For Homo Sapiens to live is to be aware of loss. I doubt that is the case for any other mammal. Language, the ability to think and to communicate with symbols allows us to contemplate time in the abstract, with memory of a past, and an imagined future. We are unable to live solely…
Choice/Responsibility and Fate/Doing What Your Daddy Done The trick it seems when it comes to philosophy is to make sense of a coincidence of opposites. On the one hand, is our intuitive sense of choice, that decisions are pivot points with consequences for which we blame ourselves (and others) or believe to be praiseworthy. …
I took a walk yesterday. A gray day, mid-January with a brisk breeze and thirty degrees. I walked 3rd Street in Geneva, the mind stimulated by visual and tactile sensation, — as I passed by restaurants “coming to life” in early afternoon. Reaching State Street, intending to purchase another cup of coffee from the…
I just finished reading The Phaedo written by Plato. The Phaedo, is a story that receives its title from the name of a friend of Socrates who is observer and auditor of the last hours of Socrates’ life. The last hours are spent in philosophical exchange with a circle of friends. Plato, a playwright…
A confession: Writing about music, rock and roll in particular comes easily. That is, by comparison finding the words to describe other topics; the more abstract the topic, the more difficult. To find the exact word, that’s the key. This tune by Led Zeppelin pierced “to the heart” as I drove to Starbucks this…
Sunday, and freezing mist has covered pavement with a quarter inch of ice. I will be satisfied with the cup of coffee from the kitchen. The short drive to the Starbucks on 3rd and State in Geneva would be a risk. I appreciate the hot rich astringent cup of Starbucks coffee, and anticipate the…
Never did I think that I’d feature music by a heavy metal band. The genre does not inspire me, and perhaps that is a generational thing. My father’s generation thought the performances of Elvis were disturbing, beyond the bounds of the conventions of popular music. Perhaps a form of music emanates from the zeitgeist,…
So you’ve run out of things to say! I imagine that a reader could react to this “throw-away” pop tune for the post of today. I am often inspired by the challenge of writing about an art form. Rock and roll is within that wide circle of made objects that we refer to as…
On fire, the world was always on fire. It just depends on where you live. Can you smell smoke? See flames? Some of us run for our lives. And there’s a time when running is impossible, there is nowhere to run to. I tire of thinking about politics, which has become a reflex, —…
Just music today. Purple Rain by Prince ranks as one of the great guitar solos. The lyrics laid over the melody are an eloquent expression of what it means to be human. What does it mean to be human? This. The story teller reflects upon the fact of his father’s madness, the effect of…
