Obfuscate

1. The act of darkening or bewildering; the state of being darkened.

I have a buddy named Jones. As far as I know Jones doesn't read this blog, so I'm going to say whatever the hell I want about him. Kind of how I wish this blog really operated in regards to everyone else.

Jones and I have had some really good times. He's a hell of a guy really. Funny in a dark satirical way that only we losers appreciate or so we think. We have a lot of things in common including a deep-seated faith, a penchant for strong beer, and distrust for those in authority. Mixed together these traits can make for an interesting mix. Well. A lot of bullshitting anyways.

At any rate, Jones and I were out the other day after work. We were at a local hole, having a beer, when ole Jonesy started getting that philosophical glint in his eye. I had been busy pondering the past. It seemed to me that if my ancestors hadn't kicked the king o' England's arse so well back in the day, my beer wouldn't have been so frosty cold or half as delicious. Etc. Etc. Typical women are to blame for the Cuban missile crisis and agriculture is the source of all evil stuff. Meanwhile as I was gazing lovingly at my pint, rolling it from hand to hand, it appeared Jonesy was sucking in wind for an announcement.

"You know Jefe", he remarked in an airy tone. "Taken in the context of a certain kind of faith, I find life ironically humorous. Quite so in fact"

I was at that point rather more engaged with processing my favorite Californian.
I belched.

"Quite Right" he said. "I mean if you think about it the expectation for success is an incredibly misguided perspective for successfully navigating a reality made up of millions of variables linked with other variables via millions of tiny causality relationships."

Here he paused, my eyes swiveled towards him as I canted my pint backwards.

In a sudden burst of energy fueled by renewed attention, Jonesy leapt up and raised his glass, staring into its contents. "If I throw this pint glass up for instance, it'll probably fall to the ground in a predictable manner right? Basic Physics. Were I a smarter man, I could theoretically model the spatter pattern and account for each drop of beer."
He smiled.
"On the other hand, a bird might get sucked into a jet turbine sending a plane crashing into this bar, wreaking bloody death and destruction, and incidentally changing the projected arc of said glass."
He looked at me, shrugged, and took a thoughtful sip.

"Killing us in the process" I muttered into my cup.

"As it happens.." Jones took off his glasses, wiped them off on his shirt, and looked around like only people who've just removed their spectacles can. A vague kind of 'where am I again' look.

Yeah, he's kind of a pompous dick by the way. On the other hand such mannerisms are one the few benefits of wearing specs.
Regardless, It seemed that he was just settling in.

"yeah. Point being?" I queried closing my eyes in resignation.

"eh?"

"'Making predictions is for asses' isn't exactly particularly exciting or original. Even for a man three pints in."

"Exactly my point, millions of variables blah, blah, blah. All bullshit really. Chance is the great monkey wrench. We can see the broadstrokes but counting on tomorrow is a mutt's game. For my money its better to expect the best and evince no surprise when the worst happens."

"What money?"

"Ehhhxactly"

"Murphy's law, I believe its called" I muttered, thinking of my own situation.

"Right, except that in my case you just assume that when bad things happen you're just being messed about with by the almighty. Taught a lesson."

"Says a man living a blessed existence"

"True enough, which is were the karma and 'God with his finger in the pie' theories get a little wonky. Who deserves true calamity? Everyday people loose limbs and lives. Who can say? No. I can't make rules that make sense for other people. From my perspective God as they say is in the details... You know how people talk about the butterfly flapping in the Amazon, blah,blah,blah? Well say the almighty, like any truly skilled con, prefers to just lightly touch the scale ever now and then. You know just enough to make a difference, but not so the screws notice"

I was only half-listening.
"Point being?"

"Eh? Oh. I just find it funny is all."

"What's that?"

"Having our hopes for success shoved back into our fat faces in such a subtle manner. Strikes me as funny somehow."

"yeah.. You're kind of a depressing fucker aren't ya."

"Hmmmm"

Don't go changing
El Jefe