26 January 2009

From Irony to Reality in Less than A Lifetime

When our kids were all supposed to be reading Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm, who could have guessed that in addition to those classics they really needed to be reading Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, in order to perhaps understand a little of what seems to be happening in the USA right now. I was reminded of this by an article by Stephen Moore in the Wall Street Jounal online.

I would be elated if my children and especially my grandchildren would recognize what the question "Who and Where is John Galt?" means.

My teachers all grew up in the 20s or before, so they apparently didn't know about them though Orwell was published in the late 40s. Those were the good old days. I didn't read Orwell until sometime in the 70s and Rand only very recently.

We seem to be living in interesting times. Isn't that supposed to be a Chinese curse? Even though Wikipedia can't find the Chinese source, the translation into English has found wide usage among those who consult quotation sources. According to Mr Google, bloggers, essayists and journalists all like to use it, and that is only on the first page of references.

No comments:

Downtown Billings in the SummerTime

Downtown Billings in the SummerTime
At The BrewPub on Broadway

Downtown Phoenix

Downtown Phoenix
Downtown Phoenix in the Winter Time

Good Cheese Here

Good Cheese Here
Vermont Cheddar & Minnesota Blue

TAKE TIME FOR PARADISE

TAKE TIME FOR PARADISE
Dehler Park, Billings MT, July 2008 This is what Bart Giamatti recommends for good mental health.

Me and Joan

Me and Joan
Early elderly and middle middle age: We May Know Something You Don't

Mrs America

Mrs America
Fortunately these girls had a good-looking mother

Rimrocks @ Billings MT

Rimrocks @ Billings MT
“In beholding old stones we may feel our anxieties about our achievements–and lack of them–slacken . . . Vast landscapes [and seascapes] can have an anxiety–reducing effect similar to ruins, for they are the representatives of infinite space, as ruins are the representatives of infinite time, against which our weak, short-lived bodies seem no less inconsequential than those of moths or spiders.”—Alain de Botton in Status Anxiety

Easter Sunday at St Patrick's Co-Cathedral

Easter Sunday at St Patrick's Co-Cathedral
12 April 2009

Pleasant Hillside at Hustisford, AKA The Grassy Knoll for you conspiracy buffs

Pleasant Hillside at Hustisford, AKA The Grassy Knoll for you conspiracy buffs
A Lot of Muellers Are Buried Here
Powered By Blogger