I Found a Penny Today, So Here's a Thought
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Benedictus de Spinoza, the 17th-century rationalist.
A family friend once boldly announced during a conversation that " Spinoza was an idiot." As of this blog posting, no one indexed by Google has ever written that exact phrase. People have said that Spinoza was:
" beside himself with grief and rage"
" dependent on his own work for a livelihood" " little understood in his time" "accused of abominable heresies and monstrous deeds" " uncanny, both personally and philosophically" " an easy man to revile but not necessarily an easy man to dislike" "as close as philosophy could come to sainthood — a life of austerity, rationality, independence, principle, rarefied thought" " loveable"
"offered 1000 florins to keep quiet about his views, but refused" " unique to the point of solitariness" " not at all put out by this" While looking up Spinoza humor online, I discovered that there are no jokes indexed on Google that begin, "Spinoza walks into a bar." The phrase "Did you hear the one about Spinoza" also returns zero results. I guess Spinoza had the last laugh. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Click here to open the Fortune's Navigator Compass.
I enjoyed this description of my " Fortune's Navigator Compass" by Woof Blister: In these tempestuous times of tumult and travail, when we seem to be chartlessly traversing dangerous waters by unseen stars through uncertain straits, it is helpful when one can glean some random guidance. If you are camped in confusion at the foggy crossroads awaiting inspiration then perhaps Fortune's Navigator Compass from Abecedarian may offer a good-as-any cyber-suggestion toward where to turn next. Click in the center twice, and bon voyage! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
You're (Literally) the Top
(inspired by Cole Porter, of course)
You're the top;
you're the peak of Dante;
You're the top—
blue-chip picante.
You're the jewel in the crown of a dinner gown by Klein.
You're Dorsey's trombone,
you're Kheops' capstone,
you're altar wine.
You're the top—
as in "hat," on Fred's head.
You're the quip
dear old Oscar Wilde said.
I'm an inarticulate voiceless glottal stop.
But if, baby, I'm the bottom you're the top!
You're the top;
you're the head of Acme
(placed there
by imperial decree).
You're the high point of a fairy tale by Grimm.
You're lemon zest,
you're Arthur's crest,
you're the Battle Hymn.
You're the top—
you're the Everest summit.
You ascend
where others plummet.
Compared to me John Falstaff is a fop.
But if, baby, I'm the bottom you're the top!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I laughed when I came across this line in a review of the film Anazapta (a supernatural tale set in the Middle Ages): Fearing the pox, the Devil, and the French (although not in that order) ...
That would make a fun test question: "Rank the following according to menace." What would the correct answer be? (Hint: The worst one of them leaves a burning sensation.) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The first diagram is my recreation of "The Pickle Theory of Value." (This is a serious theory about the perceived value of start up businesses, and it is explained here. Between you and me, I think all graphs should feature vegetables instead of boring lines.) The second diagram is my spin-off of the pickle theory. I call it, "Ceci n'est pas une cornichon." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Follow Your Bliss Compass is located here.
The La Dolce Vita blog got empowered by my Follow Your Bliss Compass. Here's an excerpt: While shopping, I was contemplating on making a large furniture purchase. Undecided, I kept finding reasons not to spend the money. The clerk then said to me "Before you purchase, follow your bliss." What?? How about room theme or color scheme, but bliss? What does bliss have to do with my purchase decision? Do you ever have the sense of being helped by hidden hands? Today I did... I need to go out and do what makes me come alive. I need to tap into the energy that makes me tick. Bliss comes from within, not from striving for outer appearances or outer circumstances. Living my own unique life in harmony with myself (and my son)... Now, that's bliss. I found this website ( www.oneletterwords.com/bliss) and may spin the wheel on a daily basis. Maybe, just maybe, this will help to keep me on the right track. My "Follow Your Bliss Compass" suggested that it is 'Time for some quiet contemplation'. The comment from the clerk and this compass have already made an empowering change in my life. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
In Japan, most statues of Thousand-Armed Kannon, a Buddhist Goddess of Mercy, show only 42 arms. Two are normal arms, and the remaining arms each represent the 25 Buddhist worlds. 40 times 25 equals 1000, plus two regular arms equals 1002. Whether a statue has 42 arms or 1002, it still seems to misrepresent the goddess by minimizing or exaggerating her arms! Tibetan art seems to have a better grip on one thousand arms. This painting of Thousand-Armed Chenrezig (a.k.a. Avalokitesvara, the Buddha of Compassion) looks convincing. This Chinese statue of the Goddess of Mercy also appears to get the number right. But who's counting? |
Page 171 of 174
> Older Entries...
Original Content Copyright © 2026 by Craig Conley. All rights reserved.
|
