tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post2991585541981761008..comments2023-10-17T08:19:58.196-04:00Comments on FreeThinke: FreeThinkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16682678301019952436noreply@blogger.comBlogger66125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-59776680804650617172012-12-10T05:10:19.323-05:002012-12-10T05:10:19.323-05:00Jez,
Well, thank you!Jez,<br />Well, thank you!Always On Watchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08192688822955022541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-48161832564331501522012-12-09T20:37:41.732-05:002012-12-09T20:37:41.732-05:00Any man who could love Balti more is all right in ...Any man who could love Balti more is all right in my book.Thersiteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15751286903359745316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-65170868452778574082012-12-09T20:13:56.123-05:002012-12-09T20:13:56.123-05:00Since we've written a good deal about the inte...Since we've written a good deal about the interaction of human beings with jungle cats, I've got to bring Ogden Nash into the mix:<br /><br /><i>If you're questioned by a panther --<br />Don't anther.</i><br /><br />Mr. Nash was a great genius in his own rite -- a true original. Always loved him ever since I received a copy of "Elderly Poems for Youngerly Readers" at Christmas the year I turned eleven.FreeThinkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16682678301019952436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-43843283320826915422012-12-09T18:05:00.911-05:002012-12-09T18:05:00.911-05:00AOW: my remark to you was intended as straight-for...AOW: my remark to you was intended as straight-forward admiration.jezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14865247084509280406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-37096112928018655332012-12-09T15:38:12.182-05:002012-12-09T15:38:12.182-05:00UNCF?UNCF?Thersiteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15751286903359745316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-21631785275533281382012-12-09T15:21:59.527-05:002012-12-09T15:21:59.527-05:00Knowing oneself requires great introspection and t...Knowing oneself requires great introspection and the work this requires is, IMNHO, derived from a lifetime of observations, beyond what many are willing to exert. Simply stated it is easier to accept the loudest drumbeat. The oligarchs and the conditioning every one is exposed to has worked its purpose.<br /><br />It is what it is. Likely it will continue to be what it is.<br /><br />A mind is a terrible thing to waste. Somebody, I've forgotten who, once said that. Les Carpenterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01120280762698472496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-63662659431271371522012-12-09T14:41:19.690-05:002012-12-09T14:41:19.690-05:00I was delayed in getting back to this thread.
Tha...I was delayed in getting back to this thread.<br /><br />Thank you, FT, for that vote of confidence.<br /><br />You know what? I believe that almost all of us in the blogosphere are more complicated that we may appear to others. I say "almost all" because certain trolls -- I'm not referring to Duck, whom I do not consider a troll -- are one-note sambas and likely simplistic. One of those trolls perseverates at my site and gets deleted every time. You know to whom I'm referring. <br /><br />If Shakespeare taught us anything, it is that we are all complicated -- and that nobody else really knows us. Hell, I'm not too sure that we know ourselves.Always On Watchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08192688822955022541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-21718759943128662882012-12-09T13:16:15.821-05:002012-12-09T13:16:15.821-05:00There was a young lady of Niger
Who smiled as she ...<i>There was a young lady of Niger<br />Who smiled as she rode on a tiger;<br />They returned from the ride<br />With the lady inside,<br />And the smile on the face of the tiger. </i><br /><br />Emerson, "Conduct of Life"<br /><br /><i>One more text from the mythologists is to the same purpose, — Beauty rides on a lion. Beauty rests on necessities. The line of beauty is the result of perfect economy. The cell of the bee is built at that angle which gives the most strength with the least wax; the bone or the quill of the bird gives the most alar strength, with the least weight. "It is the purgation of superfluities," said Michel Angelo. There is not a particle to spare in natural structures. There is a compelling reason in the uses of the plant, for every novelty of color or form: and our art saves material, by more skilful arrangement, and reaches beauty by taking every superfluous ounce that can be spared from a wall, and keeping all its strength in the poetry of columns. In rhetoric, this art of omission is a chief secret of power, and, in general, it is proof of high culture, to say the greatest matters in the simplest way.</i>-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16745768408538827278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-75972066414868080142012-12-09T13:12:21.990-05:002012-12-09T13:12:21.990-05:00...also... Dionysus is also strongly associated ......also... <i> Dionysus is also strongly associated with satyrs, centaurs, and sileni. He is often shown <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Dionysos_mosaic_from_Pella.jpg" rel="nofollow">riding a leopard</a>, wearing a leopard skin, or in a <a href="http://www.egodeath.com/images/egodeatharticle/HighRes/DionysusVictoryChariot_HiRes.jpg" rel="nofollow">chariot drawn by panthers</a>, and may also be recognized by the thyrsus <a href="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4128/5047685047_6c8c49d635_z.jpg" rel="nofollow">he carries.</a></i>-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16745768408538827278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-5210200472036359512012-12-09T12:59:49.235-05:002012-12-09T12:59:49.235-05:00I was thinking myself of that linkage earlier in t...I was thinking myself of that linkage earlier in the week, of the "totem" animals of northwest Indian tribes.-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16745768408538827278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-59294417122778116452012-12-09T12:05:53.225-05:002012-12-09T12:05:53.225-05:00All right, all right! I was partially wrong. The p...All right, all right! I was partially wrong. The painting I had in mind is one of Henri Rousseau's DESERT paintings.<br /><br />It is called The Sleeping Gypsy and the "cat" involved is a huge LION.<br /><br />Here's a link to The Sleeping Gypsy:<br /><br /><b>http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=80172</b><br /><br />Funny! Balzac write of a LEOPARD, which for some odd reason the translator call a PANTHER.<br /><br />Rousseau painted a LION.<br /><br />The Life of Pi features a TIGER. (The trailer is terrific, by the way. I MUST find a way to see this film.)<br /><br />The similarities among these various works are hard to deny. Could it just be coincidence?<br /><br />The theme of intimate relationships between human beings and jungle cats seems very odd.<br /><br />Probably has its roots in some ancient tribal mythology, don't you think?<br /><br /><br /><br />FreeThinkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16682678301019952436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-16525689381311255732012-12-09T11:52:39.822-05:002012-12-09T11:52:39.822-05:00AHA! It wasn't a man; it was a woman. The pain...AHA! It wasn't a man; it was a woman. The painting is called The Dream., although I swear I remember a Bedouin in the desert with a jungle cat.<br /><br />You may see The Dream at this link:<br /><br />http://www.artofeurope.com/rousseau/rou10.htm<br /><br />One of a series of "Jungle Paintings"all of which are striking and thought-provoking. Not "beautiful" but fascinating.FreeThinkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16682678301019952436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-18313566880133267962012-12-09T11:41:40.884-05:002012-12-09T11:41:40.884-05:00I first read that story by Balzac when I was fourt...I first read that story by Balzac when I was fourteen or fifteen. I've never forgotten it. Love, trust, doubt, hear, betrayal, remorse all touched upon in a dreamlike, surreal setting.<br /><br />The painter Rousseau must have been inspired by this tale too. I remember one of his eerily stylized pictures of a jungle cat and a man in a somewhat "compromising" juxtaposition.<br /><br />I wish I could remember the title of the work!<br /><br />_______________<br /><br />Thanks all for your input and for visiting. <br /><br />~ FTFreeThinkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16682678301019952436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-61754390552570631382012-12-09T08:44:39.107-05:002012-12-09T08:44:39.107-05:00I guess I am really a free thinker. I despise any ...I guess I am really a free thinker. I despise any and all collectives telling me how I should think or how I should lead my life, or what philosophy or religion I should subscribe to. Political correctness is bullshit while multiculturalism actually has som merit, albeit limited. I would be by far more concerned with the creeping socon and neocon Facism that has found its way into our politics than I would be about all the other claptrap that serves only to mask the much more serious and real issues confronting America and her people.<br /><br />Watch out for the sandman.Les Carpenterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01120280762698472496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-11586804835448226242012-12-09T07:05:41.029-05:002012-12-09T07:05:41.029-05:00Perhaps some of the inspiration came from that tal...Perhaps some of the inspiration came from that tale...<br /><br />thankyou for sharing it!Thersiteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15751286903359745316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-25850021150461841282012-12-09T05:25:59.005-05:002012-12-09T05:25:59.005-05:00"She derides the notion of "uniformity o..."She derides the notion of "uniformity of thought," but in the same breath criticises the notion of multiculturalism."<br /><br />Jack...no connection. Multiculturalism doesn't breed uniformity of thought, it breeds a country in precarious shape because there's no uniformity of allegiance.Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15989573357446569262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-27526397637358267972012-12-08T20:35:18.195-05:002012-12-08T20:35:18.195-05:00The Life of Pi, as briefly described to me earlier...The Life of Pi, as briefly described to me earlier today, reminded me of a magnificent short story by Honore de Balzac -- A Passion in the Desert.<br /><br />Are you familiar with it?<br /><br />Not really knowing anything about "Pi" other than its being a sort of revisitation of Robinson Crusoe marooned with a Tiger, instead of a good man Friday, I couldn't help but wonder if Balzac had been the inspiration for the more modern tale?<br /><br />Here is the link to the online text -- a beautiful translation from the original French that loses none of Balzac's genius for poetic imagery.<br /><br /><b>http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/20640/</b><br /><br />If you are not already familiar with this strange and haunting tale, I am sure you would enjoy reading it -- especially in light of your interest in The Life of Pi.<br /><br />~ FTFreeThinkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16682678301019952436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-42297151359461067532012-12-08T17:26:48.482-05:002012-12-08T17:26:48.482-05:00It examines the redemptive qualities of religion f...It examines the redemptive qualities of religion for a "fallen" species.Thersiteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15751286903359745316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-68808755928599874862012-12-08T17:25:21.361-05:002012-12-08T17:25:21.361-05:00You would love the movie. Please go see it. Life...You would love the movie. Please go see it. Life of Pi. You won't regret it. I went so far as to see the 3D version.Thersiteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15751286903359745316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-32743973497700699992012-12-08T17:23:45.657-05:002012-12-08T17:23:45.657-05:00That depends whether we were speaking previously o...That depends whether we were speaking previously of meerkats or mere cats. Can a tiger be either? How about a repressed subconscious one?<br /><br />And sorry for keeping with the lifeboat meme.... I can't get pie off my mind... or any other irrational numbers. I suppose I'm just a Pythagorean at heart... ;)Thersiteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15751286903359745316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-74306953898676324952012-12-08T17:09:55.547-05:002012-12-08T17:09:55.547-05:00As for "lifeboat problems" I thought we&...As for "lifeboat problems" I thought we'd dealt with that pretty well, albeit satirically, in the preceding post -- The Parable of the Sinking Ship - Why Mankind is fallen Species.<br /><br />Or didn't we? (:-c<br /><br />~ FTFreeThinkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16682678301019952436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-37807827591538359982012-12-08T17:07:19.626-05:002012-12-08T17:07:19.626-05:00Actually you meant to write MERELY, I'm sure. ...Actually you meant to write MERELY, I'm sure. Isn't that correct? ;-)FreeThinkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16682678301019952436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-25776197095376503292012-12-08T14:52:43.397-05:002012-12-08T14:52:43.397-05:00erratum - "meerly," above above.erratum - "<i>meerly</i>," above above.Speedy Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01640242783952822072noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-48350112402149974842012-12-08T14:51:56.727-05:002012-12-08T14:51:56.727-05:00...or perhaps from his perspective, mere;y a raven......or perhaps from his perspective, mere;y a ravenous hyena.Speedy Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01640242783952822072noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145653764764266444.post-89244326785633639192012-12-08T14:49:55.747-05:002012-12-08T14:49:55.747-05:00...and if jez wishes to deny his inner "Richa......and if jez wishes to deny his inner "Richard Parker"... who am I to argue? A cup of orange juice?Speedy Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01640242783952822072noreply@blogger.com