Last Saturday
“Cappucino?” bellows the waiter. Happy bustle is the norm and cool fog surrounds everything with a gentle ambience. Spoons rattle softly and a delicate aroma of flowers fills in the sensory cracks. It is a Saturday morning utopia, almost. There is only one encroachment to my bliss. A withered sidewalk performer seems set on serenading us with his piercingly irritating penny whistle. I’m tempted to pay the old man off; $10 is more than he deserves, but serenity is worth at least that much. Across the courtyard some pretty Asian girls are playing violins and their melodies mix much better with my coffee and the aromatic breeze than the shriek of the penny whistle hack. Competition is great in the open market of economy but such a policy ends...
The Pope and "Fascist" Reactions
Have you heard about all the Muslim uproar about something the Pope said? The Pope’s words were not even his own. He made it very clear that he was quoting from a book recounting a dialogue on the truths of Christianity and Islam between Manuel Paleologos II, a 14th century Byzantine Christian Emperor, and an educated Persian: “He said, I quote, ‘Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached’.” Apparently aware of the delicacy of the issue, Benedict described the phrases on Islam as “brusque”, and pointed out several times that he was quoting – although he neither explicitly agreed with nor...
Camus and Inbred Humanism
I’ve been reading Nobel Banquet speeches by those who have won such an award in the field of Literature. I’ve only read three of the speeches so far (Solzhenitsyn, Camus and Eliot), but I have found that each speech provides a concise glimpse into the artistic philosophy of the writer. The value here is tremendous, for such a concise representation is akin to an ideological scalpel that cuts to the core of ideas that may be buried more deeply in an author’s extended work. It serves as a confirmation of hints received along the way (at least for already encountered authors) and provides a miniature portrait of what may be expected from writers whose catalog, til now, had been unexplored. Of the three writers whose speeches I have read only one...
In Pictures: Chicago
Saturday morning of last week was spent in Millenium Park, here is some of what I saw.
The One Book Meme
I was probably divinely called to complete this, as I’ve seen it in two places at about the same time (Listless Lawyer and BittersweetLife). 1. One book that changed your life: The Republic, Plato. I first read this book in high school and have read it since as well; I’m not a hardcore Platonite, his ideas are fascinating but naturally flawed (there are better descriptions of reality). Really, the reason The Republic earns this slot is because it opened my heart and my mind to the world of philosophy; the moment I encountered Plato’s description of justice my heart started palpitating with excitement, and my enthusiasm hasn’t waned. Yes, I am fortunate that I found a true passion in high school, and The Republic is what brought focus and...