Archie
Tietze Park - 15 Dec 2024, 10 am, Dallas, Texas
When my wife is out of town, I often watch old movies. Tonight it’s Only Angels Have Wings with Cary Grant and Jean Arthur (plus Sig Ruman, Rita Hayworth, and others). They’re excellent – as one would expect. But I want to praise Thomas Mitchell, who was great in several Capra films and this one too.đż
From 1854 to 1950: Wonderfulness from The Public Domain Review
I don’t want people to kill insurance executives, and I don’t want insurance executives to kill people. But I am unsurprised that this happened. Indeed, I’m surprised that it took so long. It should not be controversial to note that if you run an institution that makes people furious, they will eventually become furious with you.
Suffice to say, however, being furious is not justification for gunning someone down.
We say, âMerry Christmas and Happy New Yearâ in one breath, and commonly refer to this time of year as the âHoliday Seasonâ, as if it were all one singular event. There is an interesting irony in lumping the two celebrations together, for although both events celebrate new beginnings, there is a difference as New Yearâs places the burden on us to begin anew, and the reason we make New Yearâs resolutions. Christmas, on the other hand, places that burden on â of all things â a Babe in a manger whose new beginnings fulfill an ancient promise of restoring mankindâs relationship with God. And while New Yearâs resolutions are sure to fail, the Babe in the manger is a sure thing â He who proclaims, âBehold, I make all things new.â
In the tender compassion of our God
  the dawn from on high will break upon us
To shine on those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
One of the worldviews that seems to appeal to the folks who are so excited about ChatGPT is âlong-termism,â which assumes that humankind as a whole has a destiny, and that our tools will help us to reach it somewhat faster. What that destiny is, nobody knows. But work and education are hindrances to it, and, to the extent that they are necessary, should be sped through as quickly as possible. Since no real account is usually given of the thing that we are speeding to â it will involve space travel, algorithms, asteroid mining, and spreadsheets, but thereâs a great nothing at its center â this worldview functions like nihilism. To me, work and education â like rest, love, worship, culture, strange hobbies, village pantomimes, dumb mistakes, chants that children jump rope to, heartbreaking last-quarter fumblings of the ball, graffiti on ugly bridges, all of it â are things we do because it is our job to be people.