More On Truth, Beauty, and Nakedness

    

 

 

Tucson Weather Today

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Truth that is naked is the most beautiful, and the simpler its expression the deeper is the impression it makes.
--Arthur Schopenhauer

 

Arthur Schopenhauer also said: "There is nothing an author should guard against more than the apparent endeavor to show more intellect than he has; because this rouses the suspicion in the reader that he has very little, since a man always affects something, be its nature what it may, that he does not really possess. And this is why it is praise to an author to call him naive, for it signifies that he may show himself as he is. In general, naivete attracts, while anything that is unnatural everywhere repels. We also find that every true thinker endeavors to express his thoughts as purely, clearly, definitely, and concisely as ever possible. This is why simplicity has always been looked upon as a token, not only of truth, but also of genius. Style receives its beauty from the thought expressed, while with those writers who only pretend to think it is their thoughts that are said to be fine because of their style. Style is merely the silhouette of thought; and to write in a vague or bad style means a stupid or confused mind."

I could not have said it better.

I am not certain that I know what the concept of 'intellect' actually is. When I listen to the conversations (in TV interviews) of supposedly intellectual giants or read the often incomprehensible works of authors of great reknown I am prone to adjudge that my intellect is apparently inferior to those of most of the educated people currently living alongside me on Planet Earth.

But then, after a series of mighty struggles, when to my satisfaction I finally decipher the words of these highly admired worthies, and come to understand what insights they are offering, I find that I usually disagree with their complex conclusions, sometimes wholeheartedly.

Many of their perceptions and judgments are slightly erroneous, others glaringly incorrect, often (in my opinion) being discerned from preconceived notions and beliefs, especially those based on the influence of a misguided acceptance of religious dogma.

Let me say that I agree with some of what Schopenhauer seems  (to me) to be expressing. Such as: There are, first of all, two kinds of authors: those who write for the subject’s sake, and those who write for writing’s sake. The first kind have had thoughts or experiences which seem to them worth communicating, while the second kind need money and consequently write for money.

I must admit though, that much of Schopenhauer's actual (not merely probable) meaning continues to elude me. But as always, I intend to persevere.

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Did You Know . . .?

There is a building in London that reflects the sun so perfectly, it literally melts cars.

(Note: Even I find this hard to believe.)

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1967, The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., led a march of 5,000 antiwar demonstrators in Chicago. In an address to the demonstrators, King declared that the Vietnam War was "a blasphemy against all that America stands for." King first began speaking out against American involvement in Vietnam in the summer of 1965. In addition to his moral objections to the war, he argued that the war diverted money and attention from domestic programs to aid the black poor. He was strongly criticized by other prominent civil rights leaders for attempting to link civil rights and the antiwar movement.

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WORD FOR TODAY

flocculent
adjective
1.  Having a fluffy or woolly appearance.
2.  Chemistry Made up of or containing woolly masses.
3.  Zoology Having a soft, waxy, and wool like covering, as certain insects.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

 

 

Elton Hercules John
(born March 25, 1947)

Elton John is an English singer-songwriter, composer, pianist, record producer, and occasional actor. He has worked with lyricist Bernie Taupin as his songwriter partner since 1967; they have collaborated on more than 30 albums to date. In his five-decade career John has sold more than 300 million records, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world.

Sarah Jessica Parker
(born March 25, 1965)

Sarah Jessica Parker is an American actress. She is known for her leading role as Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO television series Sex and the City (1998–2004). She played the same role in the 2008 feature film based on the show, Sex and the City: The Movie, and in its sequel, Sex and the City 2.

Bonnie Bedelia Culkin
(born March 25, 1948)

Bonnie Bedelia is an American actress known for her roles in the action films Die Hard and Die Hard 2, as well as the courtroom drama Presumed Innocent. She was also nominated for a Golden Globe award for Heart Like a Wheel. As of 2010, she is starring in the NBC series Parenthood.

Gloria Marie Steinem
(born March 25, 1934)

Gloria Steinem is an American feminist, journalist, and social and political activist who became nationally recognized as a leader of, and media spokeswoman for, the women's liberation movement in the late 1960s and 1970s. A prominent writer and key counterculture era political figure, Steinem has founded many organizations and projects and has been the recipient of many awards and honors. She was a columnist for New York magazine and co-founded Ms. magazine.

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Intellect is invisible to the man who has none.
--Arthur Schopenhauer

NASA TV

This Is Who I Am

    

Today Is Good Friday, I'm Told

     

Tucson Weather Today

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So, once again We The People are being deluged by Religious Organizations, Retail Outlets, and The Mass Media with the idea that today is Good Friday and thus is a special day, a Holy Day.

Good Friday is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of Passover. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, or Black Friday.

And to celebrate the cruel crucifixion of Jesus Christ, Christians are persuaded to buy overpriced sugar-filled Candy Easter Eggs for their kids and expensive, glittery gilded Greeting Cards to send to family and friends.

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What do these two women have in common?

If you don't know, just ask me and I'll tell you.


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Historical Incident

On  March 29, 1973 the U.S. withdrew from Vietnam

Two months after the signing of the Vietnam peace agreement, the last U.S. combat troops left South Vietnam as Hanoi frees the remaining American prisoners of war held in North Vietnam. America's direct eight-year intervention in the Vietnam War was at an end.

The Vietnam War was the longest and most unpopular foreign war in U.S. history and cost 58,000 American lives. As many as two million Vietnamese soldiers and civilians were killed.

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WORD FOR TODAY

hypocrisy
noun
The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess.

Hypocrisy is the state of promoting or trying to enforce standards, attitudes, lifestyles, virtues, beliefs, principles, etc., that one does not actually hold.

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BORN ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY


Marina Sirtis

 

 Born Mar 29, 1955
Age:   57 years old

Marina Sirtis is a British-American actress. She is best known for her role as Counselor Deanna Troi on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the four feature films that followed.

Eric Idle

 

 Born Mar 29, 1943
Age:   69 years old

Eric Idle is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, writer and comedic composer. Idle was a member of the British surreal comedy group Monty Python, a member of the Rutles on Saturday Night Live, and the author of the Broadway musical Spamalot.

Lucy Lawless

 

 Born Mar 29, 1968
Age:   44 years old

Lucy Lawless (born Lucille Frances Ryan) is a New Zealand actress and musician best known for playing the title character of the internationally successful television series Xena: Warrior Princess.

She is also widely known for her role, D'Anna Biers/Number Three (Cylon), on the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica. Most recently she appeared on the television series Spartacus: Blood and Sand, its prequel Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, and Spartacus: Vengeance. She plays the major character Lucretia.

Elle Macpherson

 

 Born Mar 29, 1964
Age:   48 years old

Elle Macpherson is an Australian businesswoman, television host, model, and actress. She is well known for her record five cover appearances for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue beginning in the 1980s, leading to her nickname "The Body". She is also known as the founder primary model and creative director for a series of business ventures, including Elle Macpherson Intimates, a lingerie line, and The Body, a line of skin care products.

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"The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one."
--Roger Allen LaPorte

Note: Roger Allen LaPorte is best known as a protester of the Vietnam War who set himself on fire in front of the United Nations building in New York City on November 9, 1965, to protest the United States involvement in the war.

In front of the Dag Hammarskjold Library at the United Nations in New York, he composed himself in the position of the Buddhist monks who had immolated themselves in Vietnam earlier, doused himself with gasoline, and set himself aflame.

La Porte died the next day from second and third degree burns covering 95 percent of his body. Despite his burns, he remained conscious and able to speak. When asked why he had burned himself, La Porte calmly replied, "I'm a Catholic Worker. I'm against war, all wars. I did this as a religious action."