1787 Federalists vs. Anti-federalists

For all its gore and mayhem, the American Revolution had unified the thirteen states, binding them into a hopeful, if still restive, nation. The aftermath of the Constitutional Convention, by contrast, turned ugly and divisive, polarizing the populace. Four days after Hamilton affixed his signature to the Constitution, "The Daily Advertiser" gave New Yorkers their first glimpse of it, and many blanched in amazement.

-- Ron Chernow, “Alexander Hamilton”

Thus setting the stage for the next great political battle.

Schopenhauer

Schopenhauer does not have a high opinion of card games.

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“Hence, in all countries the chief occupation of society is card-playing, and it is the gauge of its value, and an outward sign that it is bankrupt in thought. Because people have no thoughts to deal in, they deal cards, and try and win one another’s money. Idiots! But I do not wish to be unjust; so let me remark that it may certainly be said that in defence of card-playing that it is a preparation for the world and for business life, because one learns thereby how to make a clever use of fortuitous but unalterable circumstances (cards, in this case), and to get as much out of them as one can: and to do this a man must learn a little dissimulation, and how to put a good face upon a bad business. But, on the other hand, it is exactly for this reason that card-playing is so demoralizing, since the whole object of it is to employ every kind of trick and machination in order to win what belongs to another.”

-- Arthur Schopenhauer, “The Wisdom of Life”

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Saturday, March 16, 2013

One of those lost Saturday mornings... even though I still cannot access my xnxx videos. At least ASSTR is still online. It is free and much harder than anything I can pay for at Amazon. But, nearing fifty, I hate wasting the time for nothing, for a mirage of sex. A whole morning.

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It has started to get a little warm in the afternoons, as I find myself sliding back into wearing only shorts and going without a shirt. Mid-March. I guess that sounds about right. It is not uncomfortable yet, but I suppose we are within weeks of getting that.

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In my Blogging & Reading day, I have been feeling overwhelmed, like I am far, far behind where I should be . I am rushing through pictures and trying to hurry along my book quotes, and I am not enjoying it. It feels like unwanted homework, or maybe even a little like doing household chores.

So, I whipped up a big bowl of that Red Velvet Cake ice cream, and I had a little exploration of the soul: what do I really want to do with the dregs and remains of my life? Am I really doing it, with my unread blogging and my news-harvesting and picture-copying, or should I be doing something else? I should feel good about what I am doing.

However, I cannot imagine anything better to do, not anything that is open to me. Then I recalled the W. H. Auden quote that I recently posted on my show blog that was about how we have a surfeit of images and writings to take in, and that while this is a great development in modern culture, people are moved to rush to consume all of these artful goods without letting these works make a true impression on one’s soul, and without truly experiencing the wonder of such creations.

Which considerations led me back to old wisdom: to take in the moment as though it were its own eternity, to make an authentic moment of one’s experience and appreciation of art. And, along the way, if a particular image or a piece of writing does not seem worthy of such a moment, then than is an item you can hurriedly rush by.

I really need to enjoy what I am doing, especially since I am not doing it for any other reason but my own enrichment. In blogging my experiences of art and culture, I am obviously demonstrating a public purpose, and it would obviously be nice if others were to enjoy the results of my efforts, but I cannot count on that. I am not getting any money nor any love from others out of it. I need to enjoy what I am doing. I have to keep in mind that I am not on a job and on the clock. And, while I am losing myself in all of my authentic moments, if the day runs out on me before I know it, so much the better!

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I have kept away from her Twitter and her e-life completely. But I am feeling something heartachey this evening and I am mooning over her pictures. Like I’m in love. I’m not, of course. I am not that silly. But it’s not like there is anyone else who is even within crush-range. Hell, I do not even have a single real blogging-friend now. So, I think about her. But less often now. Tonight was a relapse, but a short-lived one, I trust.

Brave New World

"Just as the 21st century saw friends replaced by Facebook friends, nature replaced by parks, ocean fisheries replaced by commercially farmed seafood, and sunshine largely supplanted by tanning salons, we’ll see sexual interaction reduced to mechanically provoked orgasm as human beings become ever more dominated by the machines and mechanistic thought processes that developed in our brains and societies like bacteria in a petri dish."

-- Christopher Ryan

Ah, so it looks like I am ahead of my time!