Philosophy is the talk on a cereal box

I've recently been reading a book by Ayn Rand (weird, eh?) called "Philosophy: Who needs it?". One of my students gave it to me and she knows the way to my heart; don't bring the teach' an apple, bring him philosophy books....

Although, I do love apples.

In the first few pages Ayn maps out the reasons why we should all take Philosophy a lot more seriously:

"...You have no choice about the necessity to integrate your observations, your experiences, your knowledge into abstract ideas, i.e., into principles. Your only choice is whether these principles are true or false, whether they represent your conscious, rational conviction — or a grab-bag of notions snatched at random, whose sources, validity, context and consequences you do not know, notions which, more often than not, you would drop like a hot potato if you knew.

But the principles you accept (consciously or subconsciously) may clash with or contradict one another; they, too, have to be integrated. What integrates them? Philosophy. A philosophic system is an integrated view of existence. As a human being, you have no choice about the fact that you need a philosophy. Your only choice is whether you define you philosophy by a conscious, rational, disciplined process of thought and scrupulously logical deliberation — or let your subconscious accumulate a junk heap of unwarranted conclusions, false generalizations, undefined contradictions, undigested slogans, unidentified wishes, doubts and fears, thrown together by chance, but integrated by your subconscious into a kind of mongrel philosophy and fused into a single, solid weight: self-doubt, like a ball and chain in the place where your mind's wings should have grown..."

Recently (before I read this book anyway), I'd been thinking of sitting down and trying to map out "My Philosophy". One thing that I've enjoyed about this blogging thing so far is that it's given me an opportunity to iron out some of my thoughts that were a bit rough or not well thought out. There's something to be said for putting information out there even if no one reads it. Similar to writing in a journal, I would think that most people would want to make their opinions and ideas sound and certainly making that journal public would solidify that idea. Maybe I'm just a freak.

So, I'm going to devote the next 6ish blogs to establishing "My Philosophy" (this being the declaration). I really want to make this a spirited QUEST FOR THE TRUTH and a community of inquiry and discourse. PLEASE comment and email me (rob@robhamilton.ca) for some debate and all with the idea of getting as close to the truth as we can. In other words, there are going to be controversial topics and ideas discussed and I'm hoping we put my philosophy to the test. The test of course being similar to the scientific method of inquiry that scientists use, some idea or opinion will be put up as simply a theory and we will try to disprove it and replace it or see if it "holds" or is "sound", all with intent of getting closer to truth.

I did an earlier blog called "Cause and Effect" that didn't stir any of the controversy that I thought it might. Perhaps it was sound.....perhaps.

And a donut with no hole is a Danish

Alright it looks as if I'll be bumming around Europe soon trying to "find myself". I've got 6 days of no agenda and I'm confident that that's all it will take. I guess I'm not too lost.

SO...

I'm being dropped off in Copenhagen, Denmark. My next and only requirement is that I be back at the Copenhagen airport on the morning of Aug 30th to fly to Oslo for my gig with Soulstream. So I'm trying to figure out what I should do. Go south and run around the mainland like a chicken with my head cut off being a power tourist. OR take advantage of the fact that I'm in Scandinavia and save the mainland adventures for next time. It seems that Scandinavia is often neglected because of it's geography, and seeing as my tour drops me knee deep in it, I'm leaning towards concentrating on the north.

Next issue....

Train or car. Train is nice 'cause I don't have to pay the ridiculous gas prices ($7 a gallon....yes, $7 dollars a gallon), but a car affords me some freedom. I'm leaning train, so I can stare out the window and write blogs. Getting a rail pass is roughly the same as renting a car, but no gas.

Next issue....

Can anyone recommend anything to see and/or do?

On the Road Again/We are Family

I've been living out of a suitcase for a couple of weeks now and there is still no end in sight to it. Last night marked the 7th Whistler gig in a couple weeks and couple that with a family renunion in Quebec and a trip to Ontario this week, that adds up to a lotta road livin. I love the road. I love travelling. Even in the most remote areas and reaches of our country (Mattawa, Ont. for instance this week). My job has allowed me to travel the world free of charge. Now, with running through all of the cities and towns that I go to, I feel as if I'm really "seeing" them.

My family reunion was so awesome. It was so great to see the whole family although there were key members missing. First of which being the loss of my Dad, Uncle Bruce, and Uncle John. Cancer and death has hit my family hard since the last family reunion and it was a weird adjustment for everyone, even though our pining was tacit. Quebec is always amazing and fascinating and I had a ball with the staff of my hotel, the St Christophe, even when the barrier of language got in the way.

The initial 10 minutes of any family renuion is always the hardest. There's that uncomfortable feeling of "hey, I should totally know who you are but I don't. I'm such a horrible relative for not keeping in touch. I'm certainly gonna change that after this reunion." Then you discover that that guilt is a two way street, which makes things a whole lot easier. 20 minutes later you're shaking hands guilt free and re-introducing yourself to everyone that you don't recognize anymore. This was especially true of me. Not for nothing, but I'm basically a new person physically and it took even some my closest relatives a minute or two to adjust I think.

All in all. Tons of fun. Now for a big week of re-hair rocking and my first steady teaching week in a while.

Brown, Parker, Mister Bigglesworth, Gonzo, Katie, Kayla, Zoe

Up here at Whistler playing for the Oracle software company. The public library, which is currently under renovation, is just outside of the hotel and I have to pass by it to go anywhere. In order to dress up the construction, they've hung up the art pictures that the kids from the local elementary school have done. I'm totally mesmerized by this cat for some reason. It's an original Katie.

Cats have played a significant role throughout my life and my cats have always marked certain periods of my life. The problem though is that my cats, for one reason or another, have always been taken away from me for circumstances beyond my control. Maybe it's me I don't know, but I can never seem to hang on to a cat. That sounds bad....like I don't take care of them. I do. They just get taken. Girlfriends, sisters, friends, etc. seem to take my cats. Hmmm....

Wow, wha wha wha what a great odience

Wow. Had a great gig last night at our new residence, The Republic on Granville between Nelson and Smithe. Sundays with Retrofit, which includes Randall, Timmy Fuller, Tino, Courtenay/Tilden, and me. The place was jam packed last night and we were definitely well received. We played a mish mash of R&B, Funk, 80's, and rock. I've got to sub out a couple of dates this month but I'll be there next week for sure, so if anyone wants to check out THE cool new club in town this is it. For me it's cool to play some new tunes and do a lot of singing.