On Love And Hate Essays - Love, Emotions, Discrimination, Hatred

On Love and Hate Historically, extremes in emotion and reason do not often mix. I am thus cautious of attempting to comb through love or hate with reason. My recourses are two: to (yes, using what reason I have) separate intellectual thought from emotion; and to apply as little reason as possible without ceasing to write. It seems reasonable (sorry) to assume that emotion and reason have nothing to do with each other. It also seems very likely that one cannot exist with the other. They seem capable of cohabitation within a single person, but fall upon differing objects. Are not the things we love or hate not the things we understand? Hate: Hate is one of our reactions to a lack of understanding. We cannot hate that which we understand. Hate is our frustration at failure to comprehend. The more we understand something hated, the more our hatred becomes sadness or pity, or deepens to a hatred of that which caused whatever it was that we did not understand. In the latter case, the hatred may increase with understanding, but the object of the hatred has shifted. We are given a wide range of paths for dealing with our hatred, from the altruistic to the reactionary. The altruists, wishing peace without societal discord, tell us to repress our hatred and replace it with love, a path bound eventually for emotive explosion and breakdown. The diametric path gives us a series of smaller explosions with promise of emotional stability as a result of constant expulsion of malefic urges. Neither of these, or combinations thereof, are terribly productive ways in which to deal with hate, as even the moderate paths deal with the hatred only superficially and inefficiently. I see the only way around hatred being understanding. Upon comprehension of the object of hatred, one is either better equipped for the constructive removal of said object, cooly and rationally; or no longer desirous of the removal. Either outcome is fully satisfying altruistically. In the latter case, one must accept simultaneously a bit of humility for having been mistaken as well as a bit of pride for having become a bit more correct. This leaves one emotionally balanced. The hatred is not repressed, but transformed. The same emotional energy is simply working in a different direction. Upon the removal of the object, the hatred is put to work in a positive manner instead of simply lashing out half-cocked and possibly incorrectly. The process is simply that of questioning: "why does this specific situation exist?", and "what can be done to cause this situation not to exist?". Realize that just as for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction; for every reaction, there is an equal and opposite cause; and that nothing is simply either cause or effect, but everything is both. Love: Ask the same questions, hope not to find answers, and don't be disappointed when you do. If you find understanding of the object of love, it will no longer be an object of love, as love, similarly to hate, is a reaction to a lack of understanding. The faster you find answers, the more superficial the emotion. When answers come in the form of more questions, you have a true indication of the intensity and thoroughness of the emotion, and there is more likelyhood that when love finally disappears, through comprehension, it will be replaced with respect and admiration which you will find very easy to tell yourself is the same thing. I am sorry if it seems I have advised you to processes that diminish or destroy emotions; I have not. Emotions, contrary to poetic assumption, are not permanent, but transitory (although it is certainly not impossible for them to remain for durations exceeding a human lifetime). I believe that the proper thing to do with emotions is to consummate them, not to either prolong or shorten their duration, for one is stagnation and the other repression.

Everything You Need to Know about the Stone Barrington Books

Everything You Need to Know about the Stone Barrington Books The 36th Stone Barrington novel by Stuart Woods, Scandalous Behavior, debuted at #1 on the bestseller lists, as usual. Thirty-six novels featuring one character is a lot, although it’s not a record- there are examples of books series that span hundreds of books, although most of those feature a mixture of authors. Still, when a series featuring a single character gets to be that long, the author is obviously doing something right, and that kind of success naturally makes a book-hungry person wonder if it could be a rich vein for them to mine when their usual supply of novels runs dry- but on the other hand, thirty-six novels (with the thirty-seventh due out later this year) can be a bit intimidating. So here’s what you need to know about the Stone Barrington novels. Character Sketch So, is Stone Barrington a guy you want to spend a lot of time with? Here’s what you need to know: His parents were both born to wealthy families, but were both disinherited because they refused to conform to familial expectations, a strain of rebelliousness that Stone himself inherited. He grew up in New York and attended public schools and graduated with a law degree, but after a ride-along in a police car decided to join the NYPD. In New York Dead he’s at the tail-end of his career as a Lt. Detective, rehabbing an injury and at odds with his superiors; in the middle of that story he’s forced out of the force and takes the Bar Exam to become a lawyer, and is hired by a tony law firm to be â€Å"of counsel.† Basically, the firm uses Stone to handle cases they don’t want sullying their reputation, and the work slowly makes Barrington a pretty wealthy guy- which is good, because he already had some very expensive tastes. You can’t help but see Woods in Barrington; much of Barrington’s jet-setting lifestyle seems like a slightly exaggerated version of Woods’ own life, from the pilot’s license to the knowledge of wines and food (Woods once wrote a very successful guide to restaurants and hotels in England and Ireland). Barrington travels the world, can handle himself in almost any situation, has a very active love life, and is a lot of fun to spend time with. His dislike of authority and his sense of humor are ideal for a character who is always sticking his intelligent nose where it’s not wanted. By the way, if you think Stone Barrington is a pretty silly name, you’re not alone: Woods’ editors reportedly tried very hard to convince him to change it. In Order The Stone Barrington books include, in publication order: New York Dead (1991)Dirt (1996)Dead in the Water (1997)Swimming to Catalina (1998)Worst Fears Realized (1999)L.A. Dead (2000)Cold Paradise (2001)The Short Forever (2002)Dirty Work (2003)Reckless Abandon (2004)Two Dollar Bill (2005)Dark Harbor (2006)Fresh Disasters (2007)Shoot Him If He Runs (2007)Hot Mahogany (2008)Loitering With Intent (2009)Kisser (2010)Lucid Intervals (2010)Strategic Moves (2011)Bel-Air Dead (2011)Son of Stone (2011)D.C. Dead (2011)Unnatural Acts (2012)Severe Clear (2012)Collateral Damage (2013)Unintended Consequences (2013)Doing Hard Time (2013)Standup Guy (2014)Carnal Curiosity (2014)Cut and Thrust (2014)Paris Match (2014)Insatiable Appetites (2015)Hot Pursuit (2015)Naked Greed (2015)Foreign Affairs (2015)Scandalous Behavior (2016)Family Jewels (T/K 2016) A few quick take-aways here: Through 2010 Woods had written 18 Stone Barrington Novels in 13 years, which is a brisk but not unusual pace; beginning in 2011 he published 19 more in just six years, with as many as four new Barrington novels hitting the shelves in a single year. According to interviews with Woods, he’s not only writing all of these books himself (unlike certain other ‛prolific’ best-sellers), he’s writing so many Barrington novels because his publisher requested that he do so. Key Barrington The series does follow a very loose chronology in the sense that past events and characters do occasionally pop into new stories (and some of Woods’ other characters from other series show up from time to time, as well. That said, this is a series you can read in any order, really, with only the occasional mystery reference to past events. Barrington is one of those characters whose charm is their consistency. The two caveats are: One, read New York Dead first. It’s not only the first-published, it’s the book that sets up Barrington’s back-story, so it’s really the one essential starting point; Two: 2004’s Reckless Abandon is a continuation of a story begun in Woods’ Holly Barker novel Blood Orchid, so you might want to read that one first. So, whether you dig up New York Dead and start at the beginning, pick up the first Barrington book you find, or seek out Scandalous Behavior right now, you’re going to have a pretty good time getting to know one of the thriller world’s best characters.