Something Mike and I haven’t really talked about is how we know each other. I predict that will be a topic of conversation with much more in the line of specifics at some point, but for now I believe it will suffice to say that we were colleagues. During the time we were working together we had many talks concerning many things. Everything from women, to religion and God or god, to spirituality (much separated from religion), to theories of life and existence, and on and on. I distinctly recall us sitting at our respective cubicles discussing the existence of a thing that exists only in concept or idea and not in reality making a nonexistant thing exist even if only in understanding.

It wasn’t until a reader – thanks again for the link Tom – posted a link to MIT’s OpenCourseWare site that I found this PDF in their Linguistics and Philosophy section. It contains a quote from William Rowe’s essay The Ontological Argument that very much defines what we were trying to say.

Now suppose I assert that the Fountain of Youth does not exist. Since to meaningfully deny the existence of something I have to have that thing in mind, I have to think of it, it follows on Anselm’s view that whenever someone asserts that some thing does not exist, that thing does exist in the understanding. So in asserting that the Fountain of Youth does not exist, I imply that the Fountain of Youth does exist in the understanding. And in asserting that it does not exist I have asserted (on Anselm’s view) that it does not exist in reality. This means that my simple assertion amounts to the somewhat more complex claim that the Fountain of Youth exists in the understanding but does not exist in reality – in short, that the Fountain of Youth exists only in the understanding. (RR 12-13)

To the casual reader, this probably doesn’t sound like much. But to me, there’s so much depth there. Not just in what Rowe had to say, but that Mike and I came to this very same conclusion ourselves. If anything, it’s a confirmation that I’m finding the path that truly interests me. Philosophy may not save the world or feed the hungry, but it’s a fantastic and exciting method of exploring all aspects of life.

- john

Exist

Why is it that I lose all interest in every college I see that tries to sell their curriculum on the basis of finding a high paying job? What if I just want to go to a school and learn for the sake of learning?

Mike and I have a dream, and that dream is one of nobility and honor, dignity and respect. That dream is extravagant and boundless. It boils and stirs within me like… water… in the uh… microwave? Maybe it’s on that little glass piece that rotates? OK, just forget what the dream is like. It’s a comic. A web-based comic.

We have no real concept, to be honest. Something in the realm of – as I, being the famous wordematician that I am, once said – “comedy+computers+geekdom=comeduterdom which is synonymous with “win” and “fantastical.”

In short, I think we could make a pretty fun comic. And, to be honest, that’s all I really want to accomplish. I just want to have some fun with something and share it with people. If you’re an artist and are interested in maybe working on a comic project with us , please send a sample of your work and a bit about yourself to john@entheory.com (I’ll be changing this email to something a little more generic soon but use this for now).

I hope to get some responses soon!

- john

The Grand Wordematician

So, lately, Mike and I have been doing preliminary house searching. Our children are getting older and BIGGER and have pretty much outgrown the apartment style of living in which we partake. Everyone has an idea of a dream home and what they want in it if or when they build it, as do I. 2 bathrooms, a big kitchen and a backyard for my kids. I ask you this question, ‘ How do people think they can sell these horrid abodes they call homes? ‘ An 8X8 master bedroom?!!!! A closet that a suitcase couldn’t fit in, a backyard that is shorter than the distance in which someone can spit, and last but not least, a mobile home that has been built onto. These are just a few of the things we have come across in our diligent search for a house that we can make into a home. I won’t even start on the prices. I’m not sure how bad the housing market is going to have to get for me to afford a descent size place for a family of 5, but it isn’t there just yet I don’t think. Then again, it could be the fact that we have 3 children! So for the readers out there, I hope you good luck in finding that elusive perfect home, that is if you are looking.

Blue

So as I just now devoured the last piece of my German Chocolate birthday cake (my favorite and leftover from yesterday’s festivities), I muse to myself, “How is coconut particularly German?” I am not aware that it is native to Germany, at least not in my mental image of coconuts. The chocolate part of the cake does not seem to involve any particular richness of chocolate and it uses a component that is of much different climate that that of the country for which it is apparently named. Was it named for a particular person, perhaps? Wikipedia has this to say:

This cake is actually not a traditional German dessert. The original recipe was sent by a homemaker in Dallas in 1957 to a newspaper in Texas. It used Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate, which was created in 1852 by an Englishman named Samuel German for the Baker’s chocolate brand. Coconut is also a major baking product of the company.

The cake became quite popular and General Foods — which owned Baker’s Chocolate at the time — sent the recipe to other newspapers in the country. Sales of the company are said to have increased by as much as 73%. The apostrophe and the “s” were accidentally dropped in subsequent publications, creating the “German Chocolate Cake” we know today. [1]

It has been suggested that the cake didn’t strictly originate from this recipe. Similar buttermilk and chocolate cakes have been popular in the South for over 70 years.

Well, I take everything posted on Wikipedia with a grain of salt (as I recommend for all readers), but this seems to satisfy my original thought. But still, why would they not have named the confectionery delight something more appropriate such as “makes your mouth die with passion cake” or “you will wish this was your last meal lest your mouth be tainted by inferior foodstuffs cake”? Maybe these were just too long or maybe the editors of the recipe were brainless. Time, for now, keeps its secrets wrapped tightly.

-Mike

The Fogetfu… What was I saying?