Somtimes your favorite movie/book was only good in retrospect

[GeorgeParker]

I think you mean transcendentalism.

Actually I meant both. Ref: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/emerson/ "Emerson developed a metaphysics of process, an epistemology of moods, and an 'existentialist' ethics of self-improvement." But you're right that I should have said transcendentalism.

Brain isn't always fully in gear in middle of the night.

[GeorgeParker]

I think for me and Catcher in the Rye, it was at least partly a stage of life thing. Adolescent angst was a lot more relevant to me when I first read the book.

For most guys there's a 3-5 year period when almost anything vaguely antisocial seems really cool. For me that period coincided with the string of motorcycle gang B-movies. My mother, bless her heart, never objected to me watching them or having chopper posters on my bedroom walls. In fact she bought me a copy of "Hell's Angels" by Hunter S Thomson for my birthday. Obviously she knew it was just a phase and I wouldn't go far enough to get myself hurt or in trouble, even though I was pretty much mad at the whole world and had a lot of very legitimate reasons for being mad.

The funny thing is, during those same years I also loved The Archie Show and The Banana Splits because they both had silly humor, the Archies had good bubblegum music, and the Banana Splits had the "Danger Island" serial (UH OH. Chongo!)

[happystuff]

I read “Walden” and “The Meditations” at about the same time in my high school career, and was very impressed by both at the time. I tried reading both again recently, and while I’m still very affected by Marcus Aurelius, Thoreau seems like a smug, shallow poseur playing at philosophy.

I agree about Thoreau and, so far, will not bother reading Walden again. While I agree with and enjoyed the idea behind his exercise, I didn't like how he seemed to do it at the expense and "use" of others while seeming to claim "freedom and independence".

[nswef]

I may need to watch West Side Story again. I bet I saw it 10 times at the movies....in the 60s.

[GeorgeParker]

While I agree with and enjoyed the idea behind his exercise, I didn't like how he seemed to do it at the expense and "use" of others while seeming to claim "freedom and independence".

Thoreau addresses that point directly while recounting his expenses:

"Nothing was given me of which I have not rendered some account....To meet the objections of some inveterate cavillers, I may as well state, that if I dined out occasionally, as I always had done, and I trust shall have opportunities to do again, it was frequently to the detriment of my domestic arrangements. But the dining out, being, as I have stated, a constant element, does not in the least affect a comparative statement like this."

Make of that what you will. But people who dislike him will always find something to dislike, and people who do like him will always overlook his flaws.

[happystuff]

But people who dislike him will always find something to dislike, and people who do like him will always overlook his flaws.

True.

[LDAHL]

For most guys there's a 3-5 year period when almost anything vaguely antisocial seems really cool. For me that period coincided with the string of motorcycle gang B-movies. My mother, bless her heart, never objected to me watching them or having chopper posters on my bedroom walls. In fact she bought me a copy of "Hell's Angels" by Hunter S Thomson for my birthday. Obviously she knew it was just a phase and I wouldn't go far enough to get myself hurt or in trouble, even though I was pretty much mad at the whole world and had a lot of very legitimate reasons for being mad.

The funny thing is, during those same years I also loved The Archie Show and The Banana Splits because they both had silly humor, the Archies had good bubblegum music, and the Banana Splits had the "Danger Island" serial (UH OH. Chongo!)

I tried to interest my kid in “Aesop and Son” and “Commander McBragg”, but it seems that if it isn’t Japanese it’s not worth bothering with.

[razz]

I tried to interest my kid in “Aesop and Son” and “Commander McBragg”, but it seems that if it isn’t Japanese it’s not worth bothering with.

When I was considering going to Japan and looked at tours, it was amazing to me how many focused on Japanese tech creations and visiting key sites. I didn't even understand what most of them were but found it interesting. Sort of like a pilgrimage to Elvis Presleys' home but I am sure that a lot more tech activities were involved in the Japanese sites.

[GeorgeParker]

When I was considering going to Japan and looked at tours, it was amazing to me how many focused on Japanese tech creations and visiting key sites. I didn't even understand what most of them were but found it interesting. Sort of like a pilgrimage to Elvis Presleys' home but I am sure that a lot more tech activities were involved in the Japanese sites.

If you want to see the real Japan, there's always the Kumano Kodō: Japan's ancient pilgrimage route: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/article...lgrimage-route

[razz]

If you want to see the real Japan, there's always the Kumano Kodō: Japan's ancient pilgrimage route: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/article...lgrimage-route

That does sound like a wonderful trip to make when you are full of energy and time to enjoy it. The flight to Japan and return is exhausting itself.