I anticipate our discussion tonight on the role of popular culture, according to the work of Theodor Adorno. Adorno lived in the mid 20th century and was of the opinion that pop culture was exploitative, depriving it’s consumers of genuine aesthetic enjoyment. Even worse the externalized consequences, — a less than healthy, robust and…
This morning I was at an impasse. I had no definite inclination to write. That is rare. There is always something of import, either a local personal item of interest, something I care about or perhaps one of the political and social inanities of the Trump administration that begs for comment. I had no…
The sky is bright with morning. Soon I will leave Louisville. The reason for our presence here has been accomplished. We welcomed a new family member into the World. The World is much bigger than our family and we are part of it. There are many generations before us. We are their representatives, their…
It’s unseasonably cold this morning. The sky is gray, underbellies of clouds glow pink at the point where the sun is soon to rise. I am at a Holiday Inn in Louisville, Kentucky. I have more to say about the topic of freedom, as instinct says that I left the matter unfinished. The topic…
I selected a lot of dark material as subject for my blog posts. I am compelled to write about what interests me at the time set aside for writing. I write primarily for myself, to discover more clearly what lies at the root of the kid, the adult, that lives within. We have one…
To designate a hellis not, of course, to tell us anythingabout how to extract people from that hell,how to moderate hell’s flames. Still, it seems a good in itself to acknowledge,to have enlarged, one’s senseof how much sufferingcaused by human wickednessthere is in the world we share with others.Someone who is perennially surprisedthat depravity…
We attempted to discuss the topic: How Are We Free? The topic is perennially compelling. A sense of agency is what it means to be a self. To the extent that one is a self, one feels his or her own agency, — one believes that one is free. I recognize that I’ve prejudiced…
Received good news this morning around 5:30AM. Our granddaughter was born. We plan to travel to Louisville on Wednesday. She surprised all of us by coming just a bit earlier than expected. Life is nothing but surprise after surprise. Another argument for living simply, in a uncomplicated fashion. One must always be able to…
A comment to a post of several days ago asserted that racism in some form is endemic to the human experience, without exception. The response was a bullseye, so I’ll attempt to repay the “two cents” worth of commentary with a bit of interest. In my experience this appears to be the case. To…
Spent a delightful late Thursday walking a neighborhood with grandchildren and parents. Sure it was a brisk, snowy day, unusual for late fall, — but no matter. On both sides of the street costumed kids happily approached the front door of house after house to say the customary incantation: Trick or Treat. The reward,…
