behind me, beyond that

True maturity involves transcending one’s own cultural milieu.

capital job, china

China is capitalism’s dream country: A nation with no political freedom that can make goods at a low price point.

after shock

If after death I somehow retain consciousness, I’ll realize at that moment how absurd life really was.

safe passage

I was so in love with my life I didn’t see it passing.

turned years

I noticed just today that some years ago I must have passed from youth to age.

blitzcleg

Singed by the limelight

animal extraordinaire

Wake up each day and know yourself as the miracle beast.

close quarters

The family pictures are developing sharp elbows as they compete with books for space and attention on my bookshelves.

matter of scale

The self can be a cup or a cosmos.

color chart

For the poor the use of color can be substitute for prosperity, for the rich it serves as proof they still have blood.

give deservedly

He proved it possible to squander money on charitable causes.

over before it began

His whole life seemed preparatory, and then it was over.

not worth the risk

Adventurers and daredevils know that money is too unimportant to gamble with.

people problem

Any system/bureaucracy takes on the worst characteristics of its managers.

dead headstones

A cemetery is a waste of the landscape. All the headstones written in the dead language of those names.

national resource

An equitable and well-administered law should be counted as a national treasure.

pieced together

All politicians become Frankenstein monsters made of the body parts of special interests.

me as we

There are persons who are nothing outside the company of others.

haute couture

Fashion: If you’re young and beautiful you can wear anything or nothing at all.

gonna get me

Narcissism is at the heart of most conspiracy theories.

upon reflection

Chance can always be arranged into pattern in retrospect.

low tech reflection

I crouched down for a momentary selfie in a puddle.

certain persons excluded

Americans demand the right of privacy for everyone except their celebrities.

not random anyway

Best to be consistent in one’s errors.

more than aesthetics

Evil, it could be said, is the inability to experience beauty.

first things first

When a consumer says, “That’s to die for,” the capitalist says, “Not yet, you must pay for it first.”

the whole world isn't watching

Perhaps the media needs to start boycotting certain student protest events.

[re: Smith College]

rote answer

‘That’s a great question.’: A cliché that interviewees often use to pretend they are answering a question for the first time.

heaven's sake

People believe in heaven because they have experienced real happiness, or because they never have.

flight path

Less than a hundred years after the Shoah, ethnic minority refugees are desperately trying to cross various European countries in order to enter Germany.

defined in negative

So many years had passed without injury, disease or anguish, he began to wonder if he was alive.

things seen differently

Material trappings may be envied but are seldom admired.

faith debased

A religion that lacks proof of its god can’t begin to be ethical.

not supposed to be here

Humans who engage in handwringing are those who don’t understand what a freak of nature we are anyway.

place and purpose

Installation art: Artfully arranged material preparing for its future haphazard staging in a landfill.

would diderot approve

When a thick dictionary was sitting on the shelf, or a full set of an encyclopedia displayed, one could imagine containing that whole universe. In a Google world, or surfing to a Wikipedia entry, are we not giving up on a greater vision, however unrealistic, one of our containing all knowledge?

higher order opinion

Philosophers just have opinions about bigger things than the weather or property tax rates.

clearly never

There is no blank slate. Think of a bird hitting a glass pane.

negative bazillion

The funny man in the suit asked: 'What is the opportunity cost of taking a year off after college and bumming around Europe?'

to fill one's lungs

Smokers who slip out of office doors several times a day get more fresh air and access to the landscape than their non-smoking co-workers.