Things That Matter To People Who Matter

Michael Jackson's Off the Wall | J.M. Coetzee's Disgrace | Manly P. Hall's The Secret Teachings of All Ages | Ye Olde 3-D Laser Crystal

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Published: May 13, 2008

Michael Jackson's Off the Wall

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One of the many injustices of modern life is that Off the Wall is credited to Michael Jackson and not Quincy Jones. Modern MacBook-fidgeting drones banging out the same sing-song electrohouse fodder you hear at every new "night" in Philly need to stop head-bopping and start craning their necks to get a glimpse of what Quincy was doing with instruments and analogue mixing boards back in 1979. This is timeless music that sounds so good, even nitpicky audiophiles raise their eyebrows. Need the proof? Watch a 3 a.m. dancefloor close their eyes, smile and raise their hands in bliss when the title track's chorus hits after the last verse.

J.M. Coetzee's Disgrace

Just walk through the front door with no ideas in your head, and your favorite library or bookstore will appear to you as a cerebral smorgasbord. My last time out, I was roaming the stacks and came upon a bunch of stuff by J.M. Coetzee — a name I'd known but never read. So I picked up Disgrace, and it turned out to be one of the finest literary works I've ever encountered (spare yet elegant, and almost surgical in its ability to cut to the most vulnerable regions of your heart). And I just happened upon it. All because I went in blank and hungry.

Manly P. Hall's The Secret Teachings of All Ages

The keystone to my thoughts on astrology comes from Carl Jung's assertion that the ejaculation/trajectory of heavenly bodies from their common source naturally reflects the content of our primordial being (coupled with the Quantum Inseparability Principle). With that in mind, I wholeheartedly endorse Manly P. Hall's The Secret Teachings of All Ages. His heavily astrological/Qabbalistic interpretations of religious allegories are illuminating, and the depth of his references acts as a helpful springboard for further research. Granted the rank of 33°, Manly has dramatically altered my mistrust of the Masonic Order. Sign me up, Masons!

Ye Olde 3-D Laser Crystal

Nothing says tradition like my Ye Olde 3-D Laser Crystal, a piece of glass engraved with a beautiful rendering of Las Vegas' Excalibur hotel, casino and castle. I gaze into the crystal and recall the days when our parent empire was young. The days when the seeds of what would eventually become our modern republic were wafting over the land. Over the thousand years between the fall of the Roman empire and the rise of the nation-state, knights were hammering out compromises with the king over divisions of power and taxes. If you are interested in this time period, I recommend John Boorman's documentary film Excalibur.

 

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