Childlike Hedonism

There is nothing like the hedonism of a child.

Today I went to a four-year-old's birthday party. Oh my. What a bacchanalia. Unbridled enthusiasm for each hedonistic pleasure.

First there was the joy of physical exertion. They played on the playground. They ran. They chased. They laughed. They don't have many words, these pre-ks, but they have plenty of meaning and expression.

Before four, you don't get much relationship with other children. At four, you really see them begin to bond and form strong friendships. What can be better than friends?

Then there was the entertainment. Mad Science, a demonstration of wonder and whimsy. A magician and a circus rolled into one. What is this itch that such wonders tickle?

The pizza was brought in and fed to the ravenous herd. Clamor was replaced with silent munching and slurps. Then to the playground and back to the pinata. Wanton destruction of something beautiful. Beating it with a bat. What itch is this? This destruction?

I must re-read my Freud.

The bash of candy and the swoop of children. The cries of the forlorn without their proper share. The joy of those discovering what pleasures the treats hold.

But then, the cries are silenced when the birthday cake is brought out. They run to find their places at the table. More succulent delights.

Then parting gifts and sated repose in the car on the way home.

What pleasure they indulge in. All the senses. Unremitting, unabated, pure indulgence in every pleasure they know.

They know how to have a good time. Would that I learn well from them.

Truly Happy

Ever have the idea that if you could just do this one thing, you would be Truly Happy? If you could just finish this class, if you could just be with this person, if you could just get this job, then you would be Truly Happy?

Me too.

Kinda silly, ain't it?

Pibgorn

Pibgorn is a great comic strip. It's not a gag strip, but it has humor. It is also very well drawn. Every day it is in color, and the size of a Sunday strip. A comic artist's dream!

Hmmm. Now if only we could get Opus on the web I would be Truly Happy.

That's cool

I've enjoyed reading others' blogs, so I thought I'd do one myself.

I have lots of thoughts. Most of them are useless. Unfortunately.

One useful thought: Philip K. Dick is cool. I've enjoyed his work for years. I just picked up The Philip K. Dick Reader. I'll let you know how I like it.

I was blown away by The Minority Report, another collection of short stories. Oh, to be a blobel!

Also, I listened to Martian Time Slip on Audible.com. Currently, my review is the only one on the page.

I also listen to Harry Shearer's Le Show. And it's free! Wow. It's good, too. But it's free!

(If you sign up on Audible, tell 'em BaronAudible sent you, and they give me free stuff! That's cool.)

Nancy Kress is cool, too, though in a different way. I read Probability Space. Now I have to go back and read the prequels.

If you get a chance, sing along with John Coltraine. It can be a liberating experience. I did whilst on a long drive today. His phrasing is poetic. Stops and starts and little cascades, dances and trips, and closed eyes 'neath shades.

Peace.