A Man Called Intrepid

Whenever I hear the word “intrepid,” it reminds me that, sadly, I have never been trapped in quicksand or chased by a helicopter.

The Hereness of You

Beyond the health benefits, the reason to meditate is simply to return us to the hereness and nowness of conscious human existence. So much of what we worry about or stew over are pointless phantoms from the past or groundless speculations about the future.

Beware the Dreams of a Sleeping Society

“Every powerful emotion has its own myth-making tendency. When the emotion is peculiar to an individual, he is considered more or less mad if he gives credence to such myths as he has invented. But when an emotion is collective, as in war or disease, there are few to correct the myths that naturally arise. Consequently in all times of great collective excitement unfounded rumors obtain wide credence. This myth-making faculty is often allied with cruelty. Such myths give an excuse for the infliction of torture, and the unfounded belief in them is evidence of the unconscious desire to find some victim to persecute.“

— Bertrand Russell, Unpopular Essays (1950), Ch. XII: An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish, p. 81

The Flow of Frankenstein

"There is no occupation in the world so absorbing as trying to paint. Everything, every worry, is for the moment forgotten in the effort, however unsuccessful, of creating a masterpiece. To the surprise of many and the horror of some, I have also found great pleasure in needlework, which, after all, is only another way of making pictures."

— Ernest Thesiger, Dr. Pretorius in Bride of Frankenstein. He understood the concept of Flow long before it had been defined.

Daily Deflation

Days sparkle like toys,

but some are merely balloons

that slowly deflate.

In the Depression, They Weren't Depressed

Superheroes are metaphors about the soaring human spirit, born of necessity in times of powerlessness and despair like the Great Depression. 

Their function is the same as the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers movies from that era — to enable the downtrodden to fantasize about defying gravity in fancy duds.

If Starfish Could Talk...

This is a cartoon I've had in mind for years.