Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Nothing new under the sun
I received a note today tipping me off to a blog entitled The Portal where I found the following quote out of Glenn Tinder's 1974 political science treatise Political Thinking. For me, it's one of those quotes that ricochets around my brain and I just can't quite put my finger on why I sense it should be so important, but it feels so.
"Do not try to arrive at ideas that no one has ever thought of before. Not many of even the greatest thinkers have done that. The aim of thinking is to discover ideas that pull together one's world, and thus one's being, not to give birth to unprecedented conceptions. An idea is your own if it has grown by your own efforts and is rooted in your own emotions and experience, even though you may have received the seeds from someone else and even though the idea may be very much like ideas held by many others."

Maybe it has something to do with my intentions here with this weblog. Maybe it has something to do with the pressures that come with being a writer and having to constantly present a unique voice, bringing a fresh perspective and an original idea. But there are no original ideas.

But I'm still chewing on this.

In other news, due to extenuating circumstances, I visit the dentist tomorrow for the first time in nearly five years. Have to take advantage of those full-time employee benefits before they expire in days. Remember that scene in The Italian Job where Left Ear goes on about having had a bad experience with dogs? Well, I've had a bad experience with dentists.

The appointment is for 10:15, but I've been told to be there no later than 9:45 to fill out paperwork. That's a freakin' lot of paperwork, if you ask me, but I feel like I'm up to the challenge. And no telling how long it'll take. I've an inherent distrust of "the dentist." I blame the flouride.

And lastly, the Batman Begins trailer is now available online. Spiderman, schmiderman. Give me Batman any day of the week.

10 days until moving day.

posted by Peter at 12:37 AM
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