Another sign of my lack of imagination

from here

Larkin's life was a failure; his work was a triumph. That is all that matters. Because the work, unlike the life, lives on.

Martin Amis on Philip Larkin's women

I don't see how this view is possible without an idea of an afterlife I don't have. Life is all that matters.

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Assured sex and an explosion of creativity

Expression or Obsession by Rikki Kasso © 11

In the wild, songs probably had to be rigid in order for mates to find each other. Birds born with a genetic predilection for musical innovation most likely would have had trouble mating. Once finches [in captivity] experienced the luxury of assured mating (provided they were visually attractive), their song variety exploded.

Jaron Lanier, You are not a Gadget: A Manifesto