Bonhoeffer & The End of Religion

The time when people could be told everything by means of words, whether theological or pious, is over, and so is the time of inwardness and conscience--and that means the time of religion in general. We are moving toward a completely religionless time; people as they are now simply cannot be religious anymore. Even those who honestly describe themselves as "religious" do not in the least act up to it, and so they presumably mean something quite different by "religious."

~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letter to Eberhard Bethage, April, 1944

Remember to Call & Say "Thanks"

Family Curio

This small folding shelf was made by my great uncle Martin probably 100 years ago or so. It's small, measuring approximately 5 inches wide. The design is unique in a couple of ways. First, it is collapsible. The shelf folds up on a set of two hinges, then the supporting piece underneath folds over on one hinge.

The other aspect I find unique is what it depicts. Perhaps it's obvious to you at first glance but it took me a very long time to see this as more than just a random design. First I noticed the light bulb and its rays shining outward. Then I saw clearly the object arching above the light bulb: the horseshoe.

What the hell you ask? Indeed! I have no idea what Martin must have been thinking when he drew up the design for this shelf, if he drew it up  at all.  After mulling over the possibilities and then poking around on Google a bit, here are some ideas:

- Martin was from a generation of people who saw amazing changes in the world around them. They lived through the technological transition from horse power to the internal combustion engine and from candles and kerosine lamps to light bulbs -- especially for those who grew up and lived on farms as he did in northeastern Iowa. Perhaps the the horseshoe/light bulb juxtaposition symbolized for him those very mind-spinning changes -- a report from the dawn of a new era.

- Or not! Maybe he just happened to see a horseshoe and a lightbulb lying in that particular arangement on his work bench and was inspired by it. Or maybe he had been eating mornig glory seeds behind the barn one day and then held a horseshoe up to a light bulb and marveled....

- Ooooooor, perhaps he knew of horseshoe filament light bulbs like the kind Edison invented -- a real breakthrough at the time, this invention increased a bulb's lifespan from 40 hours to 100.

- Or maybe it's not a horseshoe. Maybe it's the Greek letter omega, the symbol for eletric resistance (ohms).
- I doubt it!

Whatever Martin's inspiration, it seems as though he was not the only one to be creatively motivated by these two objects. The image below shows a light bulb with an attached horseshoe, "invented" by a guy in Croatia named Vladimir Kulic.

Kulic is selling this baby for 500,000 euros. That's $635,899.77 folks. If you think that price is a bit steep, consider this: not only do you get the bulb/horseshoe combo itself but he will divulge to the purchaser the secret of how he did it. (possible Spoiler Alert and therefore possible Trigger Warning: uuuuum, glue?) He says he "came up with the idea after examining the fragile properties of the bulb's glass compared with the heavy iron horseshoe." Wow.

This merely confirms for me something I already knew: Uncle Martin's little shelf is priceless.

~ will

I Beg to Differ

So today I'd like to address a very common error that kinda drives me up the wall: The misuse of the phrase "begs the question." Rarely do people use this phrase correctly. An example of the misuse would be, smoking cigarettes causes cancer and that begs the question: Why do people smoke cigarettes? A situation might raise or even demand that a question be asked but the phrase "begging the question" refers to something else. Begging the question is a logical fallacy where the premise and the conclusion are making the same statement. For example, one could say something like, begging the question is a fallacy because to beg the question is to make a logically improper statement. This statement says absolutely nothing because it merely restates the premise in the conclusion. Another example is, some drugs cause altered perception because they are hallucinogenic.

Another pet peeve: The misuse of "myself." People use this word incorrectly all the time and it's because either they simply have no idea what they are saying or they are trying to sound impressive and they have no idea what they are saying. "Myself" is a reflexive pronoun. If you are hitting yourself, then say, I am hitting myself. If someone is hitting you and everyone else, don't say "he hit everyone including myself," say, "he hit everyone including me." If you and your friend went for a walk, don't say he and myself went for a walk, say he and I went for a walk.

Suggestion: When in doubt, don't use "myself" or "begging the question."

I feel much better now.

~ will

Top 10 Secrets to Getting Free Beer and Retiring Early

Well let's see how that title affects traffic....

Now that I have your attention, on to business.


Check this out, it's super cool:



Thanks Feen.

Sunny out there -- better get out of the house with the kids and take the dog to the park

~ will

More Thoughts on Sobriety

When I wrote my first entry on life without alcohol the other day there were some things I left out that I would like to insert now. Some of these gaps were obvious, others less so but everything I’m adding here is important.

First, my list of benefits to abstaining should have included the following items:

-          Way fewer bad/stupid decisions

-          Less tension in the house

-          Less anger & hurtful/stupid behavior

-          Respect of my family and friends (yes, I do have friends)

-          Weight loss

-          Demolishing the last stronghold of self-imposed victimhood

-          The feeling that anything is possible

And secondly  I would like to say right here that sobriety is not something I carry around with me.  Alcohol hit the ground the moment I decided to stop drinking it and to never drink it again. Mr. Earle “left those chains in Tennessee.” I left them on Division Street. Maybe meetings work for some people but what I’ve learned, if you're in AA, there is no freedom. Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic they say, one day at a time. That is, until you make the decision to quit for good.

No Drama Zone

New year, new attitude.  I’m going to avoid negative energy like the plague. Both from myself and from others.  I am officially declaring myself a no drama zone.

~ will