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 17 Jun 2004 @ 10:54
I've been spendng a lot of time talking with Gus lately (Great Universal Spirit; we've been on a first name basis for awhile now), maybe it would be more accurate to say I've been focusing more on listening because I've oft suspected that Gus never does shut up. One of our games is communicating through the super cheap bin at the used book store. The other day the new entry that grabbed my attention was The Courtier by Baldesar Castiglione, first published in Italian in 1528, and translated into English in 1561. (tangent: This interesting site on coursework.info came up during the google for previous link). One of the reason the book attracted my attention was a recent reading of Stephenson's novel Quicksilver.
This morning while waiting for the kettle to boil I flipped open Courtier at random for a morning meditation, and found these following sentences underlined (used book, eh).
Hence, to talk little and to do much, and not to praise oneself for deeds that are praiseworthy, but tactfully to dissimulate them, serves to enhance both the one virtue and the other in anyone who knows how to employ this method discreetly; and so it is with all other good qualities.
...And the first and most important of these is that he should avoid affectation above all else,
...And I think that even as it is wrong to seek false glory or what is not deserved, so is it wrong also to rob oneself of a deserved honor and not to seek that praise which alone is the true reward of virtuous labors.
Woaaa, that was hitting pretty close to the personal. These comments were bracketed by some more general statements which are below.
And often these errors are covered with a kind of veil that prevents the one who commits them from seeing them unless he keeps in this a diligent watch; and, although there are many reasons why our eyes are wanting in discernment, it is by ambition [emphasis added by anonymous underliner] that they are especially blurred, because everyone is ready to put himself forward in that wherein he thinks himself to be knowledgeable, no matter whether it be true or not.
...
...if he will but keep in mind the motive that leads him to war, which is nothing except honor.
These were from pg 97 - 99 in my copy, and the book was sparsely underlined and these pages didn't stand out such as sometimes happens with a broken spine or dogear. Anyway a very good contemplation to think about while I do some morning chores. More >
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1 Jun 2004 @ 22:35
I started this article on June 1st and it has been sitting in my pending file. I also had it half written before my computer crashed and I lost everything except the excerpt from below. There is a very good article here that relates to about half a dozen different subjects that are occurring in this blog community right now. That article is going to take a few more days to go from head to keyboard and I want to move on so I'm going to restrict this to an excerpt, an exhibit A, and produce a "publishable" article later.
"You should know and be sure that debates which are designed for the purpose of overcoming and silencing an opponent as well as for displaying one’s excellence and honour, bragging before men, boasting, and being contradictory, or for the sake of winning popular favour, are the source of all traits which are blameworthy....
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31 May 2004 @ 23:30
The Work Less Party of British Columbia was founded because modern Western culture's work ethic — the idea that the worth of a human being depends on the work that he or she does — no longer serves our society well. With vast increases in productivity over the past centuries, we no longer need everyone's efforts directed towards survival. And yet we do not question the work ethic that drives many of us to work long hours at jobs that we don't like, that provide little satisfaction, that harm our health, that take our precious time in exchange for mere consumer goods, that drive the economic engines of over consumption, and that ultimately leave the planet barren.
The Work Less Party stands for the idea that a human being's worth is inherent and not dependent on a job. We believe that working less is indeed a positive contribution to society, and it's definitely more fun!
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Yet another reason why Vancouver is such a cool place. This party doesn't stand a chance of getting any seats in the government, but they spread a good message during the promotion. Maybe soon more people will realize that a lot of our problems such as peak oil, pollution, traffic congestion can be solved simply by not engaging in "make work" projects to justify some obsolete Puritan work ethic, but then that was always about social control, rather that society maintenance.
But heh, I do my part, my two goals for decades now have been to 1)learn as much as I can; and 2)contribute as little towards the 'economy' as possible. A few years ago an aunt reminded me that when I was thirteen I would say that I wanted to be an educated bum when I grew up and that I was one of the few people she knew that got what they wanted. :-) More >
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30 May 2004 @ 01:47
Serendipity is the gift of being able to make delightful discoveries by pure accident, which is how I came across this article on How to be Likable and Popular. Similiar theme to one of Dale Carnegie that recently arose here at NCN. I've run across the Carnegie material before and it has always been associated with selling things and I've always thought of that as being a con game, and I know he says you have to be honest about it but it always struck me as a one sentence addittion intended to cut off any cricism without really changing anything that had already been written. This article by Cottringer seems different to me, as if he starts with the honest and sincere premise rather than tacking it onto the end like a footnote.
Ten points are listed: be honest, be humble, learn empathy, laugh often, be positive, control hostility, be polite, act smart, appear attractive, and listen more. Cottringer is succinct and explains these points quite well so I will restrict the rest of this article to my own opinions and impressions. More >
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2 May 2004 @ 02:02
I've just recently stumbled upon www.StumbleUpon.com which is a browser plugin for connecting user rated websites. It describes itself as a ... small Canadian company focused on improving web navigation. Founded April 2002, StumbleUpon has developed a patent-pending community-based websurfing system which now supports over 90,000 members. Our goal is to build an emergent media referral system which automatically matches the right people to the right content. More >
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