March 6, 2003
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Nonviolent?!
I don't like violence, or rather I don't like scenes of gratuitous violence where human life is treated with contempt or scenes of psychological violence where human dignity is demolished. On the other hand, I very much admire scenes of courage wherein a person rises to face a threat from whatever direction, physical, mental or emotional. Even if they utlimately fail, I still applaud the spirit that denies violent malevolent intent it's victim. So I like the Lord of the Rings even though the body count is astronomical. I don't like Steven Seagal movies, (come to think of it the body count there is astromnomical, too). But the difference in my opinion is that in the first instance we are shown the story from the perspective of potential victims who stand with dignity and courage. In the second instance we see the story from the perspective of a person who enjoys pummeling people (oh, they assure us that he only pummels "bad" people, but that doesn't get them off the hook in my mind because hey, from time to time *I'm* bad people.)
Good Poetry/Bad Poetry
You know what I appreciate most about a poem? The clever phrase. That exact use of word or syntax to open a window that perfectly reveals human experience. You know what I don't appreciate about poetry? Epic length. In fact, anything longer than a sonnet is hard for me to relate to. I start to get lost in the word maze. This is why I can't tell you much of anything about most of the poetry included in the Lord of the Rings. It's too long.
Mortality
I read a short story once that credited human achievement to the notion of our mortality. In essence it said that we are all procrastinators to such a degree that if we knew we had unlimited resources of time, we'd put off doing anything. We'd still be living in caves. It is our knowledge that there are limits on our time that impels us forward. I think maybe there's something there. I'll have to think about that later, when I have more time.
Children
"Let's play hide and seek. You count right here and don't look in Mom's closet."
Sex
Why is it that the older I get the more I like a good foot massage? Why is it that a good foot massage leads to great sex the older I get?
Diet
I don't mind starving myself for looks, but I resent very much changing my diet for the purpose of my health. You may remember my disparaging remarks about Grape Nuts a couple weeks ago. Upon my doctor's advice, I'm reducing the fat content of my diet, and increasing the fiber. I was kind of surprised that he would suggest MORE fiber since I already eat whole grains and fruit regularly. But, okay, if I need more fiber, I'll eat more fiber. Do you know that there are breakfast cereals that have as much as 10 grams of fiber per cup?!? I swtiched from my former breakfast of diet coke and yogurt to a breakfast of whole grain cereal, skim milk, and diet coke. Voila! That fixed the diet. You know what? I don't LIKE being THAT regular.
Art
Papa Bear, by Tucker Verrette
Books
In my "to be read" pile beside the bed, I currently have, The Silmarillion by J R R Tolkien, Tolkien's Sanctifying Myth by Bradley Birzir and Joseph Pearce, Seven Theories of Religion by Daniel Pals, Ruthless Trust by Brennan Manning, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig, What's So Amazing About Grace? by Philip Yancey, and Provocations, the Spiritual Writings of Soren Kierkegaard translated by some guy who's name I can't remember and it isn't on the cover and I'm too lazy to look inside for it.
A Joke
A bear and rabbit where walking through the forest when the met a fairy who had just earned her wings. She was feeling so good she offered to grant each of them three wishes. The bear immediately said, "I wish all the bear in this fores were female." The fairy swished her wand and it was so. The rabbit said, "I wish I had a motorcycle helmet."
The bear then said, "I wish all the bears in this country were female!" The fairy swished her wand and it was so. The rabbit said, "I wish for a motorcycle with a full tank of gas."
The bear said, "I with all the bears in the world were female!" The fairy swished her wand and it was so. The rabbit said, "I wish for the bear to be gay!" Vvrrrrroooooooommmm.
Comments (21)
Wonderful blog!!! I adore the way your mind works ..... although I rarely (never) comment - I read you quite often. The way you hopped from topic to topic on this particular blog is intriguing and just what I needed on a dreary Thursday morning to keep me hooked.
Bravo!
I loved this entry writing what you are thinking....
and that joke made me laugh out loud.
Ah, nothing like a good foot massage.
Thanks for the smiles!
This is a regular blogapalooza! I dunno about the justification for LOTR violence, though. Those magically concocted mindless killing machines could have feelings, too, you know!
such a wide variety... very nice
Lack of time, as in life is getting shorter, certainly propells me forward. Thanks.
Yay, another admirer of short poetry! I skipped all the poems in the Lord of the Rings the first three times I read the book. Tolkien liked playing around with complicated rhyme schemes, but that sort of poetry is a lot more fun to make than to read sometimes.
My favorite poem is by Langston Hughes: "Little Lyric (Of Great Importance)." It goes like this:
I wish the rent
Were heaven-sent.
lovin, yes lovin this. especially the art section. how cool is that.
foot massages ...sex...hmm...they both sound so wonderful
~Maria
That was certainly a good hotch potch of ideas I will leave your site thinking about them Cheers Portia
I can't stand Steven Seagal. My aunt and uncle met him at a party a couple of years ago and they said he was very arrogant and snooty. Not to mention he's been linked to the mafia...yes, seriously...but we won't go into that.
Anyway, what I started out to say is that the biggest difference between his kind of film and a movie like Lord of the Rings is the humanity. Lord of the Rings is a fight between good and evil...and on the course of that, we learn something about mankind...that there is good and evil in everyone, but what the difference is, is that those who are good fight against the evil even when it's inside them. that's what made it a good movie, in my opinion. Steven Seagal movies certainly don't teach you anything about life or humankind, and generally just consist of fight scenes between some overweight, middle aged guy with a chip on his shoulder and an unworthy opponent.
Loved the quote from "children"!!
Wow, alot of thoughts!
Thanks for the good wishes for both Morganna and myself. (I'm sure that all positive thinking goes into the Universal Mind...and all helps.) I remember my wife telling me that everybody that prayed for John Lennon passing over helped him to gravitate to the next level of existence - so it all helps.
I am a pacifist - so I dislike gratuitous violence, too...but it will not disappear until there is no demand for it - and that will take a long evolution away from the way people think today. (After current political events, it is quite clear to me that most people do not think for themselves.)
I think that's one of the most beautiful pieces of art I've ever seen.
Go Tucker!
Chuckles on the fiber diet! Fiber is an amazing thing, eh?
Faith
Great drawing!
I loved your random thinking/writing. My favorite poem (because it is short!)
The problem with a kitten is that, It eventually becomes a cat.
I like how this post has prompted people to share their favorite short poems.
Tucker's Bear painting is wonderful.
Great joke too. Heeheehee!
Your blog looks like a newspaper with various topics . It ' s great . Bravo my big writer .
The " victorious hunter " Michel
The art work is great ! @-}-}--
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