Saul Tobias
@saultobias.bsky.social
Humanities Prof @CSUF. Rootless cosmopolitan. Literature | Social and Political Philosophy | Religious Studies. Schubert and Sibelius stan.
‐ plugging away at that novel, same as everyone -
‐ plugging away at that novel, same as everyone -
My sarcasm aside, I think we are agreement.
November 24, 2025 at 2:35 AM
My sarcasm aside, I think we are agreement.
Everyone agrees Taiwan belongs to China except for people who know anything about Taiwan and its history and the majority of Taiwanese in every recent poll on the topic.
November 24, 2025 at 1:53 AM
Everyone agrees Taiwan belongs to China except for people who know anything about Taiwan and its history and the majority of Taiwanese in every recent poll on the topic.
1) Roger Casement
2) Pasta and sauce from the bottle
2) Pasta and sauce from the bottle
November 24, 2025 at 1:32 AM
1) Roger Casement
2) Pasta and sauce from the bottle
2) Pasta and sauce from the bottle
I like Darcies, actually.
November 21, 2025 at 9:14 PM
I like Darcies, actually.
They should have just gone for a pee or slipped out to take a very important phonecall.
November 21, 2025 at 9:12 PM
They should have just gone for a pee or slipped out to take a very important phonecall.
Knew and loved this song before i knew who Joe Hill was.
youtu.be/l-JW4DKxwQM?...
youtu.be/l-JW4DKxwQM?...
Joan Baez, "Joe Hill" live at the Woodstock Festival, 1969
YouTube video by dnjnyc
youtu.be
November 19, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Knew and loved this song before i knew who Joe Hill was.
youtu.be/l-JW4DKxwQM?...
youtu.be/l-JW4DKxwQM?...
'We had access to too much money, too much equipment, and little by little we went insane.'
— Francis Ford Coppola on the production of Apocalypse Now
— Francis Ford Coppola on the production of Apocalypse Now
November 18, 2025 at 5:11 AM
'We had access to too much money, too much equipment, and little by little we went insane.'
— Francis Ford Coppola on the production of Apocalypse Now
— Francis Ford Coppola on the production of Apocalypse Now
Marriage Story on meth
November 18, 2025 at 5:00 AM
Marriage Story on meth
Not a lawyer but I read the whole of Fitzpatrick's order and man is it a doozy.
November 17, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Not a lawyer but I read the whole of Fitzpatrick's order and man is it a doozy.
What perfect album came out the year you turned 16?
November 17, 2025 at 3:34 AM
What perfect album came out the year you turned 16?
Great piece. Thanks.
November 17, 2025 at 1:51 AM
Great piece. Thanks.
then a number of contemporary movements and regimes are at the very least fascistic. We may learn something about their possible origins and development by recognizing them as such.
November 17, 2025 at 12:44 AM
then a number of contemporary movements and regimes are at the very least fascistic. We may learn something about their possible origins and development by recognizing them as such.
then that would describe a limited number of countries today. If you define fascism as a kind of politics characterized primarily by anti-democratic impulses, a tolerance for violence, ethnic grievance, and a mythic idea of national revival,
November 17, 2025 at 12:44 AM
then that would describe a limited number of countries today. If you define fascism as a kind of politics characterized primarily by anti-democratic impulses, a tolerance for violence, ethnic grievance, and a mythic idea of national revival,
To be clearer on this: The point of calling any political movement or regime fascist is to identify important features that may be historically instructive. Scholars have different definitions of fascism. If you define fascism primarily on the basis of totalizing state violence and repression,
November 17, 2025 at 12:44 AM
To be clearer on this: The point of calling any political movement or regime fascist is to identify important features that may be historically instructive. Scholars have different definitions of fascism. If you define fascism primarily on the basis of totalizing state violence and repression,
Not trying to be pedantic. Making a point about getting a grasp on terminology if we are going to use it. Applying the term more broadly than Fascist Italy is a matter of which characteristics apply and which don't. I find Robert Paxton's Five Stages of Fascism useful.
share.google/iGsJXq26TQlV...
share.google/iGsJXq26TQlV...
share.google
November 16, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Not trying to be pedantic. Making a point about getting a grasp on terminology if we are going to use it. Applying the term more broadly than Fascist Italy is a matter of which characteristics apply and which don't. I find Robert Paxton's Five Stages of Fascism useful.
share.google/iGsJXq26TQlV...
share.google/iGsJXq26TQlV...
This confuses fascism with totalitarianism. Hitler's Germany was both, but it took a few years to get there, and was fascist even when it wasn't yet entrenched enough to be called totalitarian.
November 16, 2025 at 8:29 PM
This confuses fascism with totalitarianism. Hitler's Germany was both, but it took a few years to get there, and was fascist even when it wasn't yet entrenched enough to be called totalitarian.
Dunno, as cringe comedy it's quite effective.
November 16, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Dunno, as cringe comedy it's quite effective.
Depends on whether the signature was signed with an autopen
November 16, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Depends on whether the signature was signed with an autopen
"As the emails stretch through the years, they show how that protected realm vanished into the mists of time, pulled under by the rising forces of the internet and the #MeToo movement."
A world so glorious a mixed metaphor is needed to vanquish it. Vanishing into mist AND pulled under the waves!
A world so glorious a mixed metaphor is needed to vanquish it. Vanishing into mist AND pulled under the waves!
November 16, 2025 at 4:29 PM
"As the emails stretch through the years, they show how that protected realm vanished into the mists of time, pulled under by the rising forces of the internet and the #MeToo movement."
A world so glorious a mixed metaphor is needed to vanquish it. Vanishing into mist AND pulled under the waves!
A world so glorious a mixed metaphor is needed to vanquish it. Vanishing into mist AND pulled under the waves!
Found this. Clarensville House in Seapoint, Cape Town. Striking similarities but a few notable differences. Backdrop is Lions Head, a peak adjacent to Table Mountain which is shown in the Pieter Van Oort(?) painting. Wondering if this is the house. Architecture unusual for Cape Town. Unsure.
November 15, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Found this. Clarensville House in Seapoint, Cape Town. Striking similarities but a few notable differences. Backdrop is Lions Head, a peak adjacent to Table Mountain which is shown in the Pieter Van Oort(?) painting. Wondering if this is the house. Architecture unusual for Cape Town. Unsure.
But their interest in exploring topics on their own is very limited. Partly it's just that they are insanely busy, taking too many classes and holding jobs at the same time, but it's also that they don't seem to know that this is something college is for, or how they would go about it.
November 15, 2025 at 12:13 AM
But their interest in exploring topics on their own is very limited. Partly it's just that they are insanely busy, taking too many classes and holding jobs at the same time, but it's also that they don't seem to know that this is something college is for, or how they would go about it.
Have been feeling this a lot this semester. One small class that I designed to be relatively unstructured with lots of space for self‐directed inquiry is having mixed results. Students are well-meaning, smart and willing to talk provided they are able to draw on their experience...
November 15, 2025 at 12:13 AM
Have been feeling this a lot this semester. One small class that I designed to be relatively unstructured with lots of space for self‐directed inquiry is having mixed results. Students are well-meaning, smart and willing to talk provided they are able to draw on their experience...
Ban cellphones from cinemas. That's my curmudgeonly take.
November 14, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Ban cellphones from cinemas. That's my curmudgeonly take.