Peeve Farm

g r o t t o 1 1

Peeve Farm
Breeding peeves for show, not just to keep as pets

Brian Tiemann
Silicon Valley-based purveyor of a confusing mixture of Apple punditry and political bile.

btman at grotto11 dot com

Read These Too:

InstaPundit
USS Clueless
James Lileks
Little Green Footballs
As the Apple Turns
Entropicana
Cold Fury
Capitalist Lion
Red Letter Day
Eric S. Raymond
Tal G in Jerusalem
Secular Islam
Aziz Poonawalla
Corsair the Rational Pirate
.clue
Ravishing Light
Rosenblog
Cartago Delenda Est

« ? Blogging Brians # »

Book Plugs:

Buy 'em and I get
money. I think.
BSD Mall

Amazon Honor System

3/14/2005 -  3/15/2005
  3/7/2005 -  3/13/2005
2/28/2005 -   3/6/2005
2/21/2005 -  2/27/2005
2/14/2005 -  2/20/2005
  2/7/2005 -  2/13/2005
1/31/2005 -   2/6/2005
1/24/2005 -  1/30/2005
1/17/2005 -  1/23/2005
1/10/2005 -  1/16/2005
  1/3/2005 -   1/9/2005
12/27/2004 -   1/2/2004
12/20/2004 - 12/26/2004
12/13/2004 - 12/19/2004
12/6/2004 - 12/12/2004
11/29/2004 -  12/5/2004
11/22/2004 - 11/28/2004
11/15/2004 - 11/21/2004
11/8/2004 - 11/14/2004
11/1/2004 -  11/7/2004
10/25/2004 - 10/31/2004
10/18/2004 - 10/24/2004
10/11/2004 - 10/17/2004
10/4/2004 - 10/10/2004
9/27/2004 -  10/3/2004
9/20/2004 -  9/26/2004
9/13/2004 -  9/19/2004
  9/6/2004 -  9/12/2004
8/30/2004 -   9/5/2004
8/23/2004 -  8/29/2004
8/16/2004 -  8/22/2004
  8/9/2004 -  8/15/2004
  8/2/2004 -   8/8/2004
7/26/2004 -   8/1/2004
7/19/2004 -  7/25/2004
7/12/2004 -  7/18/2004
  7/5/2004 -  7/11/2004
6/28/2004 -   7/4/2004
6/21/2004 -  6/27/2004
6/14/2004 -  6/20/2004
  6/7/2004 -  6/13/2004
5/31/2004 -   6/6/2004
5/24/2004 -  5/30/2004
5/17/2004 -  5/23/2004
5/10/2004 -  5/16/2004
  5/3/2004 -   5/9/2004
4/26/2004 -   5/2/2004
4/19/2004 -  4/25/2004
4/12/2004 -  4/18/2004
  4/5/2004 -  4/11/2004
3/29/2004 -   4/4/2004
3/22/2004 -  3/28/2004
3/15/2004 -  3/21/2004
  3/8/2004 -  3/14/2004
  3/1/2004 -   3/7/2004
2/23/2004 -  2/29/2004
2/16/2004 -  2/22/2004
  2/9/2004 -  2/15/2004
  2/2/2004 -   2/8/2004
1/26/2004 -   2/1/2004
1/19/2004 -  1/25/2004
1/12/2004 -  1/18/2004
  1/5/2004 -  1/11/2004
12/29/2003 -   1/4/2004
12/22/2003 - 12/28/2003
12/15/2003 - 12/21/2003
12/8/2003 - 12/14/2003
12/1/2003 -  12/7/2003
11/24/2003 - 11/30/2003
11/17/2003 - 11/23/2003
11/10/2003 - 11/16/2003
11/3/2003 -  11/9/2003
10/27/2003 -  11/2/2003
10/20/2003 - 10/26/2003
10/13/2003 - 10/19/2003
10/6/2003 - 10/12/2003
9/29/2003 -  10/5/2003
9/22/2003 -  9/28/2003
9/15/2003 -  9/21/2003
  9/8/2003 -  9/14/2003
  9/1/2003 -   9/7/2003
8/25/2003 -  8/31/2003
8/18/2003 -  8/24/2003
8/11/2003 -  8/17/2003
  8/4/2003 -  8/10/2003
7/28/2003 -   8/3/2003
7/21/2003 -  7/27/2003
7/14/2003 -  7/20/2003
  7/7/2003 -  7/13/2003
6/30/2003 -   7/6/2003
6/23/2003 -  6/29/2003
6/16/2003 -  6/22/2003
  6/9/2003 -  6/15/2003
  6/2/2003 -   6/8/2003
5/26/2003 -   6/1/2003
5/19/2003 -  5/25/2003
5/12/2003 -  5/18/2003
  5/5/2003 -  5/11/2003
4/28/2003 -   5/4/2003
4/21/2003 -  4/27/2003
4/14/2003 -  4/20/2003
  4/7/2003 -  4/13/2003
3/31/2003 -   4/6/2003
3/24/2003 -  3/30/2003
3/17/2003 -  3/23/2003
3/10/2003 -  3/16/2003
  3/3/2003 -   3/9/2003
2/24/2003 -   3/2/2003
2/17/2003 -  2/23/2003
2/10/2003 -  2/16/2003
  2/3/2003 -   2/9/2003
1/27/2003 -   2/2/2003
1/20/2003 -  1/26/2003
1/13/2003 -  1/19/2003
  1/6/2003 -  1/12/2003
12/30/2002 -   1/5/2003
12/23/2002 - 12/29/2002
12/16/2002 - 12/22/2002
12/9/2002 - 12/15/2002
12/2/2002 -  12/8/2002
11/25/2002 -  12/1/2002
11/18/2002 - 11/24/2002
11/11/2002 - 11/17/2002
11/4/2002 - 11/10/2002
10/28/2002 -  11/3/2002
10/21/2002 - 10/27/2002
10/14/2002 - 10/20/2002
10/7/2002 - 10/13/2002
9/30/2002 -  10/6/2002
9/23/2002 -  9/29/2002
9/16/2002 -  9/22/2002
  9/9/2002 -  9/15/2002
  9/2/2002 -   9/8/2002
8/26/2002 -   9/1/2002
8/19/2002 -  8/25/2002
8/12/2002 -  8/18/2002
  8/5/2002 -  8/11/2002
7/29/2002 -   8/4/2002
7/22/2002 -  7/28/2002
7/15/2002 -  7/21/2002
  7/8/2002 -  7/14/2002
  7/1/2002 -   7/7/2002
6/24/2002 -  6/30/2002
6/17/2002 -  6/23/2002
6/10/2002 -  6/16/2002
  6/3/2002 -   6/9/2002
5/27/2002 -   6/2/2002
5/20/2002 -  5/26/2002
5/13/2002 -  5/19/2002
  5/6/2002 -  5/12/2002
4/29/2002 -   5/5/2002
4/22/2002 -  4/28/2002
4/15/2002 -  4/21/2002
  4/8/2002 -  4/14/2002
  4/1/2002 -   4/7/2002
3/25/2002 -  3/31/2002
3/18/2002 -  3/24/2002
3/11/2002 -  3/17/2002
  3/4/2002 -  3/10/2002
2/25/2002 -   3/3/2002
2/18/2002 -  2/24/2002
2/11/2002 -  2/17/2002
  2/4/2002 -  2/10/2002
1/28/2002 -   2/3/2002
1/21/2002 -  1/27/2002
1/14/2002 -  1/20/2002
  1/7/2002 -  1/13/2002
12/31/2001 -   1/6/2002
12/24/2001 - 12/30/2001
12/17/2001 - 12/23/2001

Monday, March 14, 2005
12:13 - Yesteryear	(top)
I always enjoy Zack "Geist Editor" Parsons' updates on SomethingAwful.com; he's more serious and even-handed than the rest of the site's writers, he's a great storyteller, and he's well-read and incisive and deeply, deeply interested in his subject matter to boot. As an obsessive student of World War II, he shows a loving familiarity with the silliest and most awesome technology to come out of Nazi Germany, and with respectable apolitical figures like Rommel; but he never lets that cloud his vision of the larger issues, as with his republishing last week of Julius Streicher's Never Trust a Fox in His Green Meadow and Never Trust the Oath of a Jew�which may in fact be illegal to read if you live in some European countries. (I'm sure we all remember when France tried to sue Yahoo for allowing French citizens to stumble onto auctions where Nazi paraphernalia was being sold.) Which is a shame, because nothing�nothing�is more important than making sure people are familiar with this sort of thing and what it looks like. If it's kept under lock and key, we stop being able to recognize things like it�and more alarmingly, we start mistaking everything for it. I'd challenge any of our professional alarmists, the ones who insist that America is a racist state sowing fear and hatred against minorities in our midst and insinuations that every Muslim hides a bomb under his coat, to take a good look at what Parsons is shoving in our faces and forcing us to confront, and then to explain where in modern American society anything like this is allowed to exist. Seriously. Ours is a world where our "Hitler" figure, rather than commissioning books like this from our "Streichers", gives speeches fawning over our "Jews". And yet, to many, the situations are indistinguishable. On a related note, I've been re-reading the Chronicles of Narnia, just because it's been so long�and I am finding myself endlessly amused by all the subtext that C.S. Lewis apparently couldn't resist throwing in, increasingly as the books went on. I'm not just talking about the "Aslan is Jesus" stuff; we all know about that (glorifications of Bacchanalian orgies notwithstanding). I'm talking about Lewis' unapologetic disdain for democracy and romanticization of divine monarchy. Everywhere you turn there's more evidence of it. Nothing's ever as it should be except when a Human is king. Nothing made Caspian an inherently better ruler than Miraz except that he was the "rightful" king by birth. Miraz is scornfully referred to as having originally seized power under the title of "Lord Protector", a reference that must have been alarming to Lewis' original British readers�and all the more so today�in its derision obliquely directed toward Cromwell's republican revolution in British government. The tenor rises along these lines throughout Lewis' writing and reaches a head in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, in which Lewis gives himself thoroughly over to the conceit�embodying everything he loathed about modern utilitarian British society in Eustace, as well as in the bureaucratic Governor Gumpas, whom Caspian overthrows and replaces with a Duke ("I think we've had enough of Governors") seemingly for the crime of doggedly administering his province according to the people's expressed needs, though the overt reason (outlawing slavery) is honorable enough. In that same book, Lewis muses that the kids' earlier return to Narnia had been like King Arthur returning to Britain, "as some say he will. And I say the sooner the better." But all this is just amusement. What I wonder is this: what chance would the Narnia books have of being published today, given Lewis' unflattering and unmistakable portrayal of Calormen, the all-but-undisguised stand-in for the Islamic world�which in its imperialism and militancy and social equivocation is responsible ultimately for the destruction of Aslan's whole universe? None, that's what chance. And yet compared to Streicher's work, it's nothing. Some days I think we have to invent these cartoons of old, defeated problems simply to avoid having to face the real problems we legitimately face in the modern world. At least we know we can defeat Naziism, so we'd rather spend our time running the last vestiges of racism and sexism and homophobia and lack of diversity to ground than turn and deal with Islamofascism. We haven't converted that particular storybook into a museum piece yet.