Massless

The anniversary. Most of my friends are either Avoiding It or Reflecting On It. Some vacillate wildly between the two, after a bipolar fashion. These friends I call musicians or Aquaintances Who Cannot Be Trusted With Any Object Sharper Than A Truffle.

For them, and you, two links, each designed to be commensurate with your place on the emotional sine wave...

1.) A Man On A Gray Horse
All about the timeliness of the philosophies of Reinhold Niebuhr. Who wrote...

We take, and must continue to take, morally hazardous actions to preserve our civilization. We must exercise our power. But we ought neither to believe that a nation is capable of perfect disinterestedness in its exercise, nor become complacent about particular degrees of interest and passion which corrupt the justice by which the exercise of power is legitimized.

...and whom David Brooks looks at critically. (From The Atlantic Monthly)

2.) The Story About the Baby
Which is the funniest collection of baby stories I've ever read...

This is why parenting books give me the dry gripes. Anyone seriously telling me I shouldn't be making my infant smell bleach makes me want to do it, just to be contrary. Out of curiosity, I checked and found that the section on Touch did not include the warning:

"While soft things like felt and bits of fur are all right, do not let her touch rougher, harsher substances. Do not let your baby play with rusty nails or shards of broken glass. Do not place your baby on a bandsaw."

And, frighteningly, the section on Sight did not say:

"Do not point baby directly at sun."

...about a baby whom David Brooks looks at critically. (via memepool)

Just kidding about that last thing. Mr. Brooks is quite likely as sensitive as he is accomplished and probably restricts the application of his withering, critical gaze to post-ween, pre-K, Blue's Clues sophists. :)