A Number of Unrelated Thoughts
Part 1 : Confession
I don't believe in hell as such, but I have thought of a scenario in which a hell-like situation could be experienced. Dying, physiologically speaking, is a gradual process. There is the possibility that the part of your brain that experiences the passage of time could die before your memories. You would then be trapped perceptually in a subjective eternity, with the memories of all the evil, thoughtless, or just plain embarrassing things you've done in your life replaying over and over in an infinite loop. In light of this, I need to get something off my chest, in the hope it will stop haunting me. Back in the 90's I made a mean-spirited and politically naive statement on a protest sign about Newt Gingrich when he came to town. It was based on nothing more than a knee-jerk dislike of republicans, and a desire to impress a girl with my confident political extremity. The sign said "Newt is the modern Hitler". That was a dumb thing to write, it was not true, and every time I see Newt in the news, I cringe at how lame I was. Hell, I'd take Newt any day over the Bush and Cheney super-villain team up. But then, Hunter S. Thompson, near the end, said he'd rather have Nixon than Bush, so make of that what you will.
Part 2 : Artist = Superhero
Superheroes are (among many other parallels) a great model for the life of an artist. This may seem a little over blown, but hear me out. We have a skill or skills, that most people do not have. Some of us are born with it (Superman), some get it through intense training (Batman), some are given it through nepotism (Green Lantern), and some through a series of circumstances (Plastic Man). Some people are envious and admiring of our skills (The Fantastic Four and The Justice League), and some people consider us freaks and sinners (The X-Men and The Doom Patrol). Some artists manage to make a living at their art through sponsorship or government grants (The Avengers), where some artists have to have a day job in order to survive (Spider-Man). The majority of artists are unable to do it professionally. This unfortunate majority are sometimes motivated by fun, but more often are motivated by a sense of duty and destiny ("With great power comes great responsibility." = "I make art because I have to."), and are more often than not, completely misunderstood by the people at their day job. The non-artist and non-superhero can go to their job, do their work, and go home; the artist/hero has to do the same except at the end of the work day, they are driven (often against their will) to fill another, more difficult and taxing, role. We have all the same needs as other people (food, shelter, clothing, love, friendship, security), but we also have another psychological need that is as real as the others: Superman doesn't save the world because it's fun; he does it because the world needs him to.
Part 3 Dogs, Cats, and Vocabulary
There is no way to say who is smarter, dogs or cats. There are too many variations in types of intelligence. Personally, I think it's dogs, but I understand all the arguments to the contrary. One things that people bring up is vocabulary. Cat people say that cats have a larger vocabulary. Oddly dog people say the same thing about dogs. After being rather confused by this contradiction, I did some research on the subject and found out a solution that is very telling about the psychology of cat people vs. dog people. Cats have a larger spoken vocabulary, and a smaller understood vocabulary. Dogs have a smaller spoken vocabulary, but a larger understood vocabulary. That is why cats can make a more complex series of sounds to indicate their needs, but stare at you as if you were a lava lamp when you try to tell them something. It also explains why your dog can understand very complex instructions or messages, but can't express themselves beyond a few barks or whines. So this, then, is very telling about the psychology of cat people and dog people. In general, cat people consider speaking to be the more important part of communication, whereas dog people consider listening to be more important. I've tried to express this to cat people, but they just don't listen.
I don't believe in hell as such, but I have thought of a scenario in which a hell-like situation could be experienced. Dying, physiologically speaking, is a gradual process. There is the possibility that the part of your brain that experiences the passage of time could die before your memories. You would then be trapped perceptually in a subjective eternity, with the memories of all the evil, thoughtless, or just plain embarrassing things you've done in your life replaying over and over in an infinite loop. In light of this, I need to get something off my chest, in the hope it will stop haunting me. Back in the 90's I made a mean-spirited and politically naive statement on a protest sign about Newt Gingrich when he came to town. It was based on nothing more than a knee-jerk dislike of republicans, and a desire to impress a girl with my confident political extremity. The sign said "Newt is the modern Hitler". That was a dumb thing to write, it was not true, and every time I see Newt in the news, I cringe at how lame I was. Hell, I'd take Newt any day over the Bush and Cheney super-villain team up. But then, Hunter S. Thompson, near the end, said he'd rather have Nixon than Bush, so make of that what you will.
Part 2 : Artist = Superhero
Superheroes are (among many other parallels) a great model for the life of an artist. This may seem a little over blown, but hear me out. We have a skill or skills, that most people do not have. Some of us are born with it (Superman), some get it through intense training (Batman), some are given it through nepotism (Green Lantern), and some through a series of circumstances (Plastic Man). Some people are envious and admiring of our skills (The Fantastic Four and The Justice League), and some people consider us freaks and sinners (The X-Men and The Doom Patrol). Some artists manage to make a living at their art through sponsorship or government grants (The Avengers), where some artists have to have a day job in order to survive (Spider-Man). The majority of artists are unable to do it professionally. This unfortunate majority are sometimes motivated by fun, but more often are motivated by a sense of duty and destiny ("With great power comes great responsibility." = "I make art because I have to."), and are more often than not, completely misunderstood by the people at their day job. The non-artist and non-superhero can go to their job, do their work, and go home; the artist/hero has to do the same except at the end of the work day, they are driven (often against their will) to fill another, more difficult and taxing, role. We have all the same needs as other people (food, shelter, clothing, love, friendship, security), but we also have another psychological need that is as real as the others: Superman doesn't save the world because it's fun; he does it because the world needs him to.
Part 3 Dogs, Cats, and Vocabulary
There is no way to say who is smarter, dogs or cats. There are too many variations in types of intelligence. Personally, I think it's dogs, but I understand all the arguments to the contrary. One things that people bring up is vocabulary. Cat people say that cats have a larger vocabulary. Oddly dog people say the same thing about dogs. After being rather confused by this contradiction, I did some research on the subject and found out a solution that is very telling about the psychology of cat people vs. dog people. Cats have a larger spoken vocabulary, and a smaller understood vocabulary. Dogs have a smaller spoken vocabulary, but a larger understood vocabulary. That is why cats can make a more complex series of sounds to indicate their needs, but stare at you as if you were a lava lamp when you try to tell them something. It also explains why your dog can understand very complex instructions or messages, but can't express themselves beyond a few barks or whines. So this, then, is very telling about the psychology of cat people and dog people. In general, cat people consider speaking to be the more important part of communication, whereas dog people consider listening to be more important. I've tried to express this to cat people, but they just don't listen.
posted by John McKenna at 9:46 AM
2 Comments:
Last weekend in L.A. there was a Zombie March. I heard about it after the fact unfortunately, but I thought you would have loved it. Someone told me that the Zombies all marched past the Christian Scientist building and the desk clerk was quite upset and annoyed quickly getting on the phone to her superiors. I was told it was sponsored by wearenotzombies.com but I'm not sure if this is a credible link. Just thought you might want to look at pictures.
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