With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.
The good life, as I conceive it, is a happy life. I do not mean that if you are good you will be happy - I mean that if you are happy you will be good.
Too much sanity may be madness and the maddest of all, to see life as it is and not as it should be.
I enjoy paying taxes. With them I buy civilization.
February 21, 2003 - 11:20 a.m.
On Wednesday, Lauren, one of my students, gave me this picture that she took last semester. Now you know what I look like on the job. She was one of the students that wanted to make sure that she had me as her teacher this semester. That does wonders for my ego. I seem to attract certain patterns of behavior and even elicit the same phrases from people. I mentioned that I’m going to Philly this weekend (to visit the wonderful Lori and family). At the end of class I said “See you on Monday.” Lauren responded “Don’t rush back on our account.” I don’t get no respect. When I said “now I’m hurt.” She said, “You know I love you.” Do I have any friends that I haven’t had that exchange with?
I still can’t find my glasses, I’m getting worried. I don’t want to spend another $150 for a new pair. They have to be somewhere in my house, I don’t drive without them.
Jaci wrote in her diary why she watches sad movies. I wrote a response to it but I want to elaborate on it here. I look for art to make me feel and think things I don’t usually feel and think. It can be happy things or sad. The point is to expand my horizons. There has to be a balance between the emotional and the intellectual sides. The one thing that I hate is emotionally manipulative films, especially tearjerkers. They are the artistic equivalents of watching a car accident. Terms of Endearment garnered all sorts of accolades but I thought it was shallow tripe. The acting and direction were first rate but they didn’t achieve anything. Shirley Maclaine is likeable so you feel bad when her character gets cancer and dies. You don’t get any more out of that though then you do getting sexually aroused watching a porno film.
I just finished Scaramouche. I’m not sure if I have a handle on how to evaluate Sabatini. I always enjoy his books and will buy anything they have by him when I go to the Strand. I’m not sure if they are more than light entertainment though. They might be, I did get new insights into the French Revolution in Scaramouche. When I was thinking about it when I was done I was wondering if I have one friend that would like it. There are none that I know for sure. My father would have loved it, he shared my weakness for a good swashbuckler. Does anyone who reads this like that sort of thing? Does Captain Blood make anyone’s favorite film or book list?
It doesn’t bother me that my friends don’t like Sabatini, what I don’t understand is how Renita is the only one that liked Jurgen. How can you like me and not like Jurgen? I know it’s happens but I don’t understand it. The exploring the worlds that Cabell creates is like exploring my mind. I’d never agree with Cabell’s politics but his world view was so much like my own.
Now I’m starting a new Terry Pratchett book, The Fifth Elephant. Like Cabell he resonates with me. I just started it but it starts off on the right foot with the title, I love punny titles. One of my all time favorite album titles is The Professor and Maryann’s Lead Us Not Into Penn Station. I think of that one all the time when I commute.
The International Jewish Banking Conspiracy - October 07, 2008
On the Road to Westchester County - October 06, 2008
Inside the Madison Square Studio - October 05, 2008
I'm a Bosniac and I'm debating like I've never debated before - October 03, 2008
Islands in the Stream of Consciousness - October 02, 2008
Email me: GordonLew at gmail
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License. Horvendile February 21, 2003
