Thought fragments

1. I'm reading Quicksilver, the latest novel by Neal Stephenson. My favorite is still Snowcrash, which is edgy, brilliant and fun (for instance I know all too many people who live in burbclaves--even de facto apartheid burbclaves-- and drive bimbo boxes). I liked Cryptonomicon a lot. There is one particular scene that I adore and which I alone (among the extremely limited audience with whom I discuss these topics) find totally loopy in an incredibly insightful way. I am currently waiting for Quicksilver to take off for me, but it hasn't happened yet.

2. It is imperative that you check out The World Cafe hosted by WXPN's David Dye. Yes, I mean you!! Don't delay! Listen to everything available and file a full report as soon as is humanly possible. You won't regret it.

To Blog or not to Blog

Here is a quote that nicely characterizes my point of view:

"Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self."

- Cyril Connolly

As long as I'm in quotation mode, here is one more I really like:

"We succeed in enterprises which demand the positive qualities we possess, but we excel in those which can also make use of our defects."

- Alexis de Tocqueville

Geez, I wonder if I can find an "enterprise" where I can succeed by distracting myself and everyone else, have a lot of fun doing so, and end up making a great big but somehow beautiful mess..................

Greet the Day

It is a beautiful day here, after many soggy, gloomy ones. And, there is a new Van Morrison album out.

A quick thought, courtesy of Mark Twain:

"You can't depend on your judgment when your imagination is out of focus."

...And another, courtesy of Joseph Campbell:

"The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature."

Enjoy it!

'Fright Night' on the Hill

"Seeing the adults dance was really scary," commented my 12-year old upon returning from a black tie benefit. As she tells it, she and her two buddies looked on in mortification as the over-the-hill crowd engaged in "spastic gyrations," which were rendered even more appalling by too-tight, shiny clothes that emphasized their lumps, bumps, and bulges.

With Halloween a full five days away, I shudder to think what's next.

Quel horreur!