Blog Rant # 28 - Bitterness, Charles Darwin, Etc.

I'm looking back at my last post and realizing that that might be the most bitter thing I've ever written. I'm feeling better today, still a bit frustrated with things, but better. What with the economy hitting the skids it's a strange and unstable time in general, though, so I suppose it would be a little strange if I weren't caught up in that as well. Plus there's been a lot of death lately, at least in the big wide world. A few weeks back we lost Ron Asheton from The Stooges and this week it was Lux Interior from The Cramps (it's weird to realize that Punk Rock was so long ago that it's original practitioners are hitting their sixties and starting to die off). It's hard to feel too good with such things going on.

Still, there are some interesting events happening. Thursday marks the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin. I'd actually forgotten that this anniversary was coming up, but still I just happen to be reading a very good biography of the man (Darwin: The Life of a Tormented Evolutionist, by Adrian Desmond & James Moore). It's become cliche to say this, but Darwin is easily one of the most important people who have ever lived and his life and work should be much better known in this country than it is. As someone who makes his living teaching evolution I'm appalled at how poorly his contribution is understood by incoming college students. I'm sure this is the result of a combination of our generally crumbling education system and inroads made by reactionary religionists over the last few decades. Because of this, a lot of students lives are rocked fairly hard when they come to understand that some big daddy in the sky didn't create them in his (and it's always "his") image with a wave of his magic hand. Churches might be good places to go to be comforted, but they're lousy places to learn the truth about much of anything, as far as I can see.

I for one believe that life is about truth, not comfort--and I'm constantly amazed at how dangerous of a person this makes me in the eyes of many.

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What else is going on? Not much. I'm broke, but I do have a new Honda Metropolitan scooter, which I bought to cut down on my gas bill (85 miles per gallon!). I'm also reading Graham Greene for the first time (The Quiet American, and now The Comedians). I like him a great deal so far: he's very cynical and world weary, which fits well with my current, though hopefully temporary, mood. I've also made a promise to myself to post more on the blog. Now that Backwaters of Beauty is finished I plan on taking some time off before I start my next book (California Ecolog, a collection of essays). When I started this blog I imagined that it would be more personal, more relaxed and less formal than it's become. I'm hoping if I write more and become more comfortable with the format things will start moving in that direction. Oh well, it's getting late. Until next time ...