Log24

… and Little Colva—

Two links on a Jewish approach to such matters:
Bee Season and, more generally, Kabbalah.

Click for clearer image.

From Willard Van Orman Quine Guest Book Volume 1—

"May 7, 1997 'McX and Wyman' — In his essay 'On What There Is', Willard Quine introduces two fictional philosophers who put forward certain ontological doctrines: McX and Wyman. It would be interesting to know whether Quine was thereby alluding to some real philosophers. My guess for McX would be Hugh MacColl, but I have no idea who Wyman might stand for. Thanks for considering the question! from Dr. Kai F. Wehmeier — Email: Kai.Wehmeier (at) math.uni-muenster.de Web Page: http://wwwmath.uni-muenster.de/math/users/wehmeier/"

"I spoke with Prof Quine last night regarding your question which he found interesting. He says his intention was to create some fictional philosophers ('X' and 'Y') to illustrate some of his concerns. There may also have been a 'Z' man. These fictional philosophers were not designed to represent any particular philosophers although their viewpoints may happen [to] reflect those of actual philosophers. – Doug” [Douglas Boynton Quine]

Related material: 

The X-Men Tree (Nov. 12),
X-Men Tree continued (Nov. 17),
Waiting for Ogdoad (Oct. 30),
Interpenetrative Ogdoad (Oct. 31),
Waiting for Ogdoad continued (Nov. 30),
For Sean Connery on St. Andrew's Day (Nov. 30).

From Director's Cut (Saturday morning, Oct. 26) —

A related death on Saturday, Oct. 26  —

From a post of Dec., 20, 2014 —

From "X-Men: First Class" —

From 2004 —

From 2013 —

The title is that of the cover essay in 
the Sunday, August 6, 2017, issue
of The New York Times Book Review .

From a poem on page 17 —

"Avoidance of boredom drives the body forward."

By the same poet, Mary Jo Bang —

"A circular mirror of the social order is something
like a master with an exclusive club membership
until a woman comes through the revolving door."

These remarks, and the life of Matthew Vaughn, director of
"X-Men: First Class" and other films (cf. this morning's post 
Dichotomy), suggest a review of the Nobel Flashback post
of October 6, 2016. A retitled sample —

Avoidance of Boredom

“Show me all  the blueprints.”
— Howard Hughes, according to Hollywood

The New York Times  today on a Feb. 24 death —

"Mr. Tenney was released when Japan surrendered
in August 1945, days after America dropped atomic
bombs on Hiroshima and on Nagasaki, a city across
the bay from the prison camp where he was held.
. . . .

Mr. Tenney recounted his wartime experiences in
a memoir, My Hitch in Hell , published in 1995."

Related material —

Zen ideal —

"… and Hell followed with him." 

Nobel Flashback:

AP Today in History 
Thought for the Day:

“I respect faith, but doubt is what
gives you an education.”
— Wilson Mizner, 
     American playwright (1876-1933)*

From this journal on the (wide) release date
of "X-Men: First Class" —

A minimalist 3×3 matrix favicon—

This may, if one likes, be viewed as the "nothing"
present at the Creation.  See Jim Holt on physics.

* A source —

“… just as God defeats the devil: this bridge exists….” — André Weil

The bridge illustration is thanks to Magneto.

In memory of Nicholas Romanov, who reportedly died on Sept. 15, 2014 (British time).

Frank Rich in a New York Times  book review with online date July 31, 2014:

” The Invisible Bridge  takes its title from a bit of cynical political advice
bestowed on Nixon by Nikita Khrushchev: ‘If the people believe there’s
an imaginary river out there, you don’t tell them there’s no river there.
You build an imaginary bridge over the imaginary river.’ “

The book under review discusses a span of history beginning in 1973.

— Wallace Stevens, Collected Poems

See also Logan and Xavier discussing history at the end of
“X-Men: Days of Future Past.”

Ben Brantley reviewing a show by the X-Men patriarchs
that opened on Sunday:

"This isn’t just a matter of theatergoers chuckling
to show that they’re smart and cultured and had
damn well better be having a good time after
forking out all that money…."

I prefer reality (which includes the life of Fred Kavli) :

See also Saturday's posts Chess and Frame Tale.

Whether the patriarch Kavli, pictured above, is now having
a good time, I do not know. I hope so.

From Deadline Hollywood—

A film producer's death "between Friday night and early Saturday morning,"
April 13-14, 2012—

See also the post linked to on the afternoon of Friday the 13th of April—

"All the saints have powers." — Cardinal Marchisano.

Happy birthday,  James McAvoy (at left below in X-Men: First Class ).

… But perhaps not a supreme  fiction.

"When we left the theater, my son and I knew we had experienced the most thrilling movie of the summer. 'First Class' is narratively lean, beautifully acted and, at all the right moments, visually stunning. But I had experienced something else. My son is 10 and a romantic, as all 10-year-olds surely have the right to be. How then do I speak to him of this world’s masterminds who render you a supporting actor in your own story?"

'X-Men: First Class' Does
Good Midnight Business

“Madame, all stories, if continued far enough, end in death,
and he is no true-story teller who would keep that from you.”
– Ernest Hemingway,
   Death in the Afternoon, Ch. 11

“There is never any ending to Paris….”
– Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast

See also Back from the Shadows.

Powers

From today’s New York Times —

Francesco Marchisano, made a cardinal
on October 21, 2003:

“All the saints have powers.”

Tonight at 8 PM ET on Fox: X-Men.