A few years ago I fed my interest in the American Civil War by a lot of reading, and by visiting a number battlefields. I have more than a shelf of books. I’ve spent time at Gettysburg, Petersburg, and Fort Fisher. In that day the preparation for battle meant forming a “line of battle,”…
I drove past my local polling place this morning. The parking lot was full. Campaign signs crowded the lawn on both sides of the drive way. Now, at Starbucks customers come in with the conventional hint of a smile on their faces. If they are like me they carry a suppressed sense of foreboding…
Today is Friday, do I dare call it “Good Friday?” The election is scheduled for Tuesday. From the vitriol, the accusations that have filled electronic media, and particularly the breathless panic with which the network anchorman “reports” the latest outrageous incrimination,—this feels a lot like a gathering mob to me. I just don’t know…
Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front by Wendell Berry Love the quick profit, the annual raise, vacation with pay. Want more of everything ready-made. Be afraid to know your neighbors and to die. And you will have a window in your head. Not even your future will be a mystery any more. Your mind…
Coda [ˈkoːda] (Italian for “tail”, plural code) is a term used in music primarily to designate a passage that brings a piece to an end. When you begin to understand the previous post, the quotation from Paul Virilio, you will shudder. The consequences for life and well being are dark. A counter point, an…
THE SECOND COMING We see, But not with the light of day. It’s the light of no solar star. It’s the light of our own theory, The theory of energy that appeared in 1905. Along with cinematography and aviation, Grand vectors of audiovisual and automotive Transformation of sensory experiences. Transport and transmission revolutions. With…
Music disseminates truth, A weapon of mass instruction. Our music is family unrelated by blood. It contains multitudes. We must be vigilant We must be citizen soldiers Stripped of fear. Our optimism is magnified In our music. We sing of ourselves. The songs we create Address our own condition, Will ultimately sing of another,…
From Nancy: I was a high school senior — 17 or probably 18 — when I wrote this, apparently feeling less infallible than usual. I do notice that at 61, I still apologize after committing an inadvertent injury. But my opinions have marinated for decades so I’m less willing to reconsider them without…
Under Construction Uncertainty Incomplete knowledge Must be accepted. Courage! Update your beliefs As new evidence Comes in. Describe the universe As a series of Interconnected models Appropriate at different levels. Each model In it’s applicable domain– Ideas appearing– Essential parts of each story, Having the right To be thought of As real. Our task…
TIME Time alters form. What was Gives rise To what is. Gases condense Into planets. A spermatozoa Finds a ovum, Here I am. Impermanent, temporary A confluence of Past concatenations. For the time being Formed, I am. Me here, You there. Next? Credit given to Robert Langan, for his wonderful book…
