It was a lucky shot (or unlucky, depending on your point of view, I guess), hitting the portal vein and killing her. In town they said it was postpartum depression, how sad. Myself, I suspected high school hangover might have had something to do with it.
George Bernard Shaw on religion – The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
There is little evidence that religious belief protects people from stress-related diseases. The evidence is not strong, but it would not be surprising if it were true, for the same kind of reason as faith-healing might turn out to work in a few cases. I wish it were not necessary to add that such beneficial effects in no way boost the truth value of religion’s claims. In George Bernard Shaw’s words,
“The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one.”
Taken from The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, 2006
What geniuses really are: Stephen King – On Writing
“Shit, most geniuses aren’t able to understand themselves, and many of them lead miserable lives, realizing (at least on some level) that they are nothing but fortunate freaks, the intellectual version of runway models who just happen to be born with the right cheekbones and with breasts which fit the image of an age.”
Taken from On Writing by Stephen King, 2002
On continuous revolution – Henry Kissinger On China
Mao outlined his vision on China in perpetual motion:
“Our revolutions are like battles. After a victory, we must at once put forward a new task. In this way, cadres and the masses will forever be filled with revolutionary fervour, instead of conceit. Indeed, they will have no time for conceit, even if they like to feel conceited. With new tasks on their shoulders, they are totally preoccupied with the problems for their fulfillment.”
Taken from On China by Henry Kissinger
An alternate route to psychology?
A hundred years ago, a bold researcher fascinated by the riddle of human personality might have grabbed onto new psychoanalytic concepts like repression and the unconscious. These ideas were invented by people who loved language. Even as therapeutic concepts of the self spread widely in simplified, easily accessible form, they retained something of the prolix, literary humanism of their inventors. From the languor of the analyst’s couch to the chatty inquisitiveness of a self-help questionnaire, the dominant forms of self-exploration assume that the road to knowledge lies through words. Trackers are exploring an alternate route. Instead of interrogating their inner worlds through talking and writing, they are using numbers. They are constructing a quantified self.
Liberty Hieghts – If I knew things would no longer be …I would’ve tried to remember better
Life is made up of a few big moments
and a lot of little ones.
[...]
But a lot of images fade…
…and no matter how hard I try…
…I can ‘t get them back.
I had a relative who once said:
”If I knew things
would no longer be…
…I would’ve tried
to remember better. ”
[...]
All the wonders I could see
Could fulfill most any dream
And hold you
For a while.
But when love…
… walked…
…in
There was nothing…
…I could do
Only to try…
…and keep my head….
-
Mauricio's bookshelf: favorites
Share book reviews and ratings with Mauricio, and even join a book club on Goodreads.
