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~Video Killed The Radio Star~
What I Read Today
I read this article today on IHT The discouraging rise of pessimism.. on perception of how optimist & pessimist view the world beyond them.. to be frank.. i 'm not sure if i understood what the writer meant to convey.. but anyways its nice mind crunching thought..
[...]
Pessimism as philosophy is skeptical of the idea of progress. Pursuing happiness is a fool's errand. Pessimism is not, as is commonly thought, about being depressed or misanthropic, and it does not hold that humanity is headed for disaster. It simply doubts the most basic liberal principle: that applying human reasoning to the world's problems will have a positive effect.The biggest difference between optimists and pessimists, is in how they view time. Optimists see the passing of time as a canvas on which to paint a better world. Pessimists see it as a burden. Time ticks off the physical decline of one's body toward the inevitability of death, and it separates people from their loved ones.
"All the tragedies which we can imagine," said Simone Weil, the French philosopher who starved herself to death at age 34, "return in the end to the one and only tragedy: the passage of time."
Optimists see history as the story of civilization's ascent. Pessimists believe, in the idea that any apparent progress has hidden costs, so that even when the world seems to be improving, "in fact it is getting worse (or, on the whole, no better)."
As politicians, pessimists do not believe in undertaking great initiatives to ameliorate unhappiness, since they are skeptical they will work. They are inclined to accept the world's evil and misery as inevitable. Camus joined the French Resistance. But pessimism's overall spirit, as Camus noted, "is not to be cured, but to live with one's ailments."
[...]
pretty thoughtful... and heavy on intellect.. i agree with the writer that everything has a price.. some hidden costs.. but i don't think one can live with a general unhappiness in his/her environs.. given a chance if he or she can fix it.. whatever the hidden costs are.. at least i think so..
~Like A Hurricane~
[...]
Pessimism as philosophy is skeptical of the idea of progress. Pursuing happiness is a fool's errand. Pessimism is not, as is commonly thought, about being depressed or misanthropic, and it does not hold that humanity is headed for disaster. It simply doubts the most basic liberal principle: that applying human reasoning to the world's problems will have a positive effect.The biggest difference between optimists and pessimists, is in how they view time. Optimists see the passing of time as a canvas on which to paint a better world. Pessimists see it as a burden. Time ticks off the physical decline of one's body toward the inevitability of death, and it separates people from their loved ones.
"All the tragedies which we can imagine," said Simone Weil, the French philosopher who starved herself to death at age 34, "return in the end to the one and only tragedy: the passage of time."
Optimists see history as the story of civilization's ascent. Pessimists believe, in the idea that any apparent progress has hidden costs, so that even when the world seems to be improving, "in fact it is getting worse (or, on the whole, no better)."
As politicians, pessimists do not believe in undertaking great initiatives to ameliorate unhappiness, since they are skeptical they will work. They are inclined to accept the world's evil and misery as inevitable. Camus joined the French Resistance. But pessimism's overall spirit, as Camus noted, "is not to be cured, but to live with one's ailments."
[...]
pretty thoughtful... and heavy on intellect.. i agree with the writer that everything has a price.. some hidden costs.. but i don't think one can live with a general unhappiness in his/her environs.. given a chance if he or she can fix it.. whatever the hidden costs are.. at least i think so..
~Like A Hurricane~
1984 in 2006
"There will be no curiosity, no enjoyment of the process of life. All competing pleasures will be destroyed. But always — do not forget this, Winston — always there will be the intoxication of power, constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler. Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face ...for ever."
-George Orwell In 1984.
"To see what's is in front of one's nose needs a constant struggle."
-George Orwell
Arguably life imitates art.. or was it the other way round.. but any ways... Winston Smith did not stand a chance.. neither do many other hapless victims... Winston who.. ?? who victims.. ?? its all down the memory hole already...
-George Orwell In 1984.
"To see what's is in front of one's nose needs a constant struggle."
-George Orwell
Arguably life imitates art.. or was it the other way round.. but any ways... Winston Smith did not stand a chance.. neither do many other hapless victims... Winston who.. ?? who victims.. ?? its all down the memory hole already...
Colors Of The Fall
this is the picture just taken outside my apartment.. its fall time here in new england.. and all the foliage is covered with all colors possible.. its hard to imagine how nature can be so beautiful & colorful just with trees & only trees...
~Dust In The Wind~
Being Ten More Than Ninety
does the post title sound insane.. well it is insane... but yes i choosed this name as this is post number 'ten more than ninety'... in easier words.. its the hundreth post.. i need to be congratulated on this.. ahem...
so here goes disarmament for a toss... i am seeing a potential mushroom cloud over the far-east.. you never know how serious the north korean's are on executing their threat to test nuclear weapons.. but yes they have nothing to lose in this jingoism.. and they know that washington is in a fix right now.. so is communist korea playing to the gallery or can they really walk their talk.. well it's anybody guess.. they have the capabilty.. no doubt about that.. but would they leverage that threat for concessions or test the weapons & lose that bargaining chip.. it has to be seen.. equally interesting would be the response of japanese new nationalist prime minister... this theatre has many players.. and many vestiges of the past.. that haven't healed over the time.. both korea's remain technically at war as their war ended in an armistice in '53.. there is also serious hard feelings in korea & china for the japanese militarist past and its abuses.. america has over 50,000 forces stationed in okinawa & south korea.. and now the sudden rise of japanese nationalism... also there is a feeling that china and russia have lost favour with the north korean leadership.. or maybe pyongyang is not in a mood to relent this time... but one thing is clear if north korea bites the bullet... japan is going to renounce its post-war pacifist constitution.. china may take armed japan into future strategic planning... as a spin-off of this imbroglio.. further straining relations... add to this the missile defence that america is building for japan and taiwan.. this would complicate problems for bush jr. and provoke iran to follow suit... hmmmm.... there are more headaches and more mushroom clouds in the offing.. maybe a new one in middle east is not that far really...
~More Than A Feeling~
so here goes disarmament for a toss... i am seeing a potential mushroom cloud over the far-east.. you never know how serious the north korean's are on executing their threat to test nuclear weapons.. but yes they have nothing to lose in this jingoism.. and they know that washington is in a fix right now.. so is communist korea playing to the gallery or can they really walk their talk.. well it's anybody guess.. they have the capabilty.. no doubt about that.. but would they leverage that threat for concessions or test the weapons & lose that bargaining chip.. it has to be seen.. equally interesting would be the response of japanese new nationalist prime minister... this theatre has many players.. and many vestiges of the past.. that haven't healed over the time.. both korea's remain technically at war as their war ended in an armistice in '53.. there is also serious hard feelings in korea & china for the japanese militarist past and its abuses.. america has over 50,000 forces stationed in okinawa & south korea.. and now the sudden rise of japanese nationalism... also there is a feeling that china and russia have lost favour with the north korean leadership.. or maybe pyongyang is not in a mood to relent this time... but one thing is clear if north korea bites the bullet... japan is going to renounce its post-war pacifist constitution.. china may take armed japan into future strategic planning... as a spin-off of this imbroglio.. further straining relations... add to this the missile defence that america is building for japan and taiwan.. this would complicate problems for bush jr. and provoke iran to follow suit... hmmmm.... there are more headaches and more mushroom clouds in the offing.. maybe a new one in middle east is not that far really...
~More Than A Feeling~
Bowling For Columbine
last saturday i was watching micheal moore's bowling for columbine... yet again... in case you don't know.. it documents the reasons for columbine school massacre.. the reason why america leads the figures for gun-related homicide.. and why guns and america is one potent potion... and in the span of last one week.. there has been three school shooting that had fatalities... including the one at pennsylvania today... the symptoms that this documentary talks about are all there... it just manifests differently everytime... this media campaign of fear and anxiety.. of fear-aided-consumption... of an america that is at odds with the generally accepted perception... of america that is living on edge and with lots of guns lying around... of boys who bowled and gunned their way to infamy... of six-year old killing six year old... of people who fail to accept that they have a problem at hand..
as micheal moore said in closing words of the film... "Yes, it was a glorious time to be an American."
~Kinks In Celluloid Heroes~
I wish my life was a non-stop hollywood movie show,
A fantasy world of celluloid villains and heroes,
Because celluloid heroes never feel any pain
And celluloid heroes never really die.
as micheal moore said in closing words of the film... "Yes, it was a glorious time to be an American."
~Kinks In Celluloid Heroes~
I wish my life was a non-stop hollywood movie show,
A fantasy world of celluloid villains and heroes,
Because celluloid heroes never feel any pain
And celluloid heroes never really die.
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