On Beds
We can’t help but make an impression on them. Like a child’s finger-painting, the chalk outline around a corpse on the pavement, they retain an image of us. Think of all they contain—skin, sweat, semen, blood, all the puke and spume of life. Beds are fossil records of our lives. The pressure of ourselves in [...]
On Political Aphorisms
I ruined at least one person’s breakfast yesterday when, during an appearance on The Takeaway to discuss aphorisms (or the lack thereof) in the second presidential debate, I illustrated my point that political slogans are, by design, almost content-less by citing the Obama campaign slogan “Change you can believe in.” At least one listener found [...]
At the Multatuli Museum
Multatuli (see pp.163–165 of Geary’s Guide) was the pseudonym of Eduard Douwes Dekker, the son of a Dutch sea captain. Dekker seemed destined for a career as an obscure colonial bureaucrat until he uncovered corruption in Dutch–administered Java and decided to expose it. When Dekker brought the exploitation of local labor to the attention of [...]
Aphorisms by Fred Lee
Fred Lee says his blog, an almost daily posting of fresh aphorisms, “provides more than 100% of the daily recommended dosages of pessimism, negativity and ill-humor.” In his profile, he lists his nicknames as “the anti-fortune cookie,” his religion as “secular,” and his interests as “aphorisms.” His blog contains lots and lots of aphorisms, and [...]