Street Art

This is one of the most exceptional pieces of urban "street" art! I am impressed with good, provocative, well-conceived street art. See much more at StreetArtUtopia.

Pie in the Sky

I've had to deal with it for as long as I can remember: "Oh, come on, of COURSE you want a birthday cake!" No, I don't. I want a birthday pie. (The fact that it's not my birthday has no bearing on this discussion.)

Almost everyone seems to think it's just WRONG to turn down a birthday cake in favor of a birthday pie. But I don't. It's not that I have anything against cake. Cake is OK. In fact, there are plenty of cakes that I find appealing. But when it comes to my birthday, or anyone else's for that matter, I prefer pie. I don't think I have a favorite pie. If I did, it would probably be apple. Or cherry. Maybe pecan. Possibly peach. Chocolate pie is not my top choice, but I can eat it. Buttermilk pie is good. So is coconut cream pie.  And lemon meringue has a place.  As does black-bottom pie. 

It seems a bit odd to me that I, never much of a sweets-eater, have always liked pie.  What's odder still is the fact that the older I get, the more I like it.  I guess it would be even more odd if I were to like it more the younger I get.

Transformations

This first post-business road trip was supposed to be fantastic. Somehow, though, it's lacking the transformational character I expected and hoped for.

I wonder if I was looking for the wrong transformation? There will be transformations, I just don't know now what they will be.

Questions

My father never, to my recollection, spoke to me about religion or god or his religious beliefs. I knew, though, that he was religious. He was just very, very private about his beliefs. I don't, to this day, know exactly what his religious beliefs were, but I do know (or I think I do) they were Christian beliefs and he was a religious man. My mother told me, after he died, his favorite hymn was Amazing Grace. I remember a few occasions when I heard him humming it...or maybe even singing it. Or maybe those are false memories. I don't know.

Regardless, I associate that hymn with my father. Whenever I hear it, I think of him. When I hear it, I get very emotional and I tend to tear-up. Don't know just why, but I do.

I'm not religious, at least not in the traditional way. I don't believe there is a god that has ultimate responsibility for everything. I don't think there's a powerful being that created mankind. All of that stuff strikes me as utter fantasy. But I believe there is more to "us" than higher-level animals who can think and plan. I don't think there's an afterlife, but I think the lives we live allow us to have a mark on the future...or at least on the present. I believe in concepts of goodness and badness. I believe people should be good to one another. I don't believe people should steal from one another. I don't believe murder, whether by individuals or the state, is acceptable. I have morality. I just don't quite know how to defend it. I don't do it through god.

Physics cannot explain all the "BIG" questions to my satisfaction. But I don't buy the religious explanations, either.

It's late. I have to sleep. These questions won't get answered tonight. They won't get answered in this lifetime.

Without a Point

My "local" friends are few and far between. That's due, in large part, to the fact that I tend to be more than a little aloof in some circumstances. That aloofness tends to make people a little less than enthusiastic about approaching me. Another factor in "aloneness" can be attributed to my desire for private time. Though I'm by no means a loner, I enjoy people (in general) in small doses. I don't "bond" over the most common bonding factors, either. Sports...not my thing. Politics...I'm deeply liberal on most issues, but tend to get bored talking about politics. Social consciousness...I care deeply, but I have to be in the right mood to converse about those matters.

I'm not an easy guy to like. Often, I don't even like myself. If I have any claim to fame, it is the depth, breadth, and complexity of my flaws. I have so very, very many of them.

Before you say I'm overstating it, listen to this: my flaws do not include self-aggrandizement. I don't oversell myself. I say it as it is. Usually.

The purpose of this post? There isn't one. That's another thing about me that many people find perturbing. Sometimes, I go on and on without a point.

The End

I may be at the very end. We'll see.

I Turned 58 Today

I "turned." George Carlin's routine about "hitting" a certain age, then "reaching" another and "turning" yet another is on my mind.