Loosely Speaking

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Sunday, October 26, 2008

"The Name of the Rose" by Umberto Eco :a review & recommendation

came up in conversation in another blog, with Luz Briar. It is one of my favorites of all time, in fact two of my favorites, book and film. The movie is quite a different experience from the book, and stars Sean Connery, Christian Slater (maybe his first film? and in what was billed when first released as the 'hottest sex scene of the season') and a weird collection of others perfectly cast in a kind of Fellini-esque way... Ron Perlman is 'Salvatore', the most overtly grotesque of the bunch. But... Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

AMERICA IS NOT A CHRISTIAN NATION part 1

Here is a link to the post in which I first tackled this topic: http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/CLRedding/448949 For a still wider view on this whole thing, I suggest doing a Blogit search on 'not a Christian nation.' Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Speaking Truth to Power

It's a test of character and courage: can you, in the face of someone who holds your fate in their hand, tell them straight out the truth you see? In this election season, we, the People, the Voters, have the power. Who, if anyone, is willing and able to speak their truth to us? Who steps aside from the emotionally-manipulative rhetoric their handlers tell them to pour out into preconditioned, prejudiced, hungering ears, to tell us what we need to hear, like it or not? Who faces our questions... Sign in to see full entry.

"Mind the Gap!"

(This post began in response to Naut's wonderful and gratifying and most cogent comment in my next-previous post, which I do most appreciatively salute, regardless of any typos that might suggest otherwise.) "Mind the gap!" Yes, there is always that gap between Ideal and practice, and sometimes the gap gapes wider and more dangerously, on some occasions is only a bit of an ankle-twister to watch out for. The Ideal is by its nature unsustainable. But it provides a direction and an encouragement,... Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Clinging to Guns and Religion

Sometimes things need to be acknowledged aloud, whether it is polite or politic. And there will always be someone ready to pounce on phrases and words that push their buttons. Or that they can turn around and twist and spin, to push other people's buttons. The segment of society Obama referred to as clinging to their guns and religion does exist. He wasn't denigrating them, but pointing to a certain aspect of our national make-up. Can we honestly deny that there are those who cling to their guns... Sign in to see full entry.

AMERICA CANNOT BE...

a one-religion nation, and still be a nation of " Liberty and Justice for all." We cannot be a bigotted nation, and also be the Land of Opportunity to the millions here now, and the many more who are drawn from their homelands to share what they have of diversity and beauty, to enrich the American landscape, and to make lives of hope and well-being that America promises. We cannot be selfish, insular and self-indulgent, we cannot be an ignorant, poorly-educated nation, and still hold onto the... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

AMERICA IS NOT A CHRISTIAN NATION part 2

America ’s European roots were the English Puritans in their austere black garb and the Holy Bible their shield against all misfortune and evil. Their definition of ‘evil’ was wide, encompassing just about everything beyond the confines of their own narrow world view. They were a self-righteous lot who burned witches and crowed with fierce gladness, “Thank God, today we have sent 600 heathen souls to Hell!” (Rev Increase Mather’s sermon following an unprovoked night raid on a sleeping Pequot... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Adam Smith's 'Invisible Hand'

Nautikos, in his comment to my previous post, mentioned this notion, and I did a little research to find out what it is. (My education, as my mom could tell you and occasionally has told me, lacks in anything comprehending economics: My dad showed me how to write a check, and left me to it.) Here it is:...every individual necessarily labours to render the annual revenue of the society as great as he can. He generally, indeed, neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he... Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

When the Berlin Wall came down

and the Soviet Union fell apart, and Eastern Europe went through the tumult of revolution and re-ordering, it seemed as if the world was on the verge of a massive rebalancing, and I began to wonder if the events predicted in my college days, by those who were sure the end of the American Experiment was at hand, had finally arrived: the fall of the Establishment, of government as we knew it, of the American Dream as it had been dreamed for decades. I concluded then that while America is due for... Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Sitting at Denny's, looking around...

CROSSROADS From Texas and Japan they come for an All-American Breakfast-- some looking for something different; Some for something just the same... Eggs and pancakes, sausage, bacon, toast-- Hash browns! Exotic! Or completely not. Sign in to see full entry.

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