Loosely Speaking

By Ciel - About Me - E-mail this page - Add to My Favorites - Add to Blog List - See other blogs in Everything Else

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

There's smoke in the skies again

You can see it from here, if you look to the northeast, where an area called Black Forest is burning. Reports say that 100 houses have burned, and that a number of people declined to evacuate, thinking they could defend their houses on their own. Their fates are unknown at this time. This, being rural Colorado, means that livestock is in need of shifting out of the fire's path. Some people have had to leave horses behind, when the approaching fire came too close, and authorities evacuated them.... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, June 7, 2013

They are looking over our shoulders...

Apparently, the Feds in Washington not only have been and will be peering into our phones, social media use, and internet use, the attitude they're going with is, Sure we are. Sure we have. Sure we will. Get over it. National Security, folks. Homeland Security. Why do I suddenly feel so... insecure? This is not just about being at war with terrorism, though it starts there. This is about the citizen being perceived by the Feds as the enemy. This is about citizens perceiving the Feds as the... Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Postscript and further thoughts on death, life, and conflict.

Western society dreads death; Asian and Middle-eastern societies don't take it nearly as seriously. But they know that we do, and so we are held hostage by our fear. Western societies are held hostage by the fear of death, by the ardent desire to avoid it personally, and to avoid suffering the loss of a loved one. But the other side of that coin is respect for life, which also makes it most difficult to take life, to mete out death as easily as it is done in societies where life is held to be of... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, May 31, 2013

Dealing out death

I got into a conversation about execution today, possibly because I've been watching movies and reading books lately that have me thinking about how and why human beings mete out death to others. GENGHIS: Lords of the Bow (Conn Iggulden) The second in his series of novels about the Mongols, it is mainly his campaign against the Chin, antecedents of today's Chinese. And of course, the basic world-view/mindset of the one is pitted against the other. Neither is able to see the other's point of view... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, May 24, 2013

There was a time...

Prior to the 1860s, writers wrote. They created stories, essays, sermons, articles, documents with pen and ink, or pencil, perhaps, on parchment, vellum and paper. A manuscript was delivered to a publisher wrapped in oiled paper and string, and was read in hand-written form. Simple, though I daresay there was a certain amount of eyestrain among publishers and editors. In the 1960s, there came the word-processor: the easiest way to write since the pencil. Easiest way to create, revise and deliver... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Thurber

By itself, it's an interesting sounding word. But I am referring to James Thurber. I have been reading one of his books, the one titled: LET YOUR MIND ALONE. It was first published in 1935, when Thurber was in his 40s, and seems to have been inspired by inspirational works of other people. When I say inspirational, I mean not in a spiritual, but in a self-improvement sense. He doesn't hold with honing the "streamlined mind" or striving for "mental efficiency." His responses to each of a Mrs.... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, May 20, 2013

The storms are coming

The news yesterday, and again today, is tracking huge tornadoes, and I can't help but wonder, is this kind of storm warning and coverage going to be the norm in coming years? They talk about going to 'safe rooms' as if everyone has such a room: in years to come, they will. We will. This is just the planet doing what it does. This is one of those things bigger than us, or anything we can do to control it. Is it global climate change? Who cares? Who cares, why, or whose fault... When the world... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, May 17, 2013

Wonderful new product!

Kleenex Cool Touch tissues... they really are cool to the touch, which they say is nice for a hot, unhappy nose. I don't know how they do it, but they really are quite refreshingly cool. I am not going to waste these on my nose. I have a better idea. When it gets really hot in the coming summer, I will drape these cool tissues over my whole head... in fact, I will sit in the middle of the room, completely covered... looking like an igloo! And so nice and cool! Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, May 10, 2013

Doesn't incompetence just make you crazy?

Do we really, as it seems, have more incompetence to cope with from people who are supposed to be capable and knowledgeable, within the requirements of their job? I read history, and historical novels well-founded in history, and so I know there have always been the lazy, the greedy, the mean-spirited and thus, the incompetent, and I suspect it actually isn't worse now. Except... people are not learning, as students, the basics of speaking their own language properly, nor how to learn with... Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Kia found in a Chevy...

Kia is a little 12-week old schnauzer/terrier who got, somehow, locked in a car and then impounded. Kia spent nearly a month, it appears, living on scraps from fast-food trash in the car, and (euch!) old cigars. What did she drink? I am guessing she licked condensation off the glass. Finally, a worker at the impound lot saw her, and the rescue was on. So many questions! I am looking forward to reading some answers. In the meantime, reading comments made by people who read the same article, and... Sign in to see full entry.

Headlines (What is this?)