A man who was completely innocent offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act. -- Mahatma Gandhi Happy Easter! Gandhi was a very spiritual man and remarkably Christ-like for a non-member of the religion. Despite his obvious admiration for Jesus the Christ, Gandhi never became a member of the faith. He explained his reluctance to become a Christian by saying, "Jesus is ideal, and wonderful. But you Christians, you are not like Him." Can anyone blame Gandhi for what he said about Christians as opposed to what he said about Jesus? He was absolutely right, and on both counts. He really nailed those of us who call ourselves Christian. For that very reason - our failure - Jesus was nailed to a cross. … [Read more...]
The Pearl: 4 April 2015
What's money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do. -- Bob Dylan Sometimes, I need to read quotes like this for inspiration, especially when I find myself tempted to covet the success of another writer. By Dylan's definition, I have already achieved a measure of success. That realization alone makes me very happy.However, this is no time to rest on my laurels. There are miles to go before I sleep, as Robert Frost famously said. Now all that remains for me is to solve the mystery of how to translate that success into something that produces more royalty income. I need to justify this new Mac Pro I just bought. … [Read more...]
The Pearl: 3 April 2015
Christmas and Easter can be subjects for poetry, but Good Friday, like Auschwitz, cannot. The reality is so horrible it is not surprising that people should have found it a stumbling block to faith. ― W.H. Auden It is Good Friday, the day on which Christians remember the crucifixion of Jesus. Today would be a good day to watch Mel Gibson's movie The Passion of the Christ in order to be reminded of what the Christ endured, in case you've never seen it. However, be forewarned that watching this particular film is something of an emotional ordeal. Don't be fooled by Andy Rooney's absurd statement that he wouldn't pay to see the movie "just for a few good laughs", because I've seen the film and I can tell you there's nothing remotely funny about it. I find it almost impossible to believe that even an atheist like Andy Rooney would find something amusing and laugh out loud at a serious, realistic depiction of a scourging and crucifixion, when we know it is a historical fact that Romans used to do that sort of thing rather routinely. Only a true sadist would find such an accurate reenactment amusing. The movie vividly depicts what happened to people the Romans had decided to punish or execute, and it wasn't even remotely funny. Scourging and crucifixions were quite brutal and merciless, no matter how guilty the accused were -- certainly no laughing matter. … [Read more...]
The Pearl: 1 April 2015
Any fool can write a novel but it takes real genius to sell it. -- J. G. Ballard Today is April Fool's Day, when it becomes customary to pull childish pranks on friends and family before shouting "April Fool!" Some may find this hard to believe, but I've actually outgrown this annual ritual, reducing the number of ways by which I may be caught behaving childishly by one. No, this isn't a silly prank or a gag. Until this morning, I had never heard of the name "J. G. Ballard" before. But I did know of his work -- he wrote the novels Empire of the Sun and Crash, both of which were made into movies. I try to heed good advice in order to learn from the success of others. I've figured out the "fool" part -- I know how to write a book. Six have now been published, and a seventh will come out later this year. The "genius" of knowing how to sell them in mass quantities has thus far eluded me, however. Much work remains to be done, if I hope to one day become a genius. … [Read more...]
