self; means; ends. . . .

"Not being able to govern events, I govern myself."

Michel de Montaigne, essayist (1533-1592)

Interesting thought, that.

The one thing we have a hope of controlling is the one thing we so often neglect, in the vain hope of changing another or of securing a "favorable" outcome through protest, manipulation, shouting, wheedling, argumentation, or sulking. . . .

how wude

"Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength."

Eric Hoffer , philosopher and author
(1902-1983)



Remembering this idea of Hoffer's ought to help me deal not only with the rude "customer service" person, but also with myself, when I find I've drifted into rude waters of impotence.

a bad business

"A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business."

Henry Ford, industrialist (1863-1947)

Interesting, that. It seems that this is the goal of almost all companies, these days. . . . Talk about "something for nothing"!

thought: values for sale

You can tell the ideals of a nation by its advertisements.

Norman Douglas, novelist (1868-1952)

What national "ideals" are we pursuing these days, I wonder? Freedom of travel, back to the garden of eden, search for the fountain of youth - yes - but also the triumph of myself over all [i.e., self as tyrant], endless pleasure, endless wealth, endless power, because I deserve a break today, I'm worth it, I'm just going to do it, because I'm set to be all that I can be.

. . . and to the Republic, for which it stands

It was our own moral failure and not any accident of chance, that while preserving the appearance of the Republic we lost its reality.

Marcus Tullius Cicero, statesman, orator, writer (106-43 BCE)

sigh. . . . on this 4th of July, as we think about the birth of our Nation.

How do we celebrate? With furniture and car sales, and Home Depot specials. With fireworks, far removed from any memory of exploding shells and shrapnel. With parades and firetrucks - again, no memory of the ancient nation birth fires that undoubtedly were the first occasion for the practice.

We do wave the flag. . . . where we haven't waived it.

thought: the heart of crying

Tears are the safety valve of the heart when too much pressure is laid on it.

Albert Richard Smith, author and entertainer (1816-1860)

seeing lessons

Too often I would hear men boast of the miles covered that day, rarely of what they had seen.

Louis L'Amour, novelist (1908-1988)

mental edit

Politeness is the art of choosing among your thoughts.

Madame de Stael, writer (1766-1817)

thought: theory vs. practice. . .

Be not too hasty to trust or admire the teachers of morality; they discourse like angels but they live like men.

Samuel Johnson, lexicographer (1709-1784)

American Idol in the 19th century. . . .

Men are idolaters, and want something to look at and kiss and hug, or throw themselves down before; they always did, they always will; and if you don't make it of wood, you must make it of words.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., poet, novelist, essayist, and physician (1809-1894)

Interesting. First, we worship what we can build. Then, what we think (in particular words). Now?

. . . . presenting Kelly Clarkson?!

in hiding

We are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others that in the end we become disguised to ourselves.

Francois, duc de La Rochefoucauld, moralist (1613-1680)

thought and action.

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.

William James (1842-1910)



This assumes, of course, that one is actually doing something - not just talking about doing something, talking about what others should be doing, or reacting to events, i.e., complaining about what others have done.

I like Wm. James. He's the same guy who refuted scepticism (and promoted 'faith') by saying:

Dupery for dupery, what proof is there that dupery through hope is so much worse than dupery through fear?

I wonder what he would make of the "believe" campaign. . . .

thought: war and freedom

No protracted war can fail to endanger the freedom of a democratic country.

Alexis de Tocqueville, statesman and historian (1805-1859)

It is, of course, because at some point we find that it is easier to catch [and/or kill] the "bad guys" if we don't also have to guarantee their freedoms. . . . Unfortunately, it is not so easy to give freedom to some - but not to all. How do you decide who gets freedom? And what if someone decides - for the sake of argument - wrongly? What if someone were to decide, for example, that I am one of the "bad guys" - wouldn't I feel differently about the freedoms I might be rather ambivalent about denying to someone else?

And yet - at the same time - there are things worth fighting for. . . . . and there are freedoms I may cede - for the moment - during a time of war. But I will not do it lightly.

neutrality and oppression - the relationship

The answer to those in Ireland who are so proud of their "neutrality" and view it - somehow - as ever-so-superior to those who are not neutral. . . .

Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.

Elie Wiesel, writer, Nobel laureate (b.1928)

You remember Elie Wiesel, don't you? The Holocaust survivor who's written so powerfully about it.

But then the current "neutral" anti-war people seem to be supporting people who maybe don't think much about the Holocaust.

money and freedom. . . .

I'm still working this sum out, but after how the stock market opened this morning (plunging some 400 points, whatever that means precisely, although I know it's not considered good) consider this thought by Robert Louis Stevenson:

The price we pay for money is paid in liberty.

-Robert Louis Stevenson, novelist, essayist, and poet (1850-1894)

In some ways, it's definitely true. Being in debt is like being in prison; it's a slavery. We give up our freedom to do other things and go instead to a job, or sit in front of a computer and write, or pack boxes, hammer nails, mind children. . . .

Isn't it ironic that we look to money to give us freedom?

Maybe I need to rethink that. . . .

thought: life and thinking

Life consists in what a man is thinking of all day.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

I have often wondered what we would look like if what we thought were somehow visible on our face. . . . In a way, though, it is. After years of thinking ugly thoughts, does it not show in the habitual scowl or snarl lines some people seem to wear?


Sorry - don't mean to make a political statement here, but hers was the easiest scowley face to find. . . .






Hillary doesn't look so bad when she smiles.







But you can still see those scowl marks in between her brows.







Then there are others who make you feel real friendly before they've ever said a word. I think it's the smile lines.





Of course, it's not easy to get a picture of someone who has laugh lines when they're not actually smiling. . . .


OK - so that's how we hold our faces. Or how we translate emotion into physical experience: tight-shouldered tension, sweaty nervousness, the tingle and flush of attraction. . . .

How about the content of our thoughts? What difference between - say - the one who thinks of nothing but the details of his next gourmand feast, and the one who dwells on how best to feed and clothe the poor and hungry?

Or the one who is obsessed with what she looks like, versus the one obsessed with her garden? Or his car? Her music? His stockmarket portfolio? Her track record?

Not to mention things like war, peace, education, criminal law, ecology, animal welfare, politics, God. . . .

Who knew "life" could be so complicated?

protection. . . .

I need someone to protect me from all the measures they take in order to protect me.

-Banksy, street artist (b. 1974)

The quote reference is from Word-A-Day, which I've written about before. Ok, referred to - anyway - before. . . .

I don't know who vets their quotes - all I can tell you is that they say that this is something Banksy said. . . . Then again, having done a bit of research on this guy (I'd never heard of him - sorry!) it appears that he keeps his identity a closely guarded secret so how could one put quotes around anything he has supposedly said?

Said as "Banksy", anyway.

As usual, I digress.

I was interested in "protection" from the political perspective, as we enter the ramped-up campaign heading to the elections this fall. Just what is the government reasonably expected to do to protect individuals, and from whom and from what.

Your assignment today: think about that.

Do I need, want, or expect "protection" from my family? My neighbor? My elected official? The nearby-living different-than-me group? Here's another "Banksy" streetscape (the one above, by the way, is called "Ratapult". . . . The one below, if you can't read the text, says: "How do we solve the crisis of youth crime? How do we get these kids to kill the right people?"

Here's another interesting observation: check out just how many products and companies advertise that they protect us - or that we need their protection. The one that particularly galls me is the life insurance company that says their insurance will "protect" me.

Protect me?!

I don't think so.

Not unless that word means a whole new thing these days.

But hey - I've met a pretty cool thinker and image maker today already through this flight of fancy. I figure it's a good day, even if that's all that happens today. . . . But it's not even 10 yet. I've got some time, Lord willing. Maybe I should go eat some "protective" cereal and put on my "protection" face cream. Then I'll go read up on how the politicos now leaving New Hampshire are planning to "protect" me if I will vote for them in November.

This is serious business. I think it calls for one more Banksy. Somebody get me outta here!

what I learned. . . .

We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it -- and stop there -- lest we be like the cat that sits down on a hot stove-lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove-lid again, and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold one any more.

Mark Twain (1835-1910)

Actually overheard: "Oh I never read anymore. I had to read so much during the war [note: that would be the Second World War. . . .] that I said to myself when it was over that I would never read again."

This, from an 83 year old woman whose husband died a year ago. Her chief complaints? She's lonely (1); she's bored (2). But hey, she had a bad experience reading over 60 years ago so she's never gone back.

I don't understand.

Then again, there are probably equally ridiculous "lessons" I have taken to heart for myself, never questioning the ridiculousness of conclusion I have adopted from the experience I went through. I just don't see them. Or not yet, anyway. . . .

truth, error, and popular opinion

An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does the truth become error because nobody will see it.

Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948)

In other words, truth is not subject to democratic vote. Or 'spin'. Interesting.