Fighting the Universal Spider Too

A bankrupt state (California) is spending a quarter of a million dollars to incarcerate a man for stealing $3.99 worth of shredded cheese. He was lucky he could have received a life sentence instead of the eight years that he got. That kind of mentallity is what makes a state bankrupt in the first place.

A study of the history of opinion is a necessary preliminary to the emancipation of the mind – J M Keynes

No lingering moods
And advantage
      With amnesia
As with love
And just as easily
       Exploitable
And just as much
       At a loss

That was when the ones that smiled / Were the dead, glad to be at rest – Anna Akhmatova – The Complete Poems, 1992 p386

Men and women in the US who co-habitate have a 51% of marrying within three years and a 65% chance within five years. Two-thirds of US marriages last at least 10 years. Couples with children have an 80% chance of staying married for at least 10 years. For women (but not for men) coming from an intact family increased the likelihood of their staying married for at least 10 years.

The abundance of solutions to the aspect of existence is equaled only by their futility – E M Cioran – A Short History of Decay, 1975 p6

Walter has a version of the history of the corndog that he had just downloaded from the Internet. “There is also the version that the corndog was invented by Moses”, he says. The version that he has in hand gives 1946 as the date for the introduction of the ‘Crusty Cur’. He says that he knows for a fact that it was invented at the Cotton Bowl in 1941. “What the Crusty Cur”, I ask? “No”, he replies, “ the corn do The pig in a blanket. A poodle in a sleeping bag”. I pick up the line – “an elephant in ….” “We are not going there, Walter warned me. And I had wanted to say “… in pantyhose.” Walter corrects himself and says that it was at the Texas State Fair rather than the Cotton Bowl. “But aren’t they the same, like a Frigidair is a refirigerator?”

Restraint. Extravagance. I liked / how one could unshackle the other, / that they might become indivisible – Stephen Dunn – What Goes On, 2009 p20

And another thing he added – “you need to add variety to those ‘he said, she said” phrases that you always write. You need to say ‘he goes” then “she goes” then “I go” - that way you can keep the attention of the younger crowd longer. “I have had this same concern”, I went. “I need to consult the thesaurus for more alternatives for ‘said’ (acquiesces, bemoaned, wagered…). And he goes, “Roget”? “Yes” I belabor.

Turn to poetry. It is, like life, the excuse of ‘proving’ nothing – E M Cioran – A Short History of Decay, 1975 p18

I’m weeding out my non-wrinkle free dress shirts. I wash them and only partially dry them. Then I hang them in the closet and see which ones will pass muster. I have stopped using the dry cleaners for shirts and I don’t trust the labels – wrinkle free – it’s not necessary true for frequently laundered garments. St Bridget’s second grade is off to see the mayor today. They are all in their school uniforms and got on the bus as a group but had to scamper for empty seats on the crowded bus. The crazy lady in front of me is going on about tomatoes and her old uncle Charlie. A young bearded teacher checks to see that no one has been left behind, neither student (easily sported) nor accompanying adults not easily distinguishable except from the crazy lady in front of me. I said, then he said, and I replied. She didn’t say anything. That’s unusual, I said. He said he though that it was also. Later she said something but I wasn’t listening. What did you say, I asked her? You wasn’t listening, were you, she said to me, No, I said. And she didn’t say anything more.

Disgusting zones, disgusting moments are the strategic entry points of the beautiful body’s construction - registered, on the criminal index of aesthetics as ‘disgusting’ – Winifried Menninghaus – Disgust: theory and history of a strong emotion, 2003

Disgust is negative laughter

The sweetbriar smelled so sweet / That it even turned into words – Anna Akhmatova – The Complete Poems, 1992 p460

An estimated 250,000 water mains break each year in the United States

The universe transformed into a Sunday afternoon… it is the very definition of ennui, the end of the universe – E M Cioran – A Short History of Decay, 1975 p22

Chance of a pedestrian dying after being hit by a car – depending on speed of the vehicle
         Speed (MPH) % of deaths
            20            5
            30            45
            40            85

Every absolute – personal or abstract – is a way of avoiding the problems, and not only the problems, but also their root, which is nothing but a panic of the senses – E M Cioran – A Short History of Decay, 1975 p10