Is it just me or is the crux of this whole middle east problem basically the weather? Too hot. Oh, sure, they've got a couple cold nights and some sandstorms to deal with, but I'm talking about winter: sustained, miserable, relentless cold and snow and ice and wind and dark. And cold.
And wind.
So yeah, some shiftless evildoers sitting around a fire surrounded by a blizzard.
"Hey, let's go kill some ambassadors."
"Too cold. 4-wheel drive isn't working."
"Yeah. Kind of pointless anyway."
Winter gives you time, makes you give time, to put things a bit more in perspective. Sit in front of a cold stove not yet kindled at 4:15 in the morning and you just might hear yourself say, "Maybe I won't murder anyone today."
Yet again, Mother Nature is holding all the cards. And the newspaper and matches. Be quiet and listen. You might even learn something from your dog.
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My dog sez: "What sandal? You mean the one in my cage over there? You can't possibly blame me for that, can you?" But he's so innocent- and honest-looking, he kinda pulls it off. (Which is something puppies can do that people can't.)
One thing I read last year, which was one of those brilliant calls on the obvious, was how the work that everyone does more or less defines the national character. A homesteader sees the world differently than a factory worker than a bureaucrat than a CEO-by-birthright. We'd do better if we understood others' realities more (more on this soon-ish), of course. And valuing different work (or even less work!) might make for a better society, right?
Keif, I had to go on a long walk today. Had to. Dead truck. Anyways, one has a lot of time to think on a non leisurely walk. And I came up with this. I should stop caring much anymore. Takes too much energy, and I don't have any to spare these days. Ironically, I still will. Because I have to take that walk again here shortly to see if I can get the truck to start. This time with the dog.
I was on the cusp of something to reply to an earlier post of yours. Something about how we want some people to feel certain ways about us. For us folks who are mostly sane, we understand that (a) it's ludicrous to expect people to agree with us all the time, to do what we want when we want them to, to hold the exact same things important and so on, being, after all, full individuals who are not ourselves and who have their own priorities, but (b) it's right to expect (or really, to gamble) that people we care about also care about us, and when it comes to what we care about, we hope that they will care about what matters to us through sheer empathy (even if they don't care about those things themselves).
Those sentiments are kind of at odds, and come with some weird and unexpected synergies. (Do we ever know that people care about us? That understanding has got to be both evidence-based and also, since we can't really measure what's in their heads, and because people are always a little inconstant, faith-based.) How those tendencies a and b are sometimes mutually destructive and sometimes harmonious is like the rhythm and chord progression of human drama, I think. Vaguely musical descriptions are intentional: maybe you could take it somewhere interesting.
ANyway, I felt I was almost onto something with that, but didn't get it ready for a reply. (It also starts to seriously encroach on some of my private space. May feel compelled to delete after awhile.)
Good luck with the truck though.
K
Me summing up: I'm going to watch Inception tonight. That should clear some things up.
Also, the outstanding Fresh Air today didn't exactly improve my mood.
Inception is kind of a campy hoot. I am so sad for that diplomat. And I'd like to hit Mitt in the face repeatedly with anything that would wipe the smirk off. I love the Fall here, but oddly I'm wishing for a snowy winter. For the time to think with a nice cup of tea.
What's better,
Inception 2: Wrath of the Dream Weavers
or
The Inceptions: Revenge of the Dream Walkers?
Neither is an acceptable answer.
I should like it if Mitt were not elected.
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