R.I.P.

This past weekend, I was saddened to learn of the death of noted Bohemian, absurdist playwright, and Frank Zappa fan Václav Havel. In recent years Havel even tried to branch out into a new role as film director, though his film, Leaving, was not generally well-received. Still, his work in that great 1989 drama known as the Velvet Revolution receives rave reviews to this day and people will be composing tributes to the man for ages to come.

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"His simple but extraordinary idea was that the most effective way to defeat a totalitarian regime was for citizens to reject its lies and “live in truth.” That meant, first of all, telling the truth in answer to official propaganda, but also behaving as if fundamental human rights — which most dictatorships claim to respect — could be taken for granted."

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There are several piles of books here in my room waiting to be read, but the one closest to my computer is the one with Václav Havel's book To the Castle and Back second in the pile, just underneath Philip Zimbardo's The Lucifer Effect. The fact that there's another book in the pile entitled A Beginner's Guide to Constructing the Universe probably gives you more insight into my psychology than you really need.