A Sunday Song to Spark the Spirit and Summon the Moves of the Dance

Happy 90th birthday, Yoko Ono! Continue reading A Sunday Song to Spark the Spirit and Summon the Moves of the Dance

The Known Knowns of a Known War Criminal

It’s always magical to be able to throw an asshole’s words back in his face… especially when he is an outspoken representative of so many other assholes. While no one condones looting, on the other hand, one can understand the pent-up feelings that may result from decades of repression and people who have had members of their family killed by that regime, for them to be taking their feelings out on that regime,” he said. “And I don’t think there’s anyone in any of those pictures … (who wouldn’t) accept it as part of the price of getting from a … Continue reading The Known Knowns of a Known War Criminal

If You Believe It, You’ll See It

I really, really wish I could believe all the bizarre hocus pocus things like astrology and palm readings and other pseudo-sciencey, pseudo-religiousy things so I could lay all my blame for all the unpleasantries going on all over this pretty yet petulant planet of ours (those dang locusts in Africa are biblically unrelenting) on a misaligned moon or star… That said, Claire Comstock-Gay of The Cut has an interesting take on the subject, whether you want to believe it or not. “Astrology’s skeptics and detractors like to make a fuss about how foolish it is to imagine that, simply by … Continue reading If You Believe It, You’ll See It

Empty Words of the Privileged

It’s hard to believe so many people have to live so miserably in the richest, most powerful country in the world. This has become cliché and empty to say, especially from those of us speaking from our privilege, but since there are so many pockets of wretched poverty all around the country such as described in the following article, it’s hard not to say it. “Hundreds of miles of roads are unpaved, so it can take up to three hours to get a sick person to help. It’s difficult to self-isolate because families live in one-room homes called hogans. Up … Continue reading Empty Words of the Privileged

Any “Weird Christians” Out There?

When I was a kid a buddy of mine would occasionally drag me along to a Catholic church service with him, seeing how misery loves company, especially as a child. Even though I hadn’t a clue what was going on — being raised Protestant — I was always mesmerized by the outlandish garb, the thick incense, and especially the incomprehensible Latin that still kind of seemed to make sense. It all seemed so surreal, so magical. I’m not m much of a church-goer, but I’ve never had that wondrous feeling at a Protestant service and I guess deep down I’ve … Continue reading Any “Weird Christians” Out There?

We are what we… read?

At least according to the Big Think article The Books You Read Really Make You Who You Are: “The takeaway from all [the studies] is that no matter the culture, humans are intimately attached to stories. They’re part of our makeup as a species. Stories can literally transport us into the mind and body of a character. They can move us toward empathy or action. Nothing has the power to inform, change our minds, unlock our potential, or transform us and our society in the most powerful and profound ways. Now, we’re starting to unlock the neuroscience behind this and … Continue reading We are what we… read?

Just Imagine

Imagine what the response would have been if these heavily armed “protesters“ were of any other race than white… – A lot of dead and incarcerated non-white “protesters,” that’s what the response would have been for those of you with failed imaginations. Now, try to imagine that none of these “protesters” are trump cultists emboldened by their dear leader’s violence-inspiring rhetoric… – Unimaginable, isn’t it. Outside the House chamber, the protesters crammed into the hallway and stairwell, periodically chanting, “Lock her up!” and “Let us in!” Their chanting could be heard faintly from the House floor — and ultimately, the … Continue reading Just Imagine

Regarding That Which Despicable Beings Create

Always a conundrum — what to do with something good created by someone bad.

I mean, take HP Lovecraft for instance. Are horrors authors and readers still praising him so for his early contributions to the genre? Fortunately for me, having read his work long before learning he was such a virulent racist, I find his writing flat and uninteresting and way, way overrated so shunning him to the dustbin of the disgraced is no problemo.

But there are a lot of other types of situations and scenarios out there that can put one in such an unpleasant conundrum…

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Two Learnings from My Recent Rememborizing Efforts: One cool; One cautionary

As I discussed in my last post, I’ve embarked on an effort to memorize stuff that interests me. I’m finding that the more I memorize stuff, the easier is to memorize and retain new stuff.

So as I just finished up memorizing the poem Invictus, I decided to go large and take on the grandest, and perhaps greatest, of all letters penned on behalf of these United States, The Declaration of Independence.

Yeah, maybe I am getting a little cocky/in over my head taking on such a significant body of work — significant as in packed with meaning, and, especially, significant as in packed with a lot of words. One-thousand, four-hundred and fifty-eight of them to be exact.

Continue reading “Two Learnings from My Recent Rememborizing Efforts: One cool; One cautionary”

Fake News is so Poe-thetic

I read an Edgar Allan Poe story today entitled The Angel of the Odd.

It’s a fun, fast, Kafka-meets-Twain, easy to forget kind of read.

But what is most memorable to me about the story is that it is entirely set up around the protagonists drunken dismay over what we would call the “fake news” of the day…

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