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I’ve spent a lot of time the past couple of months thinking about life, death, the afterlife, and aliens. The alien part seems out of place in the list, but one has to admit that there has been a lot of talk of space aliens and other life in the universe. Stay with me as this weblog is going to jump around a lot. Next jump: In pre-historic times, when a tribe of hunter-gathers encountered a…
We’ve heard about First Amendment rights and what they entail and what they don’t. A very well known fact about limits of free speech is the old “You can’t yell ‘fire’ in a crowded theatre.” But how did that phrase develop? Apparently, according to John U. Bacon, the phrase came about in 1913 and from a tragedy. In Calumet, Michigan there was incredible wealth due to copper mining. The town…
It doesn’t seem that Confucius, who lived over three thousand years ago, gets the respect he deserves. His impact on the Chinese, called Confucianism, focuses on morality, kindness, and leading by virtue. Traits that seem in short supply with at least one of our leaders today. He also emphasizes family loyalty and especially respecting elders. Confucius was certainly a towering figure for the…
As the reader may recall there was a recent post about graffiti and street art. I started to appreciate it more once I learned the code. In this case, the artist was doing a commissioned piece that looks as if the artist is climbing out of the piece onto the wall. There is a lot of detail from the lettering to the shadow at the top and the active spray painting and the North Face bag. There is a…
We signed up for a tour of the Bushwick Art Collective. I was very interested until I learned about the topic: street art and graffiti. Growing up, graffiti was seen as simple vandalism and destruction of property. There was a criminal aspect to graffiti, so I was already determined not to like the tour. Plus it was 95 degrees. It was great! Each artist has a particular style and there is some…
Of our Founding Fathers, Ben Franklin, is probably my favorite. His accomplishments speak for themselves, but there are two anecdotes that stand out. The first is an editing change to the Declaration of Independence. Apparently, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “we hold these truths to be sacred” and Franklin changed sacred to self-evident . His reasoning was that sacred had a religious meaning and the…
H.L. Mencken was write about a lot of things. “For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple and wrong.” Mencken is wrong here. Social security is complex, but to scrap the cap the answer is clear, simple, and right.
Every country has its quirks and oddities. Albania is no different. One can see Burger King restaurants and there even is a KFC in the airport. But MacDonald’s apparently not allowed. Also, they are a very heavy coffee drinking nation. But one cannot get regular drip coffee. It has to be an Americano or latte or for most people, an espresso. I’m not sure of the reason, but Starbucks doesn’t have…
The Albanian protests to prevent the ecological and historical ruin are continuing, but the outcome is far from certain. The ruling elite are telling the citizenry that they need this development for tourism and jobs and a better standard of living. A rising tide, after all, lifts all boats. However, the people don’t see things the way the government might like. For one thing, there is a palpable…
Albania was shown the path to reconciliation and healing by Mother Teresa and they have been willing to confront their past. Warts and all. But there are some issues they’ll have to deal with and some quirks. One issue they’ll have to deal with is the widespread cigarette smoking. Everywhere you go there are smokers everywhere and an ashtray on every table. There will have to be a reckoning with…
