Musings on Dance, Food, Geek Stuff
Of the Terrible Doubt of Appearances by Walt Whitman Of the terrible doubt of appearances,Of the uncertainty after all—that we may be deluded,That may-be reliance and hope are but speculations after all,That may-be identity beyond the grave is a beautiful fable only,May-be the things I perceive—the animals, plants, men, hills, shining and flowing waters,The skies…
There is a voice inside of youthat whispers all day long,“I feel that this is right for me,I know that this is wrong.”No teacher, preacher, parent, friendor wise man can decidewhat’s right for you – just listen tothe voice that speaks inside. ― Shel Silverstein
How healthy is your social media diet? I’ve been trying to be more intentional about what I put into my media “feed” as it’s called. About what I decide to spend my precious attention on. Since I (1) work for a news organization and (2) teach media literacy, this feels particularly important to try and…
I’m not sure where this insight or thought experiment came from. Possibly a professor in undergrad or a weird book I happened to pick up. It pertains to the continual quest for self-knowledge. It goes like this: Imagine everything that is true about you as a box full of facts, beliefs, ideals, fears, and other…
This is the true joy in life, being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one. Being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life…
As I wrote in the previous post, lots of 2024 was spent dealing with external events that impacted my life. Which was a lot. But I also accomplished quite a bit. Published the Definitive History of Yehoodi.com I began 2024 with the release of a 39-page history of the online community Yehoodi.com, a labor of…
At its face, 2024 was not the best year ever. Let’s run down the awfulness: But honestly, despite all of these events – and in some ways because of them – 2024 was still a pretty great year. Let’s break it down. Problems Money Can Solve Someone said “You are fortunate if you have problems…
Dr. Rick Hanson is a Buddhist practitioner and lecturer who does a weekly meditation that has been speaking to my condition a lot lately. This latest one is particularly interesting: “The Good News That’s Still True.” Rick shares out this graphic describing what he calls the “Triangle of What Is True.” Each level he describes…
I think of the hymn “How Can I Keep From Singing?” as Quaker in origin, but that doesn’t appear to be historically accurate. It was certainly adopted by Quakers, around the time of the abolitionist era. “How Can I Keep From Singing?” (1868) My life goes on in endless songAbove earth’s lamentations,I hear the real,…
Good Bones By Maggie Smith (2015) Life is short, though I keep this from my children. Life is short, and I’ve shortened mine in a thousand delicious, ill-advised ways, a thousand deliciously ill-advised ways I’ll keep from my children. The world is at least fifty percent terrible, and that’s a conservative estimate, though I keep this…