To my dear and self-evident blade beside which stands my ever-present unwillingness to give credit to your steadfast utility, I praise thee, sir. Your sheen, dulled by the years of cantankerous disregard, delights when upon focus glares and snares. My dear knife, I give thanks unto you for reminding me of the inrinsic qualities and personality that allws you to remain constant. It is true that in the sight of greater edges your seemingly insignificance remains unappreciated by those who would otherwise pass you by as inadequate. To those peers, knife, at them I scoff. I give them a hearty guffaw. I sneer at the very idea that a well-timed division bears little warrant for regard equally with that of one with length and depth from any other. Little makes clear evidence of this as your willingness to impart your wisodom, your purpose upon my finger. You have reminded me once again that, on occasion, a piece of ourselves must be sacrificed in order to obtain our goals. Knife, I applaud you. As the snake is always a snake, rarely garnering or begging for recognition of his intrinsic quality, so, too, are you vicious and helpful providing thin barrier between nature and nuture. It is truly my own burden to bear the weight of a restless and forgetful mind.
So, unto thee, knife, while mine eyes look over the thin slits in my hands, thank you. As I paint the thin pieces of linen pressed against the wound, drawing my fugitive mind away from the earth, you bring me back to the surface. It is your dilligence to your craft and you dedication to resultant purpose that is as surely abiding as the scars that shall litter the battleground of my flesh for years to come. As my tired and aged frame rocks upon its rickety throne before the firelight, I shall glance at each memory and rejoice in that I, too, was there, and together we stood the tests of will and endurance. My dear knife, my blade, my steely confidant, you are a certainly equally a blessing as you are a damnation. Upon glistening demon's wings you glide bearing a strange humility that can only be regarded as lordly. Your candor is a testament to your sacrament. Why, even your shape is a testament to the brimstone that litters your shank, for does it not beckon, does it not prompt, does it not suggest, even, that it is born of Satan's cephalic nodules?
May your memory, if not your body, persist, my dear sr.
Bastard.
Sincerely,
Invino Veritas
11/30/11
EOF
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
The Convenience Store at the End of the World
Ok, strange name, but I must admit that the next topic or topics reminds me a little bit of Douglas Adams' Restaraunt at the End of the Universe. Have patience. I hope you read the entire thing, so grab a hamburger and put on the soundtrack for 2001: A Space Odyssey. Enjoy.
I'm going to take a moment to explain some fundamental aspects of something and a small number of related things in an attempt to better clarify the crux of it. I do this because i believe that to get to the heart of the logic behind things, you must first reduce it until it is no longer reduceable. Now, this is not meant to discount Aristotle's "the whole is more than the sum of its parts" principle. His principle is most certainly born of sound reasoning. But we're not always looking for more when we are bound in context, we just want the best way to derive truth from the qualities of that which we are presented.
So, what is this thing? Well, for millenia, human beings have been trying to answer the question "What is the meaning of life?" or "Why are we here?". Some try to find it within religion. Others try to find it in science. Many try to develop some sort of spirtuality without religion. But a great deal of introspection must come into play at some point, frankly, because our own voice is the one voice we can't get rid of in our heads (not counting people with multiple personalities). I believe that, at this point, in order to make an informed decision we hae to try to understand each with a reasonable amount of certainty. This doesn't mean you should become a monk for a year and then go rocketing to Jupiter the next. This simply means you should educate yourself in order to make a good or right decision rather than an easy decision.
So, we'll start with religion. Religion is the belief and practice of a set of rules, morals, principles, doctrines, tenets, etc by a group of people. More often than not, this involves a deity of some sort. (There are Hindu sects that are actually atheists, believe it or not.) The difference between religion and a cult is that a cult doesn't generally have the population or 'blessing' of a significant portion of the overall population of the society. In addition to setting and adhering to social ideas, religion plays an important role for many in explaining their environment. Nearly all religions confront death and the question of an afterlife. Religion also attempts to make sense of the things we can't readily explain or that for which we might otherwise plan. It's easy to sit back and say, "I have no idea what that stinking orange ball rolling down the mountainside at us is, so it must be something God made." In this simplified example, God certainly does appea to work in mysterious ways. In the battle between Nature vs Nurture, religion takes the side of nuture more often than not. Religions, most deifnitely, try to tackle the nature side of things. However, religion is something that is nurtured. Nobody comes out of their mother holding a copy of the torah and singing hymns. Religion has to be taught to be understood much like any law code or moral doctrine. It takes time and effort to fully grasp the ideas that have been molded and developed over centuries - especially if some of them are purely conceptual ideas.
Science is the attempt to use logic to discover the order of our environment and understand it and its properties. Science is derived from millenia of thought and reasoning which in return makes up up our modern body of thought (at least in theory) and practice thereof. All true forms of science begin with the Scientific Method. The problem is that the de facto standard is often disagreed upon, and therefore revised from time to time. It is important to note though that science is dependant upon the use of such a method. If you abandon the logic, then you abandon the science. At that point, you are nothing more than a metaphysicist. But if you adhere to the principles of the current scientific standard, then you should be fine to call yourself a scientist. Thankfully there is a basic, western version that even children are able to understand, and that can be found embedded within the more complex versions. Where did we get it? Why, our good buddy and father of deductive reasoning, Aristotle. (It is important to note that there are variations that involve inductive reasoning, and are considered to be eastern versions as they were first developed in the middle east.) The basic western version can be found here:
1. Ask a question.
2. Research the problem.
3. Form a hypothesis.
4. Test that hypothesis.
5. Evaluate your findings.
6. Conclusion.
Now, of course, there are far more steps, but remember: this is the basic version. At this point, you might ask yourself, "Then if religion is nuture then that makes science nature in the age-old argument, but why?" The answer is a resounding 'yes'. We don't need to be taught to question our environment and its properties. We don't need to be nurtured to form opinions, hypotheses, or conclsions. We don't need to be taught to evaluate our findings. We are able to put our questons to the test on our own without outside interference. We may not want to do this, but we are capable to do so if we please (mental handicaps aside).
So, where does this leave us? Let us look at some very clear facts. First, we know we live on a planet in a much larger area or region we call space. We know this because we've journeyed outside of our earth to that region. Second, we know that the universe is made of two types of things: tangible and intangible. Tangible things are the things that we can use one or all of our five senses with which to interact. The intangible things are those that we can deduce or induce through reasoning, but are those things with which we cannot interact. In the case of induction, take for example the neutrino. We can't sense it, but we have created tools to sense it for us, so in a sense (no pun intended), we are not interacting with the neutrino and the neutrino certainly does not interact with us that we can tell. But rather it is our tools that interact with them on some level, and therefore we can induce, or infer, that the neutrino exists.
Third, everything in the universe seems to be in one of two states with regards to energy: high energy states and low energy states. Those things, like for instance the sun, are in high energy states and will eventually lose that energy and become something of a low energy state. Every ounce of matter in the universe is trying to get rid of its energy in order to only possess that energy sufficient to sustain its molecular vibration. Over time, this expulsion of excess energy causes the energy to change and express itself dfferently. But adding blue light to blue light doesn't make it bluer, nor does removing blue from blue make it less blue. As energy is expelled, so it the ability of the properties of the whole to cling to its individual qualities fly off from the center. Suns turn color and lose mass as they get older and burn themselves away. Rotting flesh expunges things like Carbon-14 and Methane as it breaks down and gets closer to that low energy state.
So, what does this all have to do with the main question(s) here? We are all stardust. The material elements of the known universe (which includes us), save hydrogen and helium, were created in stars. How do we know this? Because we can observe the properties of this process of creating elements in the colors of the stars, and we can also see what happens when we combine related observances with that knowledge. These elements are the ones that exist in our bodies and make up our matter. But the energy of our bodies are also in a high energy state, and over time, it will seek out that low energy state. This describes the cycle of life as it relates to living and dying under normal situations; we are born, we live, we die. (In this sort of aspect, it's very caesarian - Veni!, Vidi! Vici!) But this is where we come back to the main question. What happens then? As the universe would dictate, it is still trying to reduce the energy of our molecules to a lower state of energy. We can't sense this because, well, at this point we are dead. But what about consciousness? What about the soul? While, I personally, don't believe in the soul, I will at the very least consider the notion that they are one in the same. In order for those to exist in the universe and function in the manner that we believe them to function, they must have energy of some kind. Therefore, their energy added to the existing energy of our bodies allows them to be released as energy after we die. Therefore, our energy is absorbed by the universe, thus completing the cycle of energy. It may be added to another system, it may be used to fuel something else, it may never be used - it doesn't matter. If you like, however, you can think of it as a part of you being in everything else with which that energy comes into contact. I, however, will be eating a sandwich and doing the crossword while you let this sink in.
So, what's the point? What is the meaning of life? Why are we here? All these questions are fine to ask occasionally, but they aren't very good questions. They are too broad to succinctly answer. What context are we using here? What defition and usage are we applying to the words that make up this question? Perhaps we should rephrase the question to better find the answer. 'Meaning' is something you apply to things. In this context, it means the reason which really just brings us back the second question: Why are we here? One way you can answer "why" is in the context of what it was that created us. Another way you can take this is to question a context of answering "or what purpose are we here?" These are really two distinct, different questions entirely. In fact, to even suggest that they are the same question is, frankly, fallacious or showing a distinct lack of sound logic. It's a flawed conclusion. Now, to be fair, it doesn't mean that it's untrue, the logic is simply flawed and does not directly connect A to B. It does, however, suggest a high probability that suggestion is untrue. (I'm going to refrain from explaining this because it would take an extended amount of time, and is frankly out of scope of this essay.) But, again, why? Because it implies that something that has quantity is the same as something without quantity but rather quality alone. Again, let's let that one sink in. What does this mean? Anything tat satisfies the question 'what' can tangibly exist where there are more than one 'what'. For example, two robots can build, or create, one car. But 'purpose' is a concept and therefore intangible. While you can have more than one concept about an idea, we cannot hold each one in our hand and juggle them. In other words, we don't actually interact with our concepts; we neither feel, hear, smell, taste, or see them. Again, we induce, or infer, that they exist because we are able to see the results of their expressions.
Now that we have actually split the question of "Why are we here?" into two separate ideas, we can begin to address each one individually. From this point, everything is pure philosophy and only philosophy. First, we tackle the idea of reason. We ask, for what purpose do we exist? To answer this, I ask "Well, what is the human body designed to do as far as we can tell?" The human body is designed to convert matter into energy, and reproduce itself. It's a machine on the simplest level. Garbage in, garbage out. Energy in, energy out. Rinse and repeat until it breaks. Buy a new one along the way, and start all over. But in as much as its simplistic mechanized view, the machine that is the human body is prompted by gratification to perpetuate, so, in a nutshell, we do the things that we do to make ourselves happy. Your stomach hurts from hunger pains so you eat to feel good. The urge to pee is unpleasant so we alleviate that by getting rid of our excess water which, well, feels pretty good thus giving us relief. Finally, we have our answer to half of everything! The purpose in life is to be happy as often as you can be. Do that which is most gratifying.
We have solved one of life's msysteries already. Now we set our sights on the second half of the quandary: By what were we created? Chances are that if you are religious, you have already answered this for yourself, and that is perfectly fine if it makes you happy. You may go back to your double-stuff cookies and fuzzy flip-flops now. But if you aren't satisfed yet, why not consider that in the context of everything we've talked about in this essay that you were created by your mother and father (and possibly one or more contributors!). In context of energy states, two tangible things in high energy states were combined to create you, another one thing in a state of high energy. Going back to Aristotle, the whole is, indeed, more than the sum of its parts. Sperm will eventually lose their vigor if left to their own devices. Eggs will eventually be expelled from the body and die. But when combined, they feed on one another and grow into a being of greater quantity and greater quality. In all this, however, it doesn't really answer the question if we don't believe in a deity or deities nor we believe in the mother-father concept. What then? Well, what came first: the chicken or the egg? If you believe in a deity, then you might say chickens because deities have a way of creating animals rather than eggs. Otherwise, the universe created the first one of us millions of years ago if not billions. Remember that every element other than helium and hydrogen come from stars? The fundamental elements of our biology are Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, and Oxygen. Three of four of those were created by nuclear fusion of Hydrogen and Helium and other elements in the center of stars. Mixx them up in the right proportions and 'bake at 350 for two hours, turning once when the one side is golden brown' (Ok, maybe not, but you get the right idea), and you have the first strands of amino acids which form the simplest beginnngs of life as we know it to be.
In summary, be happy and do things that make you happy. Live. Breathe. Eat chocolate pizza if that makes you happy. Stop worrying about the 'what ifs' and the 'why nots'. We're all made from stars and one day you are going to end back up in one. You're part of a universal cycle. Just be glad that you are included. Now, here. Have some toys and a banana, and go outside and play with your friends. Daddy's busy.
Buh-bye!
Invino Veritas
11/17/11
EOF
I'm going to take a moment to explain some fundamental aspects of something and a small number of related things in an attempt to better clarify the crux of it. I do this because i believe that to get to the heart of the logic behind things, you must first reduce it until it is no longer reduceable. Now, this is not meant to discount Aristotle's "the whole is more than the sum of its parts" principle. His principle is most certainly born of sound reasoning. But we're not always looking for more when we are bound in context, we just want the best way to derive truth from the qualities of that which we are presented.
So, what is this thing? Well, for millenia, human beings have been trying to answer the question "What is the meaning of life?" or "Why are we here?". Some try to find it within religion. Others try to find it in science. Many try to develop some sort of spirtuality without religion. But a great deal of introspection must come into play at some point, frankly, because our own voice is the one voice we can't get rid of in our heads (not counting people with multiple personalities). I believe that, at this point, in order to make an informed decision we hae to try to understand each with a reasonable amount of certainty. This doesn't mean you should become a monk for a year and then go rocketing to Jupiter the next. This simply means you should educate yourself in order to make a good or right decision rather than an easy decision.
So, we'll start with religion. Religion is the belief and practice of a set of rules, morals, principles, doctrines, tenets, etc by a group of people. More often than not, this involves a deity of some sort. (There are Hindu sects that are actually atheists, believe it or not.) The difference between religion and a cult is that a cult doesn't generally have the population or 'blessing' of a significant portion of the overall population of the society. In addition to setting and adhering to social ideas, religion plays an important role for many in explaining their environment. Nearly all religions confront death and the question of an afterlife. Religion also attempts to make sense of the things we can't readily explain or that for which we might otherwise plan. It's easy to sit back and say, "I have no idea what that stinking orange ball rolling down the mountainside at us is, so it must be something God made." In this simplified example, God certainly does appea to work in mysterious ways. In the battle between Nature vs Nurture, religion takes the side of nuture more often than not. Religions, most deifnitely, try to tackle the nature side of things. However, religion is something that is nurtured. Nobody comes out of their mother holding a copy of the torah and singing hymns. Religion has to be taught to be understood much like any law code or moral doctrine. It takes time and effort to fully grasp the ideas that have been molded and developed over centuries - especially if some of them are purely conceptual ideas.
Science is the attempt to use logic to discover the order of our environment and understand it and its properties. Science is derived from millenia of thought and reasoning which in return makes up up our modern body of thought (at least in theory) and practice thereof. All true forms of science begin with the Scientific Method. The problem is that the de facto standard is often disagreed upon, and therefore revised from time to time. It is important to note though that science is dependant upon the use of such a method. If you abandon the logic, then you abandon the science. At that point, you are nothing more than a metaphysicist. But if you adhere to the principles of the current scientific standard, then you should be fine to call yourself a scientist. Thankfully there is a basic, western version that even children are able to understand, and that can be found embedded within the more complex versions. Where did we get it? Why, our good buddy and father of deductive reasoning, Aristotle. (It is important to note that there are variations that involve inductive reasoning, and are considered to be eastern versions as they were first developed in the middle east.) The basic western version can be found here:
1. Ask a question.
2. Research the problem.
3. Form a hypothesis.
4. Test that hypothesis.
5. Evaluate your findings.
6. Conclusion.
Now, of course, there are far more steps, but remember: this is the basic version. At this point, you might ask yourself, "Then if religion is nuture then that makes science nature in the age-old argument, but why?" The answer is a resounding 'yes'. We don't need to be taught to question our environment and its properties. We don't need to be nurtured to form opinions, hypotheses, or conclsions. We don't need to be taught to evaluate our findings. We are able to put our questons to the test on our own without outside interference. We may not want to do this, but we are capable to do so if we please (mental handicaps aside).
So, where does this leave us? Let us look at some very clear facts. First, we know we live on a planet in a much larger area or region we call space. We know this because we've journeyed outside of our earth to that region. Second, we know that the universe is made of two types of things: tangible and intangible. Tangible things are the things that we can use one or all of our five senses with which to interact. The intangible things are those that we can deduce or induce through reasoning, but are those things with which we cannot interact. In the case of induction, take for example the neutrino. We can't sense it, but we have created tools to sense it for us, so in a sense (no pun intended), we are not interacting with the neutrino and the neutrino certainly does not interact with us that we can tell. But rather it is our tools that interact with them on some level, and therefore we can induce, or infer, that the neutrino exists.
Third, everything in the universe seems to be in one of two states with regards to energy: high energy states and low energy states. Those things, like for instance the sun, are in high energy states and will eventually lose that energy and become something of a low energy state. Every ounce of matter in the universe is trying to get rid of its energy in order to only possess that energy sufficient to sustain its molecular vibration. Over time, this expulsion of excess energy causes the energy to change and express itself dfferently. But adding blue light to blue light doesn't make it bluer, nor does removing blue from blue make it less blue. As energy is expelled, so it the ability of the properties of the whole to cling to its individual qualities fly off from the center. Suns turn color and lose mass as they get older and burn themselves away. Rotting flesh expunges things like Carbon-14 and Methane as it breaks down and gets closer to that low energy state.
So, what does this all have to do with the main question(s) here? We are all stardust. The material elements of the known universe (which includes us), save hydrogen and helium, were created in stars. How do we know this? Because we can observe the properties of this process of creating elements in the colors of the stars, and we can also see what happens when we combine related observances with that knowledge. These elements are the ones that exist in our bodies and make up our matter. But the energy of our bodies are also in a high energy state, and over time, it will seek out that low energy state. This describes the cycle of life as it relates to living and dying under normal situations; we are born, we live, we die. (In this sort of aspect, it's very caesarian - Veni!, Vidi! Vici!) But this is where we come back to the main question. What happens then? As the universe would dictate, it is still trying to reduce the energy of our molecules to a lower state of energy. We can't sense this because, well, at this point we are dead. But what about consciousness? What about the soul? While, I personally, don't believe in the soul, I will at the very least consider the notion that they are one in the same. In order for those to exist in the universe and function in the manner that we believe them to function, they must have energy of some kind. Therefore, their energy added to the existing energy of our bodies allows them to be released as energy after we die. Therefore, our energy is absorbed by the universe, thus completing the cycle of energy. It may be added to another system, it may be used to fuel something else, it may never be used - it doesn't matter. If you like, however, you can think of it as a part of you being in everything else with which that energy comes into contact. I, however, will be eating a sandwich and doing the crossword while you let this sink in.
So, what's the point? What is the meaning of life? Why are we here? All these questions are fine to ask occasionally, but they aren't very good questions. They are too broad to succinctly answer. What context are we using here? What defition and usage are we applying to the words that make up this question? Perhaps we should rephrase the question to better find the answer. 'Meaning' is something you apply to things. In this context, it means the reason which really just brings us back the second question: Why are we here? One way you can answer "why" is in the context of what it was that created us. Another way you can take this is to question a context of answering "or what purpose are we here?" These are really two distinct, different questions entirely. In fact, to even suggest that they are the same question is, frankly, fallacious or showing a distinct lack of sound logic. It's a flawed conclusion. Now, to be fair, it doesn't mean that it's untrue, the logic is simply flawed and does not directly connect A to B. It does, however, suggest a high probability that suggestion is untrue. (I'm going to refrain from explaining this because it would take an extended amount of time, and is frankly out of scope of this essay.) But, again, why? Because it implies that something that has quantity is the same as something without quantity but rather quality alone. Again, let's let that one sink in. What does this mean? Anything tat satisfies the question 'what' can tangibly exist where there are more than one 'what'. For example, two robots can build, or create, one car. But 'purpose' is a concept and therefore intangible. While you can have more than one concept about an idea, we cannot hold each one in our hand and juggle them. In other words, we don't actually interact with our concepts; we neither feel, hear, smell, taste, or see them. Again, we induce, or infer, that they exist because we are able to see the results of their expressions.
Now that we have actually split the question of "Why are we here?" into two separate ideas, we can begin to address each one individually. From this point, everything is pure philosophy and only philosophy. First, we tackle the idea of reason. We ask, for what purpose do we exist? To answer this, I ask "Well, what is the human body designed to do as far as we can tell?" The human body is designed to convert matter into energy, and reproduce itself. It's a machine on the simplest level. Garbage in, garbage out. Energy in, energy out. Rinse and repeat until it breaks. Buy a new one along the way, and start all over. But in as much as its simplistic mechanized view, the machine that is the human body is prompted by gratification to perpetuate, so, in a nutshell, we do the things that we do to make ourselves happy. Your stomach hurts from hunger pains so you eat to feel good. The urge to pee is unpleasant so we alleviate that by getting rid of our excess water which, well, feels pretty good thus giving us relief. Finally, we have our answer to half of everything! The purpose in life is to be happy as often as you can be. Do that which is most gratifying.
We have solved one of life's msysteries already. Now we set our sights on the second half of the quandary: By what were we created? Chances are that if you are religious, you have already answered this for yourself, and that is perfectly fine if it makes you happy. You may go back to your double-stuff cookies and fuzzy flip-flops now. But if you aren't satisfed yet, why not consider that in the context of everything we've talked about in this essay that you were created by your mother and father (and possibly one or more contributors!). In context of energy states, two tangible things in high energy states were combined to create you, another one thing in a state of high energy. Going back to Aristotle, the whole is, indeed, more than the sum of its parts. Sperm will eventually lose their vigor if left to their own devices. Eggs will eventually be expelled from the body and die. But when combined, they feed on one another and grow into a being of greater quantity and greater quality. In all this, however, it doesn't really answer the question if we don't believe in a deity or deities nor we believe in the mother-father concept. What then? Well, what came first: the chicken or the egg? If you believe in a deity, then you might say chickens because deities have a way of creating animals rather than eggs. Otherwise, the universe created the first one of us millions of years ago if not billions. Remember that every element other than helium and hydrogen come from stars? The fundamental elements of our biology are Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, and Oxygen. Three of four of those were created by nuclear fusion of Hydrogen and Helium and other elements in the center of stars. Mixx them up in the right proportions and 'bake at 350 for two hours, turning once when the one side is golden brown' (Ok, maybe not, but you get the right idea), and you have the first strands of amino acids which form the simplest beginnngs of life as we know it to be.
In summary, be happy and do things that make you happy. Live. Breathe. Eat chocolate pizza if that makes you happy. Stop worrying about the 'what ifs' and the 'why nots'. We're all made from stars and one day you are going to end back up in one. You're part of a universal cycle. Just be glad that you are included. Now, here. Have some toys and a banana, and go outside and play with your friends. Daddy's busy.
Buh-bye!
Invino Veritas
11/17/11
EOF
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Star Light, Star Bright
SETTING: Late 1800's America, Post-Industrial Revolution.
[Curtain opens to a scene just outside a bar. Loud, raucous sounds can be heard
emanating from within the bar. Several homes stand across the street, each with
a window closed to the street. One home has a small balcony where a young
woman sits on the rail drinking wine in her nightgown. ]
Lydia: Oh, how times have changed! You, Mr. Moon, sir, have lost your luster, and
you, wine, have gained a little with every year's passing.Quite dapper, you were,
Mr. Moon...once.And you! Over there! Mr. Star, what are you laughing at? Go
back to your luring of little girls into dreaming upon you! You have fared no better,
sir!
Belle: [From within the home.] Who are you talking to out there, Lydia?
Lydia: Nobody!
Belle: Then keep it down! It's too late for all that nonsense.
Lydia: [Sighing and rolling her eyes] Fine! [Pointing at the sky] Look what you two
have done. I got my eye on you. Keep making trouble, and I swear I will tell
everyone about your chicanery!
[The front door of the bar slams open; Horace is thrown into the street.]
Horace:Well, Teddy, at least ya' didn't throw me in that pile of offal this time.
[Put his hat back an as he tips it to the Teddy, the bouncer.]
Teddy: Once a week is good enough for any man, Horace. Now, go on and sleep it
off. We'll see ya t'morrow.
[Helps Horace to his feet]
Horace: Thanks, Teddy. You're one of the good ones. It's an honor to be bounced by
a lad such as ya'self. Tell Gertrude I didn't mean what I said about 'er belly
and 'er mole.
Teddy: Aye, Horace. I will. G'night, now. Run on home.
Horace: On me way now, sir. Until t'morrow then?
[Teddy nods and exits into the bar.]
You can tell 'er what I said about 'er arse, though if ya like!
[Sits on the steps and pulls out a bottle of liquor; looks at the sky and
toasts before taking a drink. Lydia looks at the stars once again,
pointing at them as before.]
To the stars! [Recites] Whether sky as clear or heaven's tears, no moon
was quite as fair, as the lady's cheek I saw last week, underneath a star
crossed glare! [Takes a drink and toasts again.]
And to me ma I do relate, the lady with the golden hair, and me broken
'eart did fall apart when I lost her at the fair!
[T\oasts to the moon and stands; Lydia begins to listen.]
Whaddya' say, Moon? How's about showin' me the way home - even
if it's not my home, at least, p'raps it's someone's!
Ava: [Opening and hanging out her window.] Shaddup down there! Oh, hey
there, Lydia. Sorry about the noise! What you doin' up so late?
Horace: Well, moo to you too, ya' ole' cow!
Lydia: Hey, Ava. Just a nip before bed, ya know.
Horace: [Shouting] And udders to match! [Normal tone]
Ava: Boy, don't I know it, Lydia! [To Horace] And YOU, down there! Don't
make me get the constable! Now, keep it down! [To Lydia] G'night,
dear. Have one for me, too, will ya'? [Closes window; Exit Ava]
Horace: There she goes! Back int' the barn! [Laughs.] Moo!
Lydia: Now, really, is all that completely necessary?
Horace: Oh, I'm sorry, your highness! Let us not spoil the princess' beauty rest...
Lydia: Thank you.
Horace: ...After all, you are obviously way behind on it already!
Lydia: You have no...HEY!
Horace: Ok, ok! I'm sorry. My apologies! That one's on me. Terribly sorry.
Lydia: Well...don't let it happen again!
Horace: Fine, but you really shouldn't leave yourself so open for such things.
Lydia: Oh, you horrid, man! Just leave! Go! Get out of here!
Horace: I was here first.
Lydia: You were not here first.
Horace Yes I was.
Lydia: No, you weren't!
Horace: Prove it.
Lydia: That big man from the bar over there...Teddy! He threw you out into
the street.
Horace: Yes, but he pretty much does that every night.
Lydia: Every night?
Horace: Well, not on Sundays. Church and all.
Lydia: Oh, I see. I suppose that makes sense. Much moreso than the past few
moments with you.
Horace: I do have that affect on people. I am a drunk, after all. Call it, inebriation
by association. Speaking of....could you spare some of that wine, perhaps?
Lydia: I think you've had enough for both of us.
Horace: Madam, I have not yet begun to drink! [Swings his arms, stumbles, and falls.]
Lydia: [Laughing] I guess that's what they mean by 'pride comes before a fall' !
Horace: Bah!
Lydia: Oh, you! Here. [Tosses the nearly-empty wine bottle to the street.]
Horace: [Standing and catching the wine bottle.] To m' lady, never a kinder soul was
she: [Clears his throat.] Blessed be my lady, for she is kind. Upon her fingertips
the feathers of God's chosen few are felt in her touch. Blessed be my lady, for she
is generous. As the spires of our Lord's temples radiate the light of his majesty, so
does her heart bring a charity rivaled only by his son. Blessed be my lady, for she
is temperant....
Lydia: Temperant?
Horace: Yes, temperant. Just go with it.
Lydia: Right!
Horace: [Clears his throat again.] Blessed be my lady, for she is temperant. As the edge
of Gabriel was created by his holiness, so, indeed must have she been for her
soul knows only that which is just and fair. [Bows to Lydia]
Lydia: [Clapping] Thank you, kind sir! Bravo!
Horace: But a small trifle, m' lady.
Lydia: I'm just glad you cut it off before we got to chastity.
[Realizes she probably shouldn't have said that.]
Horace: [Whistling] Well, then!
Lydia: Oh! Well, the moon is far lower on the horizon as when I began my wine...
Horace: Indeed, madam. [Tips his hat]
Lydia: G'night...umm, what's your name?
Horace: Horace, ma'am. Until t'morrow then.
[Exit Horace, whistling a tune as he walks away.]
Lydia: [Looking at the moon and stars again.]
You did this because I lectured you two earlier, didn't you? Well, I will
allow it to proceed for now, but should this lemon turn too sour for even
the likes of me, I'll give each of your secrets away!
[Scrupulously points at the moon and star separately.]
Now, behave, while I'm gone, you two.
[Exit Lydia]
[End Scene I]
[Fade to Black]
Invino Veritas
11/15/11
EOF
[Curtain opens to a scene just outside a bar. Loud, raucous sounds can be heard
emanating from within the bar. Several homes stand across the street, each with
a window closed to the street. One home has a small balcony where a young
woman sits on the rail drinking wine in her nightgown. ]
Lydia: Oh, how times have changed! You, Mr. Moon, sir, have lost your luster, and
you, wine, have gained a little with every year's passing.Quite dapper, you were,
Mr. Moon...once.And you! Over there! Mr. Star, what are you laughing at? Go
back to your luring of little girls into dreaming upon you! You have fared no better,
sir!
Belle: [From within the home.] Who are you talking to out there, Lydia?
Lydia: Nobody!
Belle: Then keep it down! It's too late for all that nonsense.
Lydia: [Sighing and rolling her eyes] Fine! [Pointing at the sky] Look what you two
have done. I got my eye on you. Keep making trouble, and I swear I will tell
everyone about your chicanery!
[The front door of the bar slams open; Horace is thrown into the street.]
Horace:Well, Teddy, at least ya' didn't throw me in that pile of offal this time.
[Put his hat back an as he tips it to the Teddy, the bouncer.]
Teddy: Once a week is good enough for any man, Horace. Now, go on and sleep it
off. We'll see ya t'morrow.
[Helps Horace to his feet]
Horace: Thanks, Teddy. You're one of the good ones. It's an honor to be bounced by
a lad such as ya'self. Tell Gertrude I didn't mean what I said about 'er belly
and 'er mole.
Teddy: Aye, Horace. I will. G'night, now. Run on home.
Horace: On me way now, sir. Until t'morrow then?
[Teddy nods and exits into the bar.]
You can tell 'er what I said about 'er arse, though if ya like!
[Sits on the steps and pulls out a bottle of liquor; looks at the sky and
toasts before taking a drink. Lydia looks at the stars once again,
pointing at them as before.]
To the stars! [Recites] Whether sky as clear or heaven's tears, no moon
was quite as fair, as the lady's cheek I saw last week, underneath a star
crossed glare! [Takes a drink and toasts again.]
And to me ma I do relate, the lady with the golden hair, and me broken
'eart did fall apart when I lost her at the fair!
[T\oasts to the moon and stands; Lydia begins to listen.]
Whaddya' say, Moon? How's about showin' me the way home - even
if it's not my home, at least, p'raps it's someone's!
Ava: [Opening and hanging out her window.] Shaddup down there! Oh, hey
there, Lydia. Sorry about the noise! What you doin' up so late?
Horace: Well, moo to you too, ya' ole' cow!
Lydia: Hey, Ava. Just a nip before bed, ya know.
Horace: [Shouting] And udders to match! [Normal tone]
Ava: Boy, don't I know it, Lydia! [To Horace] And YOU, down there! Don't
make me get the constable! Now, keep it down! [To Lydia] G'night,
dear. Have one for me, too, will ya'? [Closes window; Exit Ava]
Horace: There she goes! Back int' the barn! [Laughs.] Moo!
Lydia: Now, really, is all that completely necessary?
Horace: Oh, I'm sorry, your highness! Let us not spoil the princess' beauty rest...
Lydia: Thank you.
Horace: ...After all, you are obviously way behind on it already!
Lydia: You have no...HEY!
Horace: Ok, ok! I'm sorry. My apologies! That one's on me. Terribly sorry.
Lydia: Well...don't let it happen again!
Horace: Fine, but you really shouldn't leave yourself so open for such things.
Lydia: Oh, you horrid, man! Just leave! Go! Get out of here!
Horace: I was here first.
Lydia: You were not here first.
Horace Yes I was.
Lydia: No, you weren't!
Horace: Prove it.
Lydia: That big man from the bar over there...Teddy! He threw you out into
the street.
Horace: Yes, but he pretty much does that every night.
Lydia: Every night?
Horace: Well, not on Sundays. Church and all.
Lydia: Oh, I see. I suppose that makes sense. Much moreso than the past few
moments with you.
Horace: I do have that affect on people. I am a drunk, after all. Call it, inebriation
by association. Speaking of....could you spare some of that wine, perhaps?
Lydia: I think you've had enough for both of us.
Horace: Madam, I have not yet begun to drink! [Swings his arms, stumbles, and falls.]
Lydia: [Laughing] I guess that's what they mean by 'pride comes before a fall' !
Horace: Bah!
Lydia: Oh, you! Here. [Tosses the nearly-empty wine bottle to the street.]
Horace: [Standing and catching the wine bottle.] To m' lady, never a kinder soul was
she: [Clears his throat.] Blessed be my lady, for she is kind. Upon her fingertips
the feathers of God's chosen few are felt in her touch. Blessed be my lady, for she
is generous. As the spires of our Lord's temples radiate the light of his majesty, so
does her heart bring a charity rivaled only by his son. Blessed be my lady, for she
is temperant....
Lydia: Temperant?
Horace: Yes, temperant. Just go with it.
Lydia: Right!
Horace: [Clears his throat again.] Blessed be my lady, for she is temperant. As the edge
of Gabriel was created by his holiness, so, indeed must have she been for her
soul knows only that which is just and fair. [Bows to Lydia]
Lydia: [Clapping] Thank you, kind sir! Bravo!
Horace: But a small trifle, m' lady.
Lydia: I'm just glad you cut it off before we got to chastity.
[Realizes she probably shouldn't have said that.]
Horace: [Whistling] Well, then!
Lydia: Oh! Well, the moon is far lower on the horizon as when I began my wine...
Horace: Indeed, madam. [Tips his hat]
Lydia: G'night...umm, what's your name?
Horace: Horace, ma'am. Until t'morrow then.
[Exit Horace, whistling a tune as he walks away.]
Lydia: [Looking at the moon and stars again.]
You did this because I lectured you two earlier, didn't you? Well, I will
allow it to proceed for now, but should this lemon turn too sour for even
the likes of me, I'll give each of your secrets away!
[Scrupulously points at the moon and star separately.]
Now, behave, while I'm gone, you two.
[Exit Lydia]
[End Scene I]
[Fade to Black]
Invino Veritas
11/15/11
EOF
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