Lagom, The Giodano Bruno Crater, The Meaning of Existence, and Other Miscellany

Something crazy seems to have happened on this day 1178. Five Canterbury monks saw the event some believe to have been the formation of the Giordano Bruno crater on the moon. This is what the monks reported to their chronicler:

"From the midpoint of the division a flaming torch sprang up, spewing out, over a considerable distance, fire, hot coals and sparks. Meanwhile the body of the Moon which was below writhed, as it were in anxiety, and to put it in the words of those who reported it to me and saw it with their own eyes, the Moon throbbed like a wounded snake. Afterwards it resumed its proper state. This phenomenon was repeated a dozen times or more, the flame assuming various twisting shapes at random and then returning to normal. Then, after these transformations, the Moon from horn to horn, that is along its whole length, took on a blackish appearance."

Others say that a crater that size is only created once every millions years, so the chances that one happened within the last thousand years is unlikely. It's also strange that nobody else reported it. Some have suggested that it might have been a meteor coming directly at them that made it look like it was on the moon. Who knows, but something happened that we're still considering 850 years later. I don't know if I have ever really considered what a massive meteorite smashing into the moon would look like from earth.

...

...

Some people were memorializing Noam Chomsky earlier, and a jolt of electricity went through me. I looked it up on Wikipedia, no death day was listed. I searched for news about him, there was nothing in the mainstream press. Turns out it wasn't true, which his wife confirmed. Some people who had accepted it were complaining that the mainstream press wasn't covering it, which of course they wouldn't, because it didn't happen. 

It's worth considering occasionally how much the mainstream press gets right. I don't know about you, but I don't want to travel to war zones to get my news firsthand, or scour through court records to find original sources. I prefer to maintain a level of comfortable vigilance and accept some occasional imprecision.

June 18, 2024

...

Oh no, goodbye to Willie Mays.

He was a 24x all-star, 12x gold glove winner, hit 660 home runs. He even hit four in one game, each one traveling over 400 feet. He was on deck when the Giants made their third out. If he made it up, he might have hit it 500 feet.

He had a home run in a Negro League game too, and if they ever find a scorecard, he'll officially have 661.

I remember referencing his otherworldly catch in a report I did in fifth grade. I still think about that catch all the time. 

Just last night I was thinking about Willie Mays as I played center field in our kickball game. I was waiting for my opportunity to sprint directly backwards, looking up, waiting for the ball materialize so I could catch it. Someday.

I love Willie's take on his catch. He was just focused on getting the ball back to the infield so nobody could tag up. He didn't even allow himself a second of reflection that he just made the most magnificent catch in baseball history.

"I can't tell you about moments because I wasn't into that. I just played every day and enjoyed what I was doing. When I made a great catch it was just routine. I didn't worry about it. Winning was important. Winning."

...

It's such a great feeling when you see your dog foaming at the mouth, realizing that it's only because they lapped up some bubble solution.

June 18, 2022

...

Woody Allen, being interviewed in 1989 by Roger Ebert, after Ebert pointed out the fact that even the most despairing of philosophers found consolation in the serenity of nature:

"When I go visit Mia Farrow in Connecticut, I'm always mindful of the fact that looking in the woods is Lyme disease. When she sees the little fawns come up to the front of the house, which they do, the kids gather suddenly and say it's so beautiful. And yes, it's pretty, but boring, and it does carry Lyme ticks on it. So there are no rural consolations for me."

...

And happy birthday to Roger Ebert, born on this day in 1942. On a blog entry concerning religion, a commenter wrote, "If God didn't exist there would be be no atheists." Ebert responded "Would there still be believers?"

It drives me absolutely nuts that Ebert hated Blue Velvet. He went into great detail on how disrespectful David Lynch was to Isabella Rossellini. She happened to be born on his 10th birthday.

...

Fun in the park today with these couple of goodies, and another goodie not pictured.

June 18, 2017

...

The cashier at Home Depot told me my bill was $73.10 even though I saw that the register showed $37.10. Whatever, I was paying with a credit card anyway so why bother correcting her? She asked for my baby's name and I told her it was Gretel. She asked, "Crackle?" I repeated it and she said, "Crackle huh? Where are Snap and Pop?" I realized then that she messed up the previous person's amount too. Nothing but mistakes with that one! I told her Crackle was the only surviving triplet. (At least I wish I said that.)

June 18, 2014

...

I happened upon a dragon-treasure of free half and half... I'm making all of the best ice creams- cherry with chocolate bits now, green tea later. Any requests? (Remember that I have to eat it... or you do.)

June 18, 2011

...

The Ultimate Warrior- "COME ON IN WHERE NIGHTMARES ARE THE BEST PART OF MY DAY!

...

From Skeptic Magazine

Top 10 myths of popular psychology

Myth #4: Human Memory Works like a Video Camera

...

The United States declared war on the United Kingdom on this day in 1812, beginning the War of... you guessed it... 1812. Until this moment, I don't think I ever knew that the War of 1812 was between us and England. Terrible. Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it, so I guess that means we're going to war against England again.

...

Churchill gave his "Finest Hour" speech on this day in 1940.

"Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say: ‘This was their finest hour.'"

Well their finest hour certainly wasn't when we kicked their ass around the battlefield in the late 1700's and early 1800's, that much is for sure.

Haha, "us," like I had anything to do with it. Some of my ancestors did but I don't even know if their DNA exists in me anymore. It's not like it matters, but I do buy into the idea of the country, without overlooking our sins.

...

On this day in 1815, Napoleon's Waterloo became his defeat at Waterloo, setting In motion a series of events which would culminate with ABBA winning the Eurovision Song Contest of 1974, rocketing them to superstardom.

...

Charles Darwin received a paper from Alfred Russell Wallace on this day in 1858, that included nearly identical conclusions about evolution as Darwin's own, prompting Darwin to publish his theory. 

...

If over half of the citizens of the US know little-to-nothing about the US Government, that makes ignorance an American value, right? I think only a half or so can even name the three branches of government. 

June 18, 2014

...

Ronny Lee Gardner was executed on this day in 2010, in Draper, Utah, for killing a man in a robbery, and then killing an attorney while being transported to a hearing for his crimes.

His last meal- lobster tail, steak, apple pie, vanilla ice cream, and 7-Up, while watching Lord of the Rings.

...

The poet Donald Hall left us on this day in 2018. This bit reminds me of the period of our lives that Emma and I traveled the country in our van, except substitute scored Uno for scoreless ping pong:

Jane Kenyon and I were married for twenty-three years. For two decades we inhabited the double solitude of my family farmhouse in New Hampshire, writing poems, loving the countryside. She was forty-seven when she died. If anyone had asked us, “Which year was the best, of your lives together?” we could have agreed on an answer: “the one we remember least.” There were sorrowful years — the death of her father, my cancers, her depressions — and there were also years of adventure: a trip to China and Japan, two trips to India; years when my children married; years when the grandchildren were born; years of triumph as Jane began her public life in poetry: her first book, her first poem in the New Yorker. The best moment of our lives was one quiet repeated day of work in our house. Not everyone understood. Visitors, especially from New York, would spend a weekend with us and say as they left: “It’s really pretty here” (“in Vermont,” many added) “with your house, the pond, the hills, but … but … but … what do you do?”

What we did: we got up early in the morning. I brought Jane coffee in bed. She walked the dog as I started writing, then climbed the stairs to work at her own desk on her own poems. We had lunch. We lay down together. We rose and worked at secondary things. I read aloud to Jane; we played scoreless ping-pong; we read the mail; we worked again. We ate supper, talked, read books sitting across from each other in the living room, and went to sleep. If we were lucky the phone didn’t ring all day… Three hundred and thirty days a year we inhabited this old house and the same day’s adventurous routine.

What we did: love.

...

Vera Lynn left us on this day in 2020 at the age of 103. She sang We'll Meet Again, from the final scene of Dr. Strangelove, as the bombs drop. A perfect scene, and a perfect culmination of an absurd movie, which somehow feels more like a documentary than a satire these days.

We'll meet again

Don't know where, don't know when

But I know we'll meet again some sunny day

Keep smiling through

Just like you always do

'Til the blue skies drive the dark clouds far away

So will you please say "Hello" to the folks that I know

Tell them I won't be long

They'll be happy to know that as you saw me go

I was singing this song

We'll meet again

Don't know where, don't know when

But I know we'll meet again some sunny day

We'll meet again

Don't know where, don't know when

But I know we'll meet again some sunny day

Keep smiling through

Just like you always do

'Til the blue skies drive the dark clouds far away

So will you please say "Hello" to the folks that I know

Tell them I won't be long

They'll be happy to know that as you saw me go

I was singin' this song

We'll meet again

Don't know where, don't know when

But I know we'll meet again some sunny day

...

The English novelist, Samuel Butler, left us on this day in 1902. 

"It is better to have loved and lost than never to have lost at all."

...

David- A news story just popped up on my phone this morning, a man in Illinois was caught having sex with a horse. How do you think he did it?

Ben- Are you just curious, or are you looking for tips?

David- I'm not looking for tips! But how would it work?

Ben- Well it will be a lot easier than with a mouse.

David laughed.

Ben- Casey just told me about a new story the other day where a guy was caught on a trail camera having sex with a dog. What I want to know is why both of my bosses keep calling me to keep me updated on the bestiality stories they're seeing in the news.

David- Was it Casey's dog?

Ben- No it wasn't Casey's dog! It was a professor or something.

David- Why would you do that?

Ben- I don't know David, but I do know that somehow you're paying me to have this conversation.

June 18, 2023

...

Happy Father's Day, 2023

Johnny Ramone and his dad. 

...

...

...

Richard Feynman said that we should all keep 12 problems in our head at once. Here are mine:

1. The problem of evil

2. What is the best way to use our time?

3. Bald Man Paradox- How can something be both X and not X.

4. To what extent should I dwell in nostalgia and recording, vs living in the present.

5. Nature vs nurture

6. How can I be a better parent?

7. Where is the balance between expecting more out of yourself, and being satisfied with accomplishments?

8. How can I better control information I have to deal with, inbox, etc?

9. What bigger topic might I want to focus on in the future, cooking, home improvements, speed reading?

10. What is the connection between music and mathematics?

11. What are the major and minor differences between my life and my recent and distant ancestors? (Think 50, 100, 300, 1000, 10,000, 300,000 years)

12. What ridiculousness is currently being embraced by the right and the left?

Here are some of Feynman's:

1. How can I accurately keep track of time in my head?

2. How can we design a large-scale computing system using only basic equipment?

3. How can I write a sentence in perfect handwritten Chinese script?

4. What is the unifying principle underlying light, radio, magnetism, and electricity?

5. How can I sustain a two-handed polyrhythm on the drums?

6. How can we measure the probability that a lump of uranium might explode too soon?

https://www.artofmanliness.com/character/advice/think-like-feynman-why-you-should-have-12-favorite-problems/

...

Big ThinkThe Swedish philosophy of lagom: how “just enough” is all you need

https://bigthink.com/thinking/swedish-philosophy-lagom-just-enough/

...

It was a very nice father's day. Gretel and I went hiking at Conestoga Pines Park and we found a bunch of frogs, one of them was really big and I almost caught it but I bobbled it like a bar soap in the shower and finally dropped it in the creek. We found a salamander and a mole and three snakes. We took one of the baby brown snakes home. Another snake was baby brown snake, and the other was possibly a baby water snake. Later we watched baseball, and read, and played with the brown snake that we named Brownie McGhee. We will let him go in a week or two, or maybe three or four. Tonight we played wiffle ball, and Gretel won 25 to 15 to 11, at least we think Zuzu had 11. What she didn't get in points, she got in strategy- a good base running zigzag plan and I plan to get Gretel out on the base path. I hit Gretel right in the ear from about 50 ft away. I threw the ball as hard as I could and nailed her. I didn't try to hit her in the ear, I was just trying to hit her. Every time she got upset I could remind her how many points she had, and how far ahead she was from everybody else, and then she would get a big smile on her face. At one point a hawk swooped about two or three feet past gretel's face with some smaller bird chasing it. Zuzu yelled at one point and she got very, very upset and then pulled herself back from being so upset and continued to have fun. A big moment for her. I was very proud of her. Zuzu cried almost after every single play, either she hurt her leg or slipped or got hit by the ball or something. She found a four-leaf clover. It was a lot of fun.

https://youtu.be/aLKvn6WRwQM

...

And you think you're having a bad day.

"Al Smith of the Chicago White Sox is poised in front of the outfield wall, eyes focused on the ball. Suddenly, a cascade of beer showers down on him, a spectacle caught forever on film. The culprit? Melvin Peel, an oil company executive, whose overzealous attempt to catch a foul ball resulted in this iconic spill. This image, brimming with drama and unintended comedy, has since become legendary."

...

"Don't believe everything you think."

...

Rod Serling, Twilight Zone- "A sickness known as hate; not a virus, not a microbe, not a germ - but a sickness nonetheless, highly contagious, deadly in its effects". He continues, "Don't look for it in the Twilight Zone - look for it in a mirror. Look for it before the light goes out altogether".

...

Joan Didion, The White Album- "I'm not telling you to make the world better, because I don't think that progress is necessarily part of the package. I'm just telling you to live in it. Not just to endure it, not just to suffer it, not just to pass through it, but to live in it. To look at it. To try to get the picture. To live recklessly. To take chances. To make your own work and take pride in it. To seize the moment. And if you ask me why you should bother to do that, I could tell you that the grave's a fine and private place, but none I think do there embrace. Nor do they sing there, or write, or argue, or see the tidal bore on the Amazon, or touch their children. And that's what there is to do and get it while you can and good luck at it."

...

Milan Kundera, Ignorance- "The Greek word for "return" is nostos. Algos means "suffering." So nostalgia is the suffering caused by an unappeased yearning to return."

...

Anthony Bourdain- "Maybe that's enlightenment enough: to know that there is no final resting place of the mind; no moment of smug clarity. Perhaps wisdom...is realizing how small I am, and unwise, and how far I have yet to go."

...

Frank Zappa- "A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it is not open."

...

Marcus Aurelius- "You are a little soul carrying around a corpse..."

...

Albert Einstein- “The true value of a human being is determined primarily by the measure and the sense in which he has attained liberation from the self”.

...

Carl Gustav Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections- "The decisive question for man is: Is he related to something infinite or not? That is the telling question of his life. Only if we know that the thing which truly matters is the infinite can we avoid fixing our interests upon futilities, and upon all kinds of goals which are not of real importance. Thus we demand that the world grant us recognition for qualities which we regard as personal possessions: our talent or our beauty. The more a man lays stress on false possessions, and the less sensitivity he has for what is essential, the less satisfying is his life. He feels limited because he has limited aims, and the result is envy and jealousy. If we understand and feel that here in this life we already have a link with the infinite, desires and attitudes change."