Sunday

Pi says, "Kay has quite a cough going. Does she smoke?" Daimon says, "LOL No, I don't think she even drinks. She's a good church girl and has apparently kept that quality. That cough is a sick person's cough, and if I know our primate-protagonist, Monk is probably scared to death of coming down with whatever she has." You joke, but I can already feel the slightest tickle in my throat. I am already morbidly wondering how many days will I suffer the illness when it blooms inside of me in full: only 3 days, a week, or closer to two weeks? Daimon says, "If it doesn't kill you!" ... ... I lost my fascination for Paris Hilton sometime ago, but I think I'll keep this quote from her: "I’m constantly moving around from one country to another and I’m a famous person who could be a definite target for an attack and that is something that sometimes terrifies me." [ONTD] Daimon says, "Well, I suppose that would be quite a catch. The ISIS crowd doesn't seem to get many sexy blondes." Not to mention that her net worth is listed at a hundred million dollars. Pi says, "I don't think they would bother with her: too high-maintenance." ... ... A nice tweet from Sugar anent these Trumped up times: "I honestly wonder if somewhere in the fall of 2015 earth went through a wormhole and shifted into a bizarro world dimension." She also linked to an article that gives us another quote to keep. It is from a Muslim-American mother whose son was a soldier who lost his life in the war on terror: "When Donald Trump is talking about Islam, he is ignorant. If he studied the real Islam and Koran, all the ideas he gets from terrorists would change, because terrorism is a different religion." [Washington Post] ... ... Pop is doing his 'home improvement' thing with Kay. I wonder if there's any chance he will get it out of his system and won't become an annoyance with this stuff when she leaves ... ... Here's a good quote-catch. A cop has turned to writing 'true crime' books, and he decided to have his mind checked out, and his shrink said, “Don’t get too upset. You may have the psychopathy of a dangerous man, but so do many cops.” [NYT] Daimon says, "It kind of makes you wonder what you would rate, doesn't it?" I do have a profoundly filthy mind, of a misogynistic overcast, but on the other hand, I am so incapable and weak that I suspect it cancels out, and I am simply left as one very frustrated and sorry puppy ... ... Daimon says, "There she goes. And not a moment too soon, eh?" It is after four. I was beginning to wonder. Nothing should surprise me anymore. I see how deeply Pop has come to depend on her emotional support, the way she plays to his need to have his sense of manhood confirmed. And I guess she is happy to get what she can, especially someone who can pick up the quality of life a little. Pi says, "You are such a romantic, Monk." Daimon says, "Like the lady said: what's love got to do with it?" I wouldn't go that far. Relationships perhaps necessarily have this practical trade-off about them, but I don't have a hard time believing that love can grow there. If I never fed my Bo, and if Bo was not so cute and playful and affectionate, there would have been no ground from which our love could have grown. Miracles don't just happen, but great things can come about when you work at it ... ... Pi says, "So, you decided to stick with Plato through the afternoon." Yes, I went with Phaedrus, and I am reminded how easily I fall completely under Plato's spell. I could be tempted to think that maybe I should stop with Plato and forget about Kant and Schopenhauer and all those haughty names. Fortunately, I read Hume and was reminded that there are treasures outside of Plato's sphere that are worth hunting for. Nevertheless, as with Mann and Shakespeare, I know I always have a port in the storm with Plato as well. Daimon says, "Speaking of Mann, I note that you have gone without him for some time." Yes, and I am getting anxious. I am enjoying "Alter Egos", the book about Hillary and Obama, but I am itching to finish it and get it behind me, so that I can get back to Mann's letters, as well as a couple of his short stories, and then taking on the third book of his Joseph tetralogy. When I came across "Alter Egos", I was looking forward to taking a break from Mann, having effectively lived in his world and skin since ... last autumn, I think. But now I have had my break, and I am ready to get back to work, so to speak ... ... A federal court struck down North Carolina's voter-ID law as being racially discriminatory. We always understood that these laws were discriminatory, but it is great to see this view being sanctioned as a matter of law: 'The federal court in Richmond found that the primary purpose of North Carolina's wasn't to stop voter fraud, but rather to disenfranchise minority voters. The judges found that the provisions "target African Americans with almost surgical precision."' [LJ-Wash. Post] ... ... Ooomph, nude pictures of Melania Trump are published. "Donald Trump thinks his wife will be a model first lady — and here’s the proof." [NY Post] Daimon says, "You got to love free speech, don't you?" Amen! I never envied Trump so much. I guess you could say that she is hot enough to land a billionaire ... ... Its' after ten, do you know where your children are? I ate and I am feeling woozy and drowsy, and I am not up for any reading. I thought we might be able t reproduce the magic of last night's Juliet Prouse discussion ... Hello? Daimon? How about you, Pi? you were bellyaching about being able to participate. Well, go ahead! Pi says, "Since you are so excited about Melania, why don't you just fuck around there?" Oh, bah, I still have her picture up, and I do like clicking to it, but I cannot say that I am that interested in her biography or what she thinks, or what she has done, that is, other than posing for nude pics. Well, let's just think about this for a few minutes while I take care of my dishes ... I guess the magic just isn't happening tonight. I'll just try to get back into chess until I fall off.