Thomas Szasz is a Rational who has been telling us that the Emperor has no clothes.
You can never go home, again
Toto, I’ve got a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.
It was a comfortable, almost a Tom Sawyer existence. It seemed to be a much simpler time. Yes, I was young.
It was the 50s.
Well, actually in this particular case, it was played in the innocent 60’s as if it was the 50’s.
He was like those wise, kind, and forgiving fathers of the 50’s. The time of Ike, who protected and provided for us, hiding the complexities and real dangers of life from us. TV fathers and mothers of the 50s and 60s. Providing and Protecting.
Father Knows Best, My Three Sons, The Donna Reed Show, The Rifleman, Leave it to Beaver, Sky King, and … Continue reading You can never go home, again
Light-hearted Company
Peter Jackson has faced a reasonable amount of criticism recently for shooting The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in brand new 48 frames per second technology. Critics of the newstuff got a ten minute sneak peek of the film at this years CinemaCon, and essentially claimed that the films aesthetics looked “TOO GOOD”:
While 48fps may create a more realistic, “you are there” picture quality, it actually works against The Hobbit from the 10 minutes of footage we saw. This undeniable “reality” kept pulling me out of the movie rather than immersing me fully into its world as the Lord of the Rings films did; the very fantasy element, the artifice of it all (whether it’s the wigs, fake beards or CG monsters) was plainly, at times painfully, evident.
Now I’m not a rocket scientist or anything but I’d say that twice the quality of video is a step FORWARD for the movie industry and is a GOOD thing.
Peter Jackson responded to the skepticism by saying that people will simply have to deal with his movie looking “too good”:
Ya. You idiots. Oh. Did I just say that out loud? Can Peter Jackson yet again bring us a dope sauce rendition of J.R.R. Tolkein’s absolutely delight-filled and charming classic fantasy novel The Hobbit? If I was a bettin’ man. I’d say yes. Because The Hobbit is literally, figuratively, and arguably one of the best fictional novels of all time. Ever. Don’t hold me to that one that though. As there are some pretty solid stories in book form in the world as we know it. Like this top 10:
Old Man and the Sea, Of Mice and Men, Lord of the Flies, Pride and Prejudice, 1984, Grapes of Wrath, Hamlet, War and Peace, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Fountainhead
(Post your personal top 10 below!)
WHAT TRULY MAKES a vivid, illustrious, and captivating fictional tale you ask? Well. Some would say that it starts with a dense and meaningful relationship between the main characters. Like for instance the somewhat strained but still very dear friendship between Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf the Grey. Who? You ask? Well. Let’s take a look.
Rationals and Guardians can indeed make for powerhouse dynamic duo’s, as both of them seem to share an inherent fondness for the structures within society, Rationals seek desperately to improve it, while Guardians work tirelessly to preserve it. Indeed a Rational’s pragmatic, skeptical, and relativistic mindset match up quite well with a Guardians stoical, pessimistic, and fatalistic viewpoint. The two however do have a bright side, and can sometimes take break’s from their work to sit back and enjoy one anothers company.
But Gandalf looked at him from under long bushy eyebrows that stuck out farther than the brim of his shady hat.
“What do you mean?” he said. “Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?”
“All of them at once,
said Bilbo.
— The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein
Friendly Fun
Admit it, you know the scene… Meg Ryan.
Ok, another hint.
“I’ll have what she’s having” — Ok, now you know.
That Friendly Fun.
Making fun of the foibles of human relations, was her forte. Taking a jocular look at sensitive subjects. Real issues.
Do What You Love
If others can benefit from it.
Yes, she is in a league of her own: Boys Baseball Little League. She is the only girl in the league.
Her statistics are impeccable. In four years of pitching for Brandon Farms against all-boys teams, she compiled a perfect 37-0 record. She completed a 12-0 season with the second perfect game of her career (16 strikeouts in six innings) while striking out 127 in 60 innings. Her team was the city champion three times. She threw her second perfect game — and predicted this one just hours before she did it.
It’s about Time.
It has been a long time gone.
They finally have the time to try to make it work.
You know that thing called Democracy.
No, not the rhetoric — well, the false promises… words, words, words. The Politician. The lies.. The grabbing of power, and holding on. The Tyrants. Rulers. Leaders, in name only.
Enough..
You have sat too long for any good you have been doing lately … Depart, I say; and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go! — Oliver Cromwell to the Rump Parliament.
They have gone in two countries. Male tyrants and scoundrels.
It’s about time for their turn: two strong and determined women. The Challenge of Democracy. The men have been mostly a disaster.
Dilpomat’s Affliction
WOWWWWW. Do i want to see The Dark Knight Rises. Like seriously. FFS. As the summer of the movie nerd approaches its mid-life crisis Christopher Nolan will be ramping up his viral marketing campaign. And he certainly has as evidenced by this content right here. The true question on everyone’s mind however is: Can Tom Hardy’s Bane even get close to stacking up with Heath Ledger’s epic and dark portrayal of Gotham’s Clown Prince of Crime? The God’s alone know my dear friends, but the film should be decent either way as: Anne Hathaway will be portraying villain/heroine/femme fatal Selina Kyle a.k.a. Catwoman, while Marion Catillard is playing Liam Neeson’s daughter a.k.a villain/Batman love interest Miranda Tate or a potential Talia al Ghul. And the young and talented Joseph Gordon Levitt will play a young Dark Knight replacement John Blake a.k.a a possible Robin. What epic tactician’s cataclysm has Jonathan Nolan and his brother been able to concoct? We will soon find out as The Dark Knight Rises can be seen in IMAX and 3d in less than a month on July 20th.
Breaking news (via viral marketing) tells us that Gotham City is currently experiencing a slew of cat-related burglaries:
“All the victims were wealthy folks, who lost jewelry, family heirlooms and other precious valuables. The suspect is said to be dressed all in black, and is capable of a quick getaway. Some of the victims were at a Wayne Enterprises event when their homes were burglarized. The Observer adds that Deputy Police Commissioner Peter Foley (played by Matthew Modine) is heading up a task force composed of the GCPD’s brightest young recruits to catch the thief.”
WHO is Gotham’s Female Robin Hood? A femme-fatal who refuses to kill, drowned in dichotomies and characterized by her allegiance ambiguity? Let’s take a look.
Idealist self-esteem is greatest when they see themselves or are seen by others as empathetic in bonding with people in their circle. Idealist’s feel a kind of natural sympathy for man-kind, but they base their self-esteem on the empathy they feel with those people closest to them. To the NFs, even introverted NFs, life is nothing without sensitive personal ties, without shared experiences and intimate attachments. Without rapport so close that consciousness itself seems to be shared. NFs, after all, cannot not be personal, and the health of their relationships is beyond everything else the measure of their self-worth–enhanced when their relationships are deeply connected and vital, and diminished when they are distanced or troubled.
— Please Understand Me II p. 137
Somaly Mam is still saving children.
The Gift
He said softly, “I don’t see the point of us meeting.”
The conversation had essentially ended at that point. It was a complex point. An awkward social moment in time.
Very likely he wouldn’t accept a gift of million dollars.
It was a clopen topic to him; you see, it hadn’t anything to do with Mathematics proper.
The Prize
No, she hasn’t won it, yet.
The prize she has worked for much of her life.
No, not the Nobel Peace Prize.
She finally was able to accept that prize: Saturday, June 16, 2012 in Oslo Norway. She was awarded the prize in 1991, but couldn’t accept personally, she wouldn’t be able to get back into Burma.
The prize she has worked for most of her life is: free speech, democracy, and peace in Burma. However, she says that are still prisoners of conscience, and as long as there is one prisoner of conscience, despite that she has been released, one too many.
No, her work is not done. There is no peace, free speech, and democracy in Burma — but things are progressing, slowly.
She can’t rest on her laurels. But then Aung San Sui Kyi, the Iron Butterfly, Counselor Idealist, Diplomatic Contender, has her eyes firmly focused on the REAL PRIZE, and she will not be turned away from her impossible dream, fame or no fame. She has no a-gati.
Please Understand Me Blog | Iron Butterfly
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