From Pauli To Billy

"That is not only not right; it is not even wrong."

- Wolfgang Pauli (1900-58)

The quote refers to something being asserted or claimed that is not only in error, but demonstrates such complete misunderstanding and ignorance by the person making the claim that it would be a waste of time to seriously discuss. I am sure many readers can identify ideas and people falling into that category though it seems to be the frequency of such claims and assertions seems to be increasing in recent years.

Pauli, one of many European theoretical physicists who immigrated to the United States after 1933, was known for his blunt comments. The closest contemporary description of a version of the quote is from a colleague's remarks shortly after his death:

Quite recently, a friend showed him the paper of a young physicist which he suspected was not of great value but on which he wanted Pauli’s views. Pauli remarked sadly ‘It is not even wrong.’

Pauli was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of what is known as the Pauli Exclusion Principle, which should not be confused with the Principle By Which Paulie Was Excluded.

I believe it is the same point the noted philosopher Trey Parker made in his tome, The End Of An Act, when he wrote,

I miss you more than Michael Bay missed the mark
When he made Pearl Harbor
I miss you more than that movie missed the point
And that's an awful lot

This gross deficiency in reasoning is also touched upon by the commentator in the epic and touching saga of young Billy Madison.

 

Good Morning

Phoenix Mountains and Camelback from our home this morning.  Estrella Mountains in the distance.  Downtown Phoenix is in between.

 

Black Cow

Black Cow appeared on Aja, Steely Dan's sixth album.  This is the demo with Donald Fagen on vocal and piano.  According to my information this was recorded during the sessions for Katy Lied, the band's fourth album, meaning not only did it fail to make it onto that record but was also not included on The Royal Scam, the Dan's next album.

Fascinating how much of what you hear on the demo made it into the final recording; the beautiful chord progressions and piano voicings are already there.  To listen to the Aja recording go here.

Found on the great twitter feed of Good Steely Dan Takes.

Friendo

 "If that's the way you want to put it."

"I don't have some 'way to put it'. That's the way it is."

The coin toss scene from No Country For Old Men (2007) contains no raised voices, no weapons appear, and there is no violence but it is one of the most tense and terrifying movies scenes you'll ever see.  Javier Bardem won an Academy Award for his performance as the murderous Anton Chigurh (though his haircut deserved equal billing) but just as fine in this scene is Gene Jones as the owner of the gas station who, while making casual chitchat with a customer, eventually realizes he's stumbled into some dark and dangerous waters.

Set in the West Texas of 1980, based on a book by Cormac McCarthy and directed by the Coen Brothers, of whom I am a great admirer, the movie won the Academy Award for Best Picture.  It is an unrelentingly grim film, portraying a brutal, unforgiving universe.  It is a fine film, but I left the theater knowing I would never watch it again, though I've seen almost every other Coen Brothers film multiple times.  I should have known that going in.  Years ago I'd read one of McCarthy's novels, Blood Meridian, finding the writing brilliant but upon finishing vowing I would never read another of his books because his vision of humanity was so bleak.

Along with the full scene below, this link is to an interview with Bardem in which he talks about the importance of Gene Jones to the scene (at 5:35 is when he starts to talk about the movie and then about the specific scene), and this takes you to an analysis of the scene along with background to explain why it is so chillingly effective.

The dialogue is so well done.  The contrast between the owner's casual use of words, with that imprecision in grammar we often use when passing the time and just being pleasant, with Chigurgh's literalist worldview, in which everything must be precise; to speak otherwise is meaningless.  Yet while Chigurgh insists on the precise meaning of words, the random outcome of a coin toss is just as essential to his view of life.

Urge For Going

Imagine in 1966 tuning into a sedate, somewhat corny, Canadian folk music show and hearing a young woman you've never heard of sing this song.  In that context Joni Mitchell must have sounded like a being from another planet.  It was only in 1968 that she would record her first album.  The older gentleman introduced at the beginning is Jimmy Driftwood, who composed Tennessee Stud and the Battle of New Orleans.

Screwball

 I'd seen a photo of Carl Hubbell's arm at rest with the left palm facing out but had never before seen a good photo that captured how his hand looked actually throwing the screwball.  Now I know how his left palm ended up permanently facing outwards.

From 1929 to 1937 Hubbell was one of the best pitchers in baseball and over the last five of those seasons was probably the best.

Carl Hubbell throwing a screwball pic.twitter.com/rpt7JWdQCh

— Baseball In Pics (@baseballinpix) January 19, 2022