tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8313971739509868983.post5565577985376967047..comments2023-09-01T16:27:07.820-07:00Comments on W. Bond's "Reflections of an Amateur": Groundhog Day and the Pursuit of HappinessW. Bondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11876061563314623223noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8313971739509868983.post-32674936083384958882018-11-24T14:32:16.192-08:002018-11-24T14:32:16.192-08:00James, thanks for reading and for the kind words. ...James, thanks for reading and for the kind words. (And, I'm sorry it took me three months to approve your comment! I must have missed an e-mail notification, or I'm just not using this [rarely updated] blog correctly). W. Bondhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11876061563314623223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8313971739509868983.post-65821727417631067052018-08-26T08:57:39.388-07:002018-08-26T08:57:39.388-07:00Bravo,very well done. Bravo,very well done. james gaultehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05537303135780186926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8313971739509868983.post-17902463978134278012018-02-01T17:14:02.148-08:002018-02-01T17:14:02.148-08:00Thanks for the kind comment, and thanks for readin...Thanks for the kind comment, and thanks for reading! I'll look forward to perusing your blog.W. Bondhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11876061563314623223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8313971739509868983.post-42484057536261229172018-02-01T17:07:45.958-08:002018-02-01T17:07:45.958-08:00Great read. I especially liked these passages:
“t...Great read. I especially liked these passages:<br /><br />“the film manages to neither condescend nor romanticize. The town’s characters, to the extent they are developed, are taken in full. Overall, they cease being an “other” to our urban visitors and are simply human beings in their own setting, with all of their virtues, vices, dreams, and disappointments.”<br /><br />“he now is doing these things for their own sake. We might say that we get a glimpse here of not just the good but also of the beautiful, the noble.”<br /><br />And<br /><br />“He’s a free man who does not lack for a roof over his head and for whom his next meal is not in doubt. These basic conditions of safety and comfort are necessary, of course, but, as we are shown, not sufficient for a good life. Phil has some ambition – he doesn’t want to stay at the station in Pittsburgh forever, for example – but what are his goals, his deepest dreams, and what informs them? Does he know? Is it just the unreflective hedonism he pines for in remembering his time in the Virgin Islands? We might conclude that his unhappiness and shallowness are fully unmasked by the recurring day. When he abandons all restraint we realize that he doesn’t gain any real freedom – he crashes into a mailbox, drives on the railroad tracks, eats 10,000 calories per meal, etc. – he just loses self-control. The brief thrill of unpunished immoderate behavior cannot sustain him during the recurring day. It certainly cannot be the basis for true happiness; rather, it serves to illustrate the difference between liberty and license.”<br /><br />It is a wonderful time to spend time with.<br />robert e g blackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12055327935875718742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8313971739509868983.post-8061948251183431102017-07-02T18:08:58.111-07:002017-07-02T18:08:58.111-07:00Thanks for reading and commenting. You make a wis...Thanks for reading and commenting. You make a wise point. Interesting, perhaps, that reflecting on a fantastical, infinitely repeating day can remind us of our finite life and what we are left with in the end.W. Bondhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11876061563314623223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8313971739509868983.post-29026409216578630362017-07-02T14:45:13.792-07:002017-07-02T14:45:13.792-07:00I think life can be a Groundhog Day trap that is m...I think life can be a Groundhog Day trap that is more subtle and insidious than Phil faced and overcame. Life challenges us to become better but it doesn't demand it. We can move on to tomorrow without meeting the challenge. This was a fun read and good think. Cheers!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08726998521897189534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8313971739509868983.post-1381001764030352572017-07-02T06:30:26.886-07:002017-07-02T06:30:26.886-07:00Thank you sir, and thanks for reading!Thank you sir, and thanks for reading!W. Bondhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11876061563314623223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8313971739509868983.post-11631084892408585372017-07-02T03:15:18.434-07:002017-07-02T03:15:18.434-07:00Great post on one of my favorite movies of all tim...Great post on one of my favorite movies of all time. Skeptical Scalpelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13206922456661320751noreply@blogger.com