Following in the fted footsteps of Heidegger and Nietzsche - Jacques Derrida set out to complete the process of 'deconstructing' Western metaphysics. But something remarkable happened on the way to dismantling the Forum! As if by grand design, Derrida's deconstruction of Western metaphysics morphed into the ultimate justification for the apophatic (negative) theology that undergirds Western metaphysics! In reaction to this inadvertent justification of negative theology, Derrida embarked on a decade long confrontation with negative theology. Most objective observers of the confrontation would be hard pressed not to feel that rather than deconstruction 'deconstructing' apophatic theology, instead, and quite irreverently, apophatic theology appears to have absorbed and incorporated the vocabulary of Derrida's deconstruction into the very language it uses to justify its presuppositions. Having more than staved off the attack by Derrida's deconstruction, it may now be time to turn the sword in the opposite direction. If deconstruction is easily absorbed into the apophatic behemoth supporting Western metaphysics, what would happen if Western metaphysics applied deconstruction to the modern scientific materialism which acts as the cornerstone of the worldview setting itself in opposition to Western metaphysics? Tautological Oxymorons is an attempt to deconstruct the language and logic used to present scientific materialism as though it were a viable alternative to pre-Enlightenment theology, philosophy, and mythology. By examining modern scientific materialism in the light of language (and proper language use) we can see that much that's taken for granted as 'obvious' and a mere 'given' (within the context of scientific materialism) is rather (when carefully examined in the context of precise language usage) nothing more than sheer unadulterated absurdity!

'Brilliant! Will make a perfect Xmas stocking filler' Bronya Ralley 'Delightful. This dip-in-anywhere book put a smile on my face from the first page . . . for everyone who likes a good chuckle' Ruth Milligan As we all know, the oxymoron is one of the great beauties of the English language. It has been defined as 'a figure of speech that juxtaposes elements that appear to be contradictory'. Famous examples would include 'bitter-sweet', 'open secret' and 'compassionate Conservatism'. Seriously Funny, and Other Oxymorons brings together a great many examples of the oxymoron genre, amusingly illustrated by Paul Thomas. The book is arranged according to various categories ranging from Popular Culture to Political Principles and Business Ethics, all covered in Simon Brett's inimitably witty style. Anyone with an 'unbiased opinion' will quickly grasp that Seriously Funny makes a 'devilishly nice' book.

OXYMORONS in the Land Of Oz is a childrens guidebook for parents. No child deserves to suffer especially at the hands of Mommy & Daddy! Child abuse & domestic violence are constantly in the news lately. Parents should stop & think before correcting a child with a weapon or teaching discipline using pain. Kindness works! Anger & violence & using weapons on children is not only illegal, immoral & destructive it is downright idiotic! Parents should set an example instead of setting the child up for failure. To spank or not to spank...should never be a question...the results are disastrous. Every parent should stop the insanity of hitting kids. No child deserves to be hit! The purpose of the book is to educate people about child abuse. Domestic violence destroys families, cultures & threatens all of civilization...ha! Another oxymoron....civil war...should not exist in the home! Illustrations are childish...thats the whole point! The only face a child should see is a Smiley Face!

Eschewing old clunkers like 'military intelligence' and 'student-athlete,' this volume features well over 200 fresh and original oxymorons with commentaries-all with a satirical twist. As a satire, Little House of Oxymorons complements Steven Carter's The New Devil's Dictionary, a two-volume 'sequel' to Ambrose Bierce's notorious The Devil's Dictionary of a century ago. Cover image: Allison O'Donnell, Resist, 2008. Acrylic and graphite painting on rag board.

'Brilliant! Will make a perfect Xmas stocking filler' Bronya Ralley 'Delightful. This dip-in-anywhere book put a smile on my face from the first page . . . for everyone who likes a good chuckle' Ruth Milligan As we all know, the oxymoron is one of the great beauties of the English language. It has been defined as 'a figure of speech that juxtaposes elements that appear to be contradictory'. Famous examples would include 'bitter-sweet', 'open secret' and 'compassionate Conservatism'. Seriously Funny, and Other Oxymorons brings together a great many examples of the oxymoron genre, amusingly illustrated by Paul Thomas. The book is arranged according to various categories ranging from Popular Culture to Political Principles and Business Ethics, all covered in Simon Brett's inimitably witty style. Anyone with an 'unbiased opinion' will quickly grasp that Seriously Funny makes a 'devilishly nice' book.

Episodes in the history of data, from early modern math problems to today's inescapable “dataveillance,” that demonstrate the dependence of data on culture. We live in the era of Big Data, with storage and transmission capacity measured not just in terabytes but in petabytes (where peta- denotes a quadrillion, or a thousand trillion). Data collection is constant and even insidious, with every click and every “like” stored somewhere for something. This book reminds us that data is anything but “raw,” that we shouldn't think of data as a natural resource but as a cultural one that needs to be generated, protected, and interpreted. The book's essays describe eight episodes in the history of data from the predigital to the digital. Together they address such issues as the ways that different kinds of data and different domains of inquiry are mutually defining; how data are variously “cooked” in the processes of their collection and use; and conflicts over what can—or can't—be “reduced” to data. Contributors discuss the intellectual history of data as a concept; describe early financial modeling and some unusual sources for astronomical data; discover the prehistory of the database in newspaper clippings and index cards; and consider contemporary “dataveillance” of our online habits as well as the complexity of scientific data curation. Essay Authors Geoffrey C. Bowker, Kevin R. Brine, Ellen Gruber Garvey, Lisa Gitelman, Steven J. Jackson, Virginia Jackson, Markus Krajewski, Mary Poovey, Rita Raley, David Ribes, Daniel Rosenberg, Matthew Stanley, Travis D. Williams