Jim Swonger's
20 Indicators of an Enlightened Civilization
Jim Swonger sent me this list of his 20 Indicators of an Enlightened
Civilization. He notes "Here is the start of a
tentative list of the essentials of an enlightened civ...It is
not yet complete, but my current train of thought has temporarily derailed
due to a casting change in my next production, Night of the Iguana."
So here's Jim's list so far:
1. Icecream - preferrably Ben and Jerry's or Haggen Das. Most flavors
will do, variety is the spice of life.
2. The ability to laugh at one's self - Steven Wright and Robin Williams
are my particular favorites followed close behind with Ellen Degeneris and
Bette Midler.
3. Books - The list here gets pretty long:
- a. The Oz Series
- b. The Foundation Series
- c. Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintainance
- d. Spider Robinson's Callahan Series
- e. Umberto Eco's Foucalt's Pendulum
- f. Mercedes Lackey- most of her works
- g. Tolkein's works
- h. Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
- i. Black Elk Speaks
- j. Mark Twain's works
- k. Shakespeare's plays
- l. T. H. White- Once and Future King
- m. Douglas Adams' Hitchiker Series
- n. Morgenstern's The Princess Bride [actually, Jim, it was
written by William Goldman, but who's being picky?]
- o. Probably some other's that I can't recall at the moment.
4. Music - Again the list is long
- a. Mozart's Works
- b. P.D.Q. Bach's Works
- c. Anything sung by Billie Holiday
- d. Woodie Guthrie's songs
- e. Pink Floyd
- f. Dvorak's New World Symphony
- g. Holst's The Planets
- h. The Carl Stalling Project
- i. Duke Ellington
- j. Fletcher Henderson
- k. The Roches
- l. Shakuhachi Flute
- m. The Cheiftains
- n. The Music from Schindler's List
- o. Bach's Organ works and cello sonatas
- p. Tom Lehrer
- q. Jethro Tull
- r. The Rolling Stones (early works)
- s. Beethoven's Works
- t. Haydn's Works
5. Movies
- a. Fantasia
- b. The Princess Bride
- c. The African Queen
- d. 2001
- e. To Kill A Mockingbird
- f. The Wall
- g. Most Disney animated movies
- h. Blazing Saddles
- j. Young Frankenstein
- k. My Fair Lady
6. Comfortable Clothes - the right to wear what is comfortable and
pleasing to you in spite of "fashion" trends and other peoples personal
"morals."
7. Games - all kinds that are not inspired or directly related to the
wanton killing of other intelligent beings.
8. The Net - need I say more?
9. Smiles - most women, and men too I guess, look their prettiest when
they smile.
10. Public Broadcasting - here's my little push for the NEA funding of PBS
companies. Where would we be without Sesame Street or the Electric
Company?
11. Kittens
12. Warm sunny days out in the open fields or wooded hills
13. The ability to earn a living doing what you enjoy doing.
14. Warm nights walking on the beach with that someone special or just
with a good friend.
15. Puns - but only between the hours of 5 pm to 7 pm every other day. To
many peronomasiacs tend to be under the assumption that if one pun is
good (good at least in their minds) than more are even more fun.
16. Singing in the shower without laughter being heard in the next room
17. A good pizza
18. Breads - most kinds
19. M*A*S*H - the TV series
20. Cartoons - At least ones that have had a little thought put into their
creation, i.e. not ninja turtles or other pointless bash-fests.
So, that's Jim's list. Comments? Send mail to
Jim.
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