A Thing Of Beauty is . . .

     

Tucson Weather Today

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Beauty of whatever kind, in its supreme development, invariably excites the sensitive soul to tears.
--Edgar Allan Poe

It is often said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I think that this might be a profoundly true statement.

The picture below and its actual location have each been breathlessly described as being "beautiful."

Arlington National Cemetery

I see no beauty in it.

And . . .

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir

I can neither see nor hear the widely professed beauty of it.

I understand both of the above representations as being merely cleverly manipulated interchanges of streaming photons and atmospheric vibrations crafted by similarly manipulated compounds acting upon natural interactions within hidden depths of human chemistry.

Does this indicate that I am lacking something in the human experience?

Probably.

(shrug)

Although, I seem to sense some sinister beauty in . . .

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Did You Know . . .?

The practice of daily shampooing wasn't a norm in the U.S. until the 1970s and 1980s.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 2002, Russian Tupolev 154 collided in midair with a Boeing 757 cargo plane over southern Germany. The 69 passengers and crew on the Russian plane and the two-person cargo crew were all killed. The collision occurred even though each plane had TCAS (Traffic Collision Avoidance System) collision-avoidance equipment onboard and everything functioned correctly. The Bashkirian Airlines plane was carrying 45 young students from Russia to a resort near Barcelona in Spain for a summer vacation. DHL International, the express delivery company, owned the cargo jet, which was headed from Bahrain to Brussels.

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WORD FOR TODAY

beauty
noun
1. the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind.
2. a beautiful person, especially a woman.
3. a beautiful thing, as a work of art or a building.
4. an individually pleasing or beautiful quality; grace; charm.

Beauty is a characteristic of a person, animal, place, object, or idea that provides a perceptual experience of pleasure or satisfaction.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd

(born July 1, 1952)

Dan Aykroyd is a Canadian actor, comedian screenwriter and singer. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers (with John Belushi) and Ghostbusters, and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.

Leslie Claire Margaret Caron

(born 1 July 1931)

Leslie Caron is a French film actress and dancer who appeared in 45 films between 1951 and 2003. Caron is best known for the musical films An American in Paris (1951), Lili (1953), Daddy Long Legs (1955), Gigi (1958), and for the non-musical films Fanny (1961), The L-Shaped Room (1962), and Father Goose (1964). Her autobiography Thank Heaven, was published in 2010 in the UK and US, and in 2011 in a French version.

Jamie Farr

(born July 1, 1934)

Jamie Farr is an American television, film, and theater actor. He is best known for having played the role of cross-dressing Corporal (later Sergeant) Maxwell Q. Klinger in the CBS television sitcom M*A*S*H.

Pamela Denise Anderson

(born July 1, 1967)

Pamela Anderson is a Canadian-American actress. In addition to her acting career, she is also a model, producer, author, activist, and former showgirl, known for her roles on the television series Home Improvement, Baywatch, and V.I.P. She was chosen as a Playmate of the Month for Playboy magazine in February 1990.

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Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.
--Confucius

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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

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Beauty Abounds

Tucson Weather Today

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177 pounds

While walking West on the sidewalk alongside Speedway Boulevard I encountered a still young but nearing middle-age blond lady with an extremely attractive face, trim athlete's body, and a long, free-flowing ponytail. She was someone I had said "Hi" to several times in passing, a seemingly happy, smiling woman who was usually breezing along at a brisk clip, evidently running  for her health.

But this time she was walking slowly, and appeared to be limping a bit. Being the enquiring (nosy) fellow that I am, I stopped and asked if she was all right. She said she was and that she had just fallen a moment ago and had bruised her knee and hit her chin on the concrete. She told me thanks for asking but she couldn't spare any of her time for self-pity because she was training for an upcoming race.

I wished  her all the best in that upcoming race, and we went our separate ways, each at our self-appointed pace.


Farther along to the West I spotted a flowering cactus pair that begged for me to photograph them.

So I did.

Scene In The 8,000 Block Of Speedway Boulevard

Tucson, Arizona   March 2014

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We had some excitement here at Toscana Cove Apartments; we had a fire that did quite a bit of damage to building 10, the building right across from where I live. The fire broke out in a single apartment but (according to what the manager told me) eighteen units were rendered temporarily unlivable (smoke damage, etc.) -- the residents were temporarily moved to other units.

Some of the fire-damaged apartments

Here is some more information on and photos of the fire.

Fire Department

If I get any more information I will be sure to reveal it in a future entry.

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Did You Know . . .?

Government vehicles in Cuba are legally required to pick up any hitchhikers.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1945, the commander of the German Home Army, Gen. Friedrich Fromm, was shot by a firing squad for his part in the July plot to assassinate the Fuhrer. Many high-ranking German officials had made up their minds that Hitler must die. He was leading Germany in a suicidal war on two fronts, and they believed that assassination was the only way to stop him.

Fromm's last-ditch effort to distance himself from the plot failed. Fromm was arrested. In February 1945, and he was tried before the People's Court and denigrated for his cowardice in refusing to stand up to the plotters. But he was spared the worst punishment afforded convicted conspirators -- strangulation on a meat hook. He was shot by a firing squad on March 19.

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WORD FOR TODAY

beauty [byoo-tee]
noun
something that is beautiful in nature or in some natural or artificial environment.

Beauty is a characteristic of a person, animal, place, object, or idea that provides a perceptual experience of pleasure or satisfaction. Beauty is studied as part of aesthetics, sociology, social psychology, and culture. An "ideal beauty" is an entity which is admired, or possesses features widely attributed to beauty in a particular culture, for perfection.
--Wikipedia

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Walter Bruce Willis

(born March 19, 1955)

Bruce Willis is an American actor, producer, and singer. His career began on the Off-Broadway stage and then in television in the 1980s, most notably as David Addison in Moonlighting (1985-89) and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles. Probably best known for his role of John McClane in the Die Hard series. He has also appeared in over sixty films, including the box office hits, Pulp Fiction (1994), 12 Monkeys (1995), The Fifth Element (1997), Armageddon (1998), The Sixth Sense (1999), Unbreakable (2000), and Sin City (2005).

Glenn Close

(born March 19, 1947)

Glenn Close is an American film, television and stage actress. Close began her professional stage career in 1974 in Love for Love, and was in The World According to Garp (1982), which she followed up with supporting roles in The Big Chill (1983), and The Natural (1984). She would later receive nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress in Fatal Attraction (1987), Dangerous Liaisons (1988), and Albert Nobbs (2011). Since 2005, she has been known for her television roles in The Shield and as Patty Hewes in the FX TV series Damages.

Phyllis Newman

(born March 19, 1933)

Phyllis Newman is an American actress and singer. She guest starred in an episode of Beverly Garland's groundbreaking crime drama, Decoy. She was then cast in 1960 as Doris Hudson in the CBS summer replacement series Diagnosis: Unknown. Newman became a major television celebrity of the 1960s and 1970s, a frequent panelist on the top-rated network game shows What's My Line?, Match Game, and To Tell the Truth and a perennial guest of Johnny Carson's on NBC's The Tonight Show.

Newman created the role of Rene Buchanan on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live and was a regular on the primetime series 100 Centre Street and the NBC satirical series That Was The Week That Was. Other television credits include The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Burke's Law, ABC Stage 67, thirtysomething, Murder, She Wrote, The Wild Wild West, and Coming of Age. On screen, she appeared in Bye Bye Braverman, The Beautician and the Beast, A Price Above Rubies, Mannequin (1987), and The Human Stain.

Ursula Andress

(born March 19, 1936)

Ursula Andress is a Swiss-American actress and sex symbol of the 1960s. She is known for her role as Bond girl Honey Rider in the first James Bond film, Dr. No (1962), for which she won a Golden Globe. She later starred as Vesper Lynd in the Bond-parody Casino Royale (1967).

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Beauty of whatever kind, in its supreme development, invariably excites the sensitive soul to tears.
--Edgar Allan Poe

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A Few Incosequential Facts

     

Tucson Weather Today

____________________

I do not own a cell phone... -- I don't want a cell phone. I do not own an Ipod... -- I don't want an Ipod. I do not own a microwave oven. . . -- I don't want a microwave oven.

Today is the first day of Kwanzaa, a made-up African-American holiday created in the 1960s and called a harvest festival.

The old proverb, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" is so true, in my studied opinion. A PBS documentary titled Christmas In Yellowstone contains (too) many instances of the narrator describing mountainous panoramas as beautiful, but they did not strike me as being beautiful at all. They appeared to me, not as beautiful landscapes, but as strange and somewhat scary geological formations transformed from instant to instant by random meteorological meanderings of winds and weather.

That's all.

Towering Gothic cathedrals? Not beautiful, but simply a foolish waste of time, effort, and wealth.

Beauty, however, most certainly does exist.

There Is A Deep Beauty In Jennifer Aniston's Smile

I still can't figure out why the word 'either' is pronounced both 'ee-thur' and 'eye-thur.' And the two of them are, it seems to me, the only 'ei' words that use the 'eye' sound.


It is so interesting  to me to watch TV reruns of some of the more popular shows, such as The Big Bang Theory. After the third of fourth time, I no longer have to concentrate on the story line to enjoy the episode and can merely laugh at the funniest jokes and comedic responses while my attention is actually riveted on the overly subdued actions and necessarily bland physical features of the bit part players in the background -- especially the women. who are almost always trim and fit looking, and usually quite attractive. And I think about each of those actors who probably have high hopes of getting ahead in the acting business. I admit that I sometimes muse upon their relative successes and failures, and often even going to the trouble of creating fictional mini-stories wherein they find success in obtaining parts for themselves in the future.


Yes, I know I am one of the weird folk. I've been told that nearly all my life.

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Did You Know . . .?

The worst volcanic disaster of the 20th century was the eruption of Mount Pelée in 1902 on the island of Martinique. It killed 30,000 people.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1972, former President Harry S. Truman died in Independence, Missouri.

Truman, the son of a farmer, he could not afford to go to college, so he too worked as a farmer before joining the army in 1916 to fight in World War I. After the war, Truman opened a haberdashery in Kansas City. When that business went bankrupt in 1922, he entered Missouri politics.

Truman went on to serve in the U.S. Senate from 1934 until he was chosen as Franklin D. Roosevelt's fourth vice president in 1945; it was during his Senate terms that he became known for his honesty and integrity.

Upon FDR's death Truman became the 33rd president of the United States, assuming the role of commander in chief of a country still embroiled in World War II. Just four months into his tenure, Truman authorized the dropping of two atomic bombs on Japan in August 1945. The use of the new weapon, dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in early August, succeeded in forcing Japan's surrender.

Truman served as president for two terms from 1945 to 1953, when he and his wife Bess happily retired to Independence.

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WORD FOR TODAY

trope
noun
a figurative or metaphorical use of a word or expression

A literary trope is the use of figurative language. For example, the sitting United States administration might be referred to as "Washington". Since the 1970s, the word has also come to mean a commonly recurring literary device, motif, or cliché.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Stephen Valentine Patrick William "Steve" Allen

(Dec 26, 1921 - Oct 30, 2000)

Steve Allen was an American TV personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer. He first gained national attention as a guest host on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. He become the first host of The Tonight Show, where he was instrumental in innovating the concept of the television talk show. Thereafter, he hosted numerous game and variety shows, including The Steve Allen Show, I've Got a Secret, The New Steve Allen Show, and was a regular panel member on CBS' What's My Line?

Sandra Taylor

(born December 26, 1966)

Sandra Taylor  is an American model and actress. Taylor landed her first feature film with Garry Marshall, Exit to Eden. She was approached by Hugh Hefner to appear on the cover and in a feature pictorial in the July 1995 edition of Playboy, promoting her appearance in the movie Under Siege 2: Dark Territory in which she played a train bartender. She went on to star in films such as Batman & Robin, L.A. Confidential, The Princess Diaries and The Princess Diaries 2, Tomcats, Keeping Up with the Steins, Runaway Bride, and Raising Helen.

Sandra appeared in the Warner Brothers films Valentine's Day playing opposite Eric Dane and Ashton Kutcher, and in New Year's Eve starring opposite Josh Duhamel and Michelle Pfieffer. She has also appeared in episodes of the television series Married... with Children, ER, The King of Queens and Just Shoot Me!.

Alan King

(Dec 26, 1927 - May 9, 2004)

Alan King was an American actor and comedian known for his biting wit and often angry humorous rants. King became well known as a Jewish comedian and satirist. He was also a serious actor who appeared in a number of movies and television shows. King wrote several books, produced films, and appeared in plays. In later years, he helped many philanthropic causes.

King, who smoked cigars (a fact that came up in his routines from time to time), died at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan on May 9, 2004, from lung cancer

Eden Rebecca Sher

(born December 26, 1991)

Eden Sher is an American actress . Sher has been acting since she was eight years old. She has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the short film Stuck, and ads for Capital One and Fruity Pebbles. She had the recurring role of Gretchen in the second season of the Showtime series Weeds. She is also known for her role as Carrie Fenton in the television series Sons and Daughters.

As of 2009 Sher starred in ABC comedy series The Middle as Sue Heck - a dorky, quirky, ever-hopeful teenager. In 2013 she has won Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Comedy Supporting Actress for her role in The Middle

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"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
--Oscar Wilde

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The Evil Of Catholicism

 

    

Tucson Weather Today

 

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The movie I forced myself to  yesterday was The Exorcism Of Emily Rose. Back in the mid-1970s I had viewed the original movie titled The Exorcist written by William Peter Blatty and it simply scared the Bee-Jesus out of me, I swore to myself that I would never watch such crap designed to stir up primal fears again. But now I've gone ahead and done it anyway.

This latest exorcist story was more of a  courtroom drama and, as such, wasn't as viscerally terrifying as the first but I still wish I hadn't watch it. Movies such as these, blindly accepting faith in nonsensical religious quackery, only strengthen my aversion (my abhorrence) to The Catholic Church. After witnessing such downright charlatanism, such blatant perversion of logic and reason, I knew that I needed something beautiful and good to wipe away the stains of superstitious claptrap, to help cleanse my inner self... so I searched the Internet and found just what did the trick.

A picture of Mila Kunis

 

Such a lovely young woman

 

Here is another

 

 

I think it would be a good idea for me to search out a large picture of Mila to use as wallpaper for my computer monitor.

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TRIVIA

A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

 

On this day in 1973, future President Jimmy Carter filed a report with the National Investigations Committee on Aerial  Phenomena (NICAP), claiming he had seen an Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) in October 1969.

During the presidential campaign of 1976, Democratic challenger Carter was forthcoming about his belief that he had seen a UFO. He described waiting outside for a Lion's Club Meeting in Leary, Georgia, to begin, at about 7:30 p.m., when he spotted what he called "the darndest thing I've ever seen" in the sky. Carter, as well as 10 to 12 other people who witnessed the same event, described the object as "very bright with changing colors and about the size of the moon." Carter reported that "the object hovered about 30 degrees above the horizon and moved in toward the earth and away before disappearing into the distance." He later told a reporter that, after the experience, he vowed never again to ridicule anyone who claimed to have seen a UFO.

During the presidential campaign of 1976, Carter promised that, if elected president, he would encourage the government release "every piece of information" about UFOs available to the public and to scientists. After winning the presidency, though, Carter backed away from this pledge, saying that the release of some information might have "defense implications" and pose a threat to national security.

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WORD FOR TODAY

Catholicism
noun
The faith, practice, and church order of the Roman Catholic Church.

Catholicism is a broad term for describing specific traditions in the Christian churches in theology and doctrine, liturgy, ethics and spirituality. For many the term usually refers to Christians and churches, western and eastern, in full communion with the Holy See, usually known as the Catholic Church or the Roman Catholic Church.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

James Joseph Gandolfini, Jr
(Sept 18, 1961 - June 19, 2013)

James Gandolfini was an American actor best known for his role in The Sopranos as Tony Soprano, a troubled crime boss struggling to balance his family life and career in the Mafia. Gandolfini garnered enormous praise for this portrayal, winning three Emmy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards and two Golden Globes for Best Actor – Drama Series as well as two further SAG Awards as a member of the series' ensemble. Gandolfini's other roles include the woman-beating Mob henchman Virgil in True Romance, enforcer/stuntman Bear in Get Shorty, and the impulsive Wild Thing Carol in Where the Wild Things Are.

Jada Koren Pinkett Smith
(born September 18, 1971)

Jada Pinkett Smith is an American actress, singer-songwriter, and businesswoman. She began her career in 1990, when she made a guest appearance in the short-lived sitcom True Colors. She starred in A Different World, produced by Bill Cosby, and she featured opposite Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor (1996). She starred in dramatic films such as Menace II Society (1993) and Set It Off (1996). She has appeared in more than 20 films in a variety of genres, including Scream 2, Ali, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Madagascar, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted.

Frankie Avalon
(born September 18, 1940)

Frankie Avalon is an American actor, singer, playwright, and former teen idol. Teamed frequently with Annette Funicello, Avalon starred in a number of popular "beach party" comedy films during the mid-1960s. The wholesome and romantic coupling of "Frankie and Annette" in summer movies such as Beach Party and Beach Blanket Bingo became iconic figures in American films during that era.

Avalon also had straight dramatic parts in the John Wayne historical western film The Alamo, as well as the science-fiction story Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961) with Barbara Eden.

Aisha Tyler
(born September 18, 1970)

Aisha Tyler is an American actress, comedian, and author, known for her regular role as Andrea Marino in the first season of Ghost Whisperer and voicing Lana Kane in Archer, as well as her recurring roles in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Talk Soup, and on Friends as Charlie Wheeler. She is currently a co-host of The Talk and the new host of Whose Line is it Anyway?.

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"I can't bear Catholicism."
--George Michael

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A Question of Truth

I have read that an author of serious fiction should always tell the truth in stories. But I don't know what that means. And the practice of embellishing a character in a story so as to present a 'larger truth' is ludicrous. I'm laughing at the thought.

The ancient question, "What is truth?" remains always unanswered satisfactorily, and the notion that Truth is a synonym for Beauty is as meaningless as saying "Religion is Crap, Crap Religion."

It would seem that my former cynicism has returned.

Portraying a 'fictional' story character truthfully is oxymoronic and can only be accomplished when the character is the author. And even then, recognizing and understanding the 'truth' in one's self is probably impossible due to instinctive narcissistic bias. We are not what we subjectively believe ourselves to be.

You are not.

I am not.

Yet, good fiction is so wonderfully true to life.

Right?