Nesen beidzot tiku pie sava Džuliana Bārnsa (Julian Barnes) pēdējā rakstījuma "Nothing to Be Frightened Of". Jūs noteikti zināt, ka Bārnss ir labs britu rakstnieks un filozofa Džonatana Bārnsa brālis. Pēdējais aspekts šajā gadījumā ir svarīgs tāpēc, ka jaunajā Bārnsa grāmatā šur tur pavīd arī Džonatans. Darbs ir kaut kas līdzīgs pusautobiogrāfiskai literārai esejai, kas veltīta pārdomām par (protams) nāvi. Varu uzreiz pateikt, ka pagaidām īpaši daudz izlasījis neesmu, jo, protams (jā, jā, kā parasti), ir jādara pavisam kaut kas cits, bet pagaidām lasāmais ir kā tikko atkorķēts putojošs šampanietis.
Lūk, piemēram, šis:
"I don't believe in God, but I miss Him. That's what I say when the question is put. I asked my brother, who has taught philosophy at Oxford, Geneva, and the Sorbonne, what he thaught of such a statement, without revealing that it was my own. He replied with a single word: "Soppy"."

Bet topā pagaidām ir šis (par Paskāla derībām):
"The Pascalian bet echoes down the centuries, always finding takers. Here is an extreme, action-man version. In June 2006, at the Kiev ZOO, a man lowered himself by rope into the island compound where the lions and tigers are kept. As he descended, he shouted across the gawping crowds. One witness quoted him as saying, "Who believes in God will be unharmed by lions"; another the more challenging, "God will save me, if He exists." The metaphysical provecateur reached the ground, took off his shoes, and walked towards the animals; whereupon an irritated lioness knocked him down, and bit through his carotid artery. Does this prove a) the man was mad: b)God does not exist; c) God does exist, but won't be lured into the open by such cheap tricks; d) God does exist, and has just demonstrated that He is an ironist; e) none of the above?"
Un tā gandrīz katrā lapā.
Turpmāk vēl.