#1501: | In the battle of the free samples, Costco almost always beats Sams Club. Sure glad I have my expired Costco card to get me in the door! |
#1502: | One of the starkest social contrasts on Earth is between El Paso and Juarez. Wealth/poverty, safety/violence staring directly at each other. |
#1503: | The main thing that separates musicians from their music is ego. |
#1504: | The internet can call up all manner of facts but it can't help with judgment and perspective, which still must come from experience. |
#1505: | "Enforced belief" is when you have to believe something because your existing investments demand it. That's different from free-will belief. |
#1506: | Just released my latest essay: "Why Do You Believe?" http://bit.ly/kcbelieve (Kilroy Cafe #53) People believe what they need to believe. |
#1507: | My new photo album from Tombstone, Arizona: http://bit.ly/tombstonephotos "The Town Too Tough to Die" |
#1508: | The best way to describe Texas is "Australia-like". Not a very impressive landscape, just a lot of it. |
#1509: | The world will always be a desperate place because young people will always overestimate their abilities and act accordingly. |
#1510: | Life is a race to see how much you can accomplish in the time you have left. |
#1511: | "Old people" are just killing time 'til time gets around to killing them. Not a dignified ending. |
#1512: | Modern luxury cars feature fancy electronic keys designed to deter theft and make the company millions of dollars when customers lose them. |
#1513: | When I was a kid we had Pop Rocks. Now they have HANNAH MONTANA Pop Rocks! |
#1514: | There's no accounting for sexual preference or attraction. Logic need not apply! |
#1515: | Most human behavior is driven by ego, not logic. People do whatever seems to protect their self-esteem in the moment, even if it hurts. |
#1516: | I'm never going to eat ground beef again! NY Times: http://bit.ly/latmeat "Trail of E. Coli Shows Flaws in Inspection of Ground Beef" |
#1517: | Only in Texas can you take a six-lane highway and call it a "Lane". |
#1518: | One of the great existential struggles of modern life is finding work you like that you can also make enough money at. |
#1519: | If you can't find work you like within your financial needs, perhaps you should reduce your needs. |
#1520: | Like the Roman Empire, modern civilization is scattered with giant coloseums, and you wonder how they fill them with people. |
#1521: | If your comfort requires a firm mattress, why not consider sleeping on... THE FLOOR! |
#1522: | Hooters now has competition in Texas: Twin Peaks - http://www.twinpeaksrestaurant.com - Another milestone in double entendre marketing. |
#1523: | Young people often mistake "imprisonment" for "commitment". Commitment is a free-will choice, not enforced by outside chains. |
#1524: | If you trust in God and human authority, you're going to be blindsided by the world because you didn't understand what was really going on. |
#1525: | Your television addiction has been licked if you check into a hotel and never even think about turning it on. |
#1526: | The commercial world does not expect quality. It expects reliable mediocrity cranked out on a schedule. |
#1527: | My review of porn on the internet finds nothing that is even remotely sexy. Why? |
#1528: | Pornography is the opposite of art because it hides nothing. |
#1529: | Barack Obama has won the Nobel Peace Prize after only 9 months in office... which implies that Bush deserves the Nobel Anti-Peace Prize. |
#1530: | I love the smell of sarcasm in the morning! Like coffee brewing and bacon cooking, waking up wouldn't be the same without some icy words. |
#1531: | If you met your lost identical twin, you would find them fascinating at first. In the end, though, your life experience would separate you. |
#1532: | NY Times: "Rules to Eat By" http://bit.ly/4pdH6e - Culture has a lot to teach us about food and nutrition. |
#1533: | "If you are not hungry enough to eat an apple, then you are not hungry." -- Emma Fogt, via NY Times food rules http://bit.ly/gwcy3 |
#1534: | Kilroy Cafe #54: "The Fallacy of Commitment" http://bit.ly/2vmGnJ - Young people often mistake imprisonment for commitment. |
#1535: | My new photo album from Louisiana: http://bit.ly/142UIX - Down onda bayou! |
#1536: | Photos: New Orleans French Quarter: http://bit.ly/mLFo0 - Laissez les bons temps roulez! (from a year ago) |
#1537: | California is the best example of excessive democracy. NY Times: "Top Judge Calls Calif. Government Dysfunctional" http://bit.ly/2V2SX5 |
#1538: | Intimacy is important, but sex is one of the biggest frauds every perpetrated. Kilroy Cafe #3: "Sex Fraud" http://bit.ly/gMAiV |
#1539: | The "Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility" says the perceived value of something declines with each add'l unit consumed. http://bit.ly/JuGNc |
#1540: | "Don't eat anything you aren't willing to kill yourself." -- Lorene Lavora, via NY Times food rules http://bit.ly/gwcy3 |
#1541: | LA Times: "Flawed county system lets children die invisibly" http://bit.ly/2uefW4 - Gives a good picture of child welfare. |
#1542: | New Photo Album: "Meal, Ready to Eat" http://bit.ly/gi6gx - A culinary adventure! |
#1543: | Just because a law exists doesn't mean it will be enforced. An offense has to cross a threshhold of irritation before anyone bothers. |
#1544: | Crimes are prosecuted only when they cross the bow of law enforcement or when someone has something to gain by prosecution. |
#1545: | "Street Protests in Madrid" - my photo album from last year: http://bit.ly/2RDfbd |
#1546: | Success in any field often depends on being able to get rid of things you once thought were essential. |
#1547: | Most adults are a minefield of poor choices and conflicting emotions. You must carefully watch your words to avoid destabilizing them. |
#1548: | There are no relationships without dysfunction. |
#1549: | What was never explained in James Bond movies was how the evil genius got all his minions to work together. |
#1550: | What was never explained in James Bond movies was how the evil genius got all his minions to work together. Fear and greed aren't enough. |
#1551: | Solution to the UFO mystery: an advanced race of alien cats. With laser pointers. Trying to get even. |
#1552: | Everybody hates work, but without the enforced structure of a job, most people would self-destruct. |
#1553: | My new Kilroy philosophy essay: "Puffery! The Legal Way to Lie!" http://bit.ly/4msdyE (Kilroy Cafe #55) |
#1554: | It is noble to fight for a cause, but you also can't neglect your own development. |
#1555: | It is easier to change your own life than fight for change in others. The first step to social change is to set a good example. |
#1556: | Whenever you fight for a cause, you are trapping yourself at the level of your opponent rather than attending to your own development. |
#1557: | The first step to freedom is accepting the tragedy of the world. |
#1558: | You cannot be truly free until you accept the underlying tragedy of the world. |
#1559: | Here's the pitch for a truly terrifying horror film: Movie producer is trapped in Nevada desert with NO CELLPHONE SERVICE. Will he survive? |
#1560: | Photos from my current visit to JERUSALEM: http://bit.ly/2uwh9g (still there!) |
#1561: | Religion sucks! There's nothing like a visit to Jerusalem - the crossroads of religion - to renew my faith in the stupidity of ALL of them! |
#1562: | The politics of love: Everyone wants the "best" romantic partner but, more importantly, one who won't threaten one's ego. |
#1563: | Intelligence is a test of how well you can separate logic from emotion in the decisions that matter most. |
#1564: | My new photo albums from ISRAEL: http://bit.ly/bF2re - Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Jaffa |
#1565: | I have visited a good portion of the developed world, but nowhere are the mechanics of life easier than in the United States. |
#1566: | Before you fight for equal rights as an oppressed minority, you should evaluate whether the prize is really worth fighting for. |
#1567: | NY Times: "Ever-Present Surveillance Rankles the British Public" http://bit.ly/46fS7i - "1984" is alive and well in Britain! |
#1568: | All religions require an enemy to keep faith alive. Muslims and Jews need each other, and Christians never forget being thrown to the lions. |
#1569: | It is remarkable how humans can willingly accept imprisonment in exchange for the approval of their family and society. |
#1570: | Sure, it's easy to blame Bush for the mess in Iraq, but let's not neglect the role country music played. "I'm Proud to be an American" etc. |
#1571: | Most people's lives are a minefield of poor choices and conflicting emotions propped up by delusion and wishful thinking. |
#1572: | No matter how complex the world may become, it will always be dominated by the stupid mistakes of human ego. |
#1573: | Gave my last 7 shekels to a Coke machine at the airport which failed to dispense the product. I blame the State of Israel & call for Jihad! |
#1574: | Anyone can surround themselves with the tools and technical skills of an artistic medium. Very few are capable of real creativity there. |
#1575: | The key to creative success in any field is seeing what is right in front of you, not what you want to be there. |
#1576: | Once one begins to create something, ones ego becomes attached to it, thereby bribing and corrupting ones clarity of vision. |
#1577: | Emotional neediness may provide motivation but it kills creative detachment. You are most creative when you need nothing. |
#1578: | Childbirth is the world's most narcissistic act. It is creating new responsibilities where none previously existed. |
#1579: | Security in Israel is everywhere - bag searches and young men with big guns - but it's sloppy and haphazard, more for show than anything, |
#1580: | Jews, Muslims, Christians: I am non-discriminatory. I think they're ALL wacko! |
#1581: | LA Times: "Kids watch more than a day of TV each week" http://bit.ly/2x9Gbx - Wow! TV has become our national educational system! |
#1582: | LA Times: "A visit to the medical marijuana doctor" http://bit.ly/4qjnwH - No matter what ails you, you know what the prescription will be! |
#1583: | "convenient belief" - something you believe because it happens to support your own choices, although you'll probably invent other reasons. |
#1584: | I may be urbane and worldly, but I still appreciate the simple pleasures of the provinces - like a lunch of free samples at Costco in Iowa. |
#1585: | Liberals say "carrot"; conservatives say "stick" (or vice versa). Best policy? Whatever works! |
#1586: | Sad travel fact: The dullest places have the nicest tourist information offices. |
#1587: | Another provincial pleasure in Iowa: odeur de manure from a massive cattle feeding operation. The Bourgeoisie never get to experience this! |
#1588: | Delusions persist as long as there are excess resources to support them. They collapse when the resources run out. |
#1589: | To get along comfortably with others you must never discuss the obvious delusions that afflict them. |
#1590: | A common affliction of the human male is to dwell on technical minutia while completely missing the big picture. |
#1591: | I visit Alice Springs around 1990. Normal desert town with a Woolworth and many Aboriginals aimlessly wandering downtown. |
#1592: | The Australia outback is simply Nevada with a reddish hue. Drive on the left and dead kangaroos along the road, otherwise identical. |
#1593: | The place that most impressed me in Australia was Coober Pedy, a town with many houses built underground. Totally alien and unexpected! |
#1594: | Ayers Rock/Uluru: One of the world's most overrated tourist attractions. Wouldn't merit a second look on any other continent. |
#1595: | I visited Alice Springs around 1990. Normal desert town with a Woolworth and many Aboriginals aimlessly wandering downtown. |
#1596: | The absence of divorce does not imply a marriage is a success. The cost of change is high, so most people will accept mediocrity. |
#1597: | People may bemoan the prison they're trapped in, but without its structure they may self-destruct. Freedom requires skills and practice. |
#1598: | I don't care what planet you came from or are going to as long as you behave decently on this planet. |
#1599: | Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore. No, wait... We're STILL in Kansas? Never mind! |
#1600: | The most powerful human emotion is regret: inner shame for ones own mistakes. Grief doesn't go on forever, but regret can! |