Monday

Miscellaneous Rambling

All Souls Day. You got out of a day of obligation this year. Why not "make it up" this morning (if your boss allows it)? * * * * * * * Two of my favorite holy days of the year, incidentally. * * * * * * * Brutal weekend. High school football playoffs nearly 90 minutes away Friday night (we lost), got up at 4:30 am Saturday to work on some important office projects, high school cross-country regionals 75 minutes away Saturday morning in hard rain (we didn't make it to the state finals, though Meg finished third overall and qualified individually), trick-or-treating Saturday night (230 pieces candy each for the little kids). I love having all these kids, but when their activities pile on top of one another like that, I find it taxing. * * * * * * * Saturday's relentless rain and obligatory outdoor activities soaked two winter coats, two pairs of shoes, and the lower half of two pairs of pants. But my underwear always stayed dry, so for that, I'll give thanks at the Great Holiday later this month. * * * * * * * Incredible Indian Summer we're having. Really, really digging it. * * * * * * * Great quote from this essay by Joseph Pearce about paradox in GKC's writing: "It takes a big man to know how small he is, we can see that thinking we are big is childish whilst knowing that we are small is childlike. This was put with sublime succinctness in the lyrics of “Mysterious Ways” by the Irish rock band U2: “If you want to kiss the sky, Better learn how to kneel.” When all is said and done, this is the secret of Chesterton's success. He was larger than life because he spent his life on his knees." * * * * * * * Inspired by Chesterton, I once set out to write a book about paradox. I started with Hugh Kenner's excellent Paradox in Chesterton. I made some progress on the manuscript after reading a few other books, but then I crashed on Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid. I'll have to see if I can find that manuscript, though I suspect it never reached even 10,000 words. * * * * * * * I am going to start reading Kenner's book again. I remember greatly enjoying it, so much so that I even bought his books on other literary topics, though I didn't find those as enjoyable.