After failing even to enter the Florida primary, among others, George (Maybe if he were the only one running.... Maybe) Pataki left the presidential race today.
The only pro-choice candidate, Pataki never garnered any real support, and was at the 'kid's table' in every debate. His defeat was inevitable, but as a New Yorker who had the distinct privilege of voting against old George when he ran against Mario Cuomo, I'm almost sad that I will never again have another opportunity to vote against him .
Almost sad.
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Monday, December 21, 2015
Baker's Dozen
Today, Senator Lindsey Graham ended his presidential campaign.
A victim of the Republican Party's lurch to extremism, he did rack up a few noteworthy moments during his run. He, correctly, noted that Donald Fucking Trump is an 'idiot' and 'jack-ass' and responded to Trump's giving away Graham's cell-phone number with a cuttingly funny video about methods of phone destruction. Satire is an effective and classy tool to deal with the likes of the evil clown that is Donald Trump. Graham also repudiated Trump's anti-muslim rants on the floor of the Senate, which may have been one of his finest moments.
I said that Graham was a victim of right-wing extremism; he was also a perpetrator. Graham fully participated in the 'Party of No' strategy to deny Obama any political victories. That he failed in that strategy is a matter of fact. That he failed to realize, until too late, what was being nurtured under his nose, is a matter of integrity.
There are now thirteen candidates running for the nomination of the Republican Party. Thirteen. A perfect number to fill a clown-car.
March 16, 2020. Note to readers, if any: I noted above that Graham's calling-out of Trump was one of his finest moments. Anyone reading today (At least one person? Please?) knows that it was his last fine moment, as Lindsey Graham has taken up residence on a shit-front lot in Trump's anal canal.
A victim of the Republican Party's lurch to extremism, he did rack up a few noteworthy moments during his run. He, correctly, noted that Donald Fucking Trump is an 'idiot' and 'jack-ass' and responded to Trump's giving away Graham's cell-phone number with a cuttingly funny video about methods of phone destruction. Satire is an effective and classy tool to deal with the likes of the evil clown that is Donald Trump. Graham also repudiated Trump's anti-muslim rants on the floor of the Senate, which may have been one of his finest moments.
I said that Graham was a victim of right-wing extremism; he was also a perpetrator. Graham fully participated in the 'Party of No' strategy to deny Obama any political victories. That he failed in that strategy is a matter of fact. That he failed to realize, until too late, what was being nurtured under his nose, is a matter of integrity.
There are now thirteen candidates running for the nomination of the Republican Party. Thirteen. A perfect number to fill a clown-car.
March 16, 2020. Note to readers, if any: I noted above that Graham's calling-out of Trump was one of his finest moments. Anyone reading today (At least one person? Please?) knows that it was his last fine moment, as Lindsey Graham has taken up residence on a shit-front lot in Trump's anal canal.
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
As Ye Sow....
Since 1980, when Ronald Reagan said that "Government is the problem", nearly two generations of conservatives have been indoctrinated with that cynical, corrupt philosophy which the GOP gladly embraced.
Today, the Republican front-runner is a political neophyte running on a hate-based platform of demagoguery. The speaker of the house recently resigned from both the speakership and congress, apparently in order to prevent further chaos in his party by the extremists. And the Republican base is so distrustful of the party leadership that when they began to, rightly, call Donald Fucking Trump out as a fascist, his poll numbers actually increased.
Although Trump's candidacy may ultimately fizzle out, the divisions within the party will not. If Trump does find that he's gone too far for the party to tolerate and makes an independent run, as he's threatened, no one will be able to put Humpty back together again.
For all of Trump's immense and unjustified ego, he is no politician and has no chance to be president, and he doesn't have the inclination to build any real movement among his supporters. He will gladly leave the smoking remains of the party to return to business.
Ted Cruz, though, is angling for leadership of the extremists. His refusal to attack Trump, and the fact that he is currently number two in the polls, suggests that he is waiting for Trump to self-immolate so he can step in as the true leader of the extreme right.
Cruz may or may not realize that he is too extreme to be elected president, but if he's playing a long game for control of a party of his very own, he couldn't be better placed.
I have no sympathy for the Republican Party or its leadership. They gladly embraced the extremists in order to win elections. The tea party, birthers, racists, science-deniers, and right-wing scum of all pathologies have found a home in the GOP that they could never have had in moderate America.
The fact is that the Republican Party, in terms that they might possibly understand, has sown the wind. Harvest time is near.
Today, the Republican front-runner is a political neophyte running on a hate-based platform of demagoguery. The speaker of the house recently resigned from both the speakership and congress, apparently in order to prevent further chaos in his party by the extremists. And the Republican base is so distrustful of the party leadership that when they began to, rightly, call Donald Fucking Trump out as a fascist, his poll numbers actually increased.
Although Trump's candidacy may ultimately fizzle out, the divisions within the party will not. If Trump does find that he's gone too far for the party to tolerate and makes an independent run, as he's threatened, no one will be able to put Humpty back together again.
For all of Trump's immense and unjustified ego, he is no politician and has no chance to be president, and he doesn't have the inclination to build any real movement among his supporters. He will gladly leave the smoking remains of the party to return to business.
Ted Cruz, though, is angling for leadership of the extremists. His refusal to attack Trump, and the fact that he is currently number two in the polls, suggests that he is waiting for Trump to self-immolate so he can step in as the true leader of the extreme right.
Cruz may or may not realize that he is too extreme to be elected president, but if he's playing a long game for control of a party of his very own, he couldn't be better placed.
I have no sympathy for the Republican Party or its leadership. They gladly embraced the extremists in order to win elections. The tea party, birthers, racists, science-deniers, and right-wing scum of all pathologies have found a home in the GOP that they could never have had in moderate America.
The fact is that the Republican Party, in terms that they might possibly understand, has sown the wind. Harvest time is near.
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
A Milestone
This is the sixtieth anniversary of Rosa Parks saying no to the injustice of inequality.
Let us remember that she was an activist who achieved great things.
Let us also remember that the fight is far from over.
Let us remember that she was an activist who achieved great things.
Let us also remember that the fight is far from over.
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Three Years
The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls
The tide rises, the tide falls,
The twilight darkens, the curlew calls;
Along the sea-sands damp and brown
The traveller hastens toward the town
And the tide rises, the tide falls.
Darkness settles on roofs and walls,
But the sea, the sea in the darkness calls;
The little waves, with their soft white hands,
Efface the footprints in the sands
And the tide rises, the tide falls.
The morning breaks; the steeds in their stalls
Stamp and neigh as the hostler calls;
The day returns, but nevermore
Returns the traveller to the shore,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
For Faith
The tide rises, the tide falls,
The twilight darkens, the curlew calls;
Along the sea-sands damp and brown
The traveller hastens toward the town
And the tide rises, the tide falls.
Darkness settles on roofs and walls,
But the sea, the sea in the darkness calls;
The little waves, with their soft white hands,
Efface the footprints in the sands
And the tide rises, the tide falls.
The morning breaks; the steeds in their stalls
Stamp and neigh as the hostler calls;
The day returns, but nevermore
Returns the traveller to the shore,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
For Faith
The Eleventh Hour of the Eleventh Day....
from War is Kind
Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind.
Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky
And the affrighted steed ran on alone,
Do not weep.
War is kind.
Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment
Little souls who thirst for fight,
These men were born to drill and die
The unexplained glory flies above them
Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom-
A field where a thousand corpses lie.
Do not weep babe, for war is kind.
Because your father tumbled in the yellow trenches,
Raged at his breast, gulped, and died,
Do not weep.
War is kind.
Swift, blazing flag of the regiment
Eagle with crest of red and gold,
These men were born to drill and die
Point for them the virtue of the slaughter
Make plain to them the excellence of killing
And a field where a thousand corpses lie.
Mother whose heart hung humble as a button
On the bright splendid shroud of your son,
Do not weep.
War is kind.
Stephen Crane
They
The Bishop tells us: "When the boys come back
They will not be the same; for they'll have fought
In a just cause: they lead the last attack
On Anti-Christ; their comrades' blood has brought
New right to breed an honourable race,
They have challenged Death and dared him face to face."
"We're none of us the same!" the boys reply.
"For George lost both his legs; and Bill's stone blind;
Poor Jim's shot through the lungs and like to die;
And Bert's gone syphiltic: you'll not find
A chap who's served that hasn't found some change."
And the Bishop said: "The ways of God are strange!"
Sigfried Sassoon
Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind.
Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky
And the affrighted steed ran on alone,
Do not weep.
War is kind.
Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment
Little souls who thirst for fight,
These men were born to drill and die
The unexplained glory flies above them
Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom-
A field where a thousand corpses lie.
Do not weep babe, for war is kind.
Because your father tumbled in the yellow trenches,
Raged at his breast, gulped, and died,
Do not weep.
War is kind.
Swift, blazing flag of the regiment
Eagle with crest of red and gold,
These men were born to drill and die
Point for them the virtue of the slaughter
Make plain to them the excellence of killing
And a field where a thousand corpses lie.
Mother whose heart hung humble as a button
On the bright splendid shroud of your son,
Do not weep.
War is kind.
Stephen Crane
They
The Bishop tells us: "When the boys come back
They will not be the same; for they'll have fought
In a just cause: they lead the last attack
On Anti-Christ; their comrades' blood has brought
New right to breed an honourable race,
They have challenged Death and dared him face to face."
"We're none of us the same!" the boys reply.
"For George lost both his legs; and Bill's stone blind;
Poor Jim's shot through the lungs and like to die;
And Bert's gone syphiltic: you'll not find
A chap who's served that hasn't found some change."
And the Bishop said: "The ways of God are strange!"
Sigfried Sassoon
Monday, September 21, 2015
His Boots Were Made For Walking
Scott Walker, who rode into the presidential race on a Harley, has suspended his campaign.
Walker, surrounded by convictions and investigations on election fraud, simply got trumped. In defeat, Walker threw all his negligible leverage behind an effort to defeat the front-runner: Donald Fucking Trump- a man who invests considerably more time and effort into his comb-over than Walker ever could.
Walker is gone, and good riddance. The union-busting bastard is getting what he deserves.
The only thing better will be indictments.
Walker, surrounded by convictions and investigations on election fraud, simply got trumped. In defeat, Walker threw all his negligible leverage behind an effort to defeat the front-runner: Donald Fucking Trump- a man who invests considerably more time and effort into his comb-over than Walker ever could.
Walker is gone, and good riddance. The union-busting bastard is getting what he deserves.
The only thing better will be indictments.
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Quote of the Post
"No one's life should be rooted in fear. We are born for wonder, for joy, for hope, for love, to marvel at the mystery of existence, to be ravished by the beauty of the world, to seek truth and meaning, to acquire wisdom, and by our treatment of others to brighten the corner where we are."
Dean Koontz Life Expectancy, novel.
Dean Koontz Life Expectancy, novel.
Monday, July 20, 2015
Quote of the Post
"By definition, a prejudice is a principle that its owner does not intend to examine. Which does not prove it is wrong. And what a comforting thing it is."
Wallace Stegner The Spectator Bird, novel.
Wallace Stegner The Spectator Bird, novel.
Monday, July 13, 2015
Quote of the Post
"Curious indeed that in this life, brief and precariously enjoyed, men should so set their hearts on building a permanence in words: something to stand, in the lovely stability of ink and leaden type, as our speech out of silence to those who follow on. Indefensible absurdity, and yet the secret and impassioned dream of those who write!
I was about to say that, for the writing of anything truly durable, the first requisite is plenty of silence. Then I recall Dr. Johnson's preface to his Dictionary- 'written not in the soft obscurities of retirement, or under the shelter of academic bowers, but amid inconvenience and distraction, in sickness and in sorrow.' "
Christopher Morley ,Meditations of a Bookseller, essay. Collected in Pipefuls
I was about to say that, for the writing of anything truly durable, the first requisite is plenty of silence. Then I recall Dr. Johnson's preface to his Dictionary- 'written not in the soft obscurities of retirement, or under the shelter of academic bowers, but amid inconvenience and distraction, in sickness and in sorrow.' "
Christopher Morley ,Meditations of a Bookseller, essay. Collected in Pipefuls
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Berniementum
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont has been seeing incredible crowds at his speeches and events. He is filling his venues to overflowing. Whatever you have to say about his chances against Hillary Clinton, the left is fully energized in a way it has never been.
The activism of the sixties and early seventies was based on outsiders trying to move a resistant population. Now we are the population, or, at least, a good solid piece of it.
Liberals are back- and stronger than we have ever been. It's getting to be about time for the dinosaurs to realize they're on the verge of extinction. Since they don't understand even the basics of evolutionary theory, that may be difficult for them to comprehend. Let me put it to them in a way they will understand: Get out of the way or get run over!
The activism of the sixties and early seventies was based on outsiders trying to move a resistant population. Now we are the population, or, at least, a good solid piece of it.
Liberals are back- and stronger than we have ever been. It's getting to be about time for the dinosaurs to realize they're on the verge of extinction. Since they don't understand even the basics of evolutionary theory, that may be difficult for them to comprehend. Let me put it to them in a way they will understand: Get out of the way or get run over!
Friday, June 26, 2015
More Good News!
Today, gay marriage is legal for every citizen of this country, the gay ones, anyway. The Supreme Court ruled marriage a fundamental right. And, though the fundamental right is having fits, the rest of us welcome you to the club, boys and girls.
Thursday, June 25, 2015
O Happy Day!
Today, the Supreme Court upheld Obamacare for the second, and last time. By a six to three margin, the court ruled that typos don't undermine the law of the land. 'Nuff said.
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
A Woman Homer Sung
If any man drew near
When I was young,
I thought, "He holds her dear,"
And shook with hate and fear.
But O! 'twas bitter wrong
If he could pass her by
With an indifferent eye.
Whereon I wrote and wrought,
And now, being gray,
I dream that I have brought
To such a pitch my thought
That coming time can say,
"He shadowed in a glass
What thing her body was."
For she had fiery blood
When I was young,
And trod so sweetly proud
As 'twere upon a cloud.
A woman Homer sung,
That life and letters seem
But an heroic dream.
William Butler Yeats
For F.
When I was young,
I thought, "He holds her dear,"
And shook with hate and fear.
But O! 'twas bitter wrong
If he could pass her by
With an indifferent eye.
Whereon I wrote and wrought,
And now, being gray,
I dream that I have brought
To such a pitch my thought
That coming time can say,
"He shadowed in a glass
What thing her body was."
For she had fiery blood
When I was young,
And trod so sweetly proud
As 'twere upon a cloud.
A woman Homer sung,
That life and letters seem
But an heroic dream.
William Butler Yeats
For F.
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Just as the Winged Energy of Delight
Just as the winged energy of delight
carried you over many chasms early on,
now raise the daringly imagined arch
holding up the astounding bridges.
Miracle doesn't lie only in the amazing
living through and defeat of danger;
miracles become miracles in the clear
achievement that is earned.
To work with things is not hubris
when building the association beyond words;
denser and denser the pattern becomes-
being carried along is not enough.
Take your well-disciplined strengths
and stretch them between two
opposing poles. Because inside human beings
is where God learns.
Rainer Maria Rilke
Selected Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke Robert Bly, editor and translator
For E.
carried you over many chasms early on,
now raise the daringly imagined arch
holding up the astounding bridges.
Miracle doesn't lie only in the amazing
living through and defeat of danger;
miracles become miracles in the clear
achievement that is earned.
To work with things is not hubris
when building the association beyond words;
denser and denser the pattern becomes-
being carried along is not enough.
Take your well-disciplined strengths
and stretch them between two
opposing poles. Because inside human beings
is where God learns.
Rainer Maria Rilke
Selected Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke Robert Bly, editor and translator
For E.
Saturday, April 18, 2015
Take Your Seat, Senator
The clown-car continues to fill. Senator Marco Rubio opened his campaign by saying- "Yesterday is over, and we are never going back." This offends me, not only as a Beatles fan, but as an American.
What part of yesterday is over Senator?
Yesterday, when Martin Luther King said: "I have a dream" and Rosa Parks said 'No' to a bus driver?
Yesterday, when woman were given the vote and unions struck for safe workplaces and injury compensation?
Yesterday, when we split the atom, and sent men to the moon?
Or maybe you reject yesterday, when we said "We the People of the United States" and "We hold these Truths to be self-evident", and founded a nation?
Yesterday, Senator, was when we built this great country.
Today is when we repudiate your bankrupt philosophy.
What part of yesterday is over Senator?
Yesterday, when Martin Luther King said: "I have a dream" and Rosa Parks said 'No' to a bus driver?
Yesterday, when woman were given the vote and unions struck for safe workplaces and injury compensation?
Yesterday, when we split the atom, and sent men to the moon?
Or maybe you reject yesterday, when we said "We the People of the United States" and "We hold these Truths to be self-evident", and founded a nation?
Yesterday, Senator, was when we built this great country.
Today is when we repudiate your bankrupt philosophy.
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Justice Delayed...
A police officer has finally been arrested for murdering an unarmed black man. Police officer Michael Slager is facing a first degree murder charge for shooting Walter Scott in the back. It is long past time for this. The cop only got arrested because he was caught on video. Without that, who knows what would have happened.
The cop was also fired. I think, though, that if he somehow gets off, the Detroit PD would hire him in a heartbeat.
Still a long way to go.
The cop was also fired. I think, though, that if he somehow gets off, the Detroit PD would hire him in a heartbeat.
Still a long way to go.
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Fooling Themselves Part Two
Bill O'Reilly, the main attraction of Fox News, is a liar. He has been caught repeatedly lying about his reporting during the Falklands War, the 'Troubles' in Northern Ireland, and the tragic violence in El Salvador. He lied in print about being on the doorstep of a source, just at the moment the man killed himself inside the house.
I won't waste time giving the details, as they are easily found. In any event, they are not the point of this piece.
In an earlier post, I wrote about the penchant conservatives have for swallowing lies. Not just lies about Obama's birthplace and policies; not just about scientific evidence and findings- but about everything. Brian Williams received a six month suspension for his lies. Bill O'Reilly has the full backing of his publisher, his network, and his audience.
Earlier, I stated that conservatives are so well trained, that when fed shit, they say 'Thank you, sir, may I have another'. Passing time only confirms my opinion.
In the future, I will refer to Billy-boy as "Not Really" O'Reilly. He deserves it.
Note: See David Corn and Daniel Schulman in Mother Jones 2/19/15 and subsequent articles for Billy-boy's peccadilloes
I won't waste time giving the details, as they are easily found. In any event, they are not the point of this piece.
In an earlier post, I wrote about the penchant conservatives have for swallowing lies. Not just lies about Obama's birthplace and policies; not just about scientific evidence and findings- but about everything. Brian Williams received a six month suspension for his lies. Bill O'Reilly has the full backing of his publisher, his network, and his audience.
Earlier, I stated that conservatives are so well trained, that when fed shit, they say 'Thank you, sir, may I have another'. Passing time only confirms my opinion.
In the future, I will refer to Billy-boy as "Not Really" O'Reilly. He deserves it.
Note: See David Corn and Daniel Schulman in Mother Jones 2/19/15 and subsequent articles for Billy-boy's peccadilloes
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
The Luck of the Irish (It's Not All Good)
"There's no point in being Irish if you don't know the world's going to someday break your heart."
Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Quoted in Chris Matthews, Jack Kennedy, Elusive Hero
Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Quoted in Chris Matthews, Jack Kennedy, Elusive Hero
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Remains of the Day
A double celebration of the day!
Today is the birthday of Albert Einstein.
We also celebrate March 14th as Pi Day.
As all of you know, Pi starts out: 3.14- thereby giving this day, 3/14, special significance to math-philes and science geeks. This particular March 14th, is even more wonderful. This is the year 2015, after all, and the next two digits of Pi are one, and five. So- 3/14/15 matches Pi to the fourth decimal place for the only time in the next one hundred years. Happy Pi Day- 3.1415 to you all!
Today is the birthday of Albert Einstein.
We also celebrate March 14th as Pi Day.
As all of you know, Pi starts out: 3.14- thereby giving this day, 3/14, special significance to math-philes and science geeks. This particular March 14th, is even more wonderful. This is the year 2015, after all, and the next two digits of Pi are one, and five. So- 3/14/15 matches Pi to the fourth decimal place for the only time in the next one hundred years. Happy Pi Day- 3.1415 to you all!
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Quote of the Post
" There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are."
Somerset Maugham
For my sister, the novelist.
Somerset Maugham
For my sister, the novelist.
Quote of the Post
" There is no place as forlorn as that where man once was established and busy, where the patient work of his hands is all round, but where silence has fallen like a secret so dense that you feel if it were not also so desperately invisible you could grasp a corner of it, lift the dark veil, and learn a little of what was the doom of those who have vanished. What happened to them?"
H.M. Tomlinson, The Ruins, sketch, in Old Junk
H.M. Tomlinson, The Ruins, sketch, in Old Junk
The Thing That Counts
The USAPATRIOT Act (yes, it's an acronym,) has provisions which will soon expire. I wait in vain for the whole fucking thing to die a well deserved death, but many seem to think that it keeps us safe, even at the expense of some of our Liberty.
I would remind the cowards that the prime directive of our government is not to keep us safe at any cost. The prime directive of our government is to protect our freedom at any cost.
I would remind the cowards that the prime directive of our government is not to keep us safe at any cost. The prime directive of our government is to protect our freedom at any cost.
Saturday, March 7, 2015
Cult of Emptiness
ISIS is hollow, empty, and afraid. Very afraid. They have proven this beyond any doubt with their detestable destruction of ancient artifacts in the museum in Mosul, and now with the bulldozing of the ancient cities of Nimrud and Hatra.
Destruction is the easiest thing in the world, and it is the cowards only choice; they hate what they cannot do themselves. To build requires courage. One must not only have the will and strength necessary, but the belief in the future and the bravery to shape it. Destruction is empty; it is hollow; and it is all the likes of ISIS possess. They join a long, sad, list of such: Nazis, Khmer Rouge, Mao's communists, and so many others that have proven themselves the truest barbarians.
I cannot contain my anger at the wanton destruction of history- the celebration of ignorance that exists even in this country. Republicans have embraced the lowest common denominator of Human Knowledge as their standard. This is the first step toward destruction.
ISIS kills and destroys out of fear. They have a creed that is no creed, but only vacuum. They will fail, and be destroyed, as is their only due. But what damage will they cause before then?
This post is a partial vent for an immense amount of steam. Maybe I will refine this in coming days, but I had to put down my utter contempt for these ghouls.
Destruction is the easiest thing in the world, and it is the cowards only choice; they hate what they cannot do themselves. To build requires courage. One must not only have the will and strength necessary, but the belief in the future and the bravery to shape it. Destruction is empty; it is hollow; and it is all the likes of ISIS possess. They join a long, sad, list of such: Nazis, Khmer Rouge, Mao's communists, and so many others that have proven themselves the truest barbarians.
I cannot contain my anger at the wanton destruction of history- the celebration of ignorance that exists even in this country. Republicans have embraced the lowest common denominator of Human Knowledge as their standard. This is the first step toward destruction.
ISIS kills and destroys out of fear. They have a creed that is no creed, but only vacuum. They will fail, and be destroyed, as is their only due. But what damage will they cause before then?
This post is a partial vent for an immense amount of steam. Maybe I will refine this in coming days, but I had to put down my utter contempt for these ghouls.
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Quote of the Post
It Really Is Prologue
".... What used to be described as a thoughtless act of aggression was now regarded as the courage one would expect to find in a party member; to think of the future and wait was merely another way of saying one was a coward; any idea of moderation was just an attempt to disguise one's unmanly character; ability to understand a question from all sides meant that one was totally unfitted for action. Fanatical enthusiasm was the mark of a real man, and to plot against an enemy behind his back was perfectly legitimate self-defense. Anyone who held violent opinions could always be trusted, and anyone who objected to them became a suspect.... The plain way of looking at things, which is so much the mark of a noble nature, was regarded as a ridiculous quality and soon ceased to exist. Society became divided into camps in which no man trusted his fellow."
Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War
Quoted in: Thomas Cahill, Sailing the Wine Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter
Sound familiar?
The Cahill book is recommended on this blog, along with his others. He calls them 'The Hinges Of History', and I can't praise them highly enough.
Happy reading.
".... What used to be described as a thoughtless act of aggression was now regarded as the courage one would expect to find in a party member; to think of the future and wait was merely another way of saying one was a coward; any idea of moderation was just an attempt to disguise one's unmanly character; ability to understand a question from all sides meant that one was totally unfitted for action. Fanatical enthusiasm was the mark of a real man, and to plot against an enemy behind his back was perfectly legitimate self-defense. Anyone who held violent opinions could always be trusted, and anyone who objected to them became a suspect.... The plain way of looking at things, which is so much the mark of a noble nature, was regarded as a ridiculous quality and soon ceased to exist. Society became divided into camps in which no man trusted his fellow."
Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War
Quoted in: Thomas Cahill, Sailing the Wine Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter
Sound familiar?
The Cahill book is recommended on this blog, along with his others. He calls them 'The Hinges Of History', and I can't praise them highly enough.
Happy reading.
Friday, February 27, 2015
Goodbye Mr. Spock
Leonard Nimoy died today at 83.
Although he was a writer, director, photographer, and poet- he will always be known as Spock.
He will be missed.
To all my fellow Trekkies: Dif-tor heh smusma.
Although he was a writer, director, photographer, and poet- he will always be known as Spock.
He will be missed.
To all my fellow Trekkies: Dif-tor heh smusma.
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Sometimes I Forget Completely
Sometimes I forget Completely
what companionship is.
Unconscious and insane, I spill sad
energy everywhere. My story
gets told in various ways: a romance,
a dirty joke, a war, a vacancy.
Divide up my forgetfulness to any number,
it will go around.
These dark suggestions that I follow,
are they part of some plan?
Friends, be careful. Don't come near me
out of curiosity, or sympathy.
Rumi
The Essential Rumi Translations by Coleman Barks with John Moyne
To E. wherever you are. An explanation, and apology, of sorts.
what companionship is.
Unconscious and insane, I spill sad
energy everywhere. My story
gets told in various ways: a romance,
a dirty joke, a war, a vacancy.
Divide up my forgetfulness to any number,
it will go around.
These dark suggestions that I follow,
are they part of some plan?
Friends, be careful. Don't come near me
out of curiosity, or sympathy.
Rumi
The Essential Rumi Translations by Coleman Barks with John Moyne
To E. wherever you are. An explanation, and apology, of sorts.
The Solitary Person
Among so many people cozy in their homes,
I am like a man who explores far-off oceans.
Days with full stomachs stand on their tables;
I see a distant land full of images.
I sense another world close to me,
perhaps no more lived in than the moon;
they, however, never let a feeling alone,
and all the words they use are so worn.
The living things I brought back with me
hardly peep out, compared with all they own.
In their native country they were wild;
here they hold their breath from shame.
Rainer Maria Rilke
from Selected Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke Robert Bly translator, editor
I don't know if there is a better description of the artist's place in society. Solitary.
I am like a man who explores far-off oceans.
Days with full stomachs stand on their tables;
I see a distant land full of images.
I sense another world close to me,
perhaps no more lived in than the moon;
they, however, never let a feeling alone,
and all the words they use are so worn.
The living things I brought back with me
hardly peep out, compared with all they own.
In their native country they were wild;
here they hold their breath from shame.
Rainer Maria Rilke
from Selected Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke Robert Bly translator, editor
I don't know if there is a better description of the artist's place in society. Solitary.
Thursday, February 19, 2015
The Lake Isle Of Innisfree
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honeybee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.
I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements gray,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.
William Butler Yeats
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honeybee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.
I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements gray,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.
William Butler Yeats
Friday, January 30, 2015
Quote of the Post
The writer closely observed the western front during World War One. His observations here are timeless.
"The well-born, the clever, the haughty, and the greedy, in their fear, pride, and willfulness, and the perplexity of their scheming, make a general mess of the world. Forthwith in a panic they cry, 'Calamity cometh!'....
Then from out of their obscurity, wherein they dwelt because of their low worth arise the Nobodies; because theirs is the historic job of restoring again the upset balance of affairs. They make no fuss about it. Theirs is always the hard and dirty work. They have always done it. If they don't do it, it will not be done. They fall with a will and without complaint upon the wreckage willfully made of generations of such labor as theirs, to get the world right again, to make it habitable again, though not for themselves; for them, they must spend the rest of their lives re-creating order out of chaos. A hopeless task; but they continue at it un-murmuring, giving their bodies without stint, as once they gave their labour, to the fields and the sea. And some day the planet will get back to its old place under the sun; but not for them, not for them."
H.M. Tomlinson Holly Ho, essay, from his collection: Old Junk
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Should Auld Acquaintance...
Last week, I ran into an old friend at the library. I hadn't seen, or even thought of him, for at least twenty years; but it was as if no time had passed since last we met.
My friend's name is Horace Rumpole, English barrister. He's the creation of John Mortimer, and the 'Rumpole of the Bailey' stories have given me hours of entertainment.
I'd been looking for Walter Mosely's Devil in a Blue Dress, which happened to be out. Mortimer was shelved just to the left, and I grabbed a handful of old Rumpole, instead.
Rumpole.
I've often said that no one writing in the English language is better at naming characters than Charles Dickens (yeah, I know, Shakespeare wasn't bad, either.) Just think of Pip, or Scrooge and you know who they are. Old Fezziwig is the very embodiment of yuletide cheer. But Rumpole, now. Rumpled, gruff, portly; certainly a major-league wiseass. It's all in the name.
If you haven't figured it out, he comes highly recommended. The stories are witty and sometimes hilarious.
John Mortimer's Rumpole stories are collected in some of the following:
Rumpole of the Bailey
The Trials of Rumpole
Rumpole for the Defense
Rumpole's Return
Rumpole and the Golden Thread
Rumpole's Last Case
Rumpole and the Age of Miracles
Non Rumpole books include:
Paradise Postponed
Summer's Lease
Titmuss Regained
There are many more than I've listed. Good Reading.
My friend's name is Horace Rumpole, English barrister. He's the creation of John Mortimer, and the 'Rumpole of the Bailey' stories have given me hours of entertainment.
I'd been looking for Walter Mosely's Devil in a Blue Dress, which happened to be out. Mortimer was shelved just to the left, and I grabbed a handful of old Rumpole, instead.
Rumpole.
I've often said that no one writing in the English language is better at naming characters than Charles Dickens (yeah, I know, Shakespeare wasn't bad, either.) Just think of Pip, or Scrooge and you know who they are. Old Fezziwig is the very embodiment of yuletide cheer. But Rumpole, now. Rumpled, gruff, portly; certainly a major-league wiseass. It's all in the name.
If you haven't figured it out, he comes highly recommended. The stories are witty and sometimes hilarious.
John Mortimer's Rumpole stories are collected in some of the following:
Rumpole of the Bailey
The Trials of Rumpole
Rumpole for the Defense
Rumpole's Return
Rumpole and the Golden Thread
Rumpole's Last Case
Rumpole and the Age of Miracles
Non Rumpole books include:
Paradise Postponed
Summer's Lease
Titmuss Regained
There are many more than I've listed. Good Reading.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)