Nothing is random

Nothing is random, nor will anything ever be, whether a long string of perfectly blue days that begin and end in golden dimness, the most seemingly chaotic political acts, the rise of a great city, the crystalline structure of a gem that has never seen the light, the distributions of fortune, what time the milkman gets up, the position of the electron, or the occurrence of one astonishingly frigid winter after another.

Even electrons, supposedly the paragons of unpredictability, are tame and obsequious little creatures that rush around at the speed of light, going precisely where they are supposed to go. They make faint whistling sounds that when apprehended in varying combinations are as pleasant as the wind flying through a forest, and they do exactly as they are told. Of this, one can be certain.

And yet there is a wonderful anarchy, in that the milkman chooses when to arise, the rat picks the tunnel into which he will dive when the subway comes rushing down the track from Borough Hall, and the snowflake will fall as it will. How can this be? If nothing is random, and everything is predetermined, how can there be free will? The answer to that is simple.

Nothing is predetermined; it is determined, or was determined, or will be determined. No matter, it all happened at once, in less than an instant, and time was invented because we cannot comprehend in one glance the enormous and detailed canvas that we have been given - so we track it, in linear fashion, piece by piece. Time, however, can be easily overcome; not by chasing light, but by standing back far enough to see it all at once.

The universe is still and complete. Everything that ever was, is; everything that ever will be, is - and so on, in all possible combinations. Though in perceiving it we imagine that it is in motion, and unfinished, it is quite finished and quite astonishingly beautiful.

In the end, or rather, as things really are, any event, no matter how small, is intimately and sensibly tied to all others. All rivers run full to the sea; those who are apart are brought together; the lost ones are redeemed; the dead come back to life; the perfectly blue days that have begun and ended in golden dimness continue, immobile and accessible; and, when all is perceived in such a way as to obviate time, justice becomes apparent not as something that will be, but as something that is.

   --from Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin

I'm sure I've posted this before, yet it seems never more appropriate than today...Have a lovely night everyone :)

5:13:06 PM     comment []

On the homefront

Now for the important stuff....Scott and I have started a diet together!  The pounds have just been creeping up on me, and I absolutely will not gain any more.  After doing a little research, we agreed to give the Atkins diet a whirl.  Low carb / high protein.  Last night we feasted on broiled salmon steaks marinated in a ginger soy sauce with a little shot of lemon, green beans, and a tossed salad topped with sun-dried tomato vinaigrette.  Very tasty, but my addiction to carbohydrates will be very, very hard to combat.  Talk about a war...no bread, no dairy foods, no pasta, no Fritos with onion dip, no tacos...eeeeks! (Willpower...willpower...willpower)  Is it lunchtime yet??

10:53:30 AM     comment []

Reactions

For the first time, a prime minister has committed Australians to war in circumstances opposed, the polls say, by seven out of 10 Australians. This war is as unpopular at the beginning as Vietnam was at the end.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard, has "vowed to spend all of his waking hours in coming days explaining his position to the Australian public, expressing optimism that in time people will share his view."   (LINK)   Think Bush will spend all of his waking hours doing the same here in the United States?

Meanwhile, Germany says it is "shocked" by Bush's decision to proceed with a military strike.  Shocked?  Germany didn't see this coming?  Gimme a break...

10:28:11 AM     comment []

And what about the guy on the tractor?

Authorities say they're continuing to communicate with a North Carolina tobacco farmer who remains inside his tractor after driving it into a pond on the National Mall.

Dwight Watson, 50, of Whitakers, North Carolina drove his tractor in a pond Monday, in the area known as Constitution Gardens. The tractor had been pulling a military style Jeep and a trailer, and the Jeep was partially submerged. The tractor had messages on its cab supporting veterans.

Police say he claims to have ammonium nitrate, the same explosive fertilizer used in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.   (LINK)

Is everyone in this country pissed off about something?  Or does it just seem that way? 

10:01:54 AM     comment []

Porn and driving don't mix...

...at least not in Tennessee.  The state Senate has voted unanimously to ban X-rated videos from cars and other vehicles if the television screens can be seen from the street.

Senator Mark Norris filed the legislation after getting a complaint from a constituent. The man said his daughters could see a sex tape being played in a van stopped at a red light. Many vehicles now have the option of being equipped with video players.

But the measure wouldn't outlaw all mobile red light districts. Porn fans could still watch sex tapes if their car windows are tinted or covered by shades.   (LINK)

Note to self: always buckle up; they don't call this the Bible Belt for nothing..

9:50:42 AM     comment []

Dallas women strip for peace

9:13:07 AM     comment []

Comments

6:24:36 AM     comment []