Déjé vu and other mind states
Déjé vu isn’t the only one, although it’s the one most of us have heard about. But then there’s déjé vécu, déjé visité, and a host of others. Sound familiar?
Continue reading →Category Archives: Getting philosophical: life, love, the universe
Hey, she was just asking
Shirley Maclaine speculates: In her memoir, the 80-year-old, who won an Oscar for Terms Of Endearment, writes: “What if most Holocaust victims were balancing their karma from ages before, when they were Roman soldiers putting Christians to death, the Crusaders … Continue reading →
They aim to serve
Lately it seems that nearly every transaction any more complex than buying groceries at the local market must be performed at least twice, sometimes three and four times. A recent mail-order product return, for example. I had bought some jeans … Continue reading →
Lessons on change and activism
Here’s an extremely interesting segment from “This American Life” about how change—political change and change in general—occurs [hat tip: Vanderleun]. I’ve studied change. I’ve observed it. I’ve experienced it. I’ve tried to effect it, but haven’t we all? Therapists, teachers, … Continue reading →
The ladder of evil
[NOTE: This is a repeat of a previous post. Unfortunately, it seems as though it’s always a timely subject.] Commenter “Ymarsakar” once made an interesting observation: When the world declares Jews, Republicans, and whites to be non humans that need … Continue reading →
The first hippies: Fruitlands
I was on a road trip a little while ago and passed the site of Fruitlands, which I recalled as the failed Utopian community the Transcendentalists began in the mid-1800s. The setting is lovely, overlooking a panoramic view of the … Continue reading →
Are men eager to call themselves “handsome”?
In my post about the video featuring women who had to choose between doors marked “beautiful” or “average” and opted mostly for “average,” commenter “Molly NH” wrote: All the men would head for the handsome door, even the ones who … Continue reading →
The beautiful average
There’s a fuss being made about this Dove video, in which women are asked to choose whether to walk through a door labeled “beautiful” or one labeled “average”: The idea, of course, is that too many women think of themselves … Continue reading →
Feelin’ the Gompertz Law
What’s the Gompertz Law?: What do you think are the odds that you will die during the next year? Try to put a number to it ”” 1 in 100? 1 in 10,000? Whatever it is, it will be twice … Continue reading →
Going out in style (literary)
Emily Phillips had a way with words, and she used it to write her own obituary, which has gone viral [hat tip: Althouse]. I bet we can get a good idea of Phillips’ personality by reading it: It pains me … Continue reading →
The band that just walked away, Renee (Part II: the lyrics)
[Part I here.] Whatever was I talking about when I said that the lyrics of “Walk Away, Renee” were poetry? You might think the lyrics aren’t so special; just the usual rock pap. But bear with me and see whether … Continue reading →
Things fall apart
THE SECOND COMING William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and … Continue reading →