An important feature of Nietzsche’s thought is a cultivated intuition of a gradation, of a hierarchy from the base, common, mundane to the transcendent. A scale of values is a capacity for recognition of the sacred. Nietzsche seldom wrote any approving estimation of European Christendom. Here, he acknowledges that “the book” of Christianity has…
A friend pointed me to this poem by Wm. Blake. How important is friendship, a few associations that are mutually cultivated for years, over an arc of time. I owe my growth as an adult to the recommendations received from friends, the books, poems, film, – all of that, the deposits in the bank…
Wednesday, is midweek. The suffocating, dangerous heat dome prevailing upon outdoor activity for the last day or so has receded. It is possible to move about again, to enjoy the most basic of our animal-like freedoms, that of movement. How about a story? This story of New York’s MTA, of a city public transit…
Still pondering the car show. I recall the blue Lamborghini parked near the entrance to the show, at the intersection of State and 3rd. Ferrari is widely recognized as an uncommon instance of excellence, the high art of the automobile. Lamborghini is even more so, and one might argue the apex of a tradition…
Car show weekend in Geneva. Today, Sunday is the big show, the Geneva concurs d’elegance. Both sides of 3rd as well as side streets are parked with exotic collector cars and race cars of all vintages. This is an annual event. Sure it’s testosterone laced, a fashion show of shaped metal, painted, polished to…
At times one feels compelled to venture out on thin ice. The term is used as metaphor to capture the hazard that attends to speaking the absurd, or on the other hand, speaking truth from which one’s fellows are conditioned to turn away. Equality is bedrock to the American experiment, to these United States….
A final evening of the DNC event at the United Center featured Kamala Harris’ acceptance speech of her parties nomination as candidate for the presidency. I was transfixed by the superb choice of words, the artistry of the rhetoric, while feeling a bit of discomfort. Upon reflection this morning I understand that the speech…
Again I viewed night three of the televised speeches from the Democratic National Convention. As anticipated the parade of celebrities was preliminary to the headliner, Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota. Walz’ nomination acceptance speech was a praise anthem to middle-class America. Does anyone know what “this” is anymore? Middle class is no longer cleanly…
I do not keep secret that I am a recovering evangelical. My evangelical roots will always be residual in my personality, my style and manner of life. The past, however it might have been, continues to reverberate through us. (Just a note of gratitude, – without a past you and I would not be…
This J. D. Vance clip has been at the forefront of media coverage of the election campaign. In a 2021 interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson, then-Senate-candidate Vance complained that the U.S. was being run by Democrats, corporate oligarchs and “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives…
