I became insane with long intervals of horrible sanity.
The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all.
Many people would sooner die than think; In fact, they do so
What I have been telling you, from alpha to omega, what is the one great thing the sigil taught me — that everything in life is miraculous. For the sigil taught me that it rests within the power of each of us to awaken at will from a dragging nightmare of life made up of unimportant tasks and tedious useless little habits, to see life as it really is, and to rejoice in its exquisite wonderfulness. If the sigil were proved to be the top of a tomato-can, it would not alter that big fact, nor my fixed faith. No Harrowby, the common names we call things by do not matter — except to show how very dull we are ...
2000-11-15 - 05:30:07
I asked Car the other day if I'm a cynic. I'm never really sure about it. I mean there are some things that I seem so cynical about. At my market research job I feel that people are lying constantly to get into focus groups. I think that Plato was an optimist, we aren't looking at shadows in a cave we are looking at reflections of shadows of shadows distorted through fun house mirrors. That all said and done deep inside I think I'm not. What made me realize this was music of course. I was singing Nanci Griffith's "Hard Life" There is a verse in it.
I was a child in the sixties when dreams can be found on TV
We had Disney and Cronkite and Martin Luther.
And I believed I believed I believed ( I still believe)
I realized I still believe too. The world is a much better place than it was when I was a kid. I love the 60s because it was exciting and it was when thing started changing for the better. But now the changes have been made. The world is far from perfect and the drive to make things better is not what it used to be but still the world is a better place. Now the arguments are what corrective measures must me taken to protect minorities rigthts, then it was whether minorities had rights.
Pittsburgh thought black air was a sign of a healthy economy then, now no serious politician can get away talking like that. You can swim in the Hudson now, (Three cheers to Pete Seeger and the Clearwater.)
People I don't like keep getting elected yet on so many issues the consensus is what I believe in. Even if Bush wins the country will survive. And in 20 years I'm thinking the world will be better still.
Even on the topic I'm most cynical about I have hope, that's my love life of course. My reason tells me I'll never find anyone but I still can't believe that in my heart. There were three women I met this year that I got excited about. I didnt' say: "oh they will never like me" I said, "ooo I think I found someone." I was wrong each time of course but hope rose right to the top of my mind. Now one of them I never saw again. Another is a friend I see occasionally , and the third is as good a friend as I've ever had. That's batting 300 in my book. So I guess I'm just a Sentimentalist like Rick Blaine in Casablanca. Hell anyone who's favourite song is 1952 Vincent Black lightning can't really be a cynic can he?
Now for the news. First school was quite stressful. After reading my first class the riot act the other day today I get there and most of the class is late. Then when I'm going over the HW its clear that they didn't do it!!! I care more about their futures than they do.
Then at the market research job I had to listen to Chez be all alarmed over some mistakes someone made. Someone told one person the wrong day for a focus group. One person out of dozens. Chez of course totally over-reacted and called everyone. This always scares our respondents when she does things like this. Then the same person reversed two digets when she wrote down a phone number. I told Chez, mistakes happen not accepting that is the biggest mistake you can make. The true Irony of all this is that she made a huge mistake and took someone for a focus group who clearly didn't qualify for it. If she just read the screener and followed directions she'd have seen it.
OK now for a rant about our Client.There was a question on a screener asking which brand of sneaker they would never use. Someone gave a different answer when they re-screened them before the group than when we asked. Now of course this sort of thing will happen, people change their minds, people remember things they forgot before. Instead of saying OK this will happen they want us to make sure that people remember what they said when we asked them and to tell them to say the same thing when they get to the group. So they prefer that people lie. How can they even pretend their is validity to their studies. I agreed to go along with this after expressing my disapproval of it. Its not my job to tell the clients how to run their business.
OK now a pat on my back. I helped Alina move today. It took hours and I missed Kat's show for it but I did it. WTG me. Its worth it to be able to know I did something nice. Tina says I lose credit for it if I tell anyone of course so perhaps its all for naught...
I signed the Pro-Truth Pledge:
please hold me accountable.
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Wise Madness is Now In Session - May 28, 2018
The NFL and the First Amendment - May 27, 2018
On The Road Again - May 26, 2018
Oliver the Three-Eyed Crow - May 25, 2018
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Horvendile 2000-11-15
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