Fallen into Knowledge

Okay, forget the cosmetic changes. This Blog has moved. It has decided to join my Website. Afterall, it was kinda ridiculous to have a website at one address and a blog at another. So head over to www.christopherlayton.org and let me know what you think of the new digs.

Posted by christopherlayton at 11:51 PM | 8 comments

I had grown tired of the look of the blog, and tired of the title; and so finally being inspired by Joyce, I decided to make a leap of Faith.
The new title is inspired by John Milton's Paradise Lost:

"Out of the fertil ground he caus'd to grow
All Trees of noblest kind for sight, smell, taste;
And all amid them stood the Tree of Life,
High eminent, blooming Ambrosial Fruit
Of vegetable Gold; and next to Life
Our Death the Tree of Knowledge grew fast by,
Knowledge of Good bought dear by knowing ill."

Posted by christopherlayton at 10:52 PM | 1 comments

Posted by christopherlayton at 10:38 PM | 0 comments

Posted by christopherlayton at 10:28 PM | 0 comments

This is a great idea
If you are attached in some way to Multnomah Bible College/Seminary and you have a blog, get on over and let people know!
Onward and Upward

Posted by christopherlayton at 12:41 PM | 0 comments

"March 2005
Dear Dex Media White & Yellow Page Users:

We inadvertently goofed!"

Tell me, if one goofs on purpose, is it still a goof?

Posted by christopherlayton at 11:33 AM | 0 comments

You're Ulysses!

by James Joyce

Most people are convinced that you don't make any sense, but compared
to what else you could say, what you're saying now makes tons of sense. What people do
understand about you is your vulgarity, which has convinced people that you are at once
brilliant and repugnant. Meanwhile you are content to wander around aimlessly, taking in
the sights and sounds of the city. What you see is vast, almost limitless, and brings you
additional fame. When no one is looking, you dream of being a Greek folk hero.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

And, yes, I have read it...

Posted by christopherlayton at 10:11 AM | 0 comments

This beautiful quote is from the introduction to Schopenhauer's "The World as Will and Representation:"

"I am afraid, however, that even so I shall not be let off. The reader who has gotten as far as the prefaceand is put off by that, has paid money for the book, and wants to know how he is to be compensated. My last refuge now is to remind him that he knows of various ways of using a book without precisely reading it. It can, like many other, fill a gap in his library, where, neatly bound, it is sure to look well. Or he can lay it on the dressing table or tea table of his learned lady friend. Or finally he can review it; this is assuredly the best course of all, and the one I specially advise."

Posted by christopherlayton at 10:35 PM | 3 comments

Fortunately I have anly a few papers this term, in addition to the usual round of mid-terms and finals (read: madly fill as many blue books as one can in the alloted time)
these are not what is creating in me a sense of panic; no, what I am panicy about is my calculation that I will need to read 1000 (one tousand) pages per week to keep up. None of the reading is as hard as last semester (Kant and Heidegger), but there is a lot more of it. Yikes!
I geuss it is time to take up again that habit I broke: reading while walking. Maybe I should also learn to read while riding my bike....

Posted by christopherlayton at 1:58 PM | 3 comments

While playing around on the PowerBook, I discovered (via Sherlock) that there are Twenty-One (!) Starbucks locations within two (2!) miles of my house. Is this really necessary? The closest location A whole .04 miles away, and, yes, I can see it from my apartment.

Posted by christopherlayton at 10:45 PM | 0 comments

Its Spring Break!

Adam McInturf and I went backpacking in the Trinity-Alps, in Northern California (or, as some would have it, southern Cascadia). Perhaps it would be better if I said “we attempted to go backpacking.”
We drove down on Monday, got our wilderness permit and hit the trail. In the rain. By the time we made camp for the night we were both thoroughly wet. But our gear was mostly dry and so in not-yet damp spirits we got in the tent. After all, the pictures of the lakes to which we were heading looked spectacular. About the time we decided that it would be good to break out the stove and fix dinner and tea, I noticed that the ground was starting to look white. It snowed constantly through the night that first night, and we did not manage to get any drier.
Morning on the second day we decided to head for the nearest town, Weaverville, where we hoped to consult the Rangers to see where else (with a lower elevation) we might explore within the Trinity-Alps wilderness, and also to find a laundry-mat to dry out our gear. The laundry-mat idea turned out to be a stroke of brilliance, we were dry in no time; the Ranger, on the other hand, was less than encouraging. So we headed north toward Lake Shasta, looking for drier climes, swinging by Redding on the way so as to visit the nearest IN-N-OUT for dinner.
After dinner, which was excellent as one might expect, we noticed two things: first, we were running from a mess of black clouds; and, second, we were losing. Also, we were running low on daylight. So we quickly found the first place to camp that didn’t cost us any money: Down by the railroad tracks, somewhere off the highway near lake Shasta. We both felt like characters from a John Steinbeck novel. It rained on us through the second night also, letting up only as if to tease us.
Morning Three: not as wet as before, but our spirits were dampened considerably, so we headed to Ashland to explore. We set up in Lithia park: The stage of the amphitheater was the driest spot we could find that we could set up the tent to let it air out while we ate lunch. Picture this, two guys a bunch of gear and a tent, set up on the stage of an otherwise empty amphitheater, cooking. Needless to say we attracted the attention of the local law enforcement.
The Ashland police officer proved to be quite understanding once we assured him that we were not settling down for the night there on stage, even going so far as suggesting some camping spots for the night. We chose to not take him up on the offer; we, seeing the persisting black rain clouds, decided that we had enough with getting wet and drove home.
But not before exploring Ashland, and not before I found a couple of books at Ashland’s many fine used-book emporiums. Alas, our backpacking trip did not have much in the way of backpacking. But it was an adventure; and any adventure where one both both lives and does not get arrested is a success in my book. Plus, just think of all the great stories I can not ramble on about.
Oh, by the way, I wrote this post from my reading chair, typing on my new 15” PowerBook, which I bought the day after we got back - and which I think is pretty neat.

Posted by christopherlayton at 11:00 PM | 3 comments