Way, way.. Waay...

This passage reminded me of something I have wondered about:

'.... T. rex and kin dominated the Earth for over 150 million years. They endured extreme temperature changes, rising and falling oceans, and super-volcano eruptions, and they diversified as their home—the supercontinent of Pangaea—literally broke apart. Dinosaurs were prehistory’s ultimate survivors ...'

No one doubts that dinosaurs (except their relatives--birds) did not co-exist with human beings.  But why, then, do all cultures (most anyway) have stories about--- dragons.  Dragons look and act like dinosaurs. What is the difference, besides one being agreed on as fictional?

Surely the stories about dragons point to the reality of an ancestral memory, the existence of which is something Plato and Jan Cox agree on. Then though, this memory must go way way, WAY, back.

Beating a read philoopopher

...that "whereof one may not speak, about that one must be silent",

Wittgenstein missed one salient (silient) dimension, you can talk 'around' the invisible----- as long as the maps are fresh---- as long as the fingers of the cerebral are eerily airy

Of course this approach is enough to clatter the teacups of analytic philosophers, were any left. They yearn for nothing more than to be able to put their cup in a saucer on a desk on a floor on a cement foundation on a nameable terrestrial layer-- on a --- on a -- but NO, never on a turtle's back.

Maybe we are all snowflakes

Maybe we are all snowflakes

or

maybe we are all raindrops--- all of us, that is, with a conscious intent to be more -- conscious; that intent which, to be remembered is itself, a  triumph on the way ...

What happened on November 5

What happened on November 5, besides these people dying.

1979 – Al Capp, American cartoonist 
1981 – Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, 16th Karmapa, Tibetan spiritual leader 
1985 – Arnold Chikobava, Georgian linguist and philologist 
1985 – Spencer W. Kimball, American religious leader, 12th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of LDS
1986 – Adolf Brudes, German race car driver 
1989 – Vladimir Horowitz, Ukrainian-American pianist and composer
1997 – Isaiah Berlin, Latvian-English historian, author, and academic
2005 – John Fowles, English novelist 
2005 -  Jan. M. Cox, American philosopher 
2015 – Hans Mommsen, German historian and academic 

What if the message is that there is no message, no messageable message...

November 5, 2005

News Obituary Article
STONE MOUNTAIN: Jan Cox, 67, philosopher

By HOLLY CRENSHAW

Jan M. Cox was a philosophical tour guide who led his followers on a jolly romp through the unexplored recesses of their own minds.

The author and lecturer conducted "neurological field trips," said Wanda Cooley of Pine Lake, who started attending his talks in the 1970s.

"People often called Jan an entertainer of ideas, and if you saw his TV show or read his books, you'd understand that he had a different way of looking at life," Ms. Cooley said. "His real legacy is the activation of the higher parts of our nervous system, but he brought humor to everything and never took life too seriously."

Mr. Cox, 67, of Stone Mountain died Nov. 5 of cancer at Emory University Hospital. The body was cremated. No service is planned. A.S. Turner & Sons is in charge of arrangements.

Mr. Cox's philosophical musings, which will continue to be updated on his Web site at www.jancox.com, defy easy paraphrase but generally urge a more fully conscious approach to life.

A former carpenter and musician, Mr. Cox practiced law and served as dean of Atlanta's now-defunct Columbia Southern School of Law before devoting most of his energy to writing and lecturing. He sold audiotapes and videos of his talks, which air on public access television as "New Intelligence With Jan Cox." His books feature tantalizing titles such as "The Death of Gurdjieff in the Foothills of Georgia," "And Kyroot Said" and "Magnus Machina," described as "a travelogue to the dangerous edge of objective instability."

In 1970, the then 32-year-old Mr. Cox mounted an unconventional campaign for governor of Georgia, which baffled political pundits. He issued press releases on pastel-colored paper, occasionally spoke in riddles and always deflected personal questions, a practice he kept up his whole life.

"He wasn't out there trying to reshape the world, and he certainly wasn't out to win," said Derek Hardison of Con-yers, an adherent of Mr. Cox's philosophy. "He saw people walking around mechanically who suspected they could be something else, and he wanted those people to be able to find him. And if you want statewide attention, qualifying for a primary might possibly be the least expensive avenue there is."

Peter Kagel of Atlanta was part of a theater troupe that performed at several venues, including Evotek in Buckhead and OK Alright in Decatur.

"The theater was part of Jan's Merry Pranksters approach to doing things you wouldn't normally do," Mr. Kagel said. "It was a very rewarding experience, contemplative and meditative and wild and wacky all at the same time.

"Jan was a very talented person --- musically, intellectually. He was wise, he was energetic, he was forceful and zestful and relentless. He talked three nights a week and wrote every day and was involved in what he was doing 110 percent," Mr. Kagel said.

"In some respect, he made himself as unlikable as possible so people didn't lean on him and would focus more on his ideas. He certainly wasn't going to be your pal in the traditional sense. He could be endearing and he could be detestable. He was many different things, and that's what made him so unusual."

Survivors include two sons, Troy Jan Cox of Lawrence-ville and Tracy Marvin Cox of Douglasville; a brother, Jere lan Cox of Acworth; and three grandchildren.

> Read more about Jan Cox's ideas at www.jancox.com

© 2005 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Nov. 12, 2005

Tomorrow Today

I quote a blog, The Digital Reader:

'Amazon announced on Friday that the Kindle Unlimited funding pool total $22.5 million in May (plus bonuses - most of which went to the cheats) up from $21.2 million in April 2018. At the same time the per-page rate royalty hovered at $0.00454 in May, compared to $0.00456 in April and $0.004449 in March 2018.'

I quote not to share numbers, not to comment on Amazon and electronic publication. I do point to currents in modern humanity that push us to live online, to exist virally. Exist as it is experienced and valued by more and more people. Specifically, if a person wants to share anything to a large audience, they must "talk about themselves" online, they must comment on the comments of others, they must have a large following. Otherwise, "$0.00456 " per page doesn't purchase much people kibble. And none of this is healthy for folks struggling to figure out what is going on.

You see this growing stupidity in the use of tiny pictures to convey what used to be subtle emotions. You see it in a great newspaper, the New York Times, which now runs its book review summaries as if the audience were composed of post menarchal girls in a book club.

On the good side these viral currents make it easier for people to stay in touch. On what you might call the bad side (though I do not) this means people are living more and more, in their imagination: they are dreaming. And on the good side, this is tomorrow, this is the future.

All stories are sad stories

All stories are sad stories, because they have -- endings. Endings must be sad. Endings mean you think a limit has been reached, something has been concluded.

These things are not just news; endings, conclusions, are invariably bad news.  An ending means either you missed the point, or an author did. In the case of the latter, the bad news is you wasted your time reading a story by someone clueless.

Okay---
Only the unfinished edge is alive, is true. It is always good news, well, except--- you can't label it.