The opposite of optimism is pessimism; the belief that everything will go wrong, all attempts will end in failure, and happy endings are impossible. This is the diametric opposition of the optimist, who believes that things will be okay, things will work out, and happy endings are always possible.
I am not a pessimist.
At dinner, an unexpectedly personal affair, we were discussing the differences in our ages. The conversation took a turn on the phrase "I have a body, like Adonis." (Consider the placement of the comma.) Which quickly shifted us to discussing the nameless quality which goes by "sex appeal" or "fire" or ... And the term… Continue reading 2017.04.25 : black holes
Sometimes, as I read the news, I try and imagine a different man as president. This other man has been duped into office. He is a man of limited intellect and even less insight. He is hopelessly ill-equipped to do the job before him, and is scared to do it at all, because all of… Continue reading 2017.03.31: exercises of the imagination
The lights are indirect, but bright so that you can see everyone's faces. Ideally, conversation is easy, clumped here and there, the table might be best to be round, for maximum interlocution and ability to eavesdrop, but in my head, it is nevertheless, an elongated dinner table, with rounded corners, allowing the carefully planned seating… Continue reading 2017.03.01 : a dinner party
