Huh. I started writing this paper, you see, about what's the ideal path to a happy society (between Benthamian, Freudian and Durkheimian approaches).

Sometime in the past 20 minutes, I think it can be read as if I'm claiming, between the lines, that a fascist society is an ideal, happy society.

Dear Lord. I... didn't mean to claim that. Sigh damn you, relativism. One cannot argue that cohesiveness is good to a society without being suspected in fascism anymore, can't she?

Aims, how are you and rugrat doing?

Better, thanks! This morning it seems we are both on the mend. Emeline can breather through her nose again and my fever has FINALLY broken. And I actually got lots of sleep. I might try to eat some scrambled eggs later this morning. I'm trying to decide if I should go back to work tomorrow or stay home one more day. Doctor said stay home til Tuesday for me, but that Em could go back Monday. I wonder why that is?

kids bounce back faster. plus, you get stuck taking care of both of you while she has only herself cause non-healing-helping stress.

Doctor said stay home til Tuesday for me, but that Em could go back Monday. I wonder why that is?

Don't kids supposedly bounce back faster from illness than adults? Plus, it sounds like you had a worse case of the ick than she did.

Stay at home tomorrow. The rest-n-recovery will make it less likely that you'll catch something else in the short term.

Dear Lord. I... didn't mean to claim that. Sigh damn you, relativism. One cannot argue that cohesiveness is good to a society without being suspected in fascism anymore, can't she?

Shir, can you specify that you mean voluntary cohesion within the culture? Or does that even make sense?

Stay at home tomorrow. The rest-n-recovery will make it less likely that you'll catch something else in the short term.

Anne is wise; listen to Anne. Signed, someone whose sister the nurse got rheumatic fever by ignoring her own strep throat while taking care of her sons.

ETA: for accuracy, and to add that she wasn't actually a nurse yet at the time it happened.

Shir, can you specify that you mean voluntary cohesion within the culture? Or does that even make sense?

I think I know how to pull this one through. Not by suggestion any voluntary cohesion (cause, umm, a cohesion is a cohesion. The voluntary part may manifest in different forms of expressing said cohesion, but society needs one), but by different ways on which the individual define himself/herself in a society, and the set of boundaries between the private and the public and their relation to the notion of "self".

And by that, I hope to make my suggestion less fascist.

Anne is wise; listen to Anne

This.

Yes! And it's now my desktop background.

Mine, too.

Much health~ma to your mom, Shir.

I just made my first batch of orange-cranberry-pecan muffins. They're reasonably yummy but not quite as moist as I'd like. I'm thinking I should up the fat content a tad the next time.

Thanks for all the ~mas.

They're reasonably yummy but not quite as moist as I'd like. I'm thinking I should up the fat content a tad the next time.

You know what to do, now. All that's left is to get rid of the less-than-perfect-muffins and start working on a new bench of super-perfect-muffins. Also, that's entirely up to you, but I wouldn't mind getting these less-than-perfect-muffins. Just, you know. Toss them away over here.

It's a burden, but somebody's gotta have those reasonably yummy but not very moist orange-cranberry-pecan muffins.

Health ~ma for them that needs it.

I saw the Northern Lights a few times as a kid. I need to experience it as an adult.

Shir, do you have to use Durkheim (I don't know enough about the others to comment on their contribution to social theory)? He's fascinating, but I can't stand functionalism - it can indeed lead to conclusions that are akin to fascism, and is generally Of The Devil in my extremely humble opinion. I don't know how much I can suggest, because social cohesion isn't my area of research - but depending on the subject, I think the symbolic interactionists have more to say about a relativist society. (As you know, I'm a rabid Marxist, but that's a British thing.)