For years I’ve watched friends tie themselves up in knots trying to discover the meaning of life. Which really sucks because that’s time they could have spent actually enjoying what little time they have on this planet. Don’t get me wrong. I am intensely curious about the workings of the[…] Read On
Blog Archives
On Thoreau’s ‘Mass of Men … Quiet Desperation’ Quote
The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. – Henry David Thoreau Everyone knows Thoreau’s famous quote about the mass of men, quiet desperation and all that stuff from Walden. If he tweeted it today he’d probably be trolled and canceled for mental shaming. Maybe it’s me but I[…] Read On
Ethics Are Way More Fluid Than You Think
“When I took the [Army] service exam, my psych profile fit a certain… “moral flexibility” would be the only way to describe it. I was loaned out to a CIA-sponsored program and we sort of found each other.” Martin Q. Blank, Grosse Pointe Blank I am a practical man. Sure[…] Read On
Don’t Take Life Too Seriously. Seriously
It’s a bad idea to take life too seriously. A really bad idea. If you do – take life too seriously – you will be severely and repeatedly disappointed. And that means you will be miserable. Don’t just take my word for it. Try it. Get emotionally invested in everything[…] Read On
The Death of Nuance, RIP
I’m a little down today. I’m mourning the death of nuance, particularly with respect to language, communication and political discourse. I’m mourning the death of any form of human communication that isn’t an emoji, a meme, an acronym, an AI-generated message or technical gobbledygook. I’m mourning the smiling pile of[…] Read On
Choose Heaven
Religious doctrine notwithstanding, heaven and hell are not above and below us. They are both right here on Earth, polarized metaphors for the end result of our accumulated choices and actions. Heaven or hell. Each of us has the power to change the outcome by the choices we make and[…] Read On
American Politics: Fanatics and Demagogues on Both Sides of the Divide
Fanatic. Zealot. Demagogue. Do any of these terms describe you? I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess no. I mean, who in his right mind would want to be identified as someone who blindly follows or uses false arguments to promote a belief system? That’s right,[…] Read On