Rich Man's Game?

I just started reading "Comes a Horseman" by Robert Liparulo. It's a thriller about two FBI agents chasing a killer who is working for a secret underground society of the world's elite bent on taking over the world. Hmm. Reminds me of someone. Who could it be?

The author, describing the secret society of twelve who are awaiting the arrival of the much prophecied anti-christ, has an interesting take on the mindset of someone raised to a life of privilege and pedigree versus the average Joe or Josephine who experiences desire as something hard won or out of reach.

I was particularly struck by this sentence on page 68:

"When any passion can be easily and immediately satiated, the experiences that stir even the most exhilarating emotions in humankind--love, accomplishment, adventure--soon take their place among common things. Consequently, the emotion that defined each of them was boredom."

I'm not an academic and don't know if this is a common conception or if it's based on historical or psychological evidence or merely the author's interpretation of what makes the rich folk tick. I do know that the sentence intrigued me enough to pick up a pen and underline it. Because given the state of the world today, and the position of all too many individuals labeled by society as "old money" or "the elite," you have to wonder if its all just a giant chess game played by a bunch of bored frat boys. Think of it: from the earliest days of your existence you can have whatever you want--women, men, booze, drugs, cars, travel, luxuries most of us could only dream of. You can go anywhere you want, do anything you want. There is absolutely nothing holding you back. What would you crave if everything material was already at your fingertips? What would satisfy a need that is no longer easy to satisfy? (Like any kind of junkie who needs bigger and bigger thrills to get the same high). Where do you go to get that thrill that the common folk might feel when they succeed at something more "mundane", like graduating at the top of their class, getting a promotion, or falling in love?

Is it a frat boy's boredom that's put the world in its current precarious state?

Take that Mahmoud

Oh I feel so much better now.

What? Oil of Olay on a 747? Must be Al Qaeda!

So apparently there are a few people left in the world who aren't afraid to say what they think. And mostly they think that George Bush and his Homeland Security efforts (and the UK version of both) are a feckin' joke. Leave it to an Irishman to put things so succinctly.

RyanAir to UK govt: ease off on security or we sue
RyanAir a leading European discount airline, has threatened to sue the British government if it doesn't ease off on its security measures.

Michael O'Leary, the outspoken chief executive of Ryanair, described the new restrictions as "farcical Keystone Cops security measures that don't add anything except to block up airports", as he issued the ultimatum.

Mr O'Leary ridiculed the notion of searching five- or six-year-old children and elderly people in wheelchairs going to Spain. Such scenes, he said, would have "terrorists laughing in the caves of Afghanistan".

Cat Anarchy

I have little furry insurgents running around my house. Four of them. We adopted two kittens recently (don't ask) and the two older cats have decided to show their disapproval by using my furniture as a litterbox. My mother disliked cats intensely and is now haunting whichever one of the little critters pee-d on her couch. Kitten number one, Loretta Casterini, used my suitcase as a toilet right before we left on our weekend fling to Saratoga. Kitten number two, Miss Veda Boheme, took a crap on my bed.

Why is it that people have cats again?

Well put...

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Harmonizing with the Hippies

Moxie took a wee break this weekend and travelled up New York way to sing a little treason with CSNY at their Saratoga "Freedom of Speech" show. It rained... and Crosby, Still, Nash & Young all showed up -- which is about as close as it got to Woodstock in the aesthetic sense. Politically speaking, however, these four old boys can still raise a ruckus with the best of them. And sitting amongst some 20,000 or so liberals of every age felt SOOOO good. The GOP thinks they have the pulse on the American people? They should show up at a CSNY show about the time they roll the words to "Lets Impeach the President" and the place goes nutz! There were sound issues for those of us on the lawn, which totally sucked because we couldn't hear Graham singing "Our House". But David Crosby still sounds great, which is probably because he's had every organ in his body replaced at one time or another. Stephen Stills is sounding a bit whiskey voiced these days, but still likes to jam. But Neil Young totally rocked the sold out crowd at the SPAC.
There were a surprising number of young kids there. I mean young. Figure I was about 6 when Woodstock took place. A lot of these kids weren't even born until 20 years later. But they were into the music. Still I couldn't help but look up at the screen (watching a concert on a screen--why do we even bother?) and feel kind of sad. These four guys were singing songs of protest and peace forty years ago. And things are worse today. How do you not feel sad about that?