You're right knuck, toward the end he was a scared old geezer trying to perform 'the Hemingway'. Shame he couldn't endure the fading impetus, and find a way to enjoy the garden and reflect.
That's a pretty crappy way to kill an animal, even if it was just a mouse.
I can't find the story, but one of the diplomadic bloggers (diplomad) told of bringing in the rat catchers, who proceeded to capture the rats in cages and then burn them on a large fire. Ugly, no? But he, after all, had asked for their services and they did their job. The blogger tied this in to the US, who had to do the dirty work in dealing with terrorism. Wish I could find the post.
As to the mouse, I am not sure I believe the story. Not much fur on a mouse, although I suppose the body could have been burning.
Weather is an ancient bogeyman, sufficient to arouse fear in the multitudes. Furthermore, using weather as part of a moral drama is at least as old as Plato. Plato came to believe that the world was controlled by impersonal forces that were more powerful than humanity (like physics). Yet Plato lived in a culture that believed the gods controlled many events and that the behavior of people (society) could be rewarded or punished.
Plato used the story of Atlantis to suggest that the inhabits of Atlantis were in moral decline and were punished by the gods (flooded) for thier hubris and excessive pride. In a sense it might have been a version of a Noble Lie, namely not true but possibly an effective mechanism to get people to change their ways in accordance with the wishes of the lier. Is global warming the new "Noble?" Lie about weather. Namely, we certainly don't have certainty on the existence or causal mechanisms of this, but it is used to pursue other agendas, i.e., the diminution of US power and the undercutting of market forces and globalization. But do we really want to see Anderson Cooper in a toga?
yeh, skook, the marlin is a great one, and using 'rat-shot' won't even damage the property--except for the rifling in the gunbarrel gets clogged if ya don't clean it.
And right on the Ernie Pyle...what an hombre. And he had more than his share of demons, too--he just fought thru 'em and stuck it out for GI Joe. Until Ie Shima, or wherever it was his odds ran out.
Two cars set off from the same point to travel the same journey. The first car has a start of nine minutes before the second car leaves. If the first car travels at 40kph and the second car travels at 70kph, how many kilometres will be travelled when the cars are level?
...looking for the origin of these, arrived in an email:
Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach. Carcinoma (n.), a valley in California, notable for its heavy smog.
Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.
Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.
Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightie.
Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.
Gargoyle (n.), an olive-flavored mouthwash.
Bustard (n.), a very rude Metrobus driver.
Coffee (n.), a person who is coughed upon.
Flatulence (n.) the emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.
Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.
Semantics (n.), pranks conducted by young men studying for the priesthood, including such things as gluing the pages of the priest's prayer book together just before vespers.
Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified demeanor assumed by a proctologist immediately before he examines you.
Marionettes (n.), residents of Washington, DC who have been jerked around by the mayor.
Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddish expressions.
Circumvent (n.), the opening in the front of boxer shorts
The first car has a start of nine minutes before the second car leaves. If the first car travels at 40kph and the second car travels at 70kph, how many kilometres will be travelled when the cars are level?
The first car has a head start of 40*9/60 = 6km. The second car gains on the first at (70 - 40) = 30kph, so takes 6/30 = 1/5 hrs to come abreast. In that time it travels 70*1/5 = 14km.
Interesting question...can there be 'too much' safety? Such that it blunts our perspective on threat levels?
The term 'cabin fever' has just about disappreared--but it was common not so long ago, a real entity in the lives of people who'd get 'snowed in' for long stretches of time.
Instinct of self-preservation is right up there at the top of our automatic systems. TV's relentless feed into the limbic brain, bypassing the intellect as images are wired to do, is probably at the root of a vicious-circle of wrong-thinking, there, knuck.
I was recently listening to my daughters discuss the phenomenon of how some of their college friends and acquaintances seem "afraid" to do things - things like simply going in to NYC to a show or sporting event or most anything that is something they have never done before.
I used to watch parents worry over every little thing about their children: falling off swings, always wearing helmets, being poisoned on Halloween, etc., etc.. I wondered if the result wouldn't be adults afraid to do anything.
At the same time, all the good stuff disappeared from pharmacies and chemistry sets: saltpetre, sulphur, test tubes, hypodermics, etc., etc. I wondered if the result wouldn't be adults with no connection to reality and no ability to deal with 'real' stuff.
Kids are all trying to be the next cohort up, and a 10 yr old is gonna have the bike attitude we had when we were a year or two short of driving. Remember?
Maybe that's part of it. it is true, tho, and sad. Bikes were the first course in all sorts of physics and mechanics interests.
18 comments:
That's a pretty crappy way to kill an animal, even if it was just a mouse.
You're right knuck, toward the end he was a scared old geezer trying to perform 'the Hemingway'. Shame he couldn't endure the fading impetus, and find a way to enjoy the garden and reflect.
That's a pretty crappy way to kill an animal, even if it was just a mouse.
I can't find the story, but one of the diplomadic bloggers (diplomad) told of bringing in the rat catchers, who proceeded to capture the rats in cages and then burn them on a large fire. Ugly, no? But he, after all, had asked for their services and they did their job. The blogger tied this in to the US, who had to do the dirty work in dealing with terrorism. Wish I could find the post.
As to the mouse, I am not sure I believe the story. Not much fur on a mouse, although I suppose the body could have been burning.
Weather is an ancient bogeyman, sufficient to arouse fear in the multitudes. Furthermore, using weather as part of a moral drama is at least as old as Plato. Plato came to believe that the world was controlled by impersonal forces that were more powerful than humanity (like physics). Yet Plato lived in a culture that believed the gods controlled many events and that the behavior of people (society) could be rewarded or punished.
Plato used the story of Atlantis to suggest that the inhabits of Atlantis were in moral decline and were punished by the gods (flooded) for thier hubris and excessive pride. In a sense it might have been a version of a Noble Lie, namely not true but possibly an effective mechanism to get people to change their ways in accordance with the wishes of the lier. Is global warming the new "Noble?" Lie about weather. Namely, we certainly don't have certainty on the existence or causal mechanisms of this, but it is used to pursue other agendas, i.e., the diminution of US power and the undercutting of market forces and globalization. But do we really want to see Anderson Cooper in a toga?
yeh, skook, the marlin is a great one, and using 'rat-shot' won't even damage the property--except for the rifling in the gunbarrel gets clogged if ya don't clean it.
And right on the Ernie Pyle...what an hombre. And he had more than his share of demons, too--he just fought thru 'em and stuck it out for GI Joe. Until Ie Shima, or wherever it was his odds ran out.
Two cars set off from the same point to travel the same journey. The first car has a start of nine minutes before the second car leaves. If the first car travels at 40kph and the second car travels at 70kph, how many kilometres will be travelled when the cars are level?
Send answer, win prize.
(I went there looking for a certain joke contest, the puzzle is over my head)
oops, went back, contest was over last December. EVERYthing is over my head.
...looking for the origin of these, arrived in an email:
Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
Carcinoma (n.), a valley in California, notable for its heavy smog.
Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.
Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.
Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightie.
Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.
Gargoyle (n.), an olive-flavored mouthwash.
Bustard (n.), a very rude Metrobus driver.
Coffee (n.), a person who is coughed upon.
Flatulence (n.) the emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.
Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.
Semantics (n.), pranks conducted by young men studying for the priesthood, including such things as gluing the pages of the priest's prayer book together just before vespers.
Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified demeanor assumed by a proctologist immediately before he examines you.
Marionettes (n.), residents of Washington, DC who have been jerked around by the mayor.
Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddish expressions.
Circumvent (n.), the opening in the front of boxer shorts
The first car has a start of nine minutes before the second car leaves. If the first car travels at 40kph and the second car travels at 70kph, how many kilometres will be travelled when the cars are level?
The first car has a head start of 40*9/60 = 6km. The second car gains on the first at (70 - 40) = 30kph, so takes 6/30 = 1/5 hrs to come abreast. In that time it travels 70*1/5 = 14km.
I could've figured that out, but it was late. and i drank too much iced tea earlier. and the wind is blowing outside, and stuff.
I have been known to take mice away from my cat Cheetah because I can not stand to see them killed.
I feed her, the little serial killer does not need to torture and kill a mouse.
Speaking of weather, imagine what they do with the Dust Bowl today.
Terrye, we may not have to 'imagine'...I've never seen it so dry around here.
Interesting question...can there be 'too much' safety? Such that it blunts our perspective on threat levels?
The term 'cabin fever' has just about disappreared--but it was common not so long ago, a real entity in the lives of people who'd get 'snowed in' for long stretches of time.
Instinct of self-preservation is right up there at the top of our automatic systems. TV's relentless feed into the limbic brain, bypassing the intellect as images are wired to do, is probably at the root of a vicious-circle of wrong-thinking, there, knuck.
And the fear-of-fear thing, as in "I KNOW it's safe, but I also KNOW it scares me".
I was recently listening to my daughters discuss the phenomenon of how some of their college friends and acquaintances seem "afraid" to do things - things like simply going in to NYC to a show or sporting event or most anything that is something they have never done before.
I used to watch parents worry over every little thing about their children: falling off swings, always wearing helmets, being poisoned on Halloween, etc., etc.. I wondered if the result wouldn't be adults afraid to do anything.
At the same time, all the good stuff disappeared from pharmacies and chemistry sets: saltpetre, sulphur, test tubes, hypodermics, etc., etc. I wondered if the result wouldn't be adults with no connection to reality and no ability to deal with 'real' stuff.
I think the wars of the 20th century resuted in a cultural transfer of power from exploration and curiosity toward fear of consequences in general.
daddy keeps screwing up, let mommy run things.
Could be that they're just 'out' in kiddieland.
Kids are all trying to be the next cohort up, and a 10 yr old is gonna have the bike attitude we had when we were a year or two short of driving. Remember?
Maybe that's part of it. it is true, tho, and sad. Bikes were the first course in all sorts of physics and mechanics interests.
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