Thursday, October 20, 2011

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Physicist Richard Feynman: “Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes, the ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them... about the only thing you can't do is ignore them, because they change things, they push the human race forward; and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do."  

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

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October 19, 2011

Yesterday, while at Barnes &  Noble, I was horrified to see a young girl, maybe sixteen,  very pretty, and very intelligent looking,  pick up a thick copy of Ayn Rand’s works. I felt that I should warn her of the dangers of reading Ayn Rand at such a tender age.  (You know, of course, that it is to the adolescent in each of us that Ayn Rand appeals, no matter how old we may be at the time of reading.)  I knew that she should be alerted. It was my duty.  


But I feared being accused of untoward behavior and so suppressed my need to  save her from the shameful ignominy of a lifetime of conservatism, so I set aside my desire.


Later she and her family, two brothers and a sister, as well as their father sat near me in the coffee area of the store.  I thought that as she was now with her father that it might be a better time to approach. I devised a plan:  I would write a note to her father explaining the perilous situation into which his lovely daughter was placing herself.

So I composed a note to her Dad:


Dad:

Your daughter is at an impressionable age. She is about to read a book of writings by a powerful, persuasive author with extreme views.  The writings will give your beautiful, idealistic daughter ideas that may not be rational, sensible or correct. She does not have the life experience to deal with these radical ideas.


If I cannot persuade you to tear that book from her hands, then, at the very least, insist that she read a counter-balance to Ayn Rand.  Suggest that she read a biography of an American Hero, E.V. Debs. There are several, but in particular, for your young daughter, I would recommend “Adversary in the House,” by Irving Stone.


If your daughter reads both books, she will better be able to make up her mind by comparing the life value of pure selfishness as compared to a life filled with compassion for others.


I signed my name and passed him the note.


The incident did not end well. The father read my note, and handed it back to me. He had nothing to say to me.  No words were exchanged. 


Later, I saw the family pile into a large black BMW 745L.  

 

mek


Tuesday, October 18, 2011

BusterStronghart@Gmail.com

When two people fight the third one wins. 

Edgar Weinstock -- Brooklyn Edgar.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

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Thursday, November 27, 2003


Martinis

I like to have a martini,
Two at the very most.
After three I'm under the table,
After four I'm under my host.
..........Dorothy Parker

Martinis son como las tetas de una mujer
Una no es bastante
Tres son demasiado
Pero dos? -- es sufficiente!
..............Jose Espino, my friend and employee 
BusterStronghart@Gmail.com

Resumé

Razors pain you;
Rivers are damp;
Acids stain you;
And drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren't lawful;
Nooses give;
Gas smells awful;
You might as well live.

Dorothy Parker


 

Saturday, October 15, 2011

BusterStronghart@Gmail.com


Knut Hamsun was a Nobel Prize winning Norwegian Novelist whose major books were written from about 1888 thru the thirties and forties.  He had a tempestuous relationship with his wife that included lengthy separations and infidelities, but at the end they returned to each other.  He lived until  1952; but before and during  the war years, strangely,  he and his wife favored what they incorrectly believed was Hitler’s plan for a pan-Europe that would include Norway as an independent country. Hamsun, was old and deaf, and read nothing but the Nazi approved papers in Norway.   

After the war when he was shown film of what the Nazis had done he renounced the Nazis, but not Hitler,  declared that anti-Semitism was morally wrong.  He insisted  that he should be tried for his wartime activities.  During the war he did try to save resistance fighters who had been captured from torture and death but was always rebuffed.  These failures did not dissuade his support for Hitler.   He was asked by Hitler to meet at the Wolf’s Lair in Austria. At that meeting,  at which he was old, exhausted and befuddled, he repeatedly  brought up the question of torture and execution and was thrown out by Hitler.  He returned to Norway but remained silent.  He wrote the only obituary of Hitler written in Norway.

 Knut Hamsun's eulogy by Marie Hamsun, his wife. 

The wanderer has reached
The end of his journey.

It wasn't always easy
To keep up with you, my love.
Sometimes you had to wait for me.

And sometimes

I had to wait for you.
At times we even lost track 
Of each other on the way.

But somehow,
We always found each other again.

Good bye, my Knut.
And thank you
For keeping me company.

Marie Hamsun 1952

Thursday, October 13, 2011

BusterStronghart@Gmail.com
Something about the historical context of a school birching drawing that I just looked at reminded me of a notion that’s always puzzled me. In the real world (I’m not talking about our kinky fun times now) why do authoritarians talk about imposing “discipline” on people when the trait you actually get from consistent punishment for infractions of rule sets is “compliance” or “obedience”? Discipline, rightly understood, is a virtue of self-control and individual initiative; by contrast, obedience is a survival skill of the powerless. 

(The difference: discipline is useful for accomplishing a person’s own goals, while obedience is entirely about what other people want.)

When the Victorians (to pick just one bad example) claimed that school punishment or military floggings instilled discipline, were they knowingly telling a euphemistic lie to pretty up the fact that they were just beating obedience into powerless people? Or were they actually confused about what they were doing and accomplishing?

Sunday, October 02, 2011

Written by a friend,  Arnold Lewis  --  He plans his own Blog   --Leading from the Bottom---

For the Birds
You know, some females are really demanding.  They seem to lack patience, want what they want right now!  Some even get pushy, shoving another out of the way.  What is more, instead of wanting equality, they want dominance, total control even in public places, not hidden away somewhere with whips and slings.

I have seen unbridled pain inflicted over something very simple, that quite probably, had they been more pleasant, they might have had with no such seeming difficulty required.

And, when two such females of two different couples interact, either, or both, may push spouses or even the other's spouse or partner.  How or why any of this group would have another as a spouse is beyond me.  Unless there seems no escape.  Maybe they are partners awaiting the proper moment to be spouses, but I’d think that mastering one’s own behavior might lead to better, or possibly far worse, decisions and involvements stemming from spousing.

Is it possible that with recognizing no escape, the males simply back down in order to avoid more and more overt pushiness? 

What is even more concerning is that these spurts of behavior arrive seemingly irrationally.  Sometimes, one might find some reasoning, but even that takes a major stretch of imagination, since simple observation shows that with kindness, all may be satisfied, may find that sharing works just fine.  It truly is a strange phenomenon, and not unheard of in any circle or in any level of society.

It seems so uncalled for and surprising, especially when the females are all decked out in their beautiful finery.  The more bitchy seems to be the one in gray, and why wearing that color might indicate anything untoward, I have no idea.  Her cheeks are more lightly rouged than her partner in misbehavior.  Her hat is similar in color and design.  She waddles the same way, too.

The one in white may be learning bad habits.  Maybe this gray lady is teaching her tricks that alone she might have not learned.  Perhaps the gray lady has even shoved the beautiful lady dressed in white and lovely shade of yellow just once too often, and the latter may have developed a short fuse after having been abused in such an unseemly manner.

What makes the entire situation even more pathetic is that they live in the same house, share the same food, drink from the same wells.  Perhaps this sharing issue is the root cause.  With delivery of food and water, for instance, they stand quietly to observe without any concern.  And, they eat and drink with no problems, they even at this time seem to share easily, the lady in grey walking behind and entering the stage with no concern and no concern shown.  What happens next?  It is impossibly to understand why she’d get so upset.  And, even more impossible to understand why Ms. Grey’s behavior seems to set of the beautiful young lady in white and gold.

Perhaps, this is an age issue.  But, it would seem that age will exacerbate the problems rather than resolve them.  What appears even more influential is that these ladies’ partners do not seem to be overly insulted.  They react with not much concern, give room politely, share with little seeming selfishness and make sure the lovely ladies have what they want.

I believe they are spoiling them.  Or, perhaps there is a devious motive from the males, thinking about teenage affairs or long-term involvements.  If so, then it becomes difficult to decide which approach to take, which to condemn or acknowledge as good.

What is happening, for sure, is that the society has changed somewhat within that house.   And so, we’ll observe them as they observe us as we go about our days.

These little birdies offer much more than I ever expected.  They are becoming a part of me as they had already become a part of the other adults living here.  I am slow on the uptake, sometimes.

Arnold

Saturday, October 01, 2011

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“I was no clerk nor had any capacity to be one. The only place I ever found in my life to put a piece of paper as to find it again was either a side coat-pocket or the hands of a clerk or secretary more careful than myself.”   U.S. Grant in his memoirs—which are far more interesting than anyone might guess.


When I was in business, there was one worker, a woman in the Rx department who was a technician, but who was known as “finder of lost articles.” She was a Seventh Day Adventist from Tegucigalpa, very dark, and ravishingly beautiful.  Although she was sincerely religious she wore very tight jeans, the kind that take an assistant to help you get them on, and very tight sweaters or open blouses.  She constantly attempted to get me to join or at least attend a service at her church. For a time, I wondered whether the Seventh Day Adventists accepted this kind of dress, but she was with me so many years that I forgot about the disconnect.

In any event, when something was lost or unable to be found, say an invoice from the previous  year’s Chanel Christmas order, the bookkeeper would call Ana B. F. to come to the office and help her find it.

PRESTO!  It would be found in no time. She had mysterious and primitive powers, but carried with her a quality of innocence. These peculiar powers are similar to those of  the woman who lives with me.

.mek