My Slow Education

I have learned not to worry about love;  but to honor its coming with all my heart.
––    Alice Walker
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On This Day In:
2023	Thanks For The Visit!
	Another Reason I Won’t Support #45 In 2024
2022	For A While
2021	The Cautionary Tale Of 6 January 2021
	When I Needed Sunshine (I’m A Believer)
2020	65K
	Burst Buds
	Faux News Viewers
2019	Tomorrow’s Bread
2018	Impeach 45: Make America Great Again
2017	Training Shoulders
2016	You Just Have To Care
	Day 4 – Blending
2015	My Slow Education
2014	Great Service
2013	You Really Should Wear More Sweaters
	Here I Am God
2012	The Serenity Prayer
2011	The Victory Of Life

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Deep In Debt

The little I know, I owe to my ignorance.
—    Sacha Guitry
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On This Day In:
2023	And I Always Will
2022	What You Know
2021	Some Doctors Are Better Than Others
	Lessons (Love Don’t Love Nobody)
2020	A Liar As President Corrupts Us
2019	Is It Dark And Quiet For You?
2018	Undeniable Requirement
2017	Orange Corrosion
2016	Both Particle And Wave
2015	Deep In Debt
2014	The Difference
2013	My Heart Is Described
2012	Keen To Be Alone
2011	The Ideal Business…
2010	55

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At What Price?

Where the rewards of valor are the greatest, there you will find also the best and bravest spirits among the people.
—    Pericles’ Funeral Oration
(From:  Thucydides, 430 B. C. E.)
[This quote brought to mind General Patton’s famous quote:  “Your job is not do die for your country.  Your job is to make the other poor, dumb, bastard die for his country.”    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2023	Squeeze Your Opportunity
2022	Completely Reasonable To Worry
2021	Seeking Happiness
	Check Your Watch (Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is)
2020	Expectation For The Near Future
2019	Indian Myth
	Did He Even Have The Courage To Ask?
2018	Nothing
2017	Approval First
2016	In Search Of Words
	Day 2 – Blending
2015	At What Price?
2014	Intricate And Subtle Order
2013	Attention To Detail
2012	Aequanimitas!
2011	Consider This

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Infinite Adventure

I am incapable of conceiving infinity, and yet I do not accept finity.  I want this adventure that is the context of my life to go on without end.
—    Simone de Beauvoir
[Happy Birthday to me!   Actually, I’ve found the older I get and the more brushes with death I have, the more accepting I am of my own mortality and of the greater infinite context beyond this one.  But I’m nowhere near ready to start it!    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2023	Sometimes Once Can Be Enough
2022	The Air Is Thinner, But It’s A Killer View
2021	Staying Young While Getting Old
	Mid-Afternoon (Hopefully) (Fill The World With Love)
2020	Still Measuring (My Next Thirty Years)
2019	Living On The Couch
	Who Am I – One Interpretation
2018	A Gardening Goal: Feed The Flowers
2017	Freakishly Happy Cowboy (The Cowboy In Me)
2016	One More, Please (Life In One Day)
2015	Infinite Adventure
2014	Unpaved
2013	Headstones
2012	Keeping Young
2011	Lessons Well Learned

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Amazing Or Full Of Wonder?

The world is full of wonders, but nothing is more wonderful than man.
—    Sophocles
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On This Day In:
2023	Time And Chance
2022	One Hour Per Year
2021	If You’re A Lucky 11 Year Old
	Just Got To Be (People Got To Be Free)
	Masked Countdown And Gratitude
2020	Democratic Aspiration
2019	Soul Before Will
2018	Small Things
2017	Clear And Warm To Me
2016	Ripple
2015	Amazing Or Full Of Wonder?
2014	Are You Confused?
2013	But The Odds Are Against It
2012	Far Better Off With Books
2011	Timid And Fainthearted

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God Said What To You?

There exists a species of transcendental ventriloquism by means of which men can be made to believe that something said on earth comes from Heaven.
—    Georg C. Lichtenberg
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On This Day In:
2023	Folk Guitar
	Then We Probably Don’t Really Agree
2022	A Whole New Kind
2021	Yea, Spring!
	Smile On Your Brother (Get Together)
2020	Spoken And Shared
2019	Real Tools
	Three Cruelties
2018	United States
2017	Out Of Luck
2016	Wavelengths Of The Earth
2015	God Said What To You?
2014	Not Saying
2013	Ears And Tongue
2012	The Story Of Joe (Middle-Class Republican)
2011	Happy Birthday, Diana
	Depending On Kindness

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Bits In The Soup

Each of us has his own alphabet with which to create poetry.
―    Irving Stone
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On This Day In:
2023	The End As We Fear It
2022	Understanding True Achievement
2021	Avoiding Corners
	Nobody Knows (Nobody Knows It But Me)
	A Novel War
2020	First Buds
	To Fly
2019	What If Nobody Believes Them Either
2018	It’s About Heart Not Skill
2017	Winning So Much I’m Already Tired Of It (Not)
2016	Punishing Red Binge
2015	Bits In The Soup
2014	More Beef, Less Bull
2013	Where Are Your Mountains
2012	Spherical Knowledge Of Hamsters
2011	Taking Stock Over Time

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Vision and Courage

It takes great deal of courage to see the world in all its tainted glory, and still to love it.
––    Oscar Wilde
[Happy Birthday, Bro!  You inspire me!  Love ya     —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2023	What My Dog Thinks About Her Daily Walk… (The 59th Street Bridge Song, Daddy Don’t You Walk So Fast)
	Still Sunny
2022	Following His Own Path
2021	Show A Brother Some Love
	Beyond Words (Classical Gas)
2020	Especially You, Bro
	Words Without Explanation
2019	Enjoy!
2018	Happy Birthday, Bro!
2017	Love Can Change The World In A Minute (What Do I Know)
2016	60, Little Bro!
2015	Vision and Courage
2014	58 – Little Bro
2013	New Adventures And Old Hopes
	Caving In
2012	Bits And Bobs And Birthdays
	Always Hope
2011	Wet Snow And Long Hills

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Her Pilgrim Soul

When You Are Old
When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.
—    Written by:  William Butler Yeats
[Pure serendipity…  I “found” this poem watching an episode of “Space: Above And Beyond“, a TV series I used to watch back in the ’90’s.    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2023	Ditto For A Good Spouse And Their Love
2022	Putin’s Objective In Ukraine?
2021	It’s 12 O’clock Somewhere
	The Way It Is (Get On Up / Sex Machine)
2020	And #IncompetentDonald Weakens It
2019	Morning Mirror
2018	Wondering About #45
2017	A Prayer For London
2016	Don’t Default
2015	Her Pilgrim Soul
2014	Three Observations
2013	Robbed Again
2012	Good Hearts
2011	Interesting Reading
	What Are You Lookin’ At?

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Become An Affliction

One just man causes the Devil greater affliction than a million blind believers.
—    Kahlil Gibran
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On This Day In:
2023	One’s Seal Of Approval
2022	Make It Easy
	On A Lighter Note
2021	I Hope Not
	Diggin’ It (Grazing In The Grass)
2020	Organized Skepticism
2019	An Interest In Life
2018	Two: A Current President With Both
2017	Watch This Space
2016	Beyond The Foundation
2015	Become An Affliction
2014	Just Setting Out
2013	Scott’s Inscription
2012	Good Knowledge
2011	Social Safety Nets

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Change The Tide

Countless choices define our fate:  each choice, each moment, a moment in the ripple of time.  Enough ripple, and you change the tide…  for the future is never truly set.
—    Professor Charles Xavier
From the closing lines of the movie:  “X-Men: Days of Future Past“
[Last night I re-watched a movie from last year, “X-Men: Days of Future Past“.  I had planned to see it in the theater, but never got around to it.  Later, when I was viewing a number of movies on bootleg sites, I managed to see it, but the quality was so bad (as it typically is on these sites) that I didn’t even bother to review the movie because I didn’t think I could give it a “fair” review.  And, all in all, I think that was a very good decision.  My opinion of the movie was vastly improved over my prior viewing.
The “X-Men” comic book series was one of the many comic titles I followed when I was growing up.  Much like the “Spider-Man” series, the X-men were geared to a youth audience and sought to express the “angst” of growing up, feeling different, and coming to terms with a growing sense of uniqueness in the adult world much bigger than the imagined (and imaginary) world of our early childhoods.  Combine this feeling of difference with a mild (or not so mild) persecution complex (“they hate us because they fear us;  they fear us because we’re different”) and you have a very deep story-line vein to mine for many years of comics (and movies).
The problem with any persecution story arc’s is, of course, the natural tendency of the writer(s) to follow the escalation sub-arc to it’s natural conclusion – the death(s) of all the heroes (the mutants and X-Men) or the death / termination of the antagonist (in this case, the Sentinels).  And, of course, if you kill off all of the heroes – wait for it – no more comic books (or movies).  If you kill all of the bad-guys, same problem (or you have to “invent” new baddies).
The somewhat classic response to this problem is to re-boot the series (either in the comic book or the movie format) or to go back and change time so “it” (the current present) never “really” happened and we can make up new stories.  Sometimes, you do both.  (See the latest two “Star Trek” movies…)
So the questions are:  which does this movie do;  and does it do it well?  This movie chooses “both”, but with a heavy emphasis on time-travel to get to the re-boot.  The movie goes very dark in the escalation sub-arc and does, in effect, kill all the heroes.  The time-travel also does its job of re-booting (some of) the actors / characters and getting the movie series back to a place where they can now logically create “new” sequels.
That’s the “do”.  How about the “well”?
Like all comic-book movies in general, and X-Men movies in particular, this is very much an action and special effects movie.  The action scenes are too few (for my tastes), but well done.  The special effects are visually well done, but mostly don’t make any sense.  And I mean “suspend belief” cause there’s no way this is possible kind of stuff.  There are far too many to list, but most of the problems have to do with trying to use actors across a 40 year span and technology that could not exist today, let alone back in the 1970’s.
Somehow, though, the “dark”, “not enough action scenes”, “unbelievable” movie still works for me.  The core message is that the future is never “really” set as long as you have hope and that hope is what drives the individual to a commitment to change.  The message / theme is touched upon frequently during the movie, but even I have to admit it (the message) is somewhat hidden in the viewing experience.  All in all, I give the movie a “B+” rating.
Final recommendation:  strong recommendation.  Well worth viewing by any action / adventure / comic-book fan.    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2023	In Good Company
2022	One World (Our Only Place)…
2021	Move The Heart
	Join Hands (Love Train)
2020	He Broke Even (The Gambler)
	Whoever / Whatever
2019	The Right Anger
	Another P&P Review
2018	Does Fatalism Equal Mental Health?
2017	Choice
2016	Growing Worlds
2015	Change The Tide
	Martyr, n.
2014	You, Too!
2013	Bitter Stand
2012	Lost For Words
2011	On Market Reactions…

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Martyr, n.

One who moves along the line of least reluctance to a desired death.
—    Ambrose Bierce
From his book:  “The Devil’s Dictionary“
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On This Day In:
2023	In Good Company
2022	One World (Our Only Place)…
2021	Move The Heart
	Join Hands (Love Train)
2020	He Broke Even (The Gambler)
	Whoever / Whatever
2019	The Right Anger
	Another P&P Review
2018	Does Fatalism Equal Mental Health?
2017	Choice
2016	Growing Worlds
2015	Change The Tide
	Martyr, n.
2014	You, Too!
2013	Bitter Stand
2012	Lost For Words
2011	On Market Reactions…

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Shout!

No person is your friend who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow.
—    Alice Walker
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On This Day In:
2023	Handle It, Handle It…
2022	Seek Good
2021	Aging Well
	Now And Forever (Let It Be Me)
2020	Always
2019	#45 Is More Of A Piddle Than A Puddle
2018	Found Out
	A Message To The “Wanna Be” Dictator On Leadership
2017	Still Waiting…
2016	Same Old, Same Old
2015	Shout!
2014	I Hear Voices
2013	Ethics And Standards
2012	Swing Higher
2011	Convicted For Life

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On Pornography

The people do not exist for the sake of literature, to give the author fame, the publisher wealth, and the book a market.  On the contrary, literature exists for the sake of the people, to refresh the weary, to console the sad, to hearten the dull and downcast, to increase man’s interest in the world, his joy of living, and his sympathy in all sorts and conditions of men.  Art for art’s sake is heartless and soon grows artless;  art for the public market is not art at all, but commerce;  art for the people’s service is a noble, vital and permanent element of human life…  Masterpieces have never been produced by men given to obscenity or lustful thoughts – men who have no Master…  Good work in literature has its permanent mark;  it is like all good work, noble and lasting.  It requires a human aim – to cheer, console, purify, or ennoble the life of people.  With this aim, literature has never sent an arrow close to the mark.  It is by good work only that men of letters can justify their right to a place in the world.
—    Circuit Judge Martin Manton
Writing in his dissenting opinion on the pornographic nature of the book “Ulysses” by James Joyce in the case:  United States v. One Book Entitled Ulysses, 72 F.2d 705 (2d Cir. 1934)
The majority opinion was that the book was not pornography and the court’s decision was upheld on review.
[Actually, the classification of any art – literature or other – as pornography or otherwise is very subjective and difficult.  As such, I prefer the better known quote concerning pornography:
“I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it,…“
—    Mr. Justice Potter Stewart
United States Supreme Court
Concurring in Jacobellis v. Ohio, 378 US 184 (1964).
Both quotes are about “art” but from unrelated cases – one about a book and the other about a movie.  While I personally agree with the court’s decision about “Ulysses“, I find myself in complete agreement with Judge Manton’s statement that “Good work in literature has its permanent mark“.
Today’s post is unusual in that I don’t normally compare / contrast quotes and I also don’t normally comment on them.  “Interpretation” is normally left to the reader.   There is no particular reason for today’s exception.   —   kmab]
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On This Day In:
2023	Prior Reflection (I Hope)
2022	Be Someone For Somebody
2021	Genius (And Other Details)
	I Don’t Know Why (I’m In A Hurry)
	Going Into The Deep End
2020	Repercussions For Health
2019	Chained To #45
2018	Some Men Make Their Office As Small As Themselves
2017	Too Many
2016	Not Yet, Anyway
2015	On Pornography
2014	Nudge, Nudge
2013	The Journey Will Be Joy
2012	Hopeful Flights
2011	Irrationally Predictable
	Lawful Restraint

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Is It Still Dark Out?

Perhaps in time the so-called Dark Ages will be thought of as including our own.
—   Georg C. Lichtenberg
[This is completely out of context so I don’t know if it was originally meant to be funny or sarcastic or serious, but it makes me chuckle.    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2023	Good Reading
2022	How About: Just Be Kind…
2021	Try To Choose Wisely
	Found It (Oakland Stroke)
2020	We Have A Window
2019	No Escape
2018	Except When It Is From The Oval Office
2017	Bad Karma
2016	Poor Management Choices
2015	Is It Still Dark Out?
2014	Rule One
2013	Spelling God’s Name
2012	Love Your Life And Sing
	Feeling Under the Weather?
2011	Cheers, Friend!

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