I messed up. I talked about art the other day. Well, don't get used to it. It probably won't happen again for a while.
Instead, I have been thinking about the soul. OK, so it started with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but that doesn't mean my thoughts weren't deep. In Buffy, we have 2 vampires with souls. Now, according to Joss Whedon, having a soul gives you a conscience, so now these vampires regret everything they've done and causes them great anguish. But how can we accept this premise when there are so many people who supposedly have souls running around doing really terrible things? It doesn't follow.
However, being a firm believer in reincarnation, the premise gave me pause. There are old souls and there are new souls. You can tell the old souls - they are rich personalities, warm and giving people, who seem to know things intuitively, and can learn and pick things up easily. I'm sure you've met some, or are one yourself. New souls could be shallow or cold people, or childlike and innocent, or even the ones who just seem to be not altogether there, though they may not necessarily be all of those things at once. Souls learn in fits and starts just like we do.
It occurs to me that maybe not everyone has a soul. It would be rare, like that disease that ages children before they even finish growing. Lack of a soul may be a birth defect. A birth defect could cause sociopathy. I'm sure someone has thought of this, though not in terms of the soul. I know that it's ingrained in human nature to believe everyone must have a soul, but think about it. Does every living creature have one? If you are a true believer in reincarnation, you say of course they do, but I'm not so sure. Sociopaths look and act like normal human beings, but they lack the basic human emotions that we attribute to good people.
So does Osama bin Laden have a soul? Yes, he probably does, though not an old one. He justifies the killing of innocents with religious extremism, as do all of Al Qaeda. Most of them probably have new souls, too. I'm just thinking they'll all be reborn as stink beetles. It would serve them right as well as make them start all over again.
OK, so now that I have established myself as a card-carrying kook who believes in ghosts and reincarnation, I have to point out that I never said I was a rationalist, or an atheist, or an objectivist. I'm just married to one. And you can bet it drives him crazy!
Great news! From now until August 8th you can vote for the greatest painting in Britain. The National Gallery's web site is well-organized. You can either get a glimpse of some of their greatest works with the Collection Explorer, or look through the extensive collection using the index. I found it difficult to chose just one, although The Arnolfini Portrait and this Turner are certainly on my short list. The Portrait for it's rich symbolism and status as an icon of northern European painting of the period, and the Turner for it's sheer beauty and presence. I have a personal fondness for Wright of Derby, but I don't think I could vote for it as one of the greatest paintings.
There are other museums and galleries to check out. None are as user-friendly as The National Gallery, but if you want to make an informed selection, you need to at least take a look.
I saw this and spit tea through my nose laughing. It's an interesting "translation" of Star Wars Episode III, but you have to see it to believe it. And read the comments, too.
I'm excited. Ghost Hunters is finally returning to the Sci-Fi Channel after a rather long hiatus. This is the show that skeptics should watch. It's not "Lifestyles of the Rich and Haunted" like the Travel Channel has become in recent years. No spooky ghost stories here. Just some guys with lots of equipment and plenty of healthy skepticism of their own checking out places that are supposedly haunted. I very much like Jason's attitude - neither "orbs", nor mysterious lights, nor creepy fog, nor weird sounds are proof of ghosts. He wants something tangible before he will pronounce a place haunted. And they often don't. They'll just say they couldn't find anything and move on. But, I can think of three events on the show that made my hair stand on end. I'd say they were tangible bits of evidence. It's a good show.
And speaking of the Travel Channel, they have actually started showing travel shows again. It's been a while. I checked out Stranded with Cash Peters and No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain. I wasn't impressed with Cash Peters, but I did like Anthony Bourdain. He was in Paris, doing it like a Parisian. He also has an attitude and expresses himself just as he pleases. I'll watch that one again.
In recent years I have found myself absently wondering how I grew up as a knee-jerk liberal democrat. It's not like my mom ever sat me down and said, "Don't trust the cops, the military is full of baby-killers, and always stick it to The Man." She never went to peace rallies - although there was a Take Back the Night Rally in the early 80's. And she was a proponent of the death penalty. I guess I figured that my ideals were just somehow infused in my surroundings.
Not quite. I have recently been welcomed back into the church I grew up in - the Unitarian Universalist Community. For those of you unfamiliar with Unitarians, this is the church that welcomes Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Pagans, Atheists, and anyone else who wants to join. Think hippies, former hippies, and wannabe hippies. The interesting thing about the Community here in El Paso is that so many of the members have come from other faiths, people who left the church when they became adults because they were unsatisfied with their church. What amuses me is their capacity to be surprised by themselves. Pete Seger is a Unitarian. When I heard this the other day, I just said, "Of course," while the rest of the congregation marvelled at the wondrousness of it.
I have to admit that I am a little uncomfortable with some of their ideals. I think Political Correctness has gone way too far, and while I think tolerance is a good thing, I think some things just should not be tolerated - murder and destruction and mayhem come to mind. I think evil can and should be defined in order to combat it, and anyone who does not do so is almost as bad as those who actually perpetrate evil. And I don't believe that Islam is a religion of peace, but that's another story.
So here I am with my moderate to conservative views coming back to a Community that glories in its radical activism. Why come back? For my son. He wanted to, and he needs to. Personally, I remember nothing of what I was taught on Sunday School - another reason I was unsure where these liberal ideas came from - but I know some of it stuck. My son needs to be exposed to the left. I guess I still believe that most of it is right. I'm sure at least a little of it will stick. What my son does with it when he grows up is completely up to him.