Les Essais – Tome 1 by Michel de Montaigne, The Essays of Montaigne are included on the list of 100 Greatest Books of All Time, one of my notes on his writings is at https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/10/on-liars-essays-of-michel-de-montaigne.html with hundreds more reviews - 10 out of 10

 

Les Essais – Tome 1 by Michel de Montaigne, The Essays of Montaigne are included on the list of 100 Greatest Books of All Time, one of my notes on his writings is at  https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/10/on-liars-essays-of-michel-de-montaigne.html with hundreds more reviews

 

10 out of 10

 

I was listening to the astounding essays, a little earlier, and they were about suicide, leaving things for tomorrow and this made me think of present, the chaos of the world, wars, elections that put forward the most vile, reprehensible individuals (Orange Jesus is a recurrent theme in these pages) and the metaphor of…

 

Doing harm to oneself

 

Alas, in some of these situations, it is not just masochistic, it is also having repercussions for the rest of us, America is still the greatest power in the world, though the way they are going, it is not for much longer, and on ethical, moral and some other grounds, we could not look up to them anymore, it was argued 2016 was a black swan

 

Well, it was not, for here we are again!

 

Michel de Montaigne explains that there are places where suicide is the way to go, indeed, euthanasia is gaining ground, and if it is legal in Switzerland, and those with means, a terminal disease, and the will to end suffering are travelling there; The United Kingdom and others are considering the legalization of this act

Then there is the problem of mass suicides, and you can read about that in Influence  https://realini.blogspot.com/2021/08/the-absolute-psychology-classic.html the quintessential psychology book by Robert Cialdini, who has identified the six principles of Influence, one of them being Social Acceptance

 

We tend to follow the example of others, especially in circumstances which are unfamiliar, ergo, it is advised that, if there is an accident, you do not just ask for help, in principle, because passers by would look at each other and move, you have to identify, say you in the red sweater, call 911, blue shirt, come and help

The tragedy of the mass suicide in Guyana is explained, the leader of the sect (I think it was Moon) took his adepts to South America, and then he decided he wants everybody dead, and so they followed each other, and this was a carnage, it was also the Principle of Respect for Authority, and Reciprocity operating there too

 

The members of the cult of Orange Messiah have not really taken their own lives – not yet anyway, and not literally – but the effects will be clear, indeed, look at the list of ‘the best people’ that are ready to take over defense, health, justice and you can no longer say ‘oh, this is just bluster, he will never do what he says

Charlie Wilson’s War https://realini.blogspot.com/2017/06/charlie-wilsons-war-written-by-aaron.html is a marvelous picture, and it has a fabulous ending, with the story of the Zen Master, which I keep telling others – the best way to assimilate something, keep it in memory is not to read over and over, it is to share it…

 

This Zen Master lived in medieval China, he had a horse that runs away and the villagers express their commiseration, and he responds ‘we shall see’, then the missing animal returns and the community expresses joy, only to hear ‘we shall see’, the son of the Master breaks his leg, trying to tame one of the wild animals

So, again, there is pity, but the Zen Master keeps his tranquility, ataraxia, and says again ‘we shall see’, when the emissaries of the emperor are in the place, to recruit men for the big battles, the son is excepted, because of his disability, so the neighbors are happy again, the Master however shows equanimity:

 

We shall see

 

‘There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so’ https://realini.blogspot.com/2014/04/hamlet-by-william-shakespeare.html Hamlet, and there is more along these lines, the idea being that maybe there is some good to come out of all this, the comedy show in any case

Robert Kennedy Jr is one of the most preposterous, awkward, dangerous men, he is anti-vaccine, and as future health secretary, he will surely compromise the health of many, the only question is how bad it will be…sure, we shall see, but here, the only outcome is polio, measles, and the speculation could be over figures

 

The would be defense secretary – approved surely, they have no spine, these revolting, ignoble eejits – has had some ludicrous episodes, throwing an ax, and hitting a drummer, more the instrument, otherwise it would have been manslaughter (a qualifying aspect for the world of The Orange felon), but more devastating are the utterings on video, about Russia wanting back its territory, which makes sense for this troglodyte, ‘what, Ukraine used to be part of the Soviet Union’, so let them have it…what about Mexico getting land, or Russia itself grabbing Alaska – it used to be their land, right, so why not go all the way?

 

Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/unique-in-world.html?q=unique+in+the+world – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se

 

 There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know

 

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/realini-in-newsweek-participant-in.html

 

Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works

 

‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’

 

‚Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus’

 

“From Monty Python - The Meaning of Life...Well, it's nothing very special...Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”