The Tiger and the Strawberry, Plus Miscellany
A Zen Parable- Two Tigers and the Strawberry:
A man traveling across a field encountered a tiger. He fled, the tiger chasing after him.
Coming to a precipice, he caught hold of the root of a wild vine and swung himself down over the edge. The tiger sniffed at him from above. Trembling, the man looked down to see, far below, another tiger was waiting to eat him.
Only the vine sustained him. But, two mice - one white and one black - started to gnaw away at it.
The man saw a luscious strawberry near him. Grasping the vine with one hand, he plucked the strawberry with the other.
How sweet it tasted!
January 26, 2021
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The Boogeyman Nebula
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I guess the Republican Senate has spoken, convicting a former president for what he clearly did would simply be too divisive. I don't know... I don't think it would be so bad to have a clear dividing line between the ones of us who supported and fomented the insurrection, and the ones who didn't. I guess this type of moral equivalence (or moral ambivalence?) should be expected to follow the rule of a nihilistic personality cult.
Or maybe they haven't spoken yet, and still have time to come to their senses.
January 26, 2021
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Great job, Zuzu - the likeness is uncanny!
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The 1997 winner of philosopher Denis Dutton's annual Bad Writing Contest went to Fredric Jameson for the first sentence of his book on film criticism. Imagine that you're taking a class on film criticism, and this is the text book... and an entire book still follows this sentence!
"The visual is essentially pornographic, which is to say that it has its end in rapt, mindless fascination; thinking about its attributes becomes an adjunct to that, if it is unwilling to betray its object; while the most austere films necessarily draw their energy from the attempt to repress their own excess (rather than from the more thankless effort to discipline the viewer)."
January 26, 2019
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Would this big, dumb wall be worth it if it only kept one in six people from coming across? As I understand it, we only have the means to check one in six vehicles coming across the border. $5.7 billion could pay for 10k or so border agent jobs for the next 10 years. They could check more cars, or one could be one stationed every 500 or so feet along the entire border. I mean, as long as we're thinking of stupid ideas...
January 26, 2019
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Reflecting on what I ate today... I had a couple small donuts at my parents house early this morning, got to work and found some free chocolate chip cookies, and some Dum Dums, and later a free pint of chocolate milk turned up somehow. It was all free, it was all delicious, and I believe this post is a cry for help.
January 26, 2018
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I just found a treasure trove of old stuff in a trunk in my basement.
January 26, 2017
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Trump said murders in Philly are "terribly increasing," which is of course Trumpese for "decreasing, based on evidence."
January 25, 2017
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This Federer match, I intended to wake up at 330 to watch it but overslept 2 hours, just in time to see the 5th set...it's not good for heart to witness this kind of excitement so soon after waking up.
January 26, 2017
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John Stewart's number one regret during his time at the Daily Show was letting Rumsfeld slip around his questions, and was unable to hold him accountable for the Iraq War. What Stephen did here is pretty amazing.
https://youtu.be/4Z3z7DvoA-M
January 26, 2016
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Lot of good advice in these four minutes.
Ricky Gervais- Humpty Dumpty
https://fb.watch/iie_GOGM-m/?mibextid=NnVzG8
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Out of surgery AOK... the achilles was torn clean through... on crutches for months.
January 26, 2011
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On this day in 1932, Winston Churchill's doctor wrote him a note to get as much alcohol as he wishes in the United States during prohibition, since he was hit by a car.
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Ranger 3 was launched to study the Moon on this day in 1962. It only missed the moon by 22,000 miles.
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Betrand Russell, Letter to the Assistant Editor of Maariv Israeli Daily Newspaper, January 26, 1963:
"The treatment of a society's worst offenders and most hated members is an indication of its own moral standard. If a society can in all conscience permit the cruel treatment of any man, ultimately it will allow it for all."
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On this day in 1995, Eric Cantona attacked a fan in the middle of a match, with a karate kick.
"The best moment of my career? I've had plenty of them but I prefer the one where I attacked a hooligan."
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On This Day in 1998, on American television, Bill Clinton denied having had "sexual relations" with former White House intern Monica "That Woman" Lewinsky. She became a symbol of perseverance. His popularity was unfazed.
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The story of Werner Herzog rescuing Joaquin Phoenix, it must be a lie, right? Like he's making some point about truth, storytelling and films, right?
Right?
https://youtu.be/nDcnLfLaFiY
If it did happen, it happened on this day in 2006.
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Nadya Suleman gave birth to the world's first surviving octuplets on this day in 2009.
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Paul Newman joined us on this day in 1925.
Dragline: Nothin'. A handful of nothin'. You stupid mullet head. He beat you with nothin'. Just like today when he kept comin' back at me - with nothin'.
Luke: Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Dragline: Move over. I'm gonna sit in here next to my boy - Cool Hand Luke.
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Bob Uecker join us on this day in 1934.
“Career highlights? I had two. I got an intentional walk from Sandy Koufax and I got out of a rundown against the Mets."
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Other notable birthdays- Angela Davis (1944), Gene Siskel (1946), Lucinda Williams (1953), Ellen DeGeneres (1958), Wayne Gretzky (1961), Kevin McCarthy (1965)
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I love this god damn song. Goodbye to Charlie Louvin.
https://youtu.be/czLceBSD7Cc
Jan 26, 2011
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Other notable deathdays - Abner Doubleday (1893), Edward G. Robinson (1973), Nelson Rockefeller (1979), Kobe Bryant (2020)
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When's the last time you took a tour of Henry Miller's bathroom? Too long, friend, it's been too long. I watch this once every year.
https://youtu.be/4vgY--BpGIw
January 26, 2010
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Air hockey highlights from today. I was laying down as I edited this, and now to see if I can stand up...
https://youtu.be/oqwUxPKJIS4
January 26, 2010
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The Onion- Chicken-Shit Asteroid Veers Away At Last Minute
http://onion.com/1tgQ1YI
January 26, 2015
Postscript- Strange, there's a 19-foot asteroid that's going to miss us today by 2,200 miles.
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10 Poverty Myths, Busted by Erika Eichelberger
http://billmoyers.com/2014/03/28/10-poverty-myths-busted/
January 26, 2015
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Yahoo News- Bana Alabed asks Trump to help Syrian children: ‘If you can, I will be your best friend’
Turn that scowl upside-down, learn the lessons of Scrooge and the Grinch.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/bana-alabed-asks-trump-help-syrian-children-if-you-can-i-will-be-your-best-friend-200209008.html
January 26, 2017
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Trump creates new dangers with provocative comments about Iraqi oil by Steve Benen
Critical story- "taking Iraq's oil" is a war crime, plain and simple. We have troops in Iraq, and there are compilations going around in Iraq of Trump saying he's still considering taking their oil, that there's still a chance. So this endangers our troops in a very real sense. The Iraqi Prime Minister is fielding questions from their press asking if the Americans are going to do what Trump is saying, and what can he say?
Other than the likelihood of Trump using nuclear weapons at some point in the next 4 years, I see this as the most critical current issue.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-creates-new-dangers-provocative-comments-about-iraqi-oil
January 26, 2017
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Why do we say that we butter the bread, but not that we butter the knife, before we butter the bread?
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Plutarch- "Silence at the proper season is wisdom, and better than any speech."
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Leibniz- "There is nothing in the intellect that was not first in the senses... except the intellect itself."
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Norm MacDonald- “I’m thankful for women. I think women are more intelligent than men. Also, without women, there would be no cookies.”
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Bertrand Russell, Unpopular Essays- “The doctrine, professed by many modern Christians, that everybody will go to heaven, ought to do away with the fear of death, but in fact this fear is too instinctive to be easily vanquished. F. W. H. Myers, whom spiritualism had converted to belief in a future life, questioned a woman who had lately lost her daughter as to what she supposed had become of her soul. The mother replied: “Oh, well, I suppose she is enjoying eternal bliss, but I wish you wouldn't talk about such unpleasant subjects.“ In spite of all that religion and its theology can do, heaven remains, to most people, an “unpleasant subject.“
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Olivia Rodrigo- Can't Catch Me Now
But I'm in the trees, I'm in the breeze
My footsteps on the ground
You'll see my face in every place
But you can't catch me now
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Dalai Lama- "Whether you believe in God or not does not matter so much, whether you believe in Buddha or not does not matter so much; as a Buddhist, whether you believe in reincarnation or not does not matter so much. You must lead a good life. And a good life does not mean just good food, good clothes, good shelter. These are not sufficient. A good motivation is what is needed: compassion, without dogmatism, without complicated philosophy; just understanding that others are human brothers and sisters and respecting their rights and human dignity."
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Muhammad Ali- "I don't count my sit-ups; I only start counting when it starts hurting because they’re the only ones that count."
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Asimov- "There is nothing frightening about an eternal dreamless sleep. Surely it is better than eternal torment in Hell and eternal boredom in Heaven."
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Orwell- "Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it."
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Attell- "What's the two things they tell you are healthiest to eat? Chicken and fish, ... You know what you should do? Combine them ... eat a penguin."
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