work done. So, while the screen name TuesdayNiteFites may appear to be a member of the chat, it will be running on my dorm room computer, the chat room will now be solely for absentee voters. This includes off-site Johnnies as well. The whole point of the chat room is to get you guys arguing for yourselves, so I assume that if you care enough about the TNF concepts to vote, and if you have the time (even 10-15 minutes might be enough to get some opinions!) I strongly urge all off-siters to spend some time in the chat room prior to voting. No need to apologize to me if you can't, and of course I don't want to monitor anything like this, but you owe it to yourselves.
Secondly, stickers are in the later stages of design. I believe we will be giving them out free based on strong arguments, and possibly to the 4-0 victors, maybe some to rookies. But, TNFers, let this initially be added insentive to clarify your votes with cogent accounts! More on this system as it arises, and when the stickers are off the presses.
Lastly, I am beginning to realize what a monstrous time commitment TNF is for me. There are four other archons, and two non-archons who help out just as much, but the fact that I am faced with the most responsibility is no one's fault but mine. The system was designed that way, and it was designed by me. The framework for TNF sprung from my fancy and desire to properly accomodate the Internet voters, and it was designed really without me knowing that I was designing a system at all until this thing got too big to be contained. I am letting you all know this because, while things probably won't change a lot for the absentee voter, The "Fites" as a whole may begin to scale back some. Commentary, for instance, may be the first thing to go. Because I am bogged down, I will not be posting commentary on Wks XXXV and XXXVI. This strain was also a factor in the SJC contingent's decision to leave the TNF Chat entirely to Internet devices. I'd love to be there, but it's too much. I know that you guys can step it up and make the chat room a proper philosophical forum.
And that's the story. Now that I'm up to date, and 9PM-12AM Tuesdays will be better delegated amongst the archons, hopefully commentary and results will be a Wednesday afternoon staple every week. I appreciate your cooperation and understanding during this difficult time. KEEP ON FITING! The voting numbers this week were atrocious. But, c'est la vie. Rein