Privacy

From a news story on the net: I had not heard about this wild idea: "PORTLAND, Ore. – Oregon is among a growing number of states exploring ways to tax drivers based on the number of miles they drive instead of how much gas they use, even going so far as to install GPS monitoring devices in 300 vehicles. The idea first emerged nearly 10 years ago as Oregon lawmakers worried that fuel-efficient cars such as gas-electric hybrids could pose a threat to road upkeep, which is paid for largely with gasoline taxes." Raising gas taxes is just too simple a way out of this dilemma. Everyone knows that cars cause most of the world's pollution. The real reason behind this lame idea must be to reduce the number of cars. Maybe soon, we'll hear someone say that people over a certain age shouldn't drive at all. The words "monitoring devices" scares the unholy sweat out of me.

Famous Suicides

Famous suicides is an odd subject. I was researching the biography of a composer the other day (that's him on the left) when I discovered the poor guy had committed suicide by laying down on some railroad tracks. He was 54. His name was Ernest Pingoud and his talent had never been recognized in his native Finland (or anywhere else). In other words, he was decidedly unsuccessful. I asked myself if perhaps that was the cause of his decision to end his life. The answer was, of course, NO. It is said that suicide is most often caused by a failed relationship or a financial hardship. That is, of course, NOT TRUE. People don't end it all because they're broke, or because they're unhappy with someone, or because they regret something they did. Failure can cause the body (and the mind) to sort of shut down and become ill - absolutely yes. Mozart and Bizet and Mussorgsky and Modigliani come to mind. However, none of them ended their own life, although they all became ill and died young. I think suicide happens when a person becomes truly isolated in their psyche - like being at the bottom of a deep well with no way out. There are many, many poor people in the world who never kill themselves. There are many people whose relationships end badly. They also don't necessarily kill themselves. On the other hand, there are many people who have everything who shoot themselves to death. The only common denominator is the devastating mental isolation. Herewith, then, is a short list of famous people who did themselves in. Salvador Allende, Edwin Armstrong, Diana Churchill, Sigmund Freud, Ernest Hemingway, Abbie Hoffman, Frida Kahlo, Christina Onassis, Mark Rothko, Romy Schneider, and Amy Vanderbilt.