My Favorite Things

While I agree that "raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens" are wondrous, it is the "bright copper" Voyager 1 disc and Antikythera mechanism that I count among my favorite things, each a hopeful and beautiful item that manifests our species' exceptional capacity.

In January 2009, I wrote here that I'd been possessed of a curious "bout of optimism [that] seemed remarkable in both duration and degree." Over a year later, that eudaimonia hasn't let up. I'm beginning to believe that I've simply grown into an incredibly upbeat man. That, too, is a wondrous, happy thing, worthy of making my short list.

So here's hoping that, even in this era of relentless, up-to-the-minute news from around the globe (much of it depressing), we can keep our eye on the ball, so to speak. The possibilities are beyond reckoning. It isn't naive to think so; rather, it's naive to think otherwise.

Image credit: Antikythera mechanism image ripped from the New York Times, but was produced by the School of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University