Writer's Block: Meow vs. Arf

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There is a reason why dogs are called men’s best friend. We bond and relate in a way that I cannot imagine happening with cats. Cats insist on their free agency, and we are more like friendly acquaintances than pals. On the other hand, you have to love the cats’ litter-box instinct, along with the fact that we apparently don’t have to bathe them. But it is love all the way around. One just feels that this love is not really reciprocated fully by cats.

Writer's Block: Meow vs. Arf

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There is a reason why dogs are called men’s best friend. We bond and relate in a way that I cannot imagine happening with cats. Cats insist on their free agency, and we are more like friendly acquaintances than pals. On the other hand, you have to love the cats’ litter-box instinct, along with the fact that we apparently don’t have to bathe them. But it is love all the way around. One just feels that this love is not really reciprocated fully by cats.

Natural-Born Killers

David Brooks plays off the recent military travesty in Afghanistan, the case of the American soldier, Robert Bales, who just strolled into a civilian residency and shot sixteen Afghan civilians dead. Brooks wades into a nice discussion on the dark nature of our soul.

_ _ _

David Buss of the University of Texas asked his students if they had ever thought seriously about killing someone, and if so, to write out their homicidal fantasies in an essay. He was astonished to find that 91 percent of the men and 84 percent of the women had detailed, vivid homicidal fantasies. He was even more astonished to learn how many steps some of his students had taken toward carrying them out.

One woman invited an abusive ex-boyfriend to dinner with thoughts of stabbing him in the chest. A young man in a fit of road rage pulled a baseball bat out of his trunk and would have pummeled his opponent if he hadn’t run away. Another young man planned the progression of his murder — crushing a former friend’s fingers, puncturing his lungs, then killing him.

These thoughts do not arise from playing violent video games, Buss argues. They occur because we are descended from creatures who killed to thrive and survive. We’re natural-born killers and the real question is not what makes people kill but what prevents them from doing so.

-- David Brooks at The New York Times

_ _ _

Um, weakness and fear?

Natural-Born Killers

David Brooks plays off the recent military travesty in Afghanistan, the case of the American soldier, Robert Bales, who just strolled into a civilian residency and shot sixteen Afghan civilians dead. Brooks wades into a nice discussion on the dark nature of our soul.

_ _ _

David Buss of the University of Texas asked his students if they had ever thought seriously about killing someone, and if so, to write out their homicidal fantasies in an essay. He was astonished to find that 91 percent of the men and 84 percent of the women had detailed, vivid homicidal fantasies. He was even more astonished to learn how many steps some of his students had taken toward carrying them out.

One woman invited an abusive ex-boyfriend to dinner with thoughts of stabbing him in the chest. A young man in a fit of road rage pulled a baseball bat out of his trunk and would have pummeled his opponent if he hadn’t run away. Another young man planned the progression of his murder — crushing a former friend’s fingers, puncturing his lungs, then killing him.

These thoughts do not arise from playing violent video games, Buss argues. They occur because we are descended from creatures who killed to thrive and survive. We’re natural-born killers and the real question is not what makes people kill but what prevents them from doing so.

-- David Brooks at The New York Times

_ _ _

Um, weakness and fear?

Snicker of the Day

Snicker of the Day

Sylvia

Sylvia gives us another extended entry on a big date, this one with Bob. We will break it up into bite-sized parts, and here is part one.

_ _ _

Just a few notes on a night that marks another stage in growing up: this time there was no pain, no passion, no hurt. Inside of me there was a core of self-possession. I have to hold on to this night, for in three days I’ll be plunged into a new world, and there’ll be confusion, dilemmas, as I fight to find the right equilibrium for myself again. But tonight I was in command of the whole situation.

-- Sylvia Plath Journals, 1950

_ _ _

She is off to college in just a few days. Ah, the great expectations! I suppose most of us wind up disappointed, even traumatically so. At least Sylvia will also have her success.

Sylvia

Sylvia gives us another extended entry on a big date, this one with Bob. We will break it up into bite-sized parts, and here is part one.

_ _ _

Just a few notes on a night that marks another stage in growing up: this time there was no pain, no passion, no hurt. Inside of me there was a core of self-possession. I have to hold on to this night, for in three days I’ll be plunged into a new world, and there’ll be confusion, dilemmas, as I fight to find the right equilibrium for myself again. But tonight I was in command of the whole situation.

-- Sylvia Plath Journals, 1950

_ _ _

She is off to college in just a few days. Ah, the great expectations! I suppose most of us wind up disappointed, even traumatically so. At least Sylvia will also have her success.

Not feeling so good today

Not feeling so good today