Category Archives: humanities

suspended in mid-concept

“Planes collide in midair” — raising the question: what are the boundaries of midair anyway? Is it midair if they’re one foot off the ground? One hundred? If there are mountains nearby, do they make a difference? When does a … Continue reading

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“. . . if you can keep it”

Mourn on the Fourth of July: A National Day of Protest The goal, if any goal is possible to us, is no longer reform or restoration: it is resuscitation or reincarnation. This Fourth of July is no longer a holiday. … Continue reading

Posted in history, politics | Leave a comment

the official cult

I applaud the Ninth Circuit for recognizing that teaching schoolchildren to recite “one nation under God” is an establishment of religion; though without the offending phrase the tots are still being taught that their first duty is to “the republic … Continue reading

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whiz, pop

Someone’s having fun a little early: I just heard the unique sound of a display rocket.

Posted in California, history | Leave a comment

subconscious perception

Holding the cat, I looked in the mirror and was startled. Fluffie’s face is asymmetrical, but I couldn’t have told you which side has this or that feature. (Can you say without looking which was Moshe Dayan’s good eye?) And … Continue reading

Posted in psychology | Leave a comment

wonders of the past and future

I was reading The Spike by Damien Broderick (I’m up to the part about the complexity of controlling zillions of nanomachines) and a fellow passenger asked what it’s about. People are paid to summarize books better than I can, so … Continue reading

Posted in futures, humanities, technology | Leave a comment

33 1/3 turns of phrase

I was prompted by a post to alt.peeves to seek confirmation of my brilliant originality by websearching for phrases that I had jotted down as clever. In light of this research, the name of my band will be “A Wellmeaning … Continue reading

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