in preparation for tomorrow's teaching, i am reading the assigned chapters of the "anatomy of the sacred" by j.c.livingston (fifth edition, undoubtedly better and improved, as much as this month's toothpaste of which slavoj zizek wished to take only the advertised 33% free) - - following local customs, the author takes great care to criticise his predecessors, pointing the deficiencies in their thought, before proceeding to laying out his own original claims - - in the proximity to his own originality, yet just a ladder-step lower, he lists such lesser fames as c. geertz and m.yinger - - yes. - - then the fanfares ring before this brilliant statement: "religion is that system of activities and beliefs directed toward that which is perceived to be of sacred value and transforming power" (copyright 2005, just in case) - - in 1949 roger caillois put this more concisely, "la religion est l'administration du sacré" - - then, the different approaches to the philosophy of religion, so originally presented in this fresh fifty-dollar book printed on glossy paper were simply stated in a cheap paperback by leszek kolakowski in 1980.

the moral of the story is: the new smells better.

or, if you prefer, this just in: tomatoes are good for your health.

the american academia is as afraid of plagiarism as microsoft is of viruses. as a northwestern instructor you can even download software that will detect plagiarism.

do you think the healthy-tomato scientists finally heeded their grandmothers' advice?

yet, it would be so shameful to submit an article to the journal "science" quoting the immemorial wisdom of this recent discovery.

(but if you don't wash your tomatoes, you still might get sick.)