Penang, Malaysia—Jan 17, 2015

Dear Inurnet ..

Final impressions of Georgetown ..

colonial mansion seen better days

tree hollow shrine

jetty shrine

.. at airport now .. reading Pure Immanence by Gilles Deleuze .. like the idea of it but not sure into it so much .. sposed to get to heart of his empiricist beliefs (topic dear to 5cense) but mostly a rehashing of Hume + Nietzsche .. as if a thesis written while a student or sumthin .... intresting in the wake of reading How Natives Think tho .. getting to root of sensory causality (in relation to Hume) ..

«But especially in the case of causality, fantasy forges fictive causal chains, illegitimate rules, simulacra of belief, either by conflating the accidental and the essential or by using the properties of language (going beyond experience) to substitute for the repetition of similar cases actually observed a simple verbal repetition that only simulates its effect. It is thus that the liar believes his lies by dint of repeating them; education, superstition, eloquence, and poetry also work in this way. One no longer goes beyond experience in a scientific way that will be confirmed by Nature itself and by a corresponding calculus; one goes beyond it in all the directions of a delirium that forms a counter-Nature, allowing for the fusion of anything at all.»

.. + also in wake of We The Living .. Deleuze (biographing Nietzsche) considers common man as reactive beings (that react rather than act or create) .. sumthin we thinking about lately not just in relation to communism + «primitives» but in observing the Chinese + Muslims (many of both here in Penang) .. the masses slated to inevitably inherit the earth .. «slaves» as Nietzsche calls them .. tho Nietzsche referring more to Europe ..

«Even when they win, reactive forces are still reactive. In everything, according to Nietzsche, what is at stake is qualitative typology: a question of business and nobility. Our masters are slaves that have triumphed in a universal becoming-slave: European man, domesticated man, the buffoon. Nietzsche describes modern states as ant colonies, where the leaders and the powerful win through their baseness, through the contagion of this baseness and this buffoonery.»

.. the world no different now .. if not more extreme .. more of a sick supersaturated joke .... long become us resigned to live out our lives + let the contagion of ants sweep the planet in chaos + decay .... grim shit .. the only hope = suicide (how Deleuze eventually checked out) ..

«Better a nothingness of the will than a will of nothingness! But thanks to this rupture, the will to nothingness turns against the reactive forces, becoming the will to deny reactive life itself, and inspires in man the wish to actively destroy himself. Beyond the last man, then, there is still the man who wants to die. And at this moment of the completion of nihilism (midnight), everything is ready—ready for transmutation.»

Pure Immanence over Georgetown

.. laid over again in Kuala Lumpur .. more women in black burkas (Penang popular w/ Saudis + such) even in the ocean or parasailing .. just a silly + repressive custom .... the guide that took us around Penang told us funny story about how she gave a tour to group of Saudis + 1 guy accidentally put his arm around the wrong wife (they all look the same after all) + the other guy punched the guy out cold ..

.. in our contiunued call to return to animism we say all religions = dumb .... showing iconic representations of Mohammed = a hate crime if muslims say so + we can respect that .. but Houellebecq (much as we hate him) has all the right to say Islam = stupidest religion .. not saying much cuz all religions = stupid .... the world a better place if we all renounce religion altogether + return to animism (if not none at all .. the most discriminated belief of all) ..

Bali—Jan 18

Back in Bali .. the 3^rd time in the past month we've left + come back .... Bali a veritable Shangri-La compared to Penang .. actually compared to anywhere on the planet .. Bali a true paradise .. at least as far as touristic populated places (sure there exist undiscovered islands more idyllic) .. Bali manages to stay cool-headed despite all the traffic + idiot tourists .. the people super chill + kind .. + why? .. not sure u cd even chalk it up to religion as at least we dont feel the same about India .... Balinese Hinduism a bit integrated w/ traditional animist beliefs + also Buddhism .... everything w/ them ritualized .... maybe also (as we mentioned before) something to do w/ selfless rice paddy culture .. living in harmony w/ their environment .. having self-respect ....

.. they've mastered hospitality .. perfect place to recharge for a day before winding our way back home ..

our last dinner (nasi campur) in Bali

fountain as lens

.. now at the airport waiting for flight to Hong Kong ..