We're Still Fighthing It

To the as-yet-unborn, to all innocent wisps of undifferentiated nothingness:
Watch out for life.

I have caught life. I have come down with life. I was a wisp of undifferentiated nothingness, and then a little peephole opened quite suddenly. Light and sound poured in. Voices began to describe me and my surroundings. Nothing they said could be appealed.

--Deadeye Dick, Kurt Vonnegut

Regarding the issue of existential angst, of which there was some discussion the other evening, two matters have crossed my field in the last day which I would like to share. The first was an interview with Woody Allen on the radio show Fresh Air which I cannot possibly recommend zealously enough. You can listen or download it here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105400872. In response to the question of whether he enjoyed the process of making films, Allen responded that making films was an activity beset with difficulty, but that (like many endeavors, artistic and otherwise) it was a distraction from the human condition and the "existential position" with which every person is faced. His prodigious output of films serves to keep him from the abyss from which we all seek to turn our heads.

His awareness of his own motivations was refreshing, but his exposition also led me to one of the great human emotions: surprise. Surprise is underrated. It is the soul of humor, the brick and mortar of rollercoasters and horror movies. It is in such short supply that society will enrich anyone who can provide even small amounts of it. Just ask M. Night Shyamalan.

Anyway.

The second thing was an essay by David Gessner titled "The Dreamer Did Not Exist (A boy's obsession with nonexistence.)" which appears in Dave Egger's wonderful annual publication of the Best American Nonrequired Reading. Gessner, similar to Allen, frontally addresses the fact that much of our activities and constructs are reactions to a fear of nonexistence, and that we seek to create something to stave off the nothing. This isn't new. By the turn of the century, philosophers and artists alike were dealing with the tension from the fact that we have a twentieth century intellect while our soul is still in the stone age. Nietzsche dealt with it. The psychologist and author Eric Fromm suggested that our only escape was spontaneous love and work. The playwright Eugene O'Neill appeared to advocate opiates. Sigmund Freud had a couch.

For me the "existential position" took on another dimension when my wife told me she wanted to have a child. My peephole was already open. There was nothing to be done about that. But could I pluck another innocent wisp of undifferentiated nothingness and open up its peephole? This felt to me then, and feels to me now, as a momentous ethical question. (I should say here that I am not justifying how I feel; I am merely explaining how I feel.)

And so, when called upon to make my moral case, to take a stand in defense of the gospel of reason as I understood it, I instead chose my wife. I chose my wife because--and there is no way around this--she is my religion. She is my reason. Her origin may be mysterious, her purpose clouded, but she is my scripture, my word-for-word truth transcribed. This is my faith. May I never lose it

[originally posted July 18, 2009]

The First Rule Of Book Club

"The poets down here don't write nothing at all. They just stand back and let it all be."

--Bruce Springsteen, Jungleland

Sette Bello. Denialism. Mike is hosting. Chris is out. David is funny. Tim is late. Andrew is dating. And I am privileged. Round tables are the best kind.

Denialism And Climate Change

George Monbiot writes in the Guardian regarding the climate change denialists' imperviousness to reason. His opening gives some flavor of the wonderful prose within:

"There is no point in denying it: we’re losing. Climate change denial is spreading like a contagious disease. It exists in a sphere which cannot be reached by evidence or reasoned argument; any attempt to draw attention to scientific findings is greeted with furious invective. This sphere is expanding with astonishing speed."

An interview with Monbiot can be found here.

Reviews

Andrew and I both noticed the unfavorable review of Denialism in the New York Times Review of Books. Still, I think Michael Specter fared better than Spinal Tap.

The Bonnie Situation

The History Of Book Club II: Electric Bugaloo

By not examining the historical record with enough care I made a few omissions in my previous narrative. I made the changes to the original post, but I have also included the added or revised sections below for easy reference.

December 1, 2005: The colonial theme continues with the selection of 1776, as Chris hosts at Artie's. Mike cannot attend in person, but joins the group via telephone live from a Hooters in southern Virginia. At this meeting Andrew suggests Thomas Paine's Common Sense and The Age of Reason, deftly using the group entrenchment in the American Revolution to focus on secular humanism and agnosticism. No one notices the subtle shift our literary Machiavelli performs. David Hume would have been smiling down on Andrew if there was an afterlife, but since there isn't he'll have settle for the respect of his peers.

January 9, 2006: Andrew offhandedly recommends a new book to Tim: The End of Faith. A godless Simpson continues to change the face of book club.

August 20, 2008: Andrew hosts at the Blue Duck Tavern. Initially calling for a reader's choice between The Progress Paradox, One Minute To Midnight or For Whom The Bell Tolls, Andrew eventually gives up Hemingway. Dogs and cats commence cohabitation, and confusion ensues.

On The Bookshelf

Just wanted to start a new feature on the blog where we highlight the books that we are currrently reading, as well as the books on our shelf and in the on-deck circle, so to speak. I tend to read multiple books at once as a result of a personality disorder. They are:

And of course:

On my shelf:

A Brief History of Book Club

History is written by the winners.

--Alex Haley

History... is an aggregation of truths, half-truths, semi-truths, fables, myths, rumors, prejudices, personal narratives, gossip, and official prevarications. It is a canvas upon which thousands of artists throughout the ages have splashed their conceptions and interpretations of a day and an era. Some motifs are grotesque and some are magnificent.

--Philip D. Jordan

This is a song called "The History of Tenacious D" and it's not just a list of bullshit that we've done in the past. It's a chronicling of our rise to power.

--Tenacious D, History

December 17, 2003: Our first meeting, at Morton's in Tysons Corner. I invite Mike, Tim invites Chris, and a noble experiment is commenced. The book is Founding Brothers, and I'm pretty sure we discussed it at dinner, although it's hard to remember.

November 8, 2004: Tim begins the tradition of hosting by treating the group to dinner at the Westwood Country Club. Mike registers his agreement to the venue by stating, "I assume they let Jews in." Confused by the bounty around me, I panic and order half the menu. Chris James tells the story of a man and his Dodge Aspen, and Mike and I forever regret the absence of recording devices. The book is John Adams.

June 5, 2005: I host at Rio Grande Cafe in Fairfax. Only Tim and Mike join me. We sit outside after dinner while I smoke a pack of Marlboro Lights. The selection is Benjamin Franklin: An American Life. I violate the trust of the group by failing to disclose that I only managed to finish the assigned reading only by listening to the book on tape as read by the guy who played Valerie Bertinelli's husband on One Day At A Time.

August 4, 2005: Mike hosts at Harry's Tap Room. A watershed evening, as we are joined for the first time by Andrew. The force grows stronger. The book is American Sphinx. Mike continues to lobby futilely for hats.

December 1, 2005: The colonial theme continues with the selection of 1776, as Chris hosts at Artie's. Mike cannot attend in person, but joins the group via telephone live from a Hooters in southern Virginia. At this meeting Andrew suggests Thomas Paine's Common Sense and The Age of Reason, deftly using the group entrenchment in the American Revolution to focus on secular humanism and agnosticism. No one notices the subtle shift our literary Machiavelli performs. David Hume would have been smiling down on Andrew if there was an afterlife, but since there isn't he'll have settle for the respect of his peers.

January 9, 2006: Andrew offhandedly recommends a new book to Tim: The End of Faith. A godless Simpson continues to change the face of book club.

March 2, 2006: We leave the Old Dominion for the first time when Andrew hosts at Coppi's in Georgetown. We discuss Thomas Paine over delicious Italian cuisine.

May 18, 2006: Back to Westwood, and the books are Misquoting Jesus and The End Of Faith. Contemporaneous correspondence indicate Under The Banner Of Heaven was also a topic of conversation, but the book--while much beloved--is never assigned.

October 4, 2006: We return to Rio Grande Cafe, this time with a full house. I advertise a defense of Christianity, but under questioning my thesis falls apart like a cheap taco. I should have been more prepared. The records are unclear as to the identity of the book, although it may have been Collapse.

December 10, 2006: Harry's tap Room again. The books are The Progress Paradox and Collapse.

March 22, 2007: After the club's first-ever conference call, and followed by Mike actually having to file a Motion to Compel Details of Book Club, the next meeting begins with drinks on Chris's porch followed by dinner at Bazin's in Vienna. The record does not indicate the book selection, although The Progress Paradox is the topic of lively discussion that evening.

May 24, 2007: Dinner at Andrew's house, only attended by the host, Mike and I, and eventually Chris. Good times walking the streets of Georgetown. The book is Breaking the Spell.

August 23, 2007: Returning to Westwood, Breaking the Spell is again on the docket.

April 10, 2008: Dinner at my house. Steak, seafood and pasta. Chris believes in ghosts. A late night discussion of Mike's love life. The book is The Looming Tower.

June 19, 2008: Mike hosts at Sette Bello. The selection is How Judges Think.

August 20, 2008: Andrew hosts at the Blue Duck Tavern. Initially calling for a reader's choice between The Progress Paradox, One Minute To Midnight or For Whom The Bell Tolls, Andrew eventually gives up Hemingway. Dogs and cats commence cohabitation, and confusion ensues.

November of 2008: Another night at Westwood. How Judges Think is the book again. A general lack of discipline is lamented. For the sake of the club, Mike is appointed czar of the book club. His powers, by agreement, are unlimited. By e-mail dated November 21, Mike promulgates the rules of book club. He later attempts to resign his post, but his resignation is not accepted. A period of prosperity ensues, and continues to the present day.

April 16, 2009: Chris hosts again at Arties. Tim is absent. The book is The Dollar Crisis. Mike asks out the waitress based upon erroneous advice from the group. At some point everyone has to come to terms with growing older and leaving the pleasures of youth behind. For Mike, that point was tonight.

July 16, 2009: I host at Clyde's in Ashburn. Tim is absent. We are joined for the first time by The Roop. Good times. The book is The Road, which we discuss at length so the new guy won't discover the truth. Line of the night: "Chris, I majored in demography."

September 30, 2009: David hosts at Evo Bistro in McLean. Great wine. The selection is One Minute To Midnight.

October 28: The book club celebrates its fourth meeting in six months at Westwood. The book is Naked Economics.

Michael Specter Explains Denialism

If you have time, Michael Specter talks about denialism, what it means, and why he didn't include creationism in the book.