The Pursuit of Nonsense

The Pursuit of Nonsense - by P.K.Odendaal - February 2014.

It seems to me that the world has turned from the pursuit of happiness - the pastime of choice at the start of the twentieth century - to the pursuit of nonsense - the pastime of choice at the end of that century and even more so today.

Whether there is a semantic difference between nonsense and nonsensical things, I do not know. I also do not know whether I wish to know the difference, as it is all the same difference. To me the word nonsensical seems to be more sophisticated and intellectual - so I might prefer that as a fashion statement.

Poem - Peter and Paul

Peter and Paul by Lewis Carroll.

I do not know why I love this poem - it makes me laugh and it makes me cry and it makes me see how the world goes by - but here it is - for those of you who have friends which should really be your enemies.


‘Peter is poor,’ said noble Paul,
‘And I have always been his friend:
And, though my means to give are small,
At least I can afford to lend.
How few, in this cold age of greed,
Do good, except on selfish grounds!
But I can feel for Peter’s need,
And I WILL LEND HIM FIFTY POUNDS!’

The enigma of our existence

The enigma of our existence - by P.K.Odendaal - February 2014.

There goes the baker with his tray, like always
The same old bread and rolls to sell
Every morning just the same
Since the morning that we came
To this poor provincial town.

There must be more than this provincial life! .. from Beauty and the Beast.

Oh, we are so provincial! If something does not fall in the province of our experience or influence then it does not exist.

Phantasmagoria - Canto V

CANTO V--Byckerment

"Don't they consult the 'Victims,' though?"
I said. "They should, by rights,
Give them a chance--because, you know,
The tastes of people differ so,
Especially in Sprites."

The Phantom shook his head and smiled.
"Consult them? Not a bit!
'Twould be a job to drive one wild,
To satisfy one single child -
There'd be no end to it!"

Adult Sunday School - Part 18 - The resurrection (continued)

Adult Sunday School - Part 18 - The resurrection (continued)

I believe in the resurrection of the flesh - by P.K.Odendaal - January 2014. 

In part 17 we spoke of the resurrection without going into detail.

There is a Nicene creed which was compiled in 325 AD in Nicea (now in Turkey)in which it says that we believe in the resurrection of the dead, which in later centuries have often been changed and adulterated to say: I believe in the resurrection of the flesh.

Although I doubt most of the creed as it is in its present form in the Dutch Reformed Church, I do now believe in the latter fully - and that because of a vision I had last week.

Phantasmagoria - Canto IV

Phantasmagoria by Lewis Carroll - Canto IV--Hys Nouryture

"Oh, when I was a little Ghost,
A merry time had we!
Each seated on his favourite post,
We chumped and chawed the buttered toast
They gave us for our tea."

"That story is in print!" I cried.
"Don't say it's not, because
It's known as well as Bradshaw's Guide!"
(The Ghost uneasily replied
He hardly thought it was).

Ballad of Reading Goal - Part VI

Ballad of Reading Goal - Part VI (end) - by Oscar Wilde

 

In Reading gaol by Reading town

There is a pit of shame,

And in it lies a wretched man

Eaten by teeth of flame,

In a burning winding-sheet he lies,

And his grave has got no name.

And there, till Christ call forth the dead,

In silence let him lie:

No need to waste the foolish tear,

Or heave the windy sigh:

The man had killed the thing he loved,

And so he had to die.

And all men kill the thing they love,

By all let this be heard,

Some do it with a bitter look,

Some with a flattering word,

The coward does it with a kiss,

The brave man with a sword!

Phantasmagoria - Canto III

Phantasmagoria by Lewis Carroll - CANTO III - Scarmoges
 

"And did you really walk," said I,
"On such a wretched night?
I always fancied Ghosts could fly -
If not exactly in the sky,
Yet at a fairish height."

"It's very well," said he, "for Kings
To soar above the earth:
But Phantoms often find that wings -
Like many other pleasant things -
Cost more than they are worth.

Ballad of Reading Gaol - Part V

Ballad of Reading Gaol - Part V.

 

I know not whether Laws be right,

Or whether Laws be wrong;
All that we know who lie in goal
Is that the wall is strong;
And that each day is like a year,
A year whose days are long.

But this I know, that every Law

That men have made for Man,
Since first Man took his brother’s life,
And the sad world began,
But straws the wheat and saves the chaff
With a most evil fan.

My closing arguments - Part 1

My closing arguments - Part 1 - by P.K.Odendaal - 20 December 2013

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes, and ships, and sealing-wax
Of cabbages, and kings
And why the sea is boiling hot
And whether pigs have wings."

From the Walrus and the Carpenter by Lewis Carroll.

The time has come for me to conclude with my closing arguments in this trial where I have placed Great Arguments before the Great Judge. I myself and how I think and experience life have also bowed to these arguments. I have over the past six years enjoyed writing my blog articles, and I have now exhausted all the ideas which I am passionate about and it is time for me to move on. I have also enjoyed the patronage of my readers who have inspired me to consider all sides of every argument, and I hope I have been objective in giving voice to the proponents of my adversary arguments. However - I never expected to have the last word.