Lee Ayres - An Autohagiography

Is it just me or does that spell out a condemnation of You Tube?

Finally managed to get myself back to reading Steinbeck. I read all of "America and Americans" this morning; a fascinating and nuanced essay about the development of America into the (1966) modern age. Consistant with his later writings (see Travels With Charley) and even his more "radical" early writings (e.g. In Dubious Battle) he demonstrates that his sympathies are with people rather than causes. Those who wrote him off as a "Lefty Communist", or who were shocked that such a staunch "Advocate of The People" could express support for the American Soldier in Vietnam never got the man in the first place.

I dont post to this thing often enough. I update the site pretty frequently, being very careful to update the list of books and stories I have read within a day or two of their completion, but I find that sitting down and typing up a more substantial entry seems to be beyond me.

After the complete mental vacation afforded by reading the Edgar Rice Burroughs John Carter of Mars trilogy I have taken a turn for the philosophical. Last weekend I read "The Art of Living" a modernization of the Encheiridion, the philosophy of Epictetus in pithy bite-sized pieces. I followed it up this week durring my commute with "Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius, the stream of consciousness personal diary of a Roman Philosopher-Emperor. This has rekindled my taste for Roman Stoicism, having previously read "Letters from a Stoic", "On Benefits", and "On The Shortness of Life" by Lucius Annaeus Seneca. I am especially intrigued by the strong similarity between the beliefs of the Stoics and the teachings I received at the Vipassana Meditation center of Mr. S. N. Goenka. I have resolved to spend the time to attend another 10 day course, I suspect I will benefit from the householder's practice.

I pulled this book from the shelf at the UCC library on a whim, and began reading it. This book begins with the text of a debate between Mr Darrow and the Honorable Alfred J. Tally of New York on the resolution "That Capital Punishment is a wise public policy." Though I am not convinced that capital punishment is without its application, I think it was clear that Mr Darrow carried the debate. The second portion of the book is Mr Darrow's rather extensive plea for mercy in the case of Leopold and Loeb, delivered over three days. There is no doubt but that he was a passionate advocate for his clients, and he was clearly effective. Neither of the two were executed; Richard Loeb was killed in prison by an inmate, and Nathan Leopold died at age 66 in Puerto Rico. This book left me pining for real public debate. To have two people get in front of an audience and argue both sides of a topic is in no way replaced by either the solo rants of pundits, or the round table rhetoric of Sunday morning panel discussions.