“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
–Aristotle
Today’s Quote: Aristotle
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The Moving Finger
The Moving Finger writes;
and, having writ, Moves on:
nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.
–From the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, verse 51, as translated by Edward Fitzgerald.
Believe it or not, I first read this in P.G. Wodehouse’s Thank You, Jeeves, where it was quoted in its entirely (by Jeeves, obviously). I particularly like the imagery invoked to describe how one cannot change the past.
Today’s Quote: Charlie Broadway
“I think freedom depends largely on morality. Without moral citizens, freedom is impossible. This is why Russia is a shithole even after the fall of communism. The cultural damage of atheism and vodka swilling makes Russia utterly unfit for liberty. This is why they get a guy like Putin. Similarly, if the USA becomes a nation of potheads addicted to videogames, it won’t be much better. There is no liberty without virtue.”
–From Charlie’s Blog
This is a very trenchant observation. Charlie’s Blog was always interesting to me primarily for his thoughts on government and a more Libertarian outlook–if one disregarded his incessant, pointless profanity and over-the-top anti-marriage and other rants.
But it seems he’s undergoing big changes: he actually got married and is in the process of going from Protestant-turned-Atheist to converting to Roman Catholicism. Not that any of those things are what I’m particularly interested in…
The really good stuff that bubbles up from time to time has to do with his observations on both Limited Government and Human Morality. This one comes from both those camps, really, and I couldn’t agree more. This is a pretty good explanation of what is happening all around us right now and nobody seems to care. This is why our country is falling apart and why people actually want to reelect our current president even as he actively works to drive us all over the cliff.
An increasing lack of freedom due to an increasing lack of virtue…
Today’s Poem: me!
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Wandering in vain
Has seldom let a man be
Anything but lost;
Is it any wonder, then
That people try to draw maps?
–Doug Kendrick
Yesterday, I made an effort to memorize the Naniwa Bay tanka poem that is used to start a Japanese Karuta match. With that buzzing through my brain, I woke up at 1:20 this morning with a haiku on my mind. I wrote it down in my bedside notebook, closed my eyes for 5 minutes and thought of the final two lines, turning it into my first-ever tanka (another Japanese poetry form also known as waka with a 5-7-5-7-7 syllable format).
I’m actually quite proud of myself–hopefully I’ll be able to post these from time to time.
© 2012 Douglas P. Kendrick, all rights reserved.
En août, je vais étudier le français!
The other day, I was thinking about how long it’s been since my other, non-Japanese languages have gotten much of a workout. I’ve recently been watching YouTube videos in German and Italian and–thankfully–can still understand what’s going on in them, especially in Italian.
So on a whim I’ve decided to re-study some of my other languages, beginning with French. Some time ago I purchased a Berlitz book, French in 30 Days, which included an audio CD and workbook with 30 lessons–1 per day for a month. So that’s what I’m going to use. I also have one for German for next month.
Wish me luck!
Today’s Quote: Miss Minimalist
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“In our quest to become minimalists, we want to reduce the amount of things in our homes that require our care and attention. Fortunately, we have ample opportunity to do so—simply by shifting some of our pleasures and activities into the public realm. In fact, such action produces a pretty wonderful side effect. For when we hang out in parks, museums, movie houses, and coffee shops—instead of trying to create similar experiences in our own homes—we become significantly more socially active and civically engaged. By breaking down the walls of stuff around us, we’re able to get out into the world and enjoy fresher, more direct, and more rewarding experiences.”
–Francine “Miss Minimalist” Jay from her book The Joy of Less
A rather longish quote, but packs a wallop. Even though I realized in hindsight what she points out was true, I hadn’t consciously thought about it. Much of our stuff comes from trying to recreate what once were “public” activities in our own homes. Those walls become pretty thick too, as I can personally attest…
Today’s Quote: Rand
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“When you see that trading is done, not by consent, but by compulsion –
when you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing –
when you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors –
when you see that men get richer by graft and by pull than by work, and your laws don’t protect you against them, but protect them against you –
when you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice –
you may know that your society is doomed.”
–Ayn Rand
This, my friends, is precisely where we all stand today. Nothing that any government anywhere is doing is helping the situation since they’re the ones getting rich off favors and not producing anything–and they can back it all up at gunpoint.
Are the corporations, bankers, entrepreneurs and free-market capitalists ruining the world? They have their flaws, yes, but mostly because they’re busy playing the perverse game governments have created–and are consequently getting richer by graft and pull. Without their willing accomplices in the halls of power stacking the deck, they’d have to do what true free-market forces require: live and die by whether their products and services are of value to people or not.
What can we do? I’m not sure, but I have my own ideas. Getting out of this cruel and crumbling system is what needs to happen–before it all collapses, anarchy sets in and the shooting starts. The older I get, the more Libertarian I become since that seems like the only way we can overcome the perpetual rape and pillage being brought about by the cronies on BOTH sides of the political spectrum. LESS government is the only answer.
Who knew that Ayn Rand was a prophetess? Just take a look at any of today’s headlines which seem to have been ripped straight from the pages of Atlas Shrugged…
journey, not destination 