“A Few Thoughts on Current Events.” I wake up every day around two or three in the afternoon, make a cup of coffee and turn on the news, just waiting for the day when it finally happens, the day that something finally snaps, and I am listening to Sheppard Smith breathlessly trying to describe shaky video of a mob of 500,000 or 800,000 pissed off taxpayers that has invaded Washington and are lining every street in D.C., armed to the teeth, and erecting scaffolding on the National Mall. Actually, that’s not how I think it is going to go, but…
Category: Mind and Spirit
Spirituality, moods, feelings, and thinking free to live free.
Monday evening, after a good day’s work, I relaxed in a recliner with a cup of hot, sweet tea. You know how it is; relaxing is often not actually relaxing, as our minds rove from the things we didn’t get done today to the things we’d better do tomorrow, then back to the things that happened 10 years ago or might happen 10 years in the future. But that evening I really relaxed. I felt profoundly happy to be in my little house, looking out a big window at a small, pleasant view. For once I wasn’t bothered by the…
You know how last week I went off in a huff, unable to endure the stupid that blasts from the ‘Net these days like an old-fashioned Texas gusher? Well, I decided for sanity’s sake to knit a dragon. This dragon. Here it is on day one. That’s its head. And. I was back online an hour after I huffed away. Sigh. Can’t win. ‘Cause this dragon, though probably only of intermediate knitting difficulty, was beyond me and right away I had to look up how to do some of the stitches. (Books tell this, too, but I left the excellent…
An acquaintance made two statements about the same event. The statements are incompatible. One is probably true. But it’s impossible that both are true. Only question is which statement is the lie and which the truth, and that’s not answerable.
But no, this is not some version of that conundrum in which you have to figure out how to act on a statement made by someone from a tribe of liars and you might get eaten by alligators or something if you don’t guess right.
In this case I don’t much care which statement is true and which false. The specific matter is minor. Nothing is at stake. No alligators are involved. My rambling brain is just piqued by the nature of the lie, which would be very different, depending on which statement is false and which true.
I’m going offline for a few days. The Internet is just too full of stupid right now. I can’t handle it. It’s also full of cute (H/T MJR), so enjoy yourself. I’ll be back.
On the lighter side: Michelle Combs writes the definitive guide to what not to wear after you turn 50. You guys of the male persuasion probably imagine there’s nothing here for you, but you might want to have a look, anyhow. Language is NSFW. Thoughts are more than safe for anybody. Cheers. 🙂
Dear Internet,
I loved you from the moment I laid eyes on you. I saw your potential when you were just a raw young thing, before you even knew yourself.
I was wowed by your intellectual promise as early as 1987, when you helped me upload an article to a magazine editor (oh, that 300 baud brainpower!). You seduced me with your charm when a single funny FidoNet remark about “being in Claire’s shoes” led to a long romance. I remember my first glimpse of the real, mature you, when a client said, “Hey, you’ve got to see this. It’s this thing called Netscape that gets you on to something called the Worldwide Web.”
Oh, those were the days!
You and I were destined for each other. It was clear.
You were so gallant at first. Without you, my first book would have disappeared into underground press obscurity. You kept that from happening. You introduced me to entire new communities of friends. And what friends they were! Bright, committed, liberty-loving people who would never have found each other — if not for you. You were the great personality who drew us all together. You were the charismatic leader, the spark that lit the bonfire, the grand beating heart of something new and awesome. You made it possible for us all to experience and explore things we’d never dreamed.
You were the center of the world. You still are. But something’s changed.
Arrested for resisting arrest. When you weren’t being arrested in the first place. Even NPR is starting to notice the absurdities of the police state. (H/T PT) Speaking of which, Wendy McElroy posted this and it certainly bears repeating: 22 reasons not to trust police. Nine car models without fatalities. (When you fill up that 15-mpg SUV, you shake your head. Then you read something like this.) Gun banner lies are getting worse. But some libeled parties are fighting back. And some victims that the antis crave to exploit say, “Go stuff it!” Bovard on Holder’s lawless legacy. Yet more…
A month ago, some “interesting” discussion developed around my mini-review of Vin Suprynowicz’s (highly recommended) new book The Testament of James. Religious sensibilities were offended by the thought of finding God via chemical assistance. (Never mind that trying out those unfamiliar mushrooms or leaves probably informed all the world’s religions at some point.) Now, with support from some very important biochemists, Vin answers one commenter’s most vehement objections. —– Feel free to comment here or at Vin’s place. But this time (unlike last) trolls, if any, will be spotted and ejected more quickly.