Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence

women_in_loveThis book could have been very easily retitled Men in Love, but that would have gotten Lawrence more grief than he was already experiencing. It is a continuation of The Rainbow focusing on two of the Brangwen sisters Ursula and Gudrun. Ursula, of course, was the focus of the later part of the first book. This is a novel more driven by character than plot. It is also a book in which Lawrence spends a good deal of time expressing his views on class, materialism, industrialism, marriage, love and not so obliquely, homosexuality. Continue reading “Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence”

Overheard

I was leaving the gym, headed towards the stairs to descend to my floor in St. Louis skyscraper I work in.  I passed two thirty-something females waiting for the elevator which arrived about time I passed.  As they were getting on I heard one of them remark, ” the date of our first date, was the date of his divorce…”, and the elevator doors closed.

Sounded like a story that might have been interesting.

She asked, “Who can be a curmudgeon?”

The other day Robin asked me, “What is a curmudgeon?” She knows the dictionary definition of curmudgeon: a crusty, ill-tempered, and usually old man. She was asking me, the mastermind of the website Curmudgeon-Alley.com, because she thought a young lady of our mutual acquaintance could qualify as a curmudgeon.

I tend to think of myself as a bit (some folks would say more) of a curmudgeon. I did have one commenter on my website take me to task for pinning this appellation on myself. They felt that it was a title that should be conferred. Perhaps they were thinking that there should be some sort of ceremony. A character reminisce of Walther Matthau could “knight” the aspirant by tapping both shoulders alternately with a gnarled, well-seasoned cane resembling a shaking index finger. Continue reading “She asked, “Who can be a curmudgeon?””

The God Virus by Darrel W. Ray

God virusWhen folks ask me about my religion I have a tendency to tell them that I was raised Southern Baptist, but I am much better now. If I am in an even more playful mood I might tell them I am a Born Again Agnostic. If I am really feeling like a stinker I tell them I belong to the Church of Later Day Hedonist, and we meet every Friday down at Joe’s Bar and Grill, please join us for evening services.   Depending on the person it is either a conversational stopper or elicits a laugh and may lead to more conversation. If I am being a bit more serious I describe myself as agnostic. I choose this appellation mainly because militant atheists bother me as much as evangelic Christians or jihadists Muslims. I would like to think that what I believe is most likely true, but ultimately the answer to the god question is unknowable. I have a B.S., but no matter how much science you throw at it, the mere existence of the universe blows my mind.

It is not original with me, but I have been saying for years that religion was a form of mass psychosis. Psychosis being defined as a mental illness whereby the sufferer loses touch with reality.

Along came Dawkins, Blackmore and others Continue reading “The God Virus by Darrel W. Ray”