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Bertrand Russell - In His Own Words

Life is nothing but a competition to be the criminal rather than the victim. --Bertrand Russell

I ran across this Bertrand Russell quotation the other day and was a bit taken aback. Cynical was not really his style. Critical yes, but not cynical. I realized this would be my second Russell quote in as many months, which led me to today's litany of quotes from the esteemed philosopher, mathematician and social commentator.

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If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance to his instincts, he will accept it even on the slightest evidence. The origin of myths is explained in this way. - also B. Russell

I was with him right up until the last line. I too think that we tend to reject any evidence that goes against our engrained belief system and accept all types of nonsense that supports what we already think we know to be true, factual or real. I don't quite see how he got to the origin of myths with this. Besides the best quote on that subject is: "History becomes legend, legend becomes myth."

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All movements go too far. - B. Russell

My favorite BR quote even though when I was younger I completely disagreed with its main point. "Our" movement after all was going to change the world.

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A stupid man's report of what a clever man says can never be accurate, because he unconsciously translates what he hears into something he can understand. --

Bertrand Russell

I phrase it a bit differently - I have one big prejudice, I abhor voluntary stupidity.

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In all affairs it's a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted. -B. Russell

One of the hallmark slogans of the sixties - 'Question Authority' became the more universal - 'Question Everything.' Bertrand and I would add - 'Question Yourself.'

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So far as I can remember, there is not one word in the Gospels in praise of intelligence. -Bertrand Russell

While I wholeheartedly endorse the sentiment, the point needs to be pushed further. Intelligence is spoken of in the bible, but god is credited with having an exclusive.

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photograph from National Geographic

Sunday Newspapers

When I was growing up in semi-rural Michigan, the bulk of the Lavalli clan still lived in Detroit. Easter and several other Sundays were spent on W. Lafayette at the house were my Aunts Alice & Doris, Uncle Ray and Grandma Lavalli still lived. Most of my father's generation were born in that house. Often as kids we would go to the city for the weekend and come home with our parents late Sunday night, I still remember falling asleep in the backseat on the long, pre-freeway drive home on Michigan Avenue.

No internet back then, no news magazine for my family either; we were newspaper readers in the heyday of print media. Early on Saturday evening when we were in Detroit, the "first edition" of the Sunday papers would be delivered. One each of the Detroit News, the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit Times. I fondly recall sitting on the green metal glider on the enclosed front porch and reading all three sets of comics. Full page, brightly printed, full size Sunday comics on Saturday night. My aunts, uncles, parents and older cousins would collectively pour over the "adult" sections of all three papers. As I got older, I added first the sports sections then entertainment and finally the hard news.

But what fascinated me the most was that on Sunday morning there would be three more papers delivered before anyone woke up. The 'Sunday sections' including comics, roto-review, ads, personals etc. all came only with the Saturday evening deliveries. The Sunday morning papers were overnight updates of the front page section, sports, editorials and entertainment and 75% of those were repeats of the first edition from the evening before.

Those were not the only two weekend editions. There was the regular Saturday morning or afternoon deliveries. The Free Press was a morning paper, the News an afternoon edition and the evening Times. In the city we got all of the Saturday papers plus the first Sunday edition on Saturday night and all three City Finals in the morning. There was also a late night edition that was printed overnight between the "first edition" and the "Sunday final" it went out by truck to the suburbs that was the paper we got delivered at home, way out there in the sticks.

I discovered when I started working at the pharmacy that my dad had not broken the multiple-Sunday edition addiction. He a bundle of the Saturday evening first edition delivered to the store late on Saturday, one copy for him and several more for other Detroit ex-patriots who had like us, escaped to the rural life.

The Times stopped operating in 1960, while the Free Press and the News have had a "joint operating agreement" since the late 80s. These days I don't subscribe to any newspapers, haven't since I left Michigan in 1975. Times and The Times change.

Facial Recognition

Poker players and crime profilers know how important it is to read facial expressions. Do you know what cards these cats have? or what crimes they've committed.

What?

Frak!

Turn around and go back where you came from.

the dog did it

Palin, really?

(readers choice on this one)

Hello lunch.

Ooooh no you didn't!

Smug

Get back in the truck now!

Yes laughter.

a little closer, just a little closer ...

Doh!

Bumperstickers to Explain It All

There's a difference between a philosophy and a bumpersticker. -- Charles M. Schulz

Just a bit of a metaphysical pondering on the back end of the classic American motorcar. I was prompted to explore the variety of philosophical bumperstickers by this next one I saw the other day in of all places - the People's Republic of Berkeley.

This prompted an ugly scene, I saw the car parked in the lot of the Berkeley Whole Foods. Angered lefties had thrown tofu and sprouts all over the vehicle. Will vegan violence never end?

I just like this one, the meaning escapes me.

This one for my friends who never quite "got" buddhism.

for my platonic friends

(apologies for all the white space, the blogger software and I are having a disagreement; I lost)

no need to elaborate

Friedrich really?!

I just couldn't resist.

and this is simply my favorite bumper sticker ever

Jerry Garcia

I was in San Francisco the other day, we stopped for lunch at Cha Cha Cha in my old neighborhood - the Upper Haight or as it is still called Haight-Ashbury. In the summer of 1995 I was living a couple of blocks from the corner of Haight & Ashbury in The City. On August 9th of that summer, Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia passed away of a heart attack while in a drug rehabilitation facility. He was 53.

Around 11 o'clock in the evening, I walked up to Haight Street to see what tributes there might be to the fallen leader of the Grateful Dead. The light poles at the corner of Haight and Ashbury were festooned with garlands. There were pictures of Jerry and the Dead on every stoop and curb. Candles glowed from windows. Lots of kids were sitting on the street listening to Dead tunes coming from a second story window.

Later that night I wrote an email to my friends who could not be there that night. Those words are now long lost but one thing I vividly remember. I painted the picture of Haight-Ashbury 1995, the four corners reflected the changing face of The Haight. Sure there was still the same vintage clothing store on one corner and a t-shirt shoppe full of tie-dye on another; but the other two corners were a brand new Gap and a Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Emporium.

I knew that ice cream shoppe or rather they knew me, I stopped there often enough that the evening crew recognized me. I had given a couple of the scoopers advice on community college classes. I poked my head in that night and one of them waved me over to the counter.

"I've worked here for two years," he said, "we've never run out of a flavor before."

I must have looked at him with a blank, unknowing expression because he continued:

"Everybody's been buying Cherry Garcia, it's all gone."

There are tributes and there are tributes. I wonder do they still make Wavy Gravy?

Medical Marijuana (6): A Conundrum

This post is a little late, not that anyone but me takes notice of these things, but I have a dilemma. As I mentioned last time "an experimental anomaly" has arisen. In my perfect world the effects of medical marijuana would be a high level of pain alleviation coupled with a low level of mental alteration. I would hurt less and not get high.

Unfortunately, it seems the same chemical properties of cannabis that contribute to pain relief also deal out the marijuana buzz. After several instances of being 'too high' I was considering abandoning my medical marijuana investigation when a friend pointed out that I had, over time, completely overcome the deleterious side effects of hydrocodone. Might not I be able to do the same with cannabis?

My approach has been to inhale or ingest mini-doses to minimize the buzz of the marijuana. That, however, means delivering micro-doses of pain relief to a macro-pain problem. Therefore, I am going to institute a new protocol using the higher dose approach to see if indeed I will adjust to the side effects. In the next few days I will acquire another batch of products in several "delivery modalities" and begin phase two of my foray into personal human experimentation.

Below, good news, a product that does work without side effects.

PRODUCT REPORT: Tincture of Cannabis

Several providers produce a topical tincture of cannabis spray, usually alcohol based liquids. One dispensary (Harborside in Oakland) has a two part product, often referred to as being like "the two ingredients in epoxy." You spray on the alcohol based part one, let it dry and then rub on the cream based second part. Even though my pain comes from a deep spinal deformity, I find the tincture relieves topical pain and relaxes the surface muscles. If I use the product fifteen minutes before my stretching exercises, I have more range of motion and less pain while exercising. I would recommend this product, to those with arthritis and joint pain, particularly for use on the hands, neck and elbows; areas with close skin surface access.

Previous posts in this series:

Medical Marijuana (5): The Patients

Medical Marijuana (4): Botanical Chemistry

Medical Marijuana (3): Human Experimentation

Medical Marijuana (2): The Dispensary

Medical Marijuana (1): An Inquiry