“An average of 1,033 people have died every day since the first known death in February. … Nearly 80% of deaths occur in people over age 65.”As I watch the pictures on TV of the young people enjoying themselves on beaches and in bars part of me slightly envies their freedom. I am 68. I […]
Archives for 2020
Anachronisms and -isms
Anachronism — [second definition] a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other (Example: “By the time I reached my teens, the housewife was an anachronism, replaced on television by the perky, glamorous, character of That Girl, Marlo Thomas, who kept her boyfriend at bay in the interest of pursuing her acting career.” […]
With great power …
“[I]n this world, with great power there must also come — great responsibility.” S. Lee and S Ditko, Amazing Fantasy No. 15: “Spider-Man,” p. 13 (1962) In 2015, the Supreme Court quoted this line in a patent dispute case involving a Marvel-related product. The Supreme Court said: Patents endow their holders with certain superpowers, but […]
None of us want pure justice
I found an interesting quote in a Japanese magazine. “During history, ‘justice’ killed way more people than ‘evil.’ Justice is a drug. It gives you a high and blinds you. Once infected, you can kill countless people.” This quote was written before the current riots and bears no relation to what is going on in […]
St. Thomas More on social philosophy
“For if you suffer your people to be ill-educated, and their manners to be corrupted from their infancy, and then punish them for those crimes to which their first education disposed them, what else is to be concluded from this, but that you first make thieves and then punish them.” St. Thomas More, Utopia St. […]
COVID-19 and statistics
It has become popular in the USA to cite a 99% survival rate for COVID-19. However, this survival rate fits into the saying popularized by Mark Twain that “there are lies, there are damn lies, and then there are statistics.” The 99% figure is only possible through an absolutely true statistic that leads to a […]
Memorial Day memories
No comments to make. This is a video recorded by three Orthodox clergy concerning Memorial Day 2020. I am the first one. Do watch.
Fantasy humor
I enjoy reading fantasy and science fiction. The last few years I have become a fan of urban fantasy. Much urban fantasy is dystopian. One definition goes: “Utopian describes a society that’s conceived to be perfect. Dystopian is the exact opposite — it describes an imaginary society that is as dehumanizing and as unpleasant as […]
When caring for the world goes wrong
“All extremes, except extreme devotion to the Enemy, are to be encouraged.” C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters “Acedia is a paralysis of the soul, a slackness of the mind, a neglect of religious exercises, a hostility to vows taken. … It is … a stubborn urge for service, a dedication to the work of the […]
St. John of the Ladder on marriage
Some people in the world living carelessly have asked me, “We have wives and many social concerns, how could we possibly lead a life of solitude?” I answer them, “Do as much good as you can; do not speak ill of anyone; do not steal; do not lie; do not be boastful; do not hate; […]
