Over the weekend we saw a most excellent movie: Inception. Intelligently made, thought-provoking, and NOT an excuse to have a bunch of special effects parade across the screen (although this had them in abundance).
In case you don't know what the movie is about (usually I am the last to know or I don't ever know), it's about dreams. The subject of dreams and time travel are two of my favorite things to mull over in my mind and get confused about.
Last night I watched an episode of the original Outer Limits, this particular one a precursor to the Terminator series. An earthling from the future goes back into the past to stop an act that ruined mankind. He was successful, but as he went back to the future he disappeared because he was traveling to a world into which he'd never been born.
What if people were able to travel through time, from the future to the past, and change events and thus alter history?
The thing is, where would it stop? Because for every event that was changed, someone else would travel back to unchange it. You'd have people zipping back and forth through time constantly altering events and creating a topsy turvy existence.
Let's say this is going on right now. That means that your perception of reality, everything you know about the world and its history, is ever-changing because someone from the future has come back to change it. Except you are unaware of this. You are unaware because each conscious moment you experience is based on a history that keeps changing.
And suppose some action done by a visitor from the future directly affects an event that prevents you from being born, or causes you to be rubbed out earlier in your life? Then poof, you are not even here any more. But how would you even know that? You'd be gone like the snap of a finger.
Luckily that hasn't happened yet and here you are, but just think, every single thing you know is the result of people from the future changing your past and since they are going back and forth all the time, your past keeps changing.
Of course, with all these changes going on, that affects everything in the future so perhaps some of these time travelers fiddle themselves right out of existence.
Or, perhaps they need to come back here and fiddle with time in order to create their existence. Had they not traveled back in time, they wouldn't have existed.
Just something to tangle up your brain for the day..
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Saturday, July 24, 2010
I'm still standing
Well it's been a few days since I made my last post and given its depressing nature I thought maybe I ought to just let you know I haven't committed suicide or anything like that, haha.. I'm still here.
The way I look at it, it is what it is. No country or person is invulnerable and no country is going to last forever. There is only one Kingdom that will prevail and will last for eternity and that's enough to give me peace of mind.
So.. last Tuesday we saw the final stop of the Carole King / James Taylor tour, at the Honda Center in Anaheim. This sort of completes a circle - the very first rock/pop concert I saw was 39 years ago in March of 1971 at the Anaheim Convention Center. It was headlined by James Taylor, with Carole King and Jo Mama as the supporting acts.
Carole King was ill that evening and only played a few songs. Now 39 years later I had the privilege of hearing her and James Taylor again. Jo Mama is defunct but their guitarist, Danny Kortchmar, is still around and he was on stage Tuesday along with Russ Kunkel and Leland Sklar. What a group of amazingly talented musicians!
While both JT and Carole King were great, I have to say Ms. King really shone. She exudes such joy in everything she does - such a totally uplifting person! You can't help but catch it from her - her enthusiasm is so contagious. The two of them are like old friends and I'm so glad for the opportunity to have heard them once again the other night.
You know, way back in the 70's, Amy and I were at J-Town and we saw Ms. King eating by herself at the counter of a sushi bar. My big regret is not bothering her for her autograph. I don't like bothering people but she is so special that this would have been the time to make an exception!
The way I look at it, it is what it is. No country or person is invulnerable and no country is going to last forever. There is only one Kingdom that will prevail and will last for eternity and that's enough to give me peace of mind.
So.. last Tuesday we saw the final stop of the Carole King / James Taylor tour, at the Honda Center in Anaheim. This sort of completes a circle - the very first rock/pop concert I saw was 39 years ago in March of 1971 at the Anaheim Convention Center. It was headlined by James Taylor, with Carole King and Jo Mama as the supporting acts.
Carole King was ill that evening and only played a few songs. Now 39 years later I had the privilege of hearing her and James Taylor again. Jo Mama is defunct but their guitarist, Danny Kortchmar, is still around and he was on stage Tuesday along with Russ Kunkel and Leland Sklar. What a group of amazingly talented musicians!
While both JT and Carole King were great, I have to say Ms. King really shone. She exudes such joy in everything she does - such a totally uplifting person! You can't help but catch it from her - her enthusiasm is so contagious. The two of them are like old friends and I'm so glad for the opportunity to have heard them once again the other night.
You know, way back in the 70's, Amy and I were at J-Town and we saw Ms. King eating by herself at the counter of a sushi bar. My big regret is not bothering her for her autograph. I don't like bothering people but she is so special that this would have been the time to make an exception!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
History repeats itself
If you don't want to be depressed, then don't read today's blog because it's a downer.
Yesterday I wrote about how, because of feelings of mass euphoria or mass depression, people start talking about how "this time it's different," but it really isn't. History repeats itself. Not exactly the same way each time, of course, but it does to a degree where you can say you've seen it before. And you'll see it again.
The downer part of my post is just something that I think about now and then, and that is, the same thing is going to happen to the good old U.S. of A. One of these days, our country will no longer exist.
Every great civilization thought it would continue forever, and every great civilization has gone down the tubes. Sure, some have reincarnated themselves, but it is not the same civilization as it was before; they went through some very dark days and were conquered by other nations.
The same is going to happen to us.
This isn't some dire warning or my standing on the street corner shouting at people, this is simply my observation that no country can last forever. I am not sure what will bring us down - could be our own stupidity. Could be our economy just falls apart and the increasing amount of foreign ownership becomes too heavy and we collapse. Could be a number of things, but with the way everything is becoming increasingly global these days, we can't set ourselves apart as the most powerful nation on earth who doesn't need help from anyone else.
Alliances change, circumstances change, and sooner or later what happened to other great civilizations will happen here. I hope it is later rather than sooner, of course, since I surely don't want my kids or their kids or others down the line to suffer because of it, but I feel it is inevitable. History just repeats itself. There's too many people and countries out there gunning for us and too many stupid things we do in this country to weaken ourselves. Complacency sets in, or maybe arrogance does, or a combination of both, or whatever.. things happen.
Okay, that was the depressing thought for the day. Now you can go back to work.
Yesterday I wrote about how, because of feelings of mass euphoria or mass depression, people start talking about how "this time it's different," but it really isn't. History repeats itself. Not exactly the same way each time, of course, but it does to a degree where you can say you've seen it before. And you'll see it again.
The downer part of my post is just something that I think about now and then, and that is, the same thing is going to happen to the good old U.S. of A. One of these days, our country will no longer exist.
Every great civilization thought it would continue forever, and every great civilization has gone down the tubes. Sure, some have reincarnated themselves, but it is not the same civilization as it was before; they went through some very dark days and were conquered by other nations.
The same is going to happen to us.
This isn't some dire warning or my standing on the street corner shouting at people, this is simply my observation that no country can last forever. I am not sure what will bring us down - could be our own stupidity. Could be our economy just falls apart and the increasing amount of foreign ownership becomes too heavy and we collapse. Could be a number of things, but with the way everything is becoming increasingly global these days, we can't set ourselves apart as the most powerful nation on earth who doesn't need help from anyone else.
Alliances change, circumstances change, and sooner or later what happened to other great civilizations will happen here. I hope it is later rather than sooner, of course, since I surely don't want my kids or their kids or others down the line to suffer because of it, but I feel it is inevitable. History just repeats itself. There's too many people and countries out there gunning for us and too many stupid things we do in this country to weaken ourselves. Complacency sets in, or maybe arrogance does, or a combination of both, or whatever.. things happen.
Okay, that was the depressing thought for the day. Now you can go back to work.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
This time it's different
I started reading a book called When Pigs Go To Market, about the virtues of long term investing in the stock market as told through characters in a story.
It was written in 1999, presumably right before the dot com bust brought down the market.
I found it pretty interesting when the main characters have a conversation, with the expert explaining how this time, the market is different. That is, while there will still be ups and downs, it will not be like before but rather, the downs will not be so bad and the market will keep going up and up.
Another character plays devils advocate and reminds the expert how history repeats itself and each time the market has hit new highs, including back before the great depression, people were saying "this time it is different," i.e., the market is going to keep going higher and higher. She reminds him of the verse from the Book of Ecclesiastes that says whatever is has come before, and there is nothing new under the sun.
The expert acknowledges this, but then goes on to list a bunch of factors as to why this time it will indeed be different.
Of course, reading this in hindsight, we all know that it was NOT different, and history DID repeat itself.
Now, I am not saying the market will not eventually hit new highs. In fact, I believe it will, and sooner, rather than later (that is, within 3-10 years, not 20-30 or never, as some feel). If you look at a long-term graph, it will continue to trend upwards. But it is still going to look like a roller coaster, because history repeats itself.
People felt that real estate was going to keep going up and up in value. For a while it seemed like they were right, but.. it ran out of gas and so that time was no different before. History again repeated itself.
The way I look at it, this is good and bad. Good, because the market is going to hit new highs, just like it has done in the past. Bad, because there are also going to be bad times when it swings downward. You just have to immunize yourself from thinking that when the market hits the new high, that this time it is different and it is going to keep going up and up. And, when it bottoms out you have to remember that history repeats itself and it's going to swing back up. It will be no different than before.
That's all.. just felt I had to put in my two cents after reading that part of the book today.
It was written in 1999, presumably right before the dot com bust brought down the market.
I found it pretty interesting when the main characters have a conversation, with the expert explaining how this time, the market is different. That is, while there will still be ups and downs, it will not be like before but rather, the downs will not be so bad and the market will keep going up and up.
Another character plays devils advocate and reminds the expert how history repeats itself and each time the market has hit new highs, including back before the great depression, people were saying "this time it is different," i.e., the market is going to keep going higher and higher. She reminds him of the verse from the Book of Ecclesiastes that says whatever is has come before, and there is nothing new under the sun.
The expert acknowledges this, but then goes on to list a bunch of factors as to why this time it will indeed be different.
Of course, reading this in hindsight, we all know that it was NOT different, and history DID repeat itself.
Now, I am not saying the market will not eventually hit new highs. In fact, I believe it will, and sooner, rather than later (that is, within 3-10 years, not 20-30 or never, as some feel). If you look at a long-term graph, it will continue to trend upwards. But it is still going to look like a roller coaster, because history repeats itself.
People felt that real estate was going to keep going up and up in value. For a while it seemed like they were right, but.. it ran out of gas and so that time was no different before. History again repeated itself.
The way I look at it, this is good and bad. Good, because the market is going to hit new highs, just like it has done in the past. Bad, because there are also going to be bad times when it swings downward. You just have to immunize yourself from thinking that when the market hits the new high, that this time it is different and it is going to keep going up and up. And, when it bottoms out you have to remember that history repeats itself and it's going to swing back up. It will be no different than before.
That's all.. just felt I had to put in my two cents after reading that part of the book today.
Monday, July 19, 2010
60
I don't know what took me so long to buy it.. well, actually I do. I was waiting for the price to come down (which it didn't) and also, I was thinking the songs would be subject to new arrangements or theatrics or things to be cute. But finally after reading the reviews and looking at the set list, I purchased Elton John's 60th birthday concert at Madison Square Garden, on Blu Ray.
Better late than never! What a great concert! The video and audio quality are superb, too. It's like sitting just a few rows back from the stage right in the middle; they got the acoustics just right.
Most of the songs are from his earlier albums, which matches my interest, which tailed off after Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, and after he and Bernie Taupin split up. The old songs are the best, and his arrangements don't stray very far from the originals, either. John's voice is lower; what I missed was the high notes in his vocals to punctuate certain parts of his songs, but that's okay, the melodies were there and untampered with. Cute stuff like letting the audience sing was at a bare minimum, thankfully. That's one thing I hate about concerts: when the audience is invited to participate and sing the lyrics in place of the performer. I don't want to hear some drunken fool or tone-deaf admirer in place of the person I paid money to see.
I know this came out nearly three years ago and I'm behind the times but I was so happy I wanted to write about it. I sat there smiling and of course even though he was in bytes and pieces on the disc, I wanted to give him a big thank you for being around so long and being so talented. Everything about the concert was superb.
Like the Carol King / James Taylor reunion concert at the Troubadour, this was another part of the soundtrack from my life. I was wowed.
Better late than never! What a great concert! The video and audio quality are superb, too. It's like sitting just a few rows back from the stage right in the middle; they got the acoustics just right.
Most of the songs are from his earlier albums, which matches my interest, which tailed off after Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, and after he and Bernie Taupin split up. The old songs are the best, and his arrangements don't stray very far from the originals, either. John's voice is lower; what I missed was the high notes in his vocals to punctuate certain parts of his songs, but that's okay, the melodies were there and untampered with. Cute stuff like letting the audience sing was at a bare minimum, thankfully. That's one thing I hate about concerts: when the audience is invited to participate and sing the lyrics in place of the performer. I don't want to hear some drunken fool or tone-deaf admirer in place of the person I paid money to see.
I know this came out nearly three years ago and I'm behind the times but I was so happy I wanted to write about it. I sat there smiling and of course even though he was in bytes and pieces on the disc, I wanted to give him a big thank you for being around so long and being so talented. Everything about the concert was superb.
Like the Carol King / James Taylor reunion concert at the Troubadour, this was another part of the soundtrack from my life. I was wowed.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Life
This morning when I stepped in the shower I noticed a Daddy Long Legs had taken up residence on one end. I pondered what to do about it. Normally I just leave spiders alone (black widows excluded) since they dispose of insect pests, but then I didn't want to be taking a shower and then feel something crawling up my leg.
I decided I would just leave it alone and if it got washed away so be it and if not, so be that, too.
Then I got to thinking about how you can categorize people based on the way they perceive "bugs."
There are those who automatically just stomp on any bug without giving any sort of consideration or thought; it's just something to be stepped on.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, you have those who refuse to kill a bug because it is a living creature. Either they leave it alone or they catch it and take it outside.
In the middle are those who are either afraid of bugs or view them as miniature weapons of mass destruction so they eliminate them. They realize the bugs are alive, but they are also evil and it is a matter of either us or them.
There are those who realize the bugs are alive but kill them anyway and show a bit of guilty remorse by saying, "sorry bug" right before doing the deed to them as if they could understand, much in the same way people who drive monster SUV's buy carbon offsets.
When we are very young, much of what we do is patterned on our parents. We imitate them. At that age, most of the time we don't understand why we do it; our parents do it so that's reason enough.
But let's say we don't know how our parents deal with bugs. We've observed bugs and understand that they are alive, just like any other animal. So in those very early stages of life, what is our reaction to the thought of squishing a bug?
I just wonder if that carries forward into our adult lives.
By the way, that Daddy Long Legs got wet and they are so pathetic when that happens because they just crumple up into a ball. I left it that way but I expect it will dry out pretty soon. I figure, if it survived, fine, if it got washed away, well, then it was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I decided I would just leave it alone and if it got washed away so be it and if not, so be that, too.
Then I got to thinking about how you can categorize people based on the way they perceive "bugs."
There are those who automatically just stomp on any bug without giving any sort of consideration or thought; it's just something to be stepped on.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, you have those who refuse to kill a bug because it is a living creature. Either they leave it alone or they catch it and take it outside.
In the middle are those who are either afraid of bugs or view them as miniature weapons of mass destruction so they eliminate them. They realize the bugs are alive, but they are also evil and it is a matter of either us or them.
There are those who realize the bugs are alive but kill them anyway and show a bit of guilty remorse by saying, "sorry bug" right before doing the deed to them as if they could understand, much in the same way people who drive monster SUV's buy carbon offsets.
When we are very young, much of what we do is patterned on our parents. We imitate them. At that age, most of the time we don't understand why we do it; our parents do it so that's reason enough.
But let's say we don't know how our parents deal with bugs. We've observed bugs and understand that they are alive, just like any other animal. So in those very early stages of life, what is our reaction to the thought of squishing a bug?
I just wonder if that carries forward into our adult lives.
By the way, that Daddy Long Legs got wet and they are so pathetic when that happens because they just crumple up into a ball. I left it that way but I expect it will dry out pretty soon. I figure, if it survived, fine, if it got washed away, well, then it was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
1959
Today I received an e-mail from Classmates.com inviting me to preview a Dorsey yearbook. Of course I couldn't resist the opportunity so I clicked on the link and was taken to a web page that had the cover of the 1959 Circle on it. Besides this year, there were 1950, 1951, 1980 and 1984.
I started clicking through the pages of the 1959 yearbook ("annual" as I always called them). What immediately struck me was how many white folks were in there!
As with most things in life, you don't get something for nothing so after a few pages I was met with an ad inviting me to sign up for membership so that I could view the remaining pages, and all the pages of the other yearbooks.
Tempting, but not tempting enough, even the cheapest membership at $15 for 3 months.
I did run across a couple of my teachers who were there back in 1959:
And here's a couple of other pictures I snagged and posted for your nostalgic entertainment. I don't know any of these people.. maybe you do:
I started clicking through the pages of the 1959 yearbook ("annual" as I always called them). What immediately struck me was how many white folks were in there!
As with most things in life, you don't get something for nothing so after a few pages I was met with an ad inviting me to sign up for membership so that I could view the remaining pages, and all the pages of the other yearbooks.
Tempting, but not tempting enough, even the cheapest membership at $15 for 3 months.
I did run across a couple of my teachers who were there back in 1959:
And here's a couple of other pictures I snagged and posted for your nostalgic entertainment. I don't know any of these people.. maybe you do:
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