Loosely Speaking

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

Sunday, March 13, 2022

Listen up!

I sat through another Real World reunion yesterday, again observing the people dynamics as they re-gather 30 years later. It's interesting to see how those years have changed them, their physical appearance, their lives that they had yet to live the first time. The Activist is still the Activist/provocateur, and like the dominant woman in the one I spoke about a couple of posts back, he dominated the group with words and manner, or so it seemed at first. Just about everyone was with him, wanting... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, March 7, 2022

What do you mean, there's nothing to watch?

I don't know why this copy/paste from a message I sent someone today insists on presenting itself this way. There's a movie available on Prime: The Velocipastor Enter You sent "After losing his parents, a priest travels to China where he inherits a mysterious ability that allows him to tunr into a dinosaur..." Enter You sent Llamageddon: A killer llama from outer space crash lands on Earth... Enter You sent Bingo Hell: A feisty senior citizen fights to protect her beloved neighborhood from and... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, March 3, 2022

Listen...!

Do you listen to podcasts? My daughter the dog-trainer has been creating one called The Deal With Animals which focuses on topics of anthrozoology. As she explains in her introduction, Anthrozoology is the study of the relationships between humans and non-human animals, especially how these relationships are changing as we learn and appreciate more and more the minds and feelings of non-human animals. On her podcast, she interviews various people, experts in their particular corner of the... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, February 28, 2022

Some words about words

I watched a 'reality show' today, a reunion of players who were in the first show of the genre 30 years ago. I didn't watch because I particular liked any of the players, or cared about their issues and growth. What interests me is the interplay of personalities and social dynamics which, being right in them, tend to escape the awareness of the players themselves. The show is called Real Life, and the point of it is that everyone should be honest and forthcoming about their feelings, their... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, February 24, 2022

Reading again...

Last month I was reading THE NAME OF THE ROSE, and then found myself a copy of the movie and enjoyed them again, not for the first time. This month, I'm revisiting James Clavell's SHOGUN, and remembering the mini-series with Richard Chamberlain and Toshiro Mifune. Since the first and second readings, I get so much more from the book! The first reading gave me some cursory knowledge of the historic events and the players, though all the names of people and places were confusing and hard to keep... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, February 18, 2022

The Game of Rules and Consequences

The pandemic came and changed some of the rules, some of the basic habits of our lives. From the beginning, from the first stay-home directives, when the noise from the highways and streets paused for a strange moment, when the usual, unconsidered rules changed, the return to the roads was unsettled: Some drivers then, and still, feel that the old ways no longer apply. Traffic accidents and deaths have risen over the past couple of years, to prove it. Airlines are asking for new rules for air... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, February 12, 2022

Bullies and BS

These Canadian truckers are so far out of line, and so proud of themselves, like playground bullies who won't let anyone else on the swings. Someone powerful and exceedingly rich wants them there, doing that. Gofundme has shut down that avenue, and returned funds to those who donated them. Right now I am visualizing the Canadian government sending troops, maybe those massive helicopters that can lift a truck... Does Canada have anything like the National Guard in the US? Edit: Since writing... Sign in to see full entry.

words, words, words...

The trouble with words is that the same ones don't mean the same thing to everyone who uses them, which brings us to the side note on so many college papers: Define your terms! An example of this came up elsewhere in a discussion of the word 'justice,' represented as a necessary trait or intent or goal of God. If it means 'balance' then it depends on who or what is in the balance, which scale or continuum is being balanced. Or is 'justice' something not so much about balance as a preponderance... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, February 5, 2022

Updating the words, updating the thinking

When we use words, we are speaking not only to others, but to our own minds. In recent years, some words once casually used have fallen into obsolescence as we become more conscious of how they promote misunderstandings, short-cut thinking and the growth of awareness, and lead to unintended consequences of damage and hurtfullness. Sometimes it's particular and personal hurt; sometimes it expresses a social lack of awareness. We don't so casually use words like 'retarded' or 'crazy' as was once... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, January 31, 2022

A Festival of Haiku

Wrote these years ago-- Found them today in old files, Seeking something else. Fire of Autumn burns away the last of Summer. A snowflake dances... Sleep your life away Dreaming is as good as life... Like you, cat, I lie. Days cycle quickly weeks to months, seasons to years Much remains undone. This Haiku, you see, Brings literature and math together again. Morning comes despite all plans for over-sleeping. Gritty eyes, strong tea. O, Super hero! Warrior of the Ages...! Seldom lifts the sword.... Sign in to see full entry.

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