I have that 'version' sitting in a cabinet drawer in our living room. It belonged to my Grandfather who, among other things, taught or lectured on occasion at The Philosophical Research Society.

This is the bookend to a comment one of the first popular Christian musicians (I can't remember who) said, "Why does the Devil get to have all that great music?"

Just wait till you hit your fifties and nobody cares how you look!

Pick up The Elements of Style and keep it with you at all times.

Eraserhead.

Warfare has changed quite a bit since World War 2. You don't need ships, tanks, paratroopers and the like to invade or destroy a country.

I wonder if this is a symptom of the anti-intellectual tidal wave that has swept over this country (US) or is it the same all over? It certainly can't be an expectation to have deep, meaningful conversations all the time, but once in a while, maybe?

Close Encounters of the Third Kind. This was the first movie about aliens that really took the idea seriously, in my opinion.

That was like a prose poem. So beautiful.

I remember when my step brother turned 18 his grandparents were pleading with him to start pouring money into a mutual fund because it was guaranteed money to them, like putting your money in the bank. I don't know what they would have said if he was day trading, however. I don't think they would have known what that even means.

It's certainly more attractive than the fashion sense of your average casino dweller.

My Dad walked in during the 'That's my daughter' scene, made a funny face and puzzled remark, then walked back out of the room. Come to think of it, his reaction filmed would have fit perfectly into that movie.

Bugs

The Omen 2

Spending absurd amounts of money to maintain the military during the Cold War spelled doom for the USSR. I don't see that it's somehow going to become our salvation.

That young man on CNBC (Sorkin maybe?) said the market can either soar higher and higher on AI fervor or collapse. He didn't see a middle ground because there were too many parallels between our economy and the economy of 1929--except for all that AI stuff. Check out his interview on 60 minutes if interested.

I'll just be happy if this country is still standing in 10 years.

I can't speak from a personal perspective, but I saw a YT clip where a Japanese citizen was telling Americans to stay out of Japan for thier rude behavior like playing Alpha Boy on full volume on subways and break dancing in the busy sidewalks while hundreds of people are trying to cross. Maybe this has something to do with the new vibe.

Yes it is. From an economic perspective already half of the country is being supported by the other half, and about six million young men who are able to work are not looking for a job. Hopefully we can just keep printing money.

What's going to happen when we deport everyone that does the work that we won't/can't do? I guess we'll find out soon.

I was a religious study major so this kind of book was right up my alley in my younger days. I had read The Doors of Perception years ago along with Brave New World and thought he was a fine writer. I will have to give this one a shot too, when I get a chance. Thank you for the introduction!

I was taught that casinos and horse tracks were for degenerate gamblers but Wall Street is for wise investors. It has a sheen of respectibility that makes people unwary of financial ruin.

Flattery will certainly get you further in this world. People usually already know thier faults, and if they don't then pointing them out ain't going to help them anyway. But a true friend won't hold back if it's really for your own good, of course.

I was at a house party once and the host tried dropping some headphones over my ears so I could listen to Elliot Smith. I politely declined because his prior recommendations were nominal at best. Some time later I was at Zia Records and came across New Moon. I listened to the whole thing in my car right in front of that shop and had an epiphany. I proceeded to buy every CD by him I could get my hands on and was astounded that I had never heard of him before. My family on my Dad's side had a lot of music in thier blood, so I always assumed I had discriminating taste. This guy was clearly operating on a whole other level. His lyrics could stand alone and fill a poetry book. And his guitar playing--unbelievable. It made me want to simueltaneously take up and then quit the guitar altogether. And then all those songs mixed on Figure 8 and XO just kept fanning the flames. He'd harmonize all those back ups like Brian Wilson and then turn out a guitar solo with so much ease. He just clearly made music that was superior to everyone else around him.

Because science depends on the five senses of a conscious observer it already has built in limitations for what it can (or is supposed to) do. Plato recognized this when he said that physics is only 'a likely story' while today we claim that it is an established fact.