Last night the Socrates Café convened once again. The topic of the evening was “self-actualization” a term introduced into public discourse by the psychologist Abraham Maslow (1908-1970). Maslow presented a 5 step process, a journey starting from the basic need of food, water, shelter, etc, followed by a safe environment, progressing to the final…
Wednesday I picked up the latest issue of Adbusters Magazine at Barnes & Noble. It is a Canadian publication with a global range of contributors. The March/April issue is entitled, The New Left. The title succinctly describes the editorial point of view of the publication. The magazine uses graphic design to advantage, to clarify…
I dreamed last night. It was unusual in brevity, in technicolor and in dynamism. I was supervising the moving of a rather large, antique, turquoise finished wooden cabinet. The beautiful cabinet was suspended by a sling, and a stout steel cable. In my dream, something happened to the cable, the antique piece of furniture…
The most distant object that most folks can see with the unaided eye is also the closest major galaxy to our own Milky Way. Although the Andromeda Galaxy lies a mind-bending 2.5 million light-years from Earth, its trillion stars are enough to emit a strong glow across the vast reaches of space. Despite the wide gap, the…
A friend introduced me to The Wind In The Willows by Kenneth Grahame, published in 1908. It is a children’s story of the adventures of Mole, Rat, Toad and Badger. After reading the short book I learned the story had been a favorite of my youngest daughter. Kenneth Grahame, a banker, served as the…
I would be remiss if I did not post something about the inauguration of President Joe Biden, and VP Kamala Harris. That was an event that I wish that I would have been lucky to attend, not that attendance was possible under the current pandemic restrictions. It was a “normal” inauguration with no prevarication, …
This written by David Leonhardt in today’s issue of The New York Times: Nationwide, about half of Americans are not wearing masks when in close contact with people outside their households, according to a survey released yesterday by the University of Southern California. Wearing a mask isn’t much fun. It’s hard to speak clearly,…
This from the New York Times: A capital under siege A presidential inauguration in the United States is usually a celebration of democracy. Hundreds of thousands of people descend on Washington to watch a newly elected president take the oath of office. A departing president signals his respect for the country by celebrating the…
Praying the Covid away ! It isn’t working. Sure, we have the freedom to wear or not wear a mask, to infect or not infect your family members or neighbors,…. The virus roars on, not unlike an out of control forest fire, driven by the Santa Ana wind of American “freedom.” How are we…
A good discussion last night on the writings of Martin Buber. Here are some samples from Buber’s book, Ich und Du. The German renders the title better than the English title of I and Thou. Thou in English is sonorous, off putting, with religious connotations from the King James Bible. In German, Du connotes…
