March is a month without mercy for rabid basketball fans. There is no such thing as a 'gentleman gambler' when the Big Dance rolls around. All sheep will be fleeced, all fools will be punished severely... There are no Rules when the deal goes down in the final weeks of March. Even your good friends will turn into monsters. -- Hunter S. Thompson The Wisconsin Badgers and the Duke Blue Devils will play for the NCAA basketball championship tonight, bringing an end to the tournament nicknamed "March Madness" in particular because of the frenetic nature of the early rounds, when television networks frequently switch coverage immediately upon the conclusion of one game in order to broadcast the final moments of another game headed for a thrilling conclusion. Even casual college basketball fans consider the NCAA tournament "must see" television. Speaking of madness, Hunter S. Thompson wrote the infamous memoir titled Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Anyone interested in learning about the dangers of abusing serious drugs without risking their own life would do well to read that book, as well as the biography of Hunter S. Thompson, a remarkably talented but unhappy man who invented what he called "gonzo journalism." Bill Murray played the writer in a movie loosely based on his life story titled Where the Buffalo Roam. Johnny Depp also starred as Thompson in film adaptations of both Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and The Rum Diary. While Thompson was famous, the antics captured in his prose became legendary. Even the Doonesbury character "Uncle Duke" is routinely … [Read more...]
The Pearl: 5 April 2015
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...]
