If your opinion about a work of art changes after you find out which tools were used to make it, or who the artist is or what they’ve done, you’re no longer judging the art. You’re making a choice not to form your opinion based on the work itself, but rather on something else. If you refuse to watch Woody Allen movies because of his personal life, that’s a choice, but you’re choosing not to watch some of the best movies that have ever been made.
Stanley Kubrick said, “The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good.” If an image, a song, a poem, or video evokes affection in your heart, and then that affection dissipates when you learn what tools were used to create it, that’s not a test of the work of art itself. To me it’s no different than losing affection for a movie only upon learning that special effects were created digitally, not practically. Or whether a movie was shot using digital cameras or on film. Or whether a novel was written using a computer or with pen and paper.
“Don’t think about what you want to be, but what you want to do.”
Fall in love with some activity, and do it! Nobody ever figures out what life is all about, and it doesn’t matter. Explore the world. Nearly everything is really interesting if you go into it deeply enough. Work as hard and as much as you want to on the things you like to do the best. Don’t think about what you want to be, but what you want to do. Keep up some kind of a minimum with other things so that society doesn’t stop you from doing anything at all.
“Real wisdom is not the knowledge of everything.”
Real wisdom is not the knowledge of everything, but the knowledge of which things in life are necessary, which are less necessary, and which are completely unnecessary to know. Among the most necessary knowledge is the knowledge of how to live well, that is, how to produce the least possible evil and the greatest goodness in one’s life. At present, people study useless sciences, but forget to study this, the most important knowledge.
“The very meaninglessness of life forces a man to create his own meaning.”
Stanley Kubrick, 1968:
Q: If life is so purposeless, do you feel its worth living?
KUBRICK: Yes, for those who manage somehow to cope with our mortality. The very meaninglessness of life forces a man to create his own meaning. Children, of course, begin life with an untarnished sense of wonder, a capacity to experience total joy at something as simple as the greenness of a leaf; but as they grow older, the awareness of death and decay begins to impinge on their consciousness and subtly erode their joie de vivre, their idealism — and their assumption of immortality.
As a child matures, he sees death and pain everywhere about him, and begins to lose faith in the ultimate goodness of man. But if he’s reasonably strong — and lucky — he can emerge from this twilight of the soul into a rebirth of life’s elan.
Both because of and in spite of his awareness of the meaninglessness of life, he can forge a fresh sense of purpose and affirmation. He may not recapture the same pure sense of wonder he was born with, but he can shape something far more enduring and sustaining.
The most terrifying fact about the universe is not that it is hostile but that it is indifferent; but if we can come to terms with this indifference and accept the challenges of life within the boundaries of death — however mutable man may be able to make them — our existence as a species can have genuine meaning and fulfillment. However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light.
“Never believe that anti-Semites are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies.”
Jean-Paul Sartre, 1944:
Never believe that anti-Semites are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. The anti-Semites have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past.
Sartre’s analysis of anti-Semitism and its relevance for today
“When in doubt, go for a walk.”
Walking won’t solve everything. But it won’t make anything worse. That’s more than you can say for most things we do when we’re stressed, tired, or lost. You walk to get out of your head. To breathe. To let your mind drift without crashing. You don’t walk to fix the problem—you walk because you need space from it. The world doesn’t look so cruel when you’re moving through it one step at a time. You notice things. You remember you’re alive. So when in doubt—go for a walk.
“People are always looking for happiness at some future time.”
One of the best secrets of a happy life is the art of extracting comfort and sweetness from every circumstance…
People are always looking for happiness at some future time and in some new thing, or some new set of circumstances, in possession of which they some day expect to find themselves. But the fact is, if happiness is not found now, where we are, and as we are, there is little chance of it ever being found. There is a great deal more happiness around us day by day than we have the sense or power to seek and find.
If we are to cultivate the art of living, we should cultivate the art of extracting sweetness and comfort out of everything, as the bee goes from flower to flower in search of honey.
“You don’t get to pick and choose when the Constitution matters.”
@RetroAgent12 on X:
To everyone cheering on Trump for ignoring court rulings:
Imagine a future left-wing president declares a national emergency on gun violence, bans AR-15s, and signs an executive order instructing the ATF to confiscate semi-automatic rifles from gun stores. A federal court blocks it, citing the Second Amendment—but the president shrugs, calls the judges “activists,” and ignores the ruling.
Would you still be okay with that? Or would you suddenly rediscover your love for the rule of law?
This isn’t about immigration or Trump. It’s about whether the rule of law means anything to you—or if you only respect the Constitution when it serves your politics.
You don’t get to scream “tyranny!” over COVID lockdowns or gun restrictions and then celebrate when your guy blows off court orders. That’s not patriotism. That’s authoritarianism in red, white, and blue drag.
You don’t get to pick and choose when the Constitution matters.
“Both citizens and non-citizens in the U.S. have the right to due process.”
The International Rescue Committee:
Due process is a fundamental right guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. It protects people against arbitrary government decisions and ensures fairness in legal matters. Both citizens and non-citizens in the U.S. have the right to due process – a chance to defend their rights and to have a fair hearing.
Having a chance to go before a judge is an essential part of due process. Hearings allow individuals and the government to present evidence and for the judge to make a decision based on the facts and the law. Individuals get to explain their situation and appeal mistaken decisions, protecting their rights. Fair hearings can lead to better decisions so that the public has confidence in the integrity of the legal system.
All people in the United States are entitled to due process, but Trump and his officers have tried to convince Americans that noncitizens are not.
Here’s the thing: Once you give up the idea that we are all equal before the law and have the right to due process, you have given up the whole game. You have admitted the principle that some people have more rights than others. Once you have replaced the principle of equality before the law with the idea that some people have no rights, you have granted your approval to the idea of an authoritarian government. At that point, all you can do is to hope that the dictator and his henchmen overlook you.
Immigrants’ Rights (ACLU)
“We’re here on Earth to fart around.”
Kurt Vonnegut, talking about when he tells his wife he’s going out to buy an envelope:
“Oh”, she says, “well, you’re not a poor man. You know, why don’t you go online and buy a hundred envelopes and put them in the closet?” And so I pretend not to hear her. And go out to get an envelope because I’m going to have a hell of a good time in the process of buying one envelope.
I meet a lot of people. And see some great looking babies. And a fire engine goes by. And I give them the thumbs up. And I’ll ask a woman what kind of dog that is. And, and I don’t know. The moral of the story is – we’re here on Earth to fart around.
And, of course, the computers will do us out of that. And what the computer people don’t realize, or they don’t care, is we’re dancing animals. You know, we love to move around. And it’s like we’re not supposed to dance at all anymore.