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The Big Question (Part 4)

What Can We Conclude?

It’s time to bring this series to an end. We’ve examined the “big question” from both the religious and secular perspective. We found that from a religious perspective there’s more to be said than “God has a wonderful plan for your life, and He’ll let you know what it is.” From the secular perspective there’s more to be said than “We make our own meaning.”

The question now becomes what conclusions can we draw that will help shed light on the subject of finding meaning in life that deeply satisfies? I believe that it is possible to find meaning in life and that it is different for each one of us. As I’ve thought about this question I’ve come to the following conclusions: Read the rest of this entry »

SNJ07-18-09: A Night with Oscar Peterson

Oscar Peterson has long been one of my favorite pianists along with Bill Evans. His style was unique and pulled every nuance he could out of traditional jazz. His music entertains and lifts the spirit. You can tell just from listening that he loved jazz passionately. Nothing makes an artist more powerful than pure passion for his art, and Oscar had it, hands down.

Find out all about him at All About Jazz.

I hope you enjoy this wonderfully talented artist as much as I do. Let me know what you think.

Bossa Beguine from Blues Etude — Starting out with a bit of the exotic. Wanna dance?

Meditation from Jazz Bossa Nova — Keeping with the exotic for just a bit more.

The Honeydripper from Night Train — Speeding it up just a little bit and keeping with the dance types this one is good for a little jitterbug.

My Romance from Exclusively for My Friends: The Lost Tapes — After all isn’t a great romance upbeat and uplifting? Oscar knows how to make you feel good.

Con_Alma from Oscar Peterson’s Finest Hour — And this one definitely belongs there.

Triste from The Girls from Ipanema — A latin jazz classic played by the master.

Wave from Motions & Emotions — Mellowing things out a bit. Great classic piece.

Dreamsville from Motions & Emotions — Another nice mellow piece. My dad used to play this piece on the piano all the time when I was growing up. Love this one.

In a Mellow Tone from Ocsar Peterson Plays the Duke Ellington Songbook — Here’s a well known piece from the Big Band Great.

Gee, Baby, Ain’t I Good To You from The More I See You — This is a fun piece makin’ me wish somebody would be good to me.

How High the Moon from Dimensions — A classic played by the best.

Teach Me Tonight from 75th Birthday Celebration — First heard this song performed by Al Jarreau. Really like this rendition. Hope you enjoy too.

As always if you have any suggestions or requests either leave a comment, or contact me through my contact page. Until next week, keep the jazz fires burning.

Picture by flicker user exquisitur under Creative Commons License. Use of this picture does not constitute an endorsement by exquisitur of the ideas in this post.

Liberty and Happiness: Responsibility for Self

Most people want security in this world, not liberty. — H.L. Mencken, Minority Report, 1956

Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it. — George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman, “Maxims: Liberty and Equality,” 1905

When I was a child I often would assail my parents with the demand for entertainment.

“I’m bored.”

“There’s nothing to do.”

These were two sentences that seemed to exit my mouth constantly when I was little. Today I am very thankful that my parent’s response was an equally constant, “I’m sorry for you. Looks like you’ll need to find something to do.”

Of course as a child I wasn’t as thankful as I am today. Back then I’d whine, stomp my foot or use any other technique I could think of to get my mom or dad do something about my boredom. Neither parent would budge. My dad would often say “I’m not responsible for your entertainment. That’s your job. Find something to do.” How could he be so cold and so mean?

What I didn’t know at the time was that my dad and mom were teaching me an invaluable lesson. They taught me that I and I alone am responsible for my own happiness and sense of well being. No one from the outside is going to rescue me from sadness, boredom or lack of self-worth.

In today’s culture we seem to have lost this important insight. When faced with a problem, we tend to look first to the external rather than to ourselves. Financial problems? Let the government bail us out. In relationships we demand that our spouse make us feel loved. In commercial transactions we look to litigation or threats of litigation rather than negotiation and wise choices for satisfaction.

The realization and commitment to the fact that we are responsible for our own lives seems to be as foreign to modern thinking as laughter is to Mr. Spock.

When we place the responsibility for our sense of well-being on some thing, person, or system, we become easily manipulated by the unscrupulous. We become demanding and obnoxious, driven by an out of control sense of entitlement. Mostly we become excessively vulnerable to potential loss.

Happiness is not achieved by relying on externals. It is only achieved and maintained by self-reliance. Wise choices, consistent action and self-knowledge is the only route to real, lasting happiness.

This is why liberty is so important. Without complete freedom to make mistakes, learn from them, and correct the direction of our future choices and actions, we loose the core of what makes us human. Relying on externals for our sense of happiness and well-being makes us slaves to those externals and takes from us our ability to learn and grow. It makes us broken and anything but happy.

Picture by flicker user davetoaster under Creative Commons License. Use of this picture does not constitute an endorsement by davetoaster of the ideas in this post.

Internet Discoveries For the Week

Week of 07-07-09 to 07-13-09

My friend Alice, from Tucson, sent this to me in email on Sunday. I really, really liked it. Wish I could have been there to see it live. I love creative artists. Like I told Alice, it’s a joy to be part of the human race. A race that does stuff like this. Enjoy.

Politics & Liberty

• A Case Against Intellectual Property — The logic behind intellectual property rights is highly illogical. Here’s why.
• Wealth Envy — Do you engage in it? Are you a victim of it? Let’s put it to an end by thinking about it.
• What are the Rules of the Game of Human Flourishing? — Do you know them? Are you playing the game, or are you ruining it for others?
• Fed Independence or Fed Secrecy? — Ya gotta love Ron Paul and his fight for transparency in government.
• Thinking Like a Dandelion — Aubundance is not quite here. But that can change. In the case of government, it’s time for everyone to start thinking like dandelions.

Writing

• 10 Literary One-Hit Wonders — How many of these have you read? (Source: RAPatton on Friendfeed)
• Write a novel in 30 days — 50,000 words in 30 days? Hmmm. Not sure I could do this, but might like to try. (Source: Prometa on Friendfeed)

Miscellaneous

• Are You Overwhelmed by Internet ADD? What to Do … — Once again, Liz Strauss nails my rear end to the wall. Thanks for the reminder, Liz.
• Moonfruit — A very interesting web site maker. (Source: Morton Fox on Friendfeed)

The Big Question (Part 3-C)

Philosophy: What does it have to say?

We’ve been discussing the question of the meaning or purpose of life. Is there one universal meaning or is life a big empty joke? Several days ago I ran across a blog by Steve Pavlina: Personal Development for Smart People. In it he has a series of posts centering around the same topic. You can read his series by starting at The Meaning of Life: Intro.

In his second article “The Meaning of Life: How Shall We Live.” He introduces Aristotle’s use of the concept of eudaimonia. He points out that eudaimonia is often translated “happiness”, but that the preferred translation is “human flourishing”. I like the preferred translation as it tends to be more in harmony with what we talked about in last Monday’s post: genetics and evolution.

What’s important to realize is that “happiness” is no longer a valuable word to use when it comes to discussions of meaning. Though it truly is an end in itself, it is too often confused with consumption and independence which often lead to self-absorbtion, lonliness, and anything but happiness.

To flourish, on the other hand, is to develop in a healthy or vigorous way. This definition is much more in touch with what genetics and evolution point to in terms of tendencies, as well as what we learned from the history of the Hebrews. As a result, I believe it to be a better definition and end point for our search.

I highly recommend that you take some time and read through Steve’s articles. I find myself in agreement with much of what he says, although, as usual, not with everything. One point I somewhat disagree with is his leap toward making the attempt toward discovering the best possible life. I personally don’t think that question is answerable, nor even necessary. He even points out how difficult this pursuit can be.

Evolution tells us that changes take place incrementally and many are not good and thus discarded. Pursuit of the best might not be an achievable goal, but pursuit of flourishing is. By following Aristotle’s encouragements to study others who are living healthy, vigorous, growing lives and to reflect on what we’ve observed, we can make progress in our own personal evolution and maybe leave the world a better place for having been here.

Picture by flicker user Image Editor under Creative Commons License. Use of this picture does not constitute an endorsement by Image Editor of the ideas in this post.

SNJ071109: A Night of a Single Song

The last time I did this, a lot of people seemed to like it. They found it interesting hearing the different arrangements of the same song. So I thought I’d do it again. This time the focus will be on a classic, Born to Be Blue by Mel Tormè and Robert Wells.

This is one of those songs that evokes strong emotions, stirs a bit of melancholy, yet brings a smile to the face when you hear the lyrics. It’s also another song I could easily include in my “Private Eye” collection.

Click on the linked title below to see the lyrics.

As usual, let me know what you think. If you like this, I’ll keep doing it from time to time. Suggestions for songs are always welcome. Suggestions for future Saturday Night Jazz posts are also always welcome. Just drop me an email (use the Contact Dave link above) or leave a comment. All suggestions are seriously considered.

Read the rest of this entry »

Liberty and Happiness: A “New”, Radical Way of Thinking

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. What do those words mean? What did they mean for our Founding Fathers? To them happiness was rooted in a vision of active citizenship in a highly limited government. It was deeply connected to three simple yet deep ideas: relationships, productivity, and contribution.

In today’s world these “old” ideas are actually quite “new” and viewed as radical by the common person. Today, the average person changes location once every five years. Children are expected to leave home once they graduate from high-school and are frowned upon if they don’t. They are especially frowned upon if they return home later to again live with their parents. The idea of the extended family living together like they did even as late as the 1940’s is now considered highly unusual.

Read the rest of this entry »

Internet Discoveries of the Week: 06-30-2009 to 07-07-2009

I think that Tuesdays will become a day where I will be sharing discoveries I’ve made throughout the week. I like reading other’s blogs, articles and items from various places on the Internet. FriendFeed friends often point out articles and blog entries that appeal to my interest. So I’m going to be using Tuesday’s to share with you some of the best stuff I’ve read during the week. Some of it’s current, some of it’s old, but all of it I’ve read sometime this last week. Here’s this week’s greatness:

Personal Growth and Effective Living

From Steve Pavlina . com:

• Keep Your Goals in Front of You — A good article on how to keep motivated and keep heading in the right direction.
• The Afternoon of Life — What worked for you earlier in your life might not work for you as you grow older. Here’s what you do about that.
• Living in Las Vegas — This is a personal one for me, as living in Las Vegas is something I intend to do in my near future. I’ve always loved the city and really want to go there. Steve’s comments helped motivate me to keep going toward that dream.

Politics & Liberty

From Taki’s Magazine

• Establishment Chick — What the political left “progressives” are really all about.
• National Holiday — Thomas Jefferson and the 4th of July. Good history and, unfortunately, a necessary reminder.

From the Objectivist Individualist

• The Government Problem — Some of the real reasons why things are so fouled up in America today.

From The American Thinker

• Sarah Palin: The Best is Yet to Come — Why I haven’t given up on this great lady just yet.
• Obama’s Demagoguery — Once again we are saddled with a weak “Jimmy Carter” and subject to more symbolism over substance. When will this kind of irrational, irritating lack of leadership end?
• In Defense of the Frail Elderly — If you are a baby boomer and you value any part of your life, you do not want Obamacare, believe me.
• No HAPI Ending — This is outrageous and should make every American’s blood boil.

From Mises Economics Blog

• Big Government and the 4th of July — We need to declare our independence from Big Government like the colonists did from England. Here’s why.
• Woods Tells the Story of the Meltdown — A good and thorough review of “Meltdown: A Free-Market Look at Why the Stock Market Collapsed, the Economy Tanked, and Government Bailouts Will Make Things Worse. By Thomas E. Woods Jr.“

Blogging, Tech, Internet Business, Etc.

From Site Point

• Just Do It! 5 Ways to Get Over the Fear of Working for Yourself — Brief, but helpful article on overcoming a very common fear among entrepreneur types
• I Quit! Things To Think About Before Taking the Plunge — A good post that balances out the previous one. It’s good to take action, but getting prepared is also necessary. This is something I’m learning as I attempt to extricate myself from my over-night “day” job.
• 7 Freebies From SitePoint You May Not Know About — If you’re a web developer of just play around with HTML, CSS, AJAX, etc. This resource is for you.

From Web Designer Wall

• 20+ WordPress Recipes (Codes) — Some really great tricks you can do with WordPress using a bit of PHP code.
• Users Place More Weight on Design — Good article on what keeps users at your site.
• 30 Untypical WordPress Sites — This is why I like WordPress. Its versatility and its power.

Hope you enjoyed some of these. If you run across anything interesting let me know. Either drop me an email, or leave me a comment.

Picture by flicker user kevindooley under Creative Commons License. Use of this picture does not constitute an endorsement by kevindooley of the ideas in this post.

The Big Question (Part 3-B)

Science: Observations and Guesswork

Continuing our thoughts about the meaning and purpose of life from the secular side of the question, it is now time to turn to science. What can science tell us about the meaning or purpose of life?

First off, science can only tell us about what it observes. It does not speculate or guess except in the case of developing hypotheses for further testing. If the test fails, then the hypothesis is discarded because observation has shown it to be false.

The focus of science is on mechanics. It can tell us what something is, how it functions and why it functions that particular way. Thus is it vitally important for us to remember that true scientific conclusions are based upon what is, not speculations about what could be.

Yet with that thought in mind, science does offer two pointers which we should take into consideration. The first is genetics and the second is evolution. Read the rest of this entry »

SNJ07-04-09: A Night with Mel Tormè

If you remember a show called Night Court, you’ll probably remember that the judge (Harry T. Stone, played by Harry Anderson) had an rather interesting obsession with Mel Tormè. Though I’m not quite as bad as Judge Stone, but I’ve always been a fan.

I remember the first time I saw Mr. Torme. It was on television. After school, my mother would allow me to spend one hour relaxing before I had to do homework or practice my trombone. I’d spend a couple of hours practicing and doing homework, have dinner and then I could go outside and play with my friends until time to go to bed. During that one hour relaxation time I would watch the Mike Douglas Show. Mel was a guest co-host one week, and I totally became a fan as a result of watching him and Mike Douglas sing duets together on that Monday through Friday.

His tenor voice has a unique feel and the jazz standards he sang evoked a full range of emotions. I hope you enjoy his music as much as I do. For great bio information you can read about Mel Tormè at the All About Jazz site.

Live Alone And Like It from “Mel Tormè At the Movies“.

Lullaby of Birdland from “Classic Jazz: Jazz Legends“.

Take the A Train from “Great American Songwriters – Duke Ellington“.

Round Midnight from “Classic Jazz Disc 1“

Blue Moon from “Music to Watch Girls By“

Down for Double from “Swingers Too Soundtrack“

Blue and Sentimental from “Late Night Jazz“

Fascinating Rhythm from “Lulu’s Back in Town“

New York State of Mind (with a Tokyo twist) from “Too Darn Hot (Disc 2)“

I Should Care from “A Night Out with Verve – Disc 4“

Too Darn Hot from “Too Darn Hot“

Here’s That Rainy Day from “Cafe Jazz for a Sunday Morning“

Picture by flicker user Alan Light under Creative Commons License. Use of this picture does not constitute an endorsement by Alan Light of the ideas in this post.