Plato

It was 55 degrees when I woke up this morning. It feels like forever since we had a fifty-something morning. I enjoyed my walk. I started “Protagoras” and BOOM I am under Plato’s spell again. I wonder why, to tell you the truth. The dialogues are rather pedantic and not really that fascinating, but I feel as though I am synched into something truly inspiring and super-intellectual. Could it be the name: Plato! That and the fact that I can at least read him and follow him well enough, as opposed to anything by Kant, Hegel, or Wittgenstein? I don’t know. I don’t want to fight it too hard. I should be happy for any connections I can make in life, something that makes me feel a part of something, and that makes me feel a little proud perhaps, like I am into something special.

The 266th Vicar of Jesus Christ on Earth (Part 2)

In this excerpt, Mr. Binelli goes into the turbulent history of the Church, from the darker days of the medieval period up to the somewhat tumultuous times of the last pope, Benedict XVI.

( Read more... )

Home Alone

It was hard getting up from my nap. Pop is gone for another weekend. Time no longer feels like a scarce commodity. The hours have this delicious feeling of being endless. I feel so free. Unfortunately, my strongest temptation seems to be to doze all day and snack, maybe read for an hour here and there and do my Internet stuff.

“But isn’t that what you do every day?”

Close enough, I guess. But it somehow feels more free.

“Maybe you just feel less guilty. With no one watching over you.”

Heh, that could be a big part of it. But it is also nice not to have to work around Pop, having to wonder when he will use the kitchen, or when he will come home from his rounds. There aren’t those watchpoints. I am unmoored from such considerations. The day is mine to do with as I please without interruption, except to let the cats in and out.

Celebrities and Stuff

"The Civil Wars - Billie Jean (Michael Jackson Cover)" (Watch on YouTube)

Entertainment Weekly

( Read more... )

Wild Friday Night

Maybe I shouldn’t have done that. Pizza for dinner. I guess I wanted to do something special for having the house to myself. Wild Friday night! The original plan was to make a couple of sandwiches with stale bread. That seemed too blah and anti-climactic. But, of course, there is a good reason why I stopped eating pizza for dinner a long time ago. I just hope I don’t throw up in bed tonight.

Cats

There’s a meowing at my window. It’s Sammy. He’s on the driveway. I whisper, “Be careful, my love!”

It is expected to drizzle in the wee hours of the morning, but I think I can leave them outside. This will only be their second night in a row to prowl around in the moonlight. They can have their fun, and I can have my peace and quiet.

1980 Reagan Acceptance Speech (Part 4)

Our final excerpt is Reagan's closing. It is a piece of pious theater. As though it were something that just came to his mind, and as though it were dangerous stuff, he dares to invoke a little prayer, a moment of silence. It is so Reaganesque.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

I have thought of something that is not a part of my speech and I’m worried over whether I should do it. Can we doubt that only a divine providence placed this land, this island of freedom, here as a refuge for all those people in the world who yearn to breath freely: Jews and Christians enduring persecution behind the Iron Curtain, the boat people of Southeast Asia, of Cuba and of Haiti, the victims of drought and famine in Africa, the freedom fighters of Afghanistan and our own countrymen held in savage captivity.

I’ll confess that I’ve been a little afraid to suggest what I’m going to suggest. I’m more afraid not to. Can we begin our crusade joined together in a moment of silent prayer?

God Bless America.

-- Ronald Reagan

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Video of Speech