Tag Archives: martial arts

The Return of the Well-Tailored Proto-Nazi

Posted on July 16, 2019 by Abigail

The Return of the Well-Tailored Proto-Nazi This is about my return encounter with the dapper gentleman who first surfaced last May, when I gave a talk at California’s Claremont School of Theology, based on a chapter from my book, A … Continue reading →

Posted in Absolute Freedom and Terror, absurdism, academe, action, alienation, American politics, anthropology, art of living, atheism, autonomy, Biblical God, books, chivalry, Christianity, cities, class, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, ethics, evil, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, freedom, friendship, gender balance, glitterati, guilt and innocence, health, hegemony, heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history, history of ideas, id, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, immorality, institutional power, Jews, Judaism, life and death struggle, love, masculinity, master, master/slave relation, memory, mind control, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, morality, mortality, non-violence, ontology, oppression, pacifism, past and future, peace, philosophy, political movements, politics, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, race, reading, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, scientism, secular, seduction, self-deception, social climbing, social construction, social conventions, social ranking, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, spirituality, status, status of women, suffering, terror, terrorism, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, the profane, the sacred, theism, theology, time, twenty-first century, victimhood, victims, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged a quiet life, Abigail L. Rosenthal's "A Good Look at Evil", adversary’s energy field, bad vibes, banality of evil, book about evil, Claremont School of Theology, deceiving appearances, defending the Holocaust, denouncing evil, Divine intervention, essentially Jewish, experimental neuropathy treatment, force of will, founding TWW, frustrating the adversary, genocide, gentle reader, gentleman, giving ground to the adversary, giving no openings, Hannah Arendt, he’s back, Holocaust Denial, Jerry L. Martin, Jewish defensiveness, Jewish self-defense, justifying genocide, Loma Linda Neuropathic Therapy Center, martial arts, martial arts of the spirit, mental focus, mental self-defense, New York Subway, not the type, petitionary prayer, power of prayer, powers of darkness, predatory vibes, rationalizing genocide, silent aggression, speak of the devil, the best of taste, Theology Without Walls, TWW trialogue, wanting to flee, young theologians | 4 Comments

Wonder Woman

Posted on June 20, 2017 by Abigail

Wonder Woman One of our back-to-back appointments here in California was cancelled, freeing the Saturday afternoon hours, so we decided to go see “Wonder Woman,” a great hero of my childhood now back in living cinematic color. The Israeli girl … Continue reading →

Posted in action, beauty, Biblical God, childhood, contradictions, cool, courage, cultural politics, culture, desire, erotic life, evil, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, films, freedom, gender balance, heroes, hidden God, history, history of ideas, idealism, identity, Jews, Judaism, life and death struggle, love, masculinity, memory, moral action, moral evaluation, past and future, peace, political, political movements, politics, politics of ideas, power, presence, relationships, roles, romance, sex appeal, sexuality, social construction, social conventions, status of women, suffering, terror, terrorism, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, theism, theology, time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, Utopia, victimhood, victims, violence, war, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged appeasement, caliphate, comic books, DC comics, DC Extended Universe, film star, Gal Gadot, genocide, good and evil, Holocaust, IDF, Israeli athletes, Jewish experience, Jewish theology, jihadis, Linda Carter, martial arts, Nazi murders, Ottoman Empire, overtraining, Patty Jenkins, post-appocalyptic innocence, prelapsarian innocence, self-acceptance, super heroes, theological escapism, utopia, Wonder Woman, World War I, yetzer hara, yetzer hatov, Zyklon B | Leave a comment

The Woman on the Pedestal

Posted on June 6, 2017 by Abigail

The Woman on the Pedestal I’m pretty near the end of Pamela, the novel about the heroine whose virtue gets rewarded that I cited last week. How does she manage to hold on to her “treasure”? (It really is, since … Continue reading →

Posted in absurdism, academe, action, afterlife, alienation, art, art of living, autonomy, beauty, Biblical God, chivalry, Christianity, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, courage, courtship, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, eighteenth century, erotic life, eternity, ethics, evil, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, freedom, friendship, gender balance, guilt and innocence, heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history, history of ideas, id, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, immorality, immortality, institutional power, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, martyrdom, masculinity, master, memoir, memory, mind control, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, mortality, nineteenth-century, non-violence, novels, oppression, pacifism, past and future, peace, philosophy, poetry, political, political movements, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, romance, romantic love, romanticism, seduction, self-deception, sex appeal, sexuality, social climbing, social construction, social conventions, social ranking, sociobiology, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, spirituality, status, status of women, suffering, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, the profane, the sacred, theism, theology, time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, Utopia, victimhood, victims, violence, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged 18th century novel, 19th century Denmark, bad intentions, beloved, betrayal, better angels, biography, broken engagement, cattiness, courtship, existentialism, fallen woman, female wiles, feminine resistance, feminine rivalry, fine gentleman, heartbreak, high ideals, idealization, jilted woman, Joakim Garff's Kierkegaard’s Muse: The Mystery of Regine Olsen, living in history, love, male villainy, martial arts, masculine insults, masculine manipulation, masculine threats, masculine wiles, menaced innocence, moral turnaround, near violence, philosophic originality, powerful men, presence of mind, profaning one's image, reforming men, Romantic Love, Samuel Richardson's Pamela or Virtue Rewarded, self-defeating moves, sexual harrassment, simplifications, social ascent, social protection, social scandal, social status, Soren Kierkegaard, soul at risk, spiritual v ethical, traps of idealization, unequal combat, unequal struggle, unisex intellect, victory of underlings, virtuous heroine, virtuous woman, woman on pedestal, yin and yang | 2 Comments

The Moral Drama of the World

Posted on October 4, 2016 by Abigail

The Moral Drama of the World It’s Erev Rosh Ha Shana (the eve of the Jewish New Year 5777) and here I am, not in synagogue tonight, because I have a column to script. Likewise tomorrow I’ll be late for … Continue reading →

Posted in Absolute Freedom and Terror, absurdism, academe, action, afterlife, alienation, American politics, anthropology, art of living, atheism, autonomy, Biblical God, chivalry, Christianity, class, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, evil, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, freedom, friendship, gender balance, guilt and innocence, health, hegemony, heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history, history of ideas, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, immorality, immortality, institutional power, Jews, Judaism, law, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, love, martyrdom, master, memoir, memory, mind control, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, mortality, non-violence, ontology, oppression, pacifism, past and future, peace, philosophy, political, political movements, politics, postmodernism, power, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, romance, seduction, self-deception, social climbing, social construction, social conventions, social ranking, sociobiology, spiritual not religious, spirituality, status, status of women, suffering, terror, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, the profane, the sacred, theism, theology, time, victimhood, victims, violence, war, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged "the evil tongue", "the natural attitude", "the phenomenological reduction", Abigail's Adages, aggression, anti-Semites, anti-semites at Trump rallies, attachment, BDS anti-semitism, BLM anti-semitism, bracketing, closing argument, college campus anti-semites, commitment, defamation, derogatory speech, detachment, doing philosophy, Edmund Husserl, Erev Rosh Ha Shana, Evil, false and defamatory, fighting back, give it your all, gossip, High Holidays, hope and fear, intrigue, Jewish acculturation, Jewish life, Jewish mainstream, Jewish New Year 5777, lashon hara, life review, loss of reputation, making the case, manipulation, martial arts, moral drama, non-resistance, objectivity, oldest hatred, personal enemy, Persuasion, philosophy's practical uses, prayer guidance, professional defenses, Reform temple, reputation, rumors, self-defense, slander, social defeat, social defenses, social self-defense, Submission, synagogue services, synagogues, temple, Terror, the moral drama of the world, the new anti-Semitism, turning the other cheek, usefulness of philosophy | Leave a comment

“The Real World”

Posted on July 26, 2016 by Abigail

“The Real World” Is there a real world? There are those who deny it, and they are not the smallest fry in the ranks of the influential. I’ve been reading a new book called Winning Arguments by Stanley Fish, a … Continue reading →

Posted in absurdism, academe, action, alienation, American politics, anthropology, art, art of living, atheism, autonomy, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, ethics, evil, existentialism, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, freedom, friendship, gender balance, glitterati, guilt and innocence, health, hegemony, heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history, history of ideas, id, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, immorality, immortality, institutional power, journalism, law, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, male power, masculinity, master, memoir, memory, mind control, modernism, mortality, non-violence, oppression, pacifism, past and future, peace, philosophy, political, political movements, politics, postmodernism, power, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, reductionism, relationships, roles, seduction, self-deception, sex appeal, social climbing, social conventions, social ranking, sociobiology, status, status of women, suffering, terrorism, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, theology, TV, twentieth century, twenty-first century, Utopia, violence, war, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged Abigail L. Rosenthal's "Confessions of a Young Philosopher", argument, bad arguments, candor, coherence theory, Confessions of a Young Philosopher, contradiction, correspondence theory, doxa, dying, eloquence, embarrasment, epistemolgy, external world, facing death, fallacy, George Orwell, George Orwell's "1984", group consensus, honesty, inconsistency, influence, informal fallacies, informal logic, irrelevancy, language, last days, linguistic construction of reality, literary theory, losers, martial arts, Mind Control, modesty, noesis, non sequitur, norms, opinions, Orwell's "Animal Farm", Orwell's "Politics and the English Language" 1946, paradigm, Persuasion, persuasive power, picturing, post modernism, Power, pragmatic theory, real world, relevancy, rhetoric, silence, simplicity, Socrates, Sophistry, Stanley Fish, Stanley Fish's "Winning Arguments: What Works and Doesn't Work in Politics the Bedroom the Courtroom and the Classroom", terminal cancer, the God's eye view, The Gorgias, theories of truth, truth, TV debates, understanding, view from nowhere, visualizing, winners, winners and losers, winning and losing, wordsmith, world views | Leave a comment

“Being Brave”

Posted on September 1, 2015 by Abigail

“Being Brave” Nobody wants to think of herself as a whining, sniveling, cowering coward. At the same time, one of the advantages of the female sex is that (forgive me, sisterhood!) we are not expected to wear such courage as … Continue reading →

Posted in Absolute Freedom and Terror, absurdism, action, alienation, art, autonomy, chivalry, cities, class, contradictions, cool, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, ethics, evil, existentialism, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, freedom, friendship, gender balance, guilt and innocence, history, history of ideas, identity, ideology, institutional power, Jews, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, masculinity, master, mind control, non-violence, peace, Phenomenology of the Mind, philosophy, political, political movements, power, psychology, public intellectual, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, seduction, slave, social conventions, sociobiology, spirituality, suffering, terror, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, theism, time, twentieth century, violence, war, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged "The War Has Taken Place", assault, authority, bad guys, blaming victims, bravery, breaking under torture, consensus, conventions, courage, courage under fire, coward, cowardice, criminals, extreme situation, extreme tests, freedom, gender roles, genocide, German occupation of France, grace under pressure, Holocaust, honor, Jewish prayer, judging victims, martial arts, masculinity and femininity, massacre of Armenians, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, nazis, New York City, pain, pain threshold, pain tolerance, prayer, risk-taking, self-defense, social construction, socially constructed identity, Stephen Crane's "Red Badge of Courage", subway crime, subway mugger, tests of valor, torture, training in courage, urban crime, victim's conduct, victim's courage, World War II | Leave a comment

Spiritual Warfare

Posted on August 13, 2015 by Abigail

Spiritual Warfare I have been reading a book called The Art of Spiritual Warfare by Grant Schnarr. It’s a pretty good book. For one thing, it tells us that evil has objective reality. Evil is not a social construct. For … Continue reading →

Posted in Absolute Freedom and Terror, absurdism, action, alienation, autonomy, chivalry, class, contemplation, contradictions, cool, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, evil, existentialism, faith, fashion, freedom, guilt and innocence, history, history of ideas, identity, ideology, idolatry, institutional power, Jews, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, masculinity, master, non-violence, peace, philosophy, political, political movements, power, psychology, reductionism, relationships, roles, seduction, social conventions, sociobiology, spirituality, suffering, terror, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, theism, time, twentieth century, violence, war, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged "The Art of Spiritual Warfare", "The Art of Spiritual Warfare: A Guide to Lasting Inner Peace Based on Sun Tzu's The Art of War", "The Art of War", argument, Biblical encounters, Biblical God, censorship, Christian Zionists, combat, communication, confession, conscience, dialogue, dilemma, divine encounter, encounter with God, epiphany, Evil, facts and values, fight, God of Israel, good neighbors, Grant Schnarr, incommunicative, inspiration, Israel, judgementalism, loving Israel, loving Jews, martial arts, mission, paradigm shift, placards, political demonstrations, propaganda, protest, right to exist, self-righteousness, silencing, social construct, social construction of reality, spiritual homeland, strategy, Sun Tzu, un-neighborly acts, war game, war propaganda, warfare, writing topics | 4 Comments

“How to Pick Your Fights”

Posted on July 21, 2015 by Abigail

“How to Pick Your Fights” “I’ve been perfect,” said Ammon Hennacy, pacifist, anarchist and dedicated Platonic lover of Dorothy Day of the Catholic Worker movement. He had taken my arm as we walked the picket line together. “I’ve had to … Continue reading →

Posted in Absolute Freedom and Terror, absurdism, academe, action, alienation, autonomy, cities, class, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courtship, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, ethics, evil, existentialism, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, freedom, friendship, gender balance, guilt and innocence, history, history of ideas, identity, ideology, idolatry, institutional power, Jews, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, masculinity, master, memoir, modernism, non-violence, peace, philosophy, political, political movements, power, psychology, race, reductionism, relationships, roles, seduction, sex appeal, sexuality, social conventions, sociobiology, spirituality, suffering, terror, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, theism, time, twentieth century, violence, war, work, writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged "hate speech", 36 righteous, absurdism, academic politics, action prompts, aggresor, Ammon Hennacy, Analytic philosophy, anarchist, Aristotle, base, Bronx, Bronx Borough President, Brooklyn College, Catholic Worker Movement, Chancellor of the City University, combat, conscience, consequential lies, countering lies, defamation, defender, Defenestration of Prague, disinformation, Dorothy Day, enemies, ethnic politics, falsification, fictions, glitter and gold, God's control, God's world, gossip, gotcha, Harvard, Herman Badillo, hitting the mark, honesty, intelligibility, lamed vovniks, Larry Summers, liberal arts university, lies, listening to your gut, malice, martial arts, Mayans, Michael Oren, Michael Oren's "Ally: My Journey Across the American-Israeli Divide", Michelle Obama, nature and nurture, New York, noble, Obama, Oval Office, pacifist, pariah, perfect action, Platonic lover, political correctness, Prime Minister Netanyahu, profane, public education, Puerto Rican, rabbinic legend, realm of discourse, right action, sacred, seduction, slander, spiritual warfare, stigmatizing, still small voice, taboos, tactlessness, the power of words, theology, true love, truth | 4 Comments

“Gettysburg”

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Abigail

“Gettysburg” Last week included Jerry’s birthday and he determined that the most desirable present would be an overnight visit and guided tour of the Gettysburg battlefield. Naturally I would have gone along with whatever Jerry wanted to do on his … Continue reading →

Posted in action, culture, history, life and death struggle, masculinity, nineteenth-century, political, psychology, relationships, sociobiology, the problematic of men, war | Tagged Abraham Lincoln, American History, battlefield, bayonettes, casualities, chess, choreography, Civil War, courage, fate and providence, fortitude, George G. Meade, Gettysburg, Gettysburg Address, glory, historic tours, historical memory, honesty, honor, Joshua Chamberlain, Little Round Top, manliness, martial arts, military cemetery, military history, Monument of the State of North Carolina, nobility, passion, Pickett's Charge, prudence, public monuments, Robert E. Lee, slaughter, soldiers, strategy, tactics, tragedy, Union and Confederate, United States, vainglory, valor, violence, war games, war memorials | Leave a comment

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“Gettysburg”

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