Friday, July 16, 2021
I've been watching a Chinese historic production called QIN DYNASTY EPIC. It is the time period of the consolidation of China's several disparate states in the 3rd Century BC by the same emperor who was eventually entombed with the famous terra-cotta Warriors, and numerous other wonders, when his bid for immortality proved fatal. I'm enjoying the history, and the actors some of whom were featured in KINGS' WAR, another historic drama set in the years after the death of the emperor and the end of... Sign in to see full entry.
Thursday, June 24, 2021
Covid is not quite beat yet.
While people are stubbornly arguing over misinformation about Covid and vaccines and Covid vaccines, new variants stalk the country. Several things are clear, backed by scientific examination and evidence: The latest variant, Delta, is more contagious, more dangerous and even more deadly than those that came before. Vaccines are still effective against the Covid variants. The vaccinated, if they do get sick as rarely but sometimes happens, are far less likely to be hospitalized, even more less... Sign in to see full entry.
Sunday, June 20, 2021
Thinking of my father...
Not all the dads have been perfect, some fell down badly with the dadding thing. But those who didn't dad well still gave us gifts that made us some of the best of who we are. Mine gave me a love of the natural world, an appreciation of science, of travel, of global cuisines, and of word-play. We became better friends late in his life: I wish we'd had more time. I wish I had asked more questions about his life and experiences. Sign in to see full entry.
Monday, June 14, 2021
getting of education
I heard someone on the radio the other day who said, "It was a beautiful neighborhood..." and my mental vision went at once to gardens and trees, and houses far apart, and so much green! Then he went on to say, "There were so many families, so many happy people!" Well, paraphrased, but directly to the point. I learned something there about how else beauty can be perceived, and that my own perception has been limited, even crippled by not looking past my own life experience, and by not seeing... Sign in to see full entry.
Monday, May 31, 2021
Commemoration
Memorial Day, here in the US... A day for remembrance, for appreciation, for thanks to those who served, to those who died, to the many whose lives were changed irrevocably. I was born about 7 years after the end of World War II. My father had served in the Pacific. He was sick from dysentary early on, went into sickbay for a time, and when he came out, his unit had moved on. He never connected with them again, but moved on, himself, placed with some other unit. I have snapshots from his time in... Sign in to see full entry.
Wednesday, May 26, 2021
Ballet Interlude
For your chuckles of the day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDP2c2FCHAM Sign in to see full entry.
Wednesday, May 12, 2021
Copied over from my Facebook page
If you don't get the shot, what's that gain you? The chance of getting really sick, even dying from a virus, is really the only possibility. It's a coin-toss, how it might affect you. Or that you might or might never get it. You also get to put energy into defending your anti-vax position, you get to be part of the herd of those who refuse the science, refuse the shot, and cling to defiance as a response to all the authorities who actually are trying to help. If you do get the shot, you might... Sign in to see full entry.
Tuesday, May 4, 2021
What vs Who
I read an article about how animals are perceived in different ways, how we categorize the ones we love as friends and companions, and those we eat. https://www.vox.com/22409717/animal-rights-welfare-vegetarian-vegan-animal-law?fbclid=IwAR0UJvisEHAZTsjeWpvp8G4iDPBQ1dnATxFML30pQG4-QCs3EhdZGvuXTnk It questions whether we can really shift our old paradigms about animals, about the 'what' vs 'who' of them. I think we can, as much as we have in recent years reconsidered the roles of men and women in... Sign in to see full entry.
Tuesday, April 27, 2021
Running on the wrong priorities
I am all for strengthening the voices of rational thinking, of science-supportive, global-warming consciousness, of humanity and compassion. I am for democratic socialism that builds up our communities, and I am totally anti-fascism, against power that crushes its opponents. In a general way, that means I am for flipping red to blue. But I am hearing so many candidates whose first declaration is that they are running to flip the colors. It's a case of mistaking effects for goals. What I want to... Sign in to see full entry.
Wednesday, April 14, 2021
Found in the archives...
Lament I'm sorry, I can't love you like a love should be... Out here I stand beyond the glass, the wall of distance between my heart and the world... Love's such a quiet subtle thing so easily drowned out by need and want and hungers wailing from a time the time when children learn to love by being loved... I'm sorry my missing pieces make this puzzle that is love forever incomplete... Yet I want to love, you are so very dear although my heart is mute and broken... I know love is something like... Sign in to see full entry.