POST-SCRIPTUM

OK. Why Norway, some of you insist. Because nowhere else does it smell like it. And because it touches me. That's all. If you want more philosophy, sure, we can always invent a new concept, or point to the ones that were invented by others who knew what they were doing. It is the easiest thing in the world. Today, as I had pieces of lamb rack, I thought, sure, I believe in the essence of lamb. I believe in the essence of good olive oil. All these things smell good and taste good, especially in their simplest form. Of, course, as some smart physicists pointed out, in our endeavor to achieve simplicity we should not simplify too much - we don't want to end up as mere essentialists. So, the lamb, sure thing, in itself, it is a marvel, but with the exact amount of salt and oil on it, it is a miracle. As far as Norway is concerned, Norway is a marvel in itself, but with me in it, it is a goddamn miracle. The inference that you can all make now, and be my guest, is this one: Norway makes me confess that I love myself. Some writers think that confessing that is a mistake, yet some others think that there's no such thing as making mistakes; if anything, we make choices. So, I choose Norway, for a stint now, and forever later. As for others, and other things that I choose? Now that's the art. To make it simple, but not that simple. Meanwhile, let me quote a master, who knew what she wanted, who knew how to make it simple, but who also knew that every matter of simplicity is in fact rather complex (without this awareness, I'm afraid that we would all be turning into the likes of such right wing politicians who, by trying to keep it simple are all ready to invade the Caribbean islands, where they can think things over, think the Danish values over - and I'm not even kidding.) So, here's Gertrude Stein, making a whole lot more sense, while I take some time to deliberate on whether I should welcome myself home or not:

"One must never confess to oneself that one loves oneself. The secret of this confession is the life principle of the one true and eternal love. The first kiss in this understanding is the principle of philosophy - the origin of a new world - the beginning of absolute chronology - the completion of an infinitely growing bond with the self. Who would not like a philosophy whose germ is a first kiss?" (Lectures in America, 58-59)