Loosely Speaking

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

Friday, September 13, 2019

What can we learn from debates?

Not much, I say. We already know what most of them will say, we already understand that their 'talking points' are prepared well ahead of time to deal with any question by turning it back to those points, and that those points are planned strategically to influence the most voters, especially undecided voters. Not much is spontaneous there, and it is through spontaneity that we have a chance of really seeing qualities like character. I already know I will vote for Not Trump even if it's for an... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, September 12, 2019

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Moral certainty is always a sign of cultural inferiority. The more uncivilized the man, the surer he is that he knows precisely what is right and what is wrong. All human progress, even in morals, has been the work of men who have doubted the current moral values, not of men who have whooped them up and tried to enforce them. The truly civilized man is always skeptical and tolerant, in this field as in all others. His culture is based on "I am not too sure." -H.L. Mencken, writer, editor, and... Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

In Memorium...

On this day 18 years later, it is time to repeat what rational people have always known: Terrorism does not work. Every goal it accomplishes is counter to its intentions. It makes everything worse for the people it is meant to promote. Terrorism is narcissistic and delusional, thinking itself significant and effective. Terrorism is stupid. Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, September 5, 2019

Consider...

Communities are entities and their inhabitants belong to them, not the other way around. They are composed of everyone in them, they are rich in life and art, in ideas and motions and sounds and smells. Power and wealth create illusions of ownership, but all illusions dissolve in time: lives come and go, all part of the whole, a whole that is lifetimes and generations long. These entities grow and change over time, they evolve as living things do. To bind them to one form, hold them to one idea... Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Thinking About Problems and solutions

All problems started as solutions. When considering new solutions, it's useful to start with considering the problem to be solved, specifically, what problem was this intended as the solution for? As a writing coach, I tell writers, before you go breaking the rules, understand what problem the rules are meant to solve. If you can find a better way to solve that problem, go for it! Rules are made to be transcended! "Spider-graph" main problems and secondary and tertiary problems. See the... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, August 24, 2019

It isn't a crime...

but maybe it should be: The deliberate obstruction of the proper functioning of government. Malfeasance, misfeasance, and nonfeasance are all applicable, perhaps, but maybe it needs to be spelled out more specifically. Looking at you, McConnell! You have flouted the clear will of the American people continually, usurping control of the Senate's ability to do the job they were elected to do, making yourself a dictator over what issues can be voted on or not, according to your personal agenda. You... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, August 10, 2019

I have now tried the Impossible Burger and the Beyond Meat burger. Both were charcoal-broiled. The Impossible Burger has a more meat-like texture, where the Beyond Meat one is a bit too wet and soft, yet cooking it more tends to over-cook it. Both are a couple of dollars more expensive than beef burgers, and neither is much healthier for the consumer. But they are a lot healthier for the cows. Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, August 8, 2019

Hubris

I heard something on NPR a day or two ago about a dynamic of human thinking whereby a person--many persons, actually--who takes a test, believes they did better on the test than they actually did. Much better, in fact. The suggestion is, we are often blind to our own errors, or level of capability. This reminded me of a post I put here on Blogit a couple of years ago. I have now re-edited it and added a link for further reference. Thinking about Trump and Nixon, and about that special hubris... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Paris is burning...!

Things seem to be cooling down here in the Americas, but Europe and the UK are getting walloped now, with killing heat. It's frightening to see the temperature maps going up into the hot pinks and purples of over 100F, knowing that the affected populations are in no way prepared for this! And still, there are those unable to read writing on walls, who think this is not a climate catastrophe happening, that it is just 'normal variation' in global climate. Most of them, I am ashamed to say, are... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, July 6, 2019

Birthright

Knowledge is power. Lack of information, or the wrong information diminishes our real power as it increases our sense of helplessness and desperation, makes us angry until it seems our feelings are the only force we have to defend ourselves. This desperate anger is the fuel of mobs, it is the madness of violence as an imitation of control. It is disastrous to trust only our feelings untempered by reason and knowledge. Long ago humanity chose intellect over instinct, to be responsible for our own... Sign in to see full entry.

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