Starting on the Mound

09/10/2023

"There's nobody for me to attack in this matter even with soft and gentle ridicule--and I shouldn't ever think of using a grown up weapon in this kind of a nursery. Above all, I couldn't venture to attack the clergymen whom you mention, for I have their habits and live in the same glass house which they are occupying. I am always reading immoral books on the sly, and then selfishly trying to prevent other people from having the same wicked good time."
~ Mark Twain

- Letter to Denver Post dated Aug. 14, 1902 (regarding banning of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the Denver Library.)
( Complete Letters of Mark Twain: https://amzn.to/3RcuIY3)
Image: The Mark Twain House & Museum

09/10/2023

"Even if man hurts others, it is because he is weak and afraid, not because he is confident and cruel. Rousseau summed up this point of view with the idea that only the strong person can be ethical, not the weak one.”

― Ernest Becker

09/10/2023

“A high degree of intellect tends to make a man unsocial.”
— Arthur Schopenhauer

05/29/2023

“What Paul says about Peter tells us more about Paul than about Peter.”
— Baruch Spinoza

05/29/2023

“Make a habit of two things — to help, or at least, to do no harm.”

05/29/2023

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) was an American philosopher, essayist, poet, and lecturer who played a pivotal role in the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century.

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Emerson was educated at Harvard University and later became a Unitarian minister. However, he gradually drifted away from organized religion and developed his own philosophical and spiritual beliefs.

Emerson's work is characterized by a focus on individualism, self-reliance, and the importance of nature. He believed that each person has a unique inner voice that should be heeded over societal expectations, and that nature is a source of spiritual and moral inspiration.

Some of Emerson's most notable works include:

• "Nature" (1836): In this essay, Emerson lays out his philosophy of nature as a source of spiritual and moral inspiration, and emphasizes the importance of individual experience and intuition.

• "Self-Reliance" (1841): This essay is perhaps Emerson's most famous work, and it extols the virtues of non-conformity, individualism, and self-reliance.

• "The American Scholar" (1837): This speech, delivered at Harvard University, outlines Emerson's vision of the ideal American scholar as someone who is self-reliant, curious, and independent-minded.

• "Essays: First and Second Series" (1841, 1844): These two volumes of essays contain some of Emerson's most famous works, including "Self-Reliance," "The Over-Soul," and "Circles."

• "Representative Men" (1850): In this book, Emerson profiles several famous historical figures, including Plato, Napoleon, and Shakespeare, and examines their character and achievements.

Emerson's ideas had a profound influence on American culture and thought, and his work continues to be studied and admired today.

• Ralph Waldo Emerson Collection: Collected Essays and Lectures: https://amzn.to/3M4hQkc

05/29/2023

The emotionally intelligent person knows that love is a skill, not a feeling, and will require trust, vulnerability, generosity, humor, sexual understanding, and selective resignation. The emotionally intelligent person awards themselves the time to determine what gives their working life meaning and has the confidence and tenacity to try to find an accommodation between their inner priorities and the demands of the world. The emotionally intelligent person knows how to hope and be grateful, while remaining steadfast before the essentially tragic structure of existence. The emotionally intelligent person knows that they will only ever be mentally healthy in a few areas and at certain moments, but is committed to fathoming their inadequacies and warning others of them in good time, with apology and charm. There are few catastrophes, in our own lives or in those of nations, that do not ultimately have their origins in emotional ignorance. ~Alain de Botton

(Book: The School of Life https://amzn.to/3Z3voA9)

(Art: Photograph of Paul Newman and wife Joanne Woodward)

05/29/2023

“All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

• 'All that is gold does not glitter’ features in Tolkien’s 1954 novel The Fellowship of the Ring, it is part one of the three-part The Lord of the Ring series. In the novel, the character Bilbo Baggins is responsible for the poem’s composition. It comes into Frodo Baggins’ possession in the form of a letter. Gandalf includes the poem as evidence to convince Frodo to trust Aragorn who at first glance appears dark and dangerous. The poem is later read aloud by Bilbo at the Council of Elrond in the same novel.
• Get the Novel: https://amzn.to/3MBkPPP
(The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien)

08/21/2021

I am trying to finish 10 of my songs for another project.

08/19/2021