Looking around curiously as I descend into the pit

I must admit to having some difficulty with the blog form. Partly because I'm so damn busy that I don't have time to translate my thoughts from their lovely and insightful "shower form" to coherent paragraphs. But that wouldn't stop me if I didn't have a second problem -- that I am only interested in saying something worth saying. I've had plenty of people tell me my blog was boring, and that if I wanted readers, I needed to get with the blog form... breezy observations, interesting links, a little ironic commentary, a few pictures or videos. Well, I don't want readers. This blog is me talking aloud, reflecting, partly to myself, and partly to what many people would call God... to that which knows, to the fullness of what is, of which I am a part.

As I was driving to the cafe this morning, I chanced to ask myself, in the course of meandering thoughts, what I would be like if no one was watching -- INCLUDING MYSELF. What will I do when I am freed from accountability, when I am Lord of my private universe? Who am I really? I concluded that although I would do some things which would make me cringe, which would be EXTREMELY :-) embarrassing and revealing, that I was at my core what I appear to be -- a nice person, in love with life, with good will toward all. How nice... :-)

But anyway, I have this writing problem. As we speak, I am in the middle of writing a couple of longer pieces, political or social analysis, which are hard for me to write. It is hard to get started -- the issues are so complex, so wide-ranging, so mixed up, that it's very difficult to find the wedge that lets you say something meaningful, that one can get one's mind around, and from there extrapolate important principles and outline a philosophy... which is what I think I should be doing.

In the meantime, I do want to continue to say Hello, World... so I will succumb to the blog form, and just extract from my morning universe a couple of twigs that you -- my imagined alter ego -- may find amusing, as I have.

1) The New York Times has a nice puff piece this morning on mathematician Terrence Tao. Thank God for the small miracle of some publicity for someone other than a rich celebrity or a politician or a fashionable artist or "personality" (narcissistic and worthless frauds all). And I personally found this little vignette vastly charming:

At age 5, he was enrolled in a public school, and his parents, administrators and teachers set up an individualized program for him. He proceeded through each subject at his own pace, quickly accelerating through several grades in math and science while remaining closer to his age group in other subjects. In English classes, for instance, he became flustered when he had to write essays.

“I never really got the hang of that,” he said. “These very vague, undefined questions. I always liked situations where there were very clear rules of what to do.”

Assigned to write a story about what was going on at home, Terry went from room to room and made detailed lists of the contents.

Reminds me a bit of my nephew Edward, who is quite charming in his own right, although much more likely to be the next Keanu Reeves than the Mozart of mathematics. Or perhaps a bit like me, although not literally, only in some corner of my character.

2) I was flabbergasted and angered by this posting at this very useful blog. In particular, the following excerpt is a wonderful little insight into what's going on behind the scenes, in the meatgrinder of the massive government, where our future is being defined. It's not too late -- the future is surprisingly susceptible to leadership -- but I am beginning to wonder where the intelligent opposition is. No one needs idiot opposition; we need opposition that's smarter and better and more capable than the corrupt insiders.

AT&T told an appeals court in a written brief Monday that the case against it for allegedly helping the government spy on its customers should be thrown out, because it cannot defend itself -- even by showing a signed order from the government -- without endangering national security.

A government brief filed simultaneously backed AT&T's claims and said a lower court judge had exceeded his authority by not dismissing the suit outright.

Because plaintiffs' entire action rests upon alleged secret espionage activities, including an alleged secret espionage relationship between AT&T and the Government concerning the alleged activities, this suit must be dismissed now as a matter of law," the government argued in its brief.

Holy frikkin crap. So the claim is that the law says that if the government says it's actions are secret, they do not need to follow the law? AND that the government ITSELF gets to make the call whether this claim is valid? There's no irony here -- I think that IS the claim. I'm not OK with that.