Funny

I found his portraits the only bit of his work that I really enjoy.

Who Should Paint You: Salvador Dali

You're a complex, intense creature who displays many layers. There's no way a traditional portrait could ever capture you!

What Artist Should Paint Your Portrait?

Friday Links

Okay, it’s pretty clear that I have nothing to say as of late, so I figured I’d throw some links that I found interesting at cha.

Pandas! Too freakin’ cute for words.

2006 Bloggies. Get your vote on!

Dude, Philly needs these something fierce!

Check out Google’s artwork in honor of Mozart’s. Really cool.

I love me some photos. Here are the best from our own lil hometown paper, the Inky.

Could there be anything better than philosophical games?? Me thinks not!

Bonus question: How sincere does a dog look anyway?

The Metaphysical Club – Part 1 Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

What to say, what to say? I’m thinking that Oliver was a fine chap with an enchanted life, but for the fact that he had to go to war, which pretty much sucked. I’m feeling for him because he didn’t seem well-fitted for it emotionally, even though he seemed to have been somewhat successful. I am mostly speaking of his emotional state in regards to its impact on his belief system.

Homes recovered form the wounds (of war). The effects of the mental ordeal were permanent. He had gone off to fight because of his moral beliefs, which he had with singular fervor. The war did more than make him lose those beliefs. It made him lose his belief in beliefs.

So what were his beliefs to begin with? Well, he was idealistically anti-slavery which (thank goodness someone was) was fairly unique for the time. There were a lot of folks, from what I can tell, that were pragmatically anti-slavery - as long as it didn’t impact their way of life and what-nots. That’s why Olly was cool.

But rationally driven idealism is hard to maintain in the face of a war and death and Olly lost his. I’m not at all sure whether this changing from idealism to pragmatism represents a maturing or is it a “giving in”? So this is the question that I ask the readers, have you, like Oliver, become more pragmatic over your years or less? Is you idealism harder to hold as the years pass by, one after another? Has some event changed you entirely from believing in beliefs to believing in what works, tested throughout your life? The main question, I guess, is should we try to maintain our idealism or use our learning to become more concrete, more tempered, more consequence-driven?

These are very fun.

Enjoy!

Book Club this Weekend!!

Do you get the distinct sense that I am living for the weekend? If so, that's because I AM! Whatever.

So, in bookie news, in honor of book club, it seems that Oprah has finally selected a book that I can get behind. Okay, okay, I liked The Red Tent but that's the only one! --So Oprah picked Night by Elie Wiesel. I read this book while in high school...I suspect because I was trying to be deep and thoughtful. I believe 'round the same time I was reading Bill Moyer's discussion with Joseph Campbell published under the title The Power of Myth and some crazy eastern philosphy that I don't even remember. What a pompus dork. Anyway, Night was real in a sense that none of the other books that I had ever read at that time were. Night is a key, one of those books that opens, unfolds, reveals, tastes, feels horror that becomes you, not a part of you but you...the you that you were meant to be, the one that feels history that still breaths with sorrow that wasn't assigned to you. The one that has taken in visions of pain that are true and as much who we are as who we should be and who we want to be. Night is poetry in pain. It is a sacred text. It should be read and reread.

Gettin' Crunk

Payday. Friday. Long Weekend.

Which Johnny Depp Character RU?!?

James Barrie You scored 25% villainy, 44% crazy, and 33% love or lust!

You are Sir James Matthew Barrie from Finding Neverland. You are more moral and a little out there. But you have to be a bit odd since you are intouch with your inner child and sense of adventure. You are not as concerned with love because you are a child at heart. (not that you cannot find love, you may have people interested in you, it is just that you have other things on your mind...or that your human relationships transcend the physical). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Don't forget to rate my test please.

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 24% on villainy You scored higher than 34% on crazy You scored higher than 8% on love or lust

Link: The Which Johnny Depp Character RU Test written by kneesox on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

*Thanks to Feanor for the test. Super fun!

Top Ten Things that Prove Something is Wrong with Me

1. I can’t stand the sight of yellow food on the same plate with red food. Sickening.
2. I make lists compulsively.
3. I do not like watching sports competitions at all. None. Of course, with the notable exception of the Iron contests; Iron Man and Iron Chef.
4. I do not like fantasy books.
5. I do not like sci fi movies.
6. The sound of my child crying does not break my heart.
7. I suspect that there may be a difference between female teachers having sex with their male high school students and male teachers having sex with their female high school students, negating the notion (at least in my mind) of any perceived double standard.
8. I favor quiet over any music.
9. I experience a complete and utter physical repulsion at the mere mention of ethical relativity.
10. I delight in shag carpeting and wish to somehow infuse it into the eclectic design of my cube.

Bonus: I find the word “eclectic” lazy.

*Thanks to my friend Duf for considering himself somehow "wrong" as well and for letting me lift his meme. The former pleases the neurotic side of me and the latter, the lazy.

Gender Politics and Curiously Happy Folks

This morning Ubs and I were reading one of Ubs’ favorite books which happened to be given to him from his aunt Mim. As is Ubs new desire when reading books, I was naming all of the images on the page so that he could try out the words himself. “Shoe”, “schew”, “book”, “bookah”, “airplane”, “ah-aida” (not sure what that’s about), “dog”, “doGah”, “cat”, “meeOW”, “boy”, “Bboyeee”, “girl”, “mine!”...wait... “girl”, “mine!”, okay, let’s back-track, “cat”, “meeOW”, “boy”, Bboyeee”, “girl”, “mine!”.

Hurumpf. Somehow a discussion of gender politics seemed necessary but, I sensed, the topic may have gotten lost on my audience.

_______________________

Walking to the car today with Ubs, a black man (yes, his being black is of import in the context of this story so back off, sheesh) gave me a look, gave Ubs a look, and, while doing that head-throw back nod thing that cool people do, said, “Looks like he’s got some of me up in him.”

Whoa dude! I do NOT know you like that.

I just smiled and nodded and received his happy response, “Thought so!”

People are curious.

The Metaphysical Club

I finally picked it up and it is something! Here’s the premiss; take four thinkers that have impressed upon our country a way of thinking about ideas that translated industry, economy, governance and social constructs into ends in themselves that must, even so, be tempered, not out of duty to natural law, but out of pragmatic ends and put them in a room together to chat. What positions would be held? Who would be the most argumentative and who the most giving? How would the central themes of existence and value be hashed out?

The book describes these four thinkers individual histories; one, a young idealist solider giving way to Supreme Court Justice, one a son of a theologian bourn from wealth and entitlement becomes fascinated with the human psyche (I contend that his [William James’] sister [Alice] should have participated in the meetings as well. For more on her, read her Diary currently available on Amazon.), an underappreciated scientist turned philosopher (some contend posthumously), and an educator and only believer of a non-constructivist conception of truth (and, it follows, is, therefore, my personal favorite).

I haven’t gotten to the actual “club” or “chat” portion of the book yet, but I am super-looking forward to it. And this brings me to the point of this post; will someone, anyone, pick up this book and give it a read so that I will have someone to share the experience with? Come on, I know it’s a million pages, but it rocks out. Plus, all the cool kids are reading it. Come on…doooo ittttttt.

Today and Tomorrow

If you haven't intuited my emotional station on this Tuesday (actually feeling like Monday), I give to you this pictorial representation.

Tomorrow, Wednesday (which shall feel like Thursday, I've promised myself) will look more like this. I feel it coming on.

Call Me Bitter Betty

Talk about some stupid shit, don't get me started.

Speaking of Chavez, I sure would like to get me one of these.

Sigh.

I wonder where the freaky Floridians (or the silly senators for that matter) were when this gal was 'murdered'. They sure weren't writtin' checks nor worrying about folks playin' g-d.