Break

I have been reading some intensive political documents which I have been finding confusing and annoying. I hate it when people's own sentences contradict each other, but there you go.

As a relief to that, I have also been reading a bunch of Babylon 5 novels. Now, I came late to the show (like, ten years), and enjoyed it immensly. The novels are another thing. I like some, I loathe some, I ambival some (yes, it's a word. Well, no, actually, it isn't. But it will be).

What I do like about the Babylon 5 world, if you will, is that there is not black and white going on, and sometimes there are no win situations in which no one wins. Unlike Star Trek, or a number of other sci-fi universes, failure is an option in Bab5. Technology and magic do not solve everything. You make a bad decision, and the consequences are there for you and everyone to try to clean up.

Anyhoo- I'm still alive.

Another book I read was The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming, by Lemony Snicket. Darned good, really. It's the tale of a misunderstood and scalded potato pancake who is so frustrated he cannot stop screaming. Even as the various christmas creatures he meets try to tell him what he "really" is, he clarifies patiently but with obvious annoyance what he actually is, why, and the symbolism he represents. It's heartwarming, charming, and also has a somewhat happy ending (not fot the latke, though).

If you MUST read a holiday book, make it this one.

Brief History of Disbelief (2004)

I watched the three-part series by Jonathan Miller recently. Most of it was enjoyable, all of it made me realise I still have a lot of reading to do. (Hobbes, many of the Greek philosophers, etc.)Excitement built as he neared the atheism of the Russian Revolution, only to be deflated as all of three minutes (if that) was spent in (again, as usual) perpetuating the lie that Stalinism equated with communism (which is, of course, taken as an equation with socialism). I do not suppose I should have expected much, but given the intelligence and diligence of the rest of the programme, I did. This was, though a rather large letdown, the only one.

Setting that aside, the series was quite good, including brief interviews with such people as Daniel Dennett, Richard Dawkins, Arthur Miller, and many others- philosophers, scientists, and lay people. Jonathan Miller traced atheistic thought back to the afore-mentioned ancient Greek philosophers (Epicure among them), and did a good job of parelleling the history of disbelief with that of belief, as well as the story of his own atheism. It seems that throughout the ages, philosophers of various bents have recognised religion for what it is- (wait for it) the opium of the masses.

Speaking of which, the actor (Bernard Hill) they had voicing the quotes of such luminaries as Homer, Freud, and Thomas Paine, did an excellent reading of the entire paragraph wherein "the opium of the masses" first appeared.

This is a flawed piece, but it is a good start on the subject.