Bill Shakespeare on Time
I WASTED TIME, AND NOW DOTH TIME WASTE ME. — WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE RICHARD II Continue reading Bill Shakespeare on Time
Month: February 2019
Hannah Arendt Quotation
THE GAP BETWEEN PAST AND FUTURE OPENS ONLY IN REFLECTION. — HANNAH ARENDT Continue reading Hannah Arendt Quotation
Knowing how to Read or Listen Involves Careful Thinking
Disclosure: This post appears in slightly different form on a private social media page. Local news reports often place dirty laundry entertainment ahead of informing the public. It’s all about ratings, clicks or selling papers or magazines. There’s a combination profit-power motive. That’s partly the fault of the public, and partly the fault of people who have sold out to a competitive rumor-mongering system (the latter do that to stay in business, which is our fault because we fail to boycott sensational reporting). It’s also partly the fault of people outside the “news community” who release or fabricate information to … Continue reading Knowing how to Read or Listen Involves Careful Thinking
Amoral People Shouldn’t be in Denial
A CLEAR CONSCIENCE AND A LACK OF CONSCIENCE ARE NOT ONE AND THE SAME. — HELEN CHRISTIE Continue reading Amoral People Shouldn’t be in Denial
In my Defense, the Situation had Been Awkward for Years
You’ve met them: The people who work with the public, who can’t respond to a simple inquiry without engaging the person who makes the inquiry. By “engaging,” I mean starting a conversation. These are usually the owners of small businesses — which I support completely — and salespersons working on a commission basis. They have little control over their situations. They need the business, and the bottom line is better if they can make us feel attractive or intelligent. This makes me uncomfortable. I don’t have much of a social life to start with, and I feel suspicious when someone … Continue reading In my Defense, the Situation had Been Awkward for Years
Integrity is Great, as Long as it’s Convenient
AH, THOSE FINE PEOPLE WHO WILL ALWAYS DO THE RIGHT THING, UNTIL THEY FEEL A STRONG IMPULSE TO DO OTHERWISE. — HELEN CHRISTIE Continue reading Integrity is Great, as Long as it’s Convenient
Golden State by Ben H. Winters (Book Review)
GOLDEN STATE By Ben H. Winters Mulholland Books, Issued in 2019 336 Pages ISBN-13: 978-0316505413 $28.00 Hardcover Also available as an e-book I first became an admirer of Ben H. Winters when I read his 2011 novel Bedbugs. He has a gift for finding horror in the human condition, and using the physical setting as metaphor. Golden State does not disappoint. Mr. Winters’ latest dystopian fiction is set in the future, in a place resembling Los Angeles. Small lies — even efforts at creativity — are treated as felonies, and the population must live with the consequences of being “honest” at all … Continue reading Golden State by Ben H. Winters (Book Review)
The State of the Union Address and Sharing New Words
This blog post appears in slightly different form on a private social media page. In 2000, President Bill Clinton was the first to use the word gay in a State of the Union Address. Why did we have to wait so long for that milestone? In 2015, President Barack Obama was the first to use the words bisexual, lesbian and transgender in a State of the Union Address. Why did we have to wait so long for that milestone? Last night, President Donald Trump was the first to use the verb freeloading in a State of the Union Address. Couldn’t he have stopped … Continue reading The State of the Union Address and Sharing New Words
A Web-Footed Education
EVERYTHING I KNOW I LEARNED FROM DUCKS. THAT EXPLAINS THE FASCINATION WITH CHARTS, GRAPHS AND STATISTICS. — HELEN CHRISTIE Continue reading A Web-Footed Education
Kamala Harris’s Simplistic, Self-Serving Attitude Toward Truancy
(Disclosure: This post underwent minor revisions on February 1 and February 2, 2019.) At the end of this post, please click the link to Nathan Robinson’s opinion piece on The Guardian’s site. The new Junior Senator from California, Kamala Harris, is one of the early candidates running for the Democratic nomination for President in 2020. Bear in mind that the next President will appoint a Secretary of Education. Our current Secretary of Education, Betsy Devos, is far to the right in her political beliefs and does not believe in the constitutional requirement of Separation of Church and State. People who wear red … Continue reading Kamala Harris’s Simplistic, Self-Serving Attitude Toward Truancy
