pale blue dot

An eloquent reminder of the folly of our self-importance.

Taken from a reading given by Carl Sagan in 1996.

what’s your god delusional index?

I scored 10 - how about you?

Calculate Your God Delusional Index

deep thought of the day

thought for the day

johnny cash - hurt

This is a ‘bonus post’ because I reckon that just posting videos during NaBloPoMo does seem a bit like cheating (and so, apologies for yesterday).

Anyhow, I am currently reading The Man Called Cash by Steve Turner (that was given to me by Sara & Steve) and this morning I got to the part where it talks about making this video. As I had never seen it I decided to have a look on Youtube, and it is so wonderful and moving that I thought I’d share it here too.

Enjoy!

philosophy made easy. . .

. . . or at least shorter.

Squashed Philosophers

THE books which defined the way The West thinks now…
In their own words… but condensed and abridged into something
like readable

I love it. All the philosophy and none of the verbiage.

They also do squashed divines and squashed writers. I was hoping to finally read Ulysses but the books stop at 1915.

are you right or left brained?

You Are 35% Left Brained, 65% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning. Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others. If you’re left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet. The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility. Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way. If you’re right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art. Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Are You Right or Left Brained?

summer holidays

It’s August 1st and I am officially ‘on holiday’.

No classes until September. Yay! Well okay, no income either, but I’ve been looking forward to this stretch of time ahead of me not having to be anywhere or do anything unless I feel like it. It will especially be nice not to be woken up by alarm clocks (well, other than the pointy-eared variety).

When I asked earlier about what summer stuff everyone was planning to do I still hadn’t made any major plans, and then I realised that what I wanted most was a month totally without plans. So there.

Well, there are a few things I want to do like go to the gym in the mornings and do some stuff around the apartment. But mostly I reckon I’ll be reading and hanging out online (hence that particular thumbnail), taking evening walks with Nog, going out for our *emergency cold beer and air-conditioning sessions* and the occasional tapa, and also watching films and playing with floppy cats who - I am very happy to report - appear to be friends again. They’ve even started playing fighting again, with no pee in sight, which to me is even more of a sign of them being pals again than falling asleep together.

For awhile it looked like a recent bad back incident (comment 19) had put the kibosh on my gym idea, but after a couple days of anti-inflammatories, gentle stretching and lots of walking I think I’ll be able to start back mañana.

Meanwhile, Sevilla has pretty much turned into a ghost town already, which is always a pleasant change of pace.

So all in all, August should be a nice month for carping the diem.

How’s your summer been so far?

the sublime philosophical crap test

Your Score: N-S-R

You scored . . . 88% Non-Reductionism, 44% Epistemological Absolutism, and 33% Moral Objectivism!

You are an N-S-R: a metaphysical Non-Reductionist, an epistemological Sceptic, and a moral Relativist.

If you are simply dying inside to figure out what all this mumbo-jumbo means, then simply continue reading . . .

10 ways to improve your life

I found the following Lifehack.org article on Lori’s blog the other day and thought it was worth reprinting here, if only as an easy-access reminder for myself. But I also thought most people would relate to it - there are at least a couple habits here that feel very true for me. I wasn’t sure whether to post this here or on nothing ventured …
in the end I posted it on both because, although it may get more response here initially, it’s more likely to stay at the top of the page at the other place (for easy reference).

Many of our problems come from within our own minds. They aren’t caused by events, bad luck, or other people. We cause them through our own poor mental habits. Here are 10 habits you should set aside right away to free yourself from the many problems each one will be causing you.