Introduction to the Art of Thinking and the Nature of Things: Part Third

Henry Home, Lord Kames (1696-1782), judge and writer of the Scottish Enlightenment, laid down a series of still-relevant aphorisms that were first published in 1761. 

One of the most important accomplishments of Kames' career was helping decide a case that, in effect, banned slavery in Scotland for all time -- while American leaders conducted a "War of Independence" that kept the institution of slavery intact. Shall we admit that this Scotsman was a wise person, indeed? 

Here are some selections from Henry Home's Introduction to the Art of Thinking (1761). Page references are to an American edition published in New York City in 1818 by "W.B. Qilly." The only modernization requested for the 21st century might be to substitute, in most cases, person for man and humanity for mankind. Not bad for a 255-year old tract.

He must be imprudent indeed who makes his physician his heir. (p. 75)

Speak not ill of an enemy: it will be ascribed to prejudice, not truth. (p. 76)

One must be acquainted with his failings before he can think of a remedy; but concealing them from others is a step toward concealing them from ourselves. A habit of sincerity in acknowledging faults, is a guard against committing them. (p. 77)

To gain knowledge of ourselves, the best way is to convert the imperfections of others into a mirror for discovering our own. We may learn as much from the faults of our friends as from their instructions. (p. 78)

Subdue your restless temper that leads you to aim at preeminence in every little circumstance: like many other passions, it obstructs its own end; instead of gaining respect, it renders you a most disagreeable companion. (p. 79)

Apply yourself more to acquire knowledge, than to show it. Men commonly take great pains to put off the little stock they have; but they take little pains to acquire more. (p. 79)

Yield to reason from whatever quarter. (p. 81)

Difference in opinion is no less natural than difference in look: it is at the same time the very salt of conversation. Why then should we be offended at those who think differently from us? (p. 81)

It is as gross ingratitude to publish the favours of a mistress, as to conceal those of a friend. (p. 82)

He makes but a half denial who denies quickly. (p. 84)

All are idolaters, some of glory, some of interest, some of love: the art is to find out the idol. This is the master key to the heart. (p. 86)

A right-turned mind will choose the company of free spirits . . . (p. 86)

The great error in conversation is, to be fonder of speaking than of hearing. (p. 88)

We make so disagreeable and ridiculous a figure with the monosyllable ‘I did, I said,’ that it were better to forswear it altogether. (p. 88)

He who cannot bear a jest, ought never to make one. (p. 90)

Labour to unite in thyself the scattered perfections of the several nations thou travellest among. (p. 90)

Civility is not so slight a matter as it is commonly thought: it is a duty we owe to others as well to ourselves (p. 92)

There are three stages of life, the present, the past, and the future. The present is momentary, the future dubious, the past only certain. It [the past] is lost to the busy, who have no time to look back; and to the wicked who have no inclination (pp. 92-93)

The avaricious have no enjoyment of what they retain: the liberal enjoy even what they give away. (p. 96)

We should bear with patience a small evil, when it is connected with a greater good. (p. 96)

Poverty wants much, avarice everything. Money is a useful servant but a most tyrannical master. (p. 97)

To have your enemy in your power, and yet to do him good, is the greatest heroism (p. 101)

The gratification of our wishes is often dangerous. (p. 208) 

Today's Rune: Fertility. 

Introduction to the Art of Thinking and the Nature of Things: Part Second

Henry Home, Lord Kames (1696-1782), judge and writer of the Scottish Enlightenment, laid down a series of still-relevant aphorisms that were first published in 1761. 

One of the most important accomplishments of Kames' career was helping decide a case that, in effect, banned slavery in Scotland for all time -- while American leaders conducted a "War of Independence" that kept the institution of slavery intact. Shall we admit that this Scotsman was a wise person, indeed? 

Here are some selections from Henry Home's Introduction to the Art of Thinking (1761). Page references are to an American edition published in New York City in 1818 by "W.B. Qilly." The only modernization requested for the 21st century might be to substitute, in most cases, person for man and humanity for mankind. Not bad for a 255-year old tract.

Our enemies approach nearer truth in the judgment they form of us, than we ourselves do. (p. 47)

The coward reckons himself cautious, the miser frugal. (p. 47)

Men generally put a greater value upon the favours they bestow, than upon those they receive.  (p. 48)

None are more loath to take a jest, than they who are the most forward to bestow it. (p. 48)

We take less pains to be virtuous, than to persuade the world that we are. (p. 49)

Nothing so uncertain as general reputation. A man injures me from humour, passion, or interest; hates me because he has injured me; and speaks ill of me because he hates me. (p. 50)

Many shining actions owe their success to chance, though the general or statesman runs away with the applause. (p. 50)

He who is puffed up with the first gale of prosperity, will bend beneath the first blast of adversity. Bear adversity, that you may learn to bear prosperity. Adversity never distressed any one, whom prosperity did not blind. (p. 50)

Seldom would we desire with ardour, were we thoroughly acquainted with what we desire. (p. 51)

Who is allowed more liberty than is reasonable, will desire more than is allowed. (p. 51)

It is not what we possess that makes us happy, but what we enjoy. (p. 52)

There is no such fop as my young master of his lady-mother's making. She blows him up with self-conceit, and there he stops. She makes a man of him at twelve, and a boy all his life after. (p. 57)

Let not the pomp that surrounds the great dazzle your understanding. The prince, so magnificent in the splendour of a court, appears behind the curtain but a common man. Irresolution and care haunt him as much as another; and fear lays hold of him in the midst of his guards. (p. 58)

Leisure and solitude, the most valuable blessings that riches can procure, are avoided by the opulent, who, weary of themselves fly to company and business for relief. Where, then, lies the advantage of riches over poverty? (p. 59)

The admiration bestowed on former times, is the bias of all times: the golden age never was the present age. (p. 62)

Such is the power of imagination, that even a chimerical pleasure in expectation, affects us more than a solid pleasure in possession. (p. 62)

A word dropt [dropped] by chance from your friend offends your delicacy. Avoid a hasty reply; and beware of opening your discontent to the first person you meet. When you are cool, it will vanish, and leave no impression. (p. 71)

Luxury possibly may contribute to give bread to the poor; but if there were no luxury, there would be no poor. (p. 72)

In prosperity remember adversity; and in adversity forget not prosperity. (p. 73)

Matters of great importance and of very small, ought to be dispatched at present. (p. 50)

Trust not to others what you can do yourself. (p. 50)

Today's Rune: Journey. 

Introduction to the Art of Thinking and the Nature of Things

Henry Home, Lord Kames (1696-1782), judge and writer of the Scottish Enlightenment, laid down a series of still-relevant aphorisms that were first published in 1761. 

One of the most important accomplishments of Kames' career was helping decide a case that, in effect, banned slavery in Scotland for all time -- while American leaders conducted a "War of Independence" that kept the institution of slavery intact. Shall we admit that this Scotsman was a wise person, indeed? 

Here are some selections from Henry Home's Introduction to the Art of Thinking (1761). Page references are to an American edition published in New York City in 1818 by "W.B. Qilly." The only modernization requested for the 21st century might be to substitute, in most cases, person for man and humanity for mankind. Not bad for a 255-year old tract. Note: "chicaning" is the verb form of "chicanery." 

Mankind, through all ages, have been the same: The first times beheld first the present vices.  (p. 25)

So fond of liberty is man, that to restrain him from any thing, however indifferent, is sufficient to make that thing an object of desire. (p. 26)

It is more tolerable to be always alone, than never to be so. (p. 26)

So prone is man to society, and so happy in it, that, to relish perpetual solitude, one must be an angel or a brute. (p. 26)

A man is more unhappy in reproaching himself when guilty, than in being reproached by others when innocent. (p. 27)

Seldom is a man so wicked but he will endeavor to reconcile if possible, his actions with his duty. But such chicaning will not lay his conscience asleep: It will notwithstanding haunt him like a ghost, and frighten him out of his wits. (p 27)

Happiness is less valued when we possess it, than when we have lost it. (p. 28)

The pains of the mind are harder to bear than those of the body. (p. 28)

Our opinions are swayed more by feeling than by argument. (p. 29)

Every man esteems his own misfortune the greatest. (p.29)

The present misfortune is always deemed the greatest : and therefore small causes are sufficient to make a man uneasy, when great ones are not in the way.  (p. 29)

That reason which is favourable to our desires, appears always the best. (p. 30)

Change of condition begets new passions, and consequently new opinions. (p. 30)

It is idle, as well as absurd, to impose our opinions upon others. The same ground of conviction operates differently on the same man in different circumstances, and on different men in the same circumstances. (p. 30)

A new sorrow recalls all the former. (p. 31)

Men are governed by custom. Not one of a thousand thinks for himself; and the few who are emancipated, dare not act up to their freedom, for fear of being thought whimsical. (p. 32)

A man intimately acquainted with the nature of things, has seldom occasion to be astonished. (p. 33)

Men of a fearful temper are prone to suspicion and cruelty. Fear begets apprehension, the parent of suspicion; and suspicion begets hatred and revenge. (p. 33)

He must fear many whom many fear. (p 34)

It betokens as great a soul to be capable of owning a fault, as to be incapable of committing it. (p 35)

Whoever appears to have much cunning, has in reality very little; being deficient in the essential article, which is, to hide cunning. (p. 36)

If a man could at once accomplish all his desires, he would be a miserable creature; for the chief pleasure of this life is to wish and desire. (p. 36)

None are so invincible as your half-witted people: They know just enough to excite their pride, not enough to cure it. (p. 36)

The same littleness of soul that makes a man despise inferiors, and trample on them, makes him abjectly obsequious to superiors. (p. 37)

A man who gives his children a habit of industry, provides for them better than by giving them a stock of money. (p. 40)

Breach of friendship begets the bitterest enmity. (p. 43)

The young are slaves to novelty, the old to custom. (p. 44)

No preacher is so successful as time. It gives a turn of thought to the aged, which it was impossible to inspire while they were young. (p 44)

Unmarried men are the best friends, the best masters, the best servants, but not always the best subjects. (p. 44)

Today's Rune: Growth.

  

Power Points: Sortie Into Hillsborough, North Carolina (Take II)

Ever noticed how places that are "power points" are intensifiers for both good and bad? Hillsborough, North Carolina, for instance, has a lot of wonderful things going for it. But there is and always has been crazy stuff going on there, too. It seems the same with all power points that I've ever visited. Hot Springs, Arkansas, percolates with such things, for instance. Greensboro, North Carolina. Detroit. New Orleans. Philadelphia. Findhorn, Scotland. And so on. 

The Colonial Inn, Hillsborough, on King Street: I used to go here with family and friends to share special celebratory meals, the kind where a wide variety of dishes are put on the table and you graze at will. It was a wonderful place. 

The Colonial Inn sign, faded now but you can still make it out, boasts "Since 1759."  Maybe there was an inn or tavern here then and during the American Revolution. The core of this Colonial Inn, however, was actually built in 1838.  It has been called Spencer's Tavern, the Occaneechie  (aka Occoneechie) Hotel and the Corbinton Inn. The interior eatery that I became familiar with began operations after World War Two, and ended before the turn of the latest century.

What happened? Apparently, a bad citizen, a demented miscreant of some kind, purchased the property more than a decade ago and has since let it rot in place. He won't fix it and he won't sell it, either. What a disgrace! Here's an instance where local authorities ought to seize the property and turn it over to someone who will restore its integrity, help it come alive again, and put the reprobated citizen in stocks on the courthouse square for a day so people can throw eggs at him (kidding -- maybe). Something must be done or the Colonial Inn will be lost forever. Use it or lose it!

Today's Rune: Signals. 

  

Skyfall

Fifty years and still running, the contemporary epic myth of 007 continues. James Bond, the Achilles of the here, the now and the recent past: from JFK to Barack Obama and way on down the road.

Skyfall is the best so far of the the Daniel Craig era Bond films. Beyond a large budget, Skyfall has many assets propelling it forward. Director Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Jarhead, Revolutionary Road). Craig as Bond. Javier Bardem. Judi Dench. Ralph Fiennes. Naomie Harris. Bérénice Lim Marlohe. Albert Finney. Istanbul. Shanghai. Macau. London. Scotland. Title song by Adele. Traditional Bond theme saluting back to the Sean Connery era. Clone of the Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger (1964/1965), which I first saw as a little kid at the New York World's Fair. Oh, yes. What's not to dig?
    

Today's Rune: Defense.

Theatre of the Absurd

This scan of a clipping advertising Slava Tsukerman's Liquid Sky (1982) triggers memories that had been buried under the sediment of later experiences. Liquid Sky really took off in 1983, right around the time I began working in the small offices of Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, attached to the building in which was housed the Chapel Hill Newspaper -- published by the tyrannical Orville Campbell and his fretful crew.

Oddball characters were always coming and going from Algonquin Books, anything from authors, editors and publishers to art designers, book jobbers and friends of the main instigator of the whole enterprise, Louis Rubin, Jr., a volatile man who, in between shouting matches or dictated letters asking for more money from the board of directors, dramatically took naps on a cot in the back office. Whenever he threw tantrums -- which was fairly often -- I imagined him morphing into a rabid owl until he scrambled off for another nap.    

Every once in a while, an English professor named Dougald MacMillan flitted in with some madcap idea. He ran his own independent publishing outfit called Signal Books in nearby Carrboro, and one idea he bandied about was a book of poetry and artwork created by children dying of cancer. Sounded awfully depressing to me, but what did I know? Another time he asked me to pack up a stack of British pound notes along with a mansucript he was shipping to someone in Scotland, for what reason I didn't know, or ask. Finally, with a mischievous gleam in his eye, he scrawled "PHOTOS" on the outside packaging, then added with a flourish, "DO NOT BEND." Dougald, though he was originally from Arkansas, was mad about Irish literary folks, particularly James Joyce and Samuel Waiting for Godot Beckett. One day I had to deliver some materials to the Signal Books office, which was tucked along the railroad tracks behind The Station, an old Carrboro train station converted into a bar-eatery where bands like R.E.M. cut their teeth; in this case as in some of his Chapel Hill visitations, he was accompanied by another Beckett enthusiast, Martha Fehsenfeld, who had intense, almost bulbous eyes. 

All that from a Liquid Sky artifact!  

Today's Rune: Signals.      

The Conspirator

I found Robert Redford's The Conspirator to be enjoyable, interesting, intelligent and thoughtful. Set in 1865 near the end of the American Civil War (after Appomattox but the war's still ongoing), it revolves around the plot to assassinate US President Abraham Lincoln, Secretary of State William Seward and Vice President Andrew Johnson, and its aftermath, specifically the military tribunal judging Mary Surratt, who is charged as co-conspirator. The period detail is fascinating, yet the story is also of dynamic contemporary pertinence in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

The Conspirator is shot in what appears to be natural lighting and combines the dramatic possibilities inscribed in the contained (almost claustrophobic) interiors of nineteenth century buildings with an inherently dramatic true story.  

The major players are strong, as one would hope -- including Scotsman James McAvoy (The Last King of Scotland, 2006); Dallas-born Robin Wright (The Secret Lives of Pippa Lee, 2009); Kevin Kline (The Big Chill, 1983); Englishman Tom Wilkinson (The Full Monty, 1996); Danny Huston (who played Geoffrey "Fieger Time" Fieger in You Don't Know Jack, 2010); Evan Rachel Wood (The Wrestler, 2008); and Alexis Bledel (The Kate Logan Affair, 2010/11).

In addition, secondary characters flesh the movie out remarkably well. Stephen Root (Office Space, 1999; No Country for Old Men, 2007; Cedar Rapids, 2010/11) is a hoot as a witness for the prosecution: wild-eyed and feral, with a tinge of the comic. Colm Meaney (Miles O'Brien in latter day Star Trek series; The Snapper, 1993) is superb as General David Hunter,the gruff commanding head of the military tribunal. Finally, Jonathan Groff effectively exudes weirdness as another witness for the prosecution. There are others, too.

I caught a matinee showing of The Conspirator at the swanky 7th Street Movie Tavern in Fort Worth for $7. The 3:30 show was well-attended, packed or nearly so with people of all ages and types but mostly adults, mercifully.

Today's Rune: Harvest.

Nuclear Disaster: Now and Then

The nuclear disaster unfolding in Japan makes me think immediately of Chernobyl, which I first posted about just under five years ago. This year will be the 25th anniversary of that nuclear disaster, and the first anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon Gulf petroleum disaster. I can only come to the conclusion that humankind is too clever for its own good, very foolish and myopic, nothing less than tragic. Post first dated April 26, 2006:

I remember the Chernobyl nuclear disaster very well because it began in the Soviet Union the same day as my first wedding took place back in the USA. The exact date it started was worse than an omen, because we flew to Europe that evening and arrived in London -- just as the first rumors of the accident were making their rounds. This was before ubiquitous internet access and 24 hour news, so it was hard to get any facts. But we knew about it immediately.

Many Londoners, however, seemed oblivious during the first few days of the “toxic event,” even while radiation continued spewing out of the burning reactor number four. Someone or some article from the International Herald Tribune suggested swabbing iodine above one’s knees and one’s wrists as a block against fallout. Don’t drink milk, avoid rain, and wait for news updates. Some honeymoon!

Wild rumors began flying: Kiev was under martial law. Thousands of Soviets were poisoned and dying. The Red Army had sealed off dead zones. Warsaw was in the path of a large plume; Sweden would be next, then Scotland.

My newlywed wife Liz Pauk and I warily proceeded and next made our way to Paris. Since we had unlimited Eurail passes, we could hop most trains and go just about anywhere in Western Europe. We headed for the south of France, where Liz became ill, but recovered enough that we pushed on to Italy via Pisa, and eventually we made it as far east as Vienna before heading back west via Germany. By that time, a clearer picture was emerging. Yes, the Iron Curtain borders were being sealed as a safety and security precaution by the Warsaw Pact countries. Yes, radiation was a real danger, but there wasn’t much anyone could do about it. We flew back to the States from Paris.

The Soviets lost something like thirty-one killed either in the initial accident or trying to contain it. Twenty years later, we still don’t know how many have died or suffered as a result of the disaster. Estimates range from 9,000 to over 90,000 dead or dying from radiation poisoning.

The timing for us personally was so bizarre it still makes me wonder. What are the chances of getting married on such a day? We chose that date out of convenience, having been just laid off by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill as they transferred their business operations out of North Carolina and therefore had a block of time before starting new jobs at Duke University.

All in all, 1986 was a rough year. The space shuttle Challenger blew up in January, and Ronald Reagan and his crew of yahoos were acting like scary war mongerers, supporting Islamic extremists against the Soviets in Afghanistan and fighting a series of clandestine guerilla wars in Latin America. The Reagan administration funnelled weapons to Saddam Hussein in his war against Iran, even while it also supplied weapons to Iran and propped up the Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. All in keeping with George Orwell's dystopian 1948 vision for 1984.

Oh, the ironies abound for today, exactly twenty years later. A salute to the rescue teams and all those who died.

Early on, I have no idea whether this is an accurate projection of radiation fallout. I do know this: don't ever believe Big Energy "experts" -- they are either liars or fools or worse, well-meaning zealots who are just plain wrong in their over-optimism about "safety."  


Today's Rune: Defense.

New York: Seneca Falls and the Finger Lakes Region

In 1998 and during a couple of later visits to New York's Finger Lake Region, was able to explore the area around Seneca Falls, Cayuga Lake and Seneca Lake. The lakes are sort of like Loch Ness in Scotland -- very long and very deep, formed by receding glaciers quite a little while ago. This was Iroquois country, thick with history as well as scenic beauty.

About halfway down the western side of Seneca Lake, tried out a kayak, swam in the clear chilly water, and meandered through dense stands of timber. Checked out Watkins Glen and onto Ithaca, Cornell University and Ithaca College. Then, with a veteran of the area, on to Trumansburg, a counterculture village featuring the Rongovian Embassy to the USA that dates back to the Nixon years. Next to Lodi and Ovid, and back to Seneca Falls.


















At Seneca Falls, lots to see. The high point of the first visit was the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848.

Radical sentiments in 1848 (same year, after all, as The Communist Manifesto):

We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights governments are instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

The equality of men and women? Still a radical idea in 2010, to many in the world and yes, even in the USA. Attendees in 1848 included Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Frederick Douglass, Lucretia Coffin Mott, and many other hepcats of the day.

In 1998, Hillary Rodham Clinton gave the keynote speech -- while her husband Bill still occupied the White House. She afterwards moved to New York and was elected one of the state's U.S. senators in 2000.  Today, like New York's William H. Seward, Sr., of the Finger Lakes back in Lincoln's day, she is also Secretary of State -- in the Obama Administration.

Today's Rune: The Self.

Unsent Postcards: Hadrian's Wall

Here's the scanned front side of a postcard I meant to send in 1988 but never did (it's even addressed).  This is an aerial view of a segment of Hadrian's Wall, the 80-mile long Roman defense system built across what is now northern England by three Roman legions, 122-128 AD.  It's one of the coolest things I've ever seen, sort of like the Great Wall of China only in Europe. The Romans next built the Antonine Wall, another fortified line to the north, like a belt across what is now Scotland from the Firth of Forth to the west, nearly forty miles long, 142-154 AD.  It's not as intact as Hadrian's, but for anyone who digs a good hike, plenty to see along both lines.  The walls were meant to keep "barbarians" out of the Roman occupied territories to the south.  Worked for a while, I suppose . . . but everything comes to an end, eventually, or morphs into something else.

Today's Rune: Wholeness.  Happy 40th to my brother Jamie!

Walking in Scotland: Isle of Skye

While visiting Scotland with Liz, Evan and Mary about twenty years ago, caught a ride from the shores of Loch Ness to a point opposite the Isle of Skye (An t-Eilean Sgitheanach in Gaelic). Crossed over on a ferry boat and walked for miles, eventually settling in at Fiordhem, Ord, on the Sleat Penninsula, in an old converted fisherman's cottage. The Viking influence was evident in the local people -- no surprise, given the Vikings began making landings on Skye by the early 800s, built settlements and often held sway there for the next four hundred plus years.

Later Scottish clans descended at least in part from the Norsemen. Clan MacLeod, for instance, links back to Olaf the Black (ca. 1173–1237).

To make a long post short, Skye rocked! You want different, try Skye. There are fewer people there now than there were in the 1800s, in part because of "The Clearances," forced removal of much of the population by English overlords and their allies. It's eerie to see the stone outlines of abandoned villages as you walk along old pathways by the shoreline. You want to see a lot of swooping birds, and seals sunning themselves on rocks? Try Skye. Trust me, it's worth the trek.

Today's Rune: Possessions/Fehu.

D-Day: Five Lucky Germans

Backtracking a little, again from my UNC journal (May 23-24, 1981):

From a height in between we viewed Gold and Juno Beaches and the Mulberry Harbor. Here we took team photos. Proceeded to St. Aubin on Sword Beach, where the British 3rd Division landed, to the hotel. A German antitank gun stood trained on our hotel. [Map above from Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War, Volume III, 1966]

What a bizarre supper! The food and wine was great, but the conversation one in a million. Andrea Jennings was talking about the Kinks, which reminded me of the album they put out in 1968 about the decline and fall of the British Empire. . .

In the dining area happened to be five Germans, veterans of Normandy captured on June 6, 1944, by Canadian troops. Four of them agreed to talk with the group, but Helmet left. All are in their 60s and 70s, and all were older than the average fighting man even in the 1940s, when they served in the 716th [Static] Infantry Division. They were here for Memorial Day services.

[The 716th Static Infantry Division, commanded by Generalleutnant Wilhelm Richter, was essentially destroyed on D-Day, though it was later reformed. On D-Day, it consisted of Grenadier Regiments 726 and 736, Artillerie Regiment 716, Panzerjäger Kompanie 716, Pionier Bataillon 716, Nachrichten Abteilung 716, and Versorgungstruppen 716.]

They talked about the second-rate quality of their division, how the Eastern Front was given priority over the Atlantic Wall, and so forth. I sat with fascination as they told their side of the story . . . From their point of view, survival came first. Germany in the 1920s and 30s was down in the gutter, spat on by France and England. Harnessing his people’s basic self-pride and basic needs, Hitler created a phoenix-like . . . powerful world state. Only when he became brazenly exploitive did many of the people realize that he might bring their own downfall. . .

The other major topic was their lives as POWs behind the Allied lines. Processed through Scotland, they were scattered across the U.S., serving as laborers in South Carolina, Colorado, New Jersey, and Alabama.

It was compelling to hear from the other side! Dr. Stroup then gave long-winded praise to the Germans and appealed for peace. After the song contest out on the beach a few of us (Rachel, Bink, Chris, Bill and I) talked with our new German friends in the hotel bar. We knew a little German, they knew a lot of broken English, so we managed to communicate semi-articulately about things. Chris, Bill, and I bought them a round of Kronenbourg 1664s, a gesture that seemed to honor and embarrass them. They bought the next round, and, added to the dinner wine, we were all soon nappy. The bartender looked on this with amusement, pretending not to understand anything we said.

Willy Wiederstein and Karl started up old drinking songs, and soon we were all singing: “In Munchen Stadt im Hofbrauhaus, Ein, Zwei, Zufall!!!!!”

Those kindly old gentlemen could drink like fish, but luckily they drifted off for the night, one by one. . .

May 24, 1981, Sunday

Memorial services at Omaha Beach were very beautiful, even if the speeches were drawn out and irrelevant. The most memorable event came when a group of French children ran out, French and U.S. flags in hand, and sang the national anthems. Some of our group were brought to tears by this gesture. The trim white rows of graves were serenely powerful. . .

Today's Rune: Warrior.

Station to Station, I to I

In English, there are something like eight "I" countries and one dependency.

I've had the great pleasure of spending time in Ireland and Italy, and would be happy to spend a lot more in both.

India would be interesting, given certain conditions. My eldest sister has been, the only member of my immediate family.

Isle of Man -- seen it from afar, in between moving around Scotland, Ireland, and England. Had an excellent stay on the Isle of Wight, but that's for another post. Lots of famous concerts on both the Isle of Man and Isle of Wight (Jimi Hendrix, for instance).

Israel, Iran, Iraq, Indonesia. If paid handsomely and closely guarded, with a specific purpose, maybe. Some day far off, or never. These ain't no CBGB, and I ain't no Joe the Plumber . . .

Iceland -- almost made it a couple times! But alas, still to do. It's in the blood, ya know . . .



















Today's Rune: Signals.

Scottish Independence

A Man’s a Man for a’ that (Robert Burns, 1795)*

Is there for honest Poverty
That hings his head, an’ a’ that;
The coward slave—we pass him by,
We dare be poor for a’ that!
For a’ that, an’ a’ that.
Our toils obscure an’ a’ that,
The rank is but the guinea’s stamp,
The Man’s the gowd for a’ that.

What though on hamely fare we dine,
Wear hoddin grey, an’ a that;
Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine;
A Man’s a Man for a’ that:
For a’ that, and a’ that,
Their tinsel show, an’ a’ that;
The honest man, tho’ e’er sae poor,
Is king o’ men for a’ that.

Ye see yon birkie, ca’d a lord,
Wha struts, an’ stares, an’ a’ that;
Tho’ hundreds worship at his word,
He’s but a coof for a’ that:
For a’ that, an’ a’ that,
His ribband, star, an’ a’ that:
The man o’ independent mind
He looks an’ laughs at a’ that.

A prince can mak a belted knight,
A marquis, duke, an’ a’ that;
But an honest man’s abon his might,
Gude faith, he maunna fa’ that!
For a’ that, an’ a’ that,
Their dignities an’ a’ that;
The pith o’ sense, an’ pride o’ worth,
Are higher rank than a’ that.

Then let us pray that come it may,
(As come it will for a’ that,)
That Sense and Worth, o’er a’ the earth,
Shall bear the gree, an’ a’ that.
For a’ that, an’ a’ that,
It’s coming yet for a’ that,
That Man to Man, the world o’er,
Shall brothers be for a’ that.
























*Alt., "Is There For Honest Poverty"

Happy 250th, Mr. Burns! Here's to Scotland's Independence!

Today's Rune: Partnership.

Transition Towns Movement

A hysterical fundamentalist Christian acquaintance of mine is worried we're living in "The End Times" while others are planning for climate change and "Peak Oil" -- the point where drilling becomes so expensive the oil-based infrastructure breaks down worldwide. Religious prophecy, science fiction, fantasy and reality seem to converge here, at least to some extent.

Developing out of Ireland, England, Scotland, and Wales, the "Transition Towns" movement is putting emphasis on local responses to global changes. The movement reminds me of anarcho-syndicalism, with planning and cooperation aiming for permaculture -- sustainable local development, local food production, local labor cooperation and local energy. Walking towns, common gardening areas, etc. (Plus bartering and/or use of local currency).



















Some of these approaches came in handy during The Great Depression, and during the Second World War. But it's good to think ahead. Still, an over-emphasis on local control without checks and balances makes me think of the Dark Ages, Things to Come, Jonestown, "The Lottery," Children of the Corn, and all that spooky jive. Perhaps I'm too skeptical, but still . . .



















If nothing else, it can't hurt to buy more local food, grow some stuff, "Think Globally / Act Locally." Even if I like movement and consider myself a citizen of the world first, and a local second.

Today's Rune: Defense.

Mergers and Acquisitions III

We're in the midst of a hyper round of mergers and acquisitions, which reminds me: why do banks have such weird names? One of the weirdest must be Fifth Third Bank. You've got to wonder (it provides a clue to earlier mergers, certainly). How about Charter One Bank? That one makes little sense, actually, especially since it really seems to be owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Basic transparent names seem only to match with credit unions. Does anyone else prefer credit unions to commercial banks?

Deteriorating economic conditions helped sink the George Bush, Sr., presidency in the 1992 election. Anyone over age thirty (besides Sarah Palin, perhaps, even though she's 44) will remember Pan Am (Pan American World Airways), and realize it no longer exists except as a cultural memory (as in the defunct logo above), since it went bankrupt in 1991. Would anyone be surprised if one or more major airlines goes under within the next six months? On the ground, how about Chrysler? In any case, don't be surprised if Eastern Air Lines goes under. Oh, wait: they already went under in 1991, too.

The economic crisis endured under Bush I led to a Bill Clinton victory in the 1992 US presidential election; don't be surprised if today's Über-crisis under George Bush II helps inspire a majority of voters help make Barack Obama the next President of the United States. Let's just pray that nothing like Clinton's Monica Lewinsky scandal transgresses in the next four years. Instead, we will need a real Hundred Days of action a la FDR.

Forget about Pan Am and Eastern. The next president is going to have to hit the ground running.

Today's Rune: Defense.

Terrible Swift Sword

Hang on to your hats, or your wallets, or your purses, or your ATM cards, or your credit cards, or your houses, or your dogs, or your marbles, or your whatevers, because this is pure crazy time!

There's a lot of talk now about how the latest Wall Street Blitz is as wild an economic shock to the system as anything since the beginning of The Great Depression in 1929. I guess we'll see soon enough.

Let's hope there's not a run on the banks, like yesterday's run on gas stations in Nashville thanks to self-fulfilling rumor and widespread panic.

To be prepared for the next round of shocks, I checked out my bank's status and discovered it's eight billion bucks in the hole thanks to the mortgage (etc.) crises. And, digging further, I found out that it's owned down the line by the Royal Bank of Scotland.

On the other hand, it's protected by the Depression era Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), formed thanks to FDR and Democraticc Congressional allies via The Glass-Steagall Act of 1933. (As is my new credit union, one that operates more fairly for its members than almost any commercial bank in the land.)


Unfortunately, some of the FDR delivered regulations have been recklessly rolled back thanks to the Republican crafted Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) of 1999. Phil Gramm being one of John "Mad Jack" McCain's closest advisors (unofficially now, having had to resign his formal post as McCain's top advisor on the economy following these remarks on July 9, 2008: "We have sort of become a nation of whiners, you just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline." -- as quoted by the conservative Washington Times).

Hopefully, at least a plurality of registered US voters will know all that come election day, and act accordingly.

Today's Rune: Flow.