Do everything as if it was the only thing in the world that mattered while all the time knowing that it doesn’t matter at all. | |
— Carlos Casteneda | |
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On This Day In: | |
2021 | Best To Be Trained And Educated |
The Great Relief | |
2020 | Diversity And Uniqueness |
2019 | Ebb And Flow |
2018 | America: Paging #45 |
2017 | Near By |
2016 | Maybe Someday |
2015 | How’s The Cow? |
2014 | Mind Made Up |
2013 | On Purpose |
2012 | The Dream |
2011 | What Could Be More Comfortable? |
Posts Tagged ‘Philosophy’
Except To You
Posted in Education, Philosophy, Quotes, tagged Carlos Casteneda, Philosophy, Quotes, What Matters on June 29, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Planned, Promised And Promoted
Posted in Philosophy, Politics, Quotes, tagged Politics, Philosophy, Quotes, Time Magazine, Nancy Gibbs, FBI, U.S. Capitol Riot, Jan 6th Riot, QAnon, Zignal Labs, TheView Essay: America's Moral Vaccum on June 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Like our pandemic response, the U.S. Capitol riot is the latest cataclysm to be blamed on a failure of imagination. Who could imagine a virus that crashes the entire global operating system, or an attack that narrowly fails to decapitate the U.S. government? | |
And the obvious answer? Anyone who was paying attention. | |
Just as epidemiologists long warned of a pandemic, the insurrectionists helpfully advertised their violent intentions all over social media. The phrase storm the Capitol, unleashing countless QAnon furies, appeared 100,000 times in the month before the attack, according to Zignal Labs. The President clashed his cymbals and stoked the lie; party leaders largely ignored or pampered him. The day before the attack, an FBI office shared the warnings from online: “Be ready to fight. Congress needs to hear glass breaking, doors being kicked in … Get violent. Stop calling this a march, or rally, or a protest. Go there ready for war.” | |
Which means that it should have required no imagination to foresee an uprising that was planned, promised and promoted in plain sight. | |
… | |
But until we find our way back to a shared reality, lack of moral imagination will remain a national-security threat. Lack of moral leadership at a moment like this imperils democracy itself. In our schools and sanctuaries and clubs and communities, in our dealings with alienated friends and family, the vital work of replacing toxic fantasies with hard realities falls to each of us. | |
— Nancy Gibbs | |
From her op-ed: “TheView Essay: America’s Moral Vaccum“ | |
Appearing in: Time Magazine; 1 / 8 February 2021 | |
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On This Day In: | |
2021 | Are You Rotating Crops? |
Wrong Block, Dummy | |
2020 | I Choose Justice And Mercy |
2019 | Close, Sustained, Careful, Daily |
2018 | One Brick At A Time |
2017 | Order The Rope, #DumbDonald |
2016 | Chains Of Habit |
2015 | That You Shall Remain |
Did You See That? | |
2014 | True, Vibrant And Open |
2013 | Remembering, Yet Again |
2012 | Something Of Value |
2011 | Sleep All Day |
Sort Of
Posted in Education, Health, Philosophy, Quotes, Science and Learning, tagged Carl Sagan, Food, Growth, Health, Learning, Nutritional Triage, Philosophy, Quotes, Stupidity, Survival on June 27, 2022| Leave a Comment »
When there isn’t enough food, the body has to make a decision on how to invest the limited foodstuff available to it. Survival comes first, growth comes second. And in this kind of nutritional triage, the body seems obliged to rank learning, last. It sort of it’s better to be stupid and alive, than smart and dead. | |
— Carl Sagan | |
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On This Day In: | |
2021 | Life Finds A Way |
In The Palm Of My Hand | |
2020 | I’m Not Worried |
2019 | Forgiving The Chasm |
2018 | A Sure Sign Of Age |
Before The Fall – Cheat | |
2017 | Distant Goal |
2016 | More Lives |
2015 | Go Shopping More |
2014 | Say What? |
2013 | Accepting Beauty |
2012 | Transitional Choice To Ride The Wave |
2011 | Freedom Isn’t Always Perfect |
Just That Simple | |
Stuck Feeling Rich
Posted in Philosophy, Quotes, tagged Charity, Croesus, Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, Miserly, Philosophy, Quotes on June 26, 2022| Leave a Comment »
A poor, charitable person can sometimes feel rich, a miserly Croesus never. | |
— Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach | |
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On This Day In: | |
2021 | Choose Strength |
Release Your Fears | |
2020 | No Fear |
2019 | Propaganda vs. Art |
2018 | What Did You Bring Up? |
2017 | Waiting For My First Strike |
2016 | Mostly Just Masticating |
2015 | Don’t Mess With Mosa |
How Long Is This Run? | |
2014 | The Importance Of Being Forgetful |
2013 | Anyway |
2012 | Habit Forming |
2011 | And In The Other Hand(ful) |
In Love With Words | |
Boundless Naïveté | |
Who Did You Say Signed Off On This Treason, Pat? | |
I’ll Drink To That
Posted in Faith, Faith Family and Friends, Philosophy, Quotes, tagged Acts, Country, Do Good, Philosophy, Quotes, Religion, The Rights Of Man, Thomas Paine on June 25, 2022| Leave a Comment »
My country is the world, and my religion is to do good. | |
– Thomas Paine | |
From: “The Rights of Man“ | |
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On This Day In: | |
2021 | A Quest |
I’m Still Wondering | |
2020 | Time For Bed |
2019 | With Proper Guidance |
2018 | MAGA? |
2017 | Neutral |
Family Over Ego | |
2016 | Hard Learners |
2015 | Goals |
2014 | Switch To Dogs… |
2013 | Times Change |
2012 | Ashes Not Dust |
2011 | A Handful From Saudi |
None Of This Happened | |
Take Responsibility | |
Which May Be Less Frustrating, Too
Posted in Philosophy, Quotes, tagged Anaïs Nin, Love, Philosophy, Quotes, Saving Others on June 24, 2022| 4 Comments »
You cannot save people, you can only love them. | |
– Anaïs Nin | |
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On This Day In: | |
2021 | A Sovereign Good |
Some Tenderness Survives | |
2020 | At Least Until The Rainbow Comes |
2019 | And/Or A Great Soulmate |
Austen Stalking | |
2018 | Dead Red |
You Ain’t Done Yet | |
2017 | Just Because |
2016 | As Close As They Can Get |
2015 | And So I Blog |
2014 | Take Flight |
2013 | Contributing Joy |
2012 | More Than A Race |
2011 | Institutionalized Leadership |
“Tends To” Is Not Always
Posted in Philosophy, Quotes, tagged 15 Questions Interview, Art, Belinda Luscombe, Eyes, Jasper Johns, Meaning, Philosophy, Quotes, Time Magazine, Understanding on June 22, 2022| Leave a Comment »
I don’t know that art can be understood in any final way, but a search for understanding tends to open one’s eyes rather than close them. | |
— Jasper Johns | |
From the interview: “15 Questions“ | |
Written by: Belinda Luscombe | |
Appearing in: Time Magazine; dtd: 11/18 Oct. 2021 | |
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On This Day In: | |
2021 | The Beauty Of Life |
Seeds | |
2020 | Better Sooner Than Later |
2019 | Possibilities And Challenges |
And Miles To Go Before She Sleeps | |
2018 | What I Tell You Three Times Is True |
2017 | And So On |
2016 | Kept |
2015 | Envy * 2 |
2014 | Destiny For The Talented |
2013 | I Do Not Fear It |
2012 | Until Found |
2011 | Reducing Goods To Data |
The Fog Of Civilization Building | |
Is Normal Just Routine?
Posted in Health, Philosophy, Quotes, tagged Choice, COVID-19, Did I Point My Kids To The Wrong North Star?, Faith, Health, Hope, Nicole Chung, Parenting, Philosophy, Quarantines, Quotes, The New Normal, The View Essay, Time Magazine on June 21, 2022| Leave a Comment »
I would say that I don’t know how we got through that first shaky week of this third pandemic-impacted school year, hugging our kids and checking to make sure their masks were secure before they left each morning, except that I do know: We had no choice. We still don’t. Though we’re grateful to their teachers and glad that our kids are once again learning alongside their peers, the worry persists, an undercurrent to which we’ve been forced to adapt as we settle into routines both familiar and new. | |
Each week brings more pediatric infections, more student quarantines. Each day, I’m conscious of the fact that I’m allowing my children to assume a risk from which I, working at home, am protected, and this feels hopelessly backward. I read every update to the school COVID-19 guidelines so I know what to expect after the inevitable exposure, but I can’t tell my kids what they have long wanted to know: When will things go back to the way they remember? | |
… | |
Over the past 18 months, a common refrain has been that this pandemic should compel all of us to recognize our interdependence, the inescapable fact that we will not address this or any of the other grave threats we’re facing without collective action. This is a lesson that I expect many of our children are also learning, though the cost and the danger to them feels too high. I know I don’t want my kids to conclude that they are or forever will be powerless, or that there is no one who will fight with and for them. There are many things I still have to hope for to get through each day, and while our children’s survival and health top the list, I also want them to retain their faith in themselves and in their ability to look forward to something better than this — to find, as they so often do, their own reasons to hope. | |
— Nicole Chung | |
From: “The View Essay: Parenting – Did I point my kids to the wrong North Star?” Appearing in: Time Magazine; 11/18 Oct 2021 |
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Also online at: https://time.com/6102019/covid-19-hope-for-kids/ | |
The online version appears as: “There’s No End in Sight for COVID-19. What Do We Tell Our Kids Now?“ | |
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On This Day In: | |
2021 | The Rush Is On |
Another Rerun | |
2020 | It Is Still About Sharing And Cheering |
2019 | Sounds Like #LyingDonald |
2018 | Start Building |
2017 | Woof! Woof! |
2016 | Cast Out |
2015 | Small Pieces |
Happy Father’s Day! | |
2014 | Uncertain Work |
2013 | Unpatriotic And Servile |
2012 | What Price Freedom? |
2011 | Particular Importance |
Three From Bette… | |
But Don’t Be A Rocking Horse
Posted in Philosophy, Quotes, tagged Complaining, Doing, Idleness, Philosophy, Quotes, Rocking Horses, Thomas Jefferson, Time on June 20, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Determine never to be idle. No person will have occasion to complain of the want of time who never loses any. It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing. | |
― Thomas Jefferson | |
[A rocking horse provides a lot of activity and can be a lot of fun, but riding it never gets you anywhere different from where you were when you first got in the saddle. — kmab] | |
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On This Day In: | |
2021 | Be Interesting |
Wonder What Is Wrong With Me | |
2020 | To Our #IdiotInChief: Wear A Mask! |
2019 | Silent Purpose |
2018 | Just Bake The Cake, Man |
2017 | Visible Proof |
2016 | Poor Enough Means |
2015 | Still Standing |
Follow Your Heart | |
2014 | Just Reminded |
2013 | A Fine Balance |
2012 | One Measure |
2011 | Seeking The Common Ground |
In Brightest Day… | |
A Very Few
Posted in Philosophy, Quotes, tagged Excellence, Greatness, John W. Gardner, Philosophy, Quotes on June 17, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Some people have greatness thrust upon them. Very few have excellence thrust upon them. | |
— John W. Gardner | |
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On This Day In: | |
2021 | Or Blog Every Day |
Every Woman Should Have One | |
2020 | Where Are We Going? |
2019 | One Before I Go |
2018 | And Blog Posts, Too |
2017 | Just Doin’ It |
2016 | Definitely Not Bell Shaped |
2015 | Dreadful Pity |
2014 | Worse Than Useless |
2013 | Personal Prisons |
2012 | So, Not Yet Then |
2011 | Real Love |
Sources Of Enthusiasm
Posted in Philosophy, Quotes, tagged Change, Enthusiasm, Eric Hoffer, Mass Movements, Philosophy, Quotes, Self-Advancement, The True Believer on June 16, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Where self-advancement cannot, or is not allowed to, serve as a driving force, other sources of enthusiasm have to be found if momentous changes, such as the awakening and renovation of a stagnant society or radical reforms in the character and pattern of life of a community, are to be realized and perpetuated. Religious, revolutionary and nationalist movements are such generating plants of general enthusiasm. | |
— Eric Hoffer | |
From his book: “The True Believer: Thoughts On The Nature Of Mass Movements“ | |
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On This Day In: | |
2021 | Start Reading / Start Building |
I Headed On Alone | |
2020 | Nurturing Trees And Plants |
2019 | Seeking Needs |
2018 | Not Sure Anyway… |
All Clear Nuclear And Burn | |
2017 | Forms Of Conservation |
2016 | Oh, So Lacking |
2015 | e pluribus unum |
2014 | Nothing So Far Removed |
2013 | Positions |
2012 | Two Errors |
2011 | Long Live The King! |
Map Or GPS?
Posted in Philosophy, Quotes, tagged Langston Hughes, Life, Philosophy, Places, Quotes on June 15, 2022| Leave a Comment »
I have discovered in life that there are ways of getting almost anywhere you want to go, if you really want to go. | |
― Langston Hughes | |
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On This Day In: | |
2021 | Spending A Lifetime Learning To Draw |
Go A Little Slower | |
2020 | Light And Dark |
2019 | My Dog Scratches At The Bedroom Door |
2018 | One Person Can |
2017 | Been There, Thought That |
2016 | Diligent Students |
2015 | Unanswered Prayers |
2014 | Pray, v. |
2013 | As I… |
2012 | But We Need Room |
2011 | A Definition Of Leadership |
Someone’s Calling
Posted in Philosophy, Quotes, tagged Parker Palmer, Philosophy, Quotes, Selfhood on June 14, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Our deepest calling is to grow into our authentic selfhood. | |
— Parker Palmer | |
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On This Day In: | |
2021 | Is There A Devil In There? |
Until I Knew Her | |
2020 | The Other 1% |
2019 | Where Does This Leave Us? |
2018 | Or A Small Blue Planet |
2017 | To Infinity And Beyond |
2016 | And Some Unawake, Too |
Winds And Reign | |
2015 | Natural Shapes |
2014 | Seeing The Light |
2013 | Requirements |
2012 | Tricked Again |
2011 | Liberty And Justice For Earth |
2010 | Home Again, Home Again, Jig-A-De, Jig… |
Be More Cattle, Less Hat
Posted in Philosophy, Quotes, tagged Being Creative, Being Wrong, Fear, Frazz, Joseph Chilton Pearce, Philosophy, Quotes, Showing Up on June 13, 2022| Leave a Comment »
The world does not belong to those who sign up. The world belongs to those who show up. | |
— Frazz | |
To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong. | |
— Joseph Chilton Pearce | |
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On This Day In: | |
2021 | Why Republicans Are Failing America |
Dreams Come True | |
2020 | Normal Scientific Assumptions |
2019 | Close Change |
2018 | Don’t Break It |
2017 | Representative Government For The 99% |
2016 | Trying To Ignite Ice |
2015 | Or Increasingly Unwilling To Pay For… |
2014 | Returning Time |
2013 | Gentle Invitation |
2012 | Pleading The Insanity Defense |
2011 | Graduations And Conservatives |
The Big Sin | |
Two Years Later (Now 1,004,000+ Deaths And Inflation)
Posted in Health, Philosophy, Politics, Quotes, tagged #IncompetentDonald, Afflictions, Attitude, Boosters, CDC, China, COVID-19, Economics, Health, Inflation, Jean Toomer, Philosophy, Quotes, The Federal Reserve Board, Vaccination Update on June 12, 2022| Leave a Comment »
I do not know which of our afflictions God intends that we overcome and which He means for us to bear. But this is certain: Some I have overcome, some I continue to bear. | |
— Jean Toomer | |
[Another (2022) COVID Update: | |
This update is being written on 5 June 2022 (for posting on 12 June). There have now been: 1,003,803 total deaths; 247 average deaths per day; 84,565,697 total cases (about 1% fatality rate); 97,611 new average for daily cases; and, 258,747,147 vaccinations (at least one dose and over 5yrs old) – for a rough 83% of the (eligible) population. Over 90% of hospitalizations and deaths are of those who have not been vaccinated. I have not been able to determine if the (remaining) less than 10% are fully vaccinated and current with their booster(s). | |
What do we know? | |
Surprisingly little (IMHO) at the end of 18 months… The early prediction was a fatality number of 2.2 million in the first 18 months IF WE DID NOTHING. We temporarily shut down a significant portion of society (NOT the economy). We halved the total deaths to date, but not the rate of deaths per cases. The economy (and society) are roughly back to “normal”. Most people can (do) now work from their offices (and / or homes). Stores and restaurants / bars are mostly opened, but business levels have not recovered. Most importantly: we still have little to no publicly available information about the rates or effects of “long-term” COVID, the number of folks with current boosters, or the duration of the vaccine (or booster) effectiveness. We DO know there is a general decrease in the vaccine(s) effectiveness – hence the recommendation for boosters. We don’t know the breakdowns by factors such as age, gender, over-all health, etc. I’m not saying the number(s) isn’t (/ aren’t) out there somewhere or that someone, somewhere isn’t tracking this data – only that I can’t find it readily available. And, here we are: “Only time will tell…“ | |
As a side note: much is being made about the pandemic’s effect on the economy – past and current. While we (in the U.S.) have accepted deaths and illnesses as a “cost” of returning to a “normal” economy, the world’s manufacturer (China) has not. They continue to impose local and wide area shutdowns to prevent the spread of COVID whenever there is another surge. Our (U.S.) demand continues to grow back to normal rates (pent up and current demand). Goods are not being made / delivered to meet demand – so prices increase. They will continue to do so until supply (roughly) matches demand. No matter what the Federal Reserve does to interest rates to “cool” inflation, it will have little effect until the manufacturing / delivery conditions change. How long will that be? How long is a piece of string?? You never know until have it’s been finally cut (until it’s over). — KMAB] | |
Original post (from 2020): | |
[This is an unusual post for me. This post is being written on 28 May, three days after the Memorial Day weekend. Yesterday, the U.S. passed 100K in deaths due to COVID-19. We are dying at just under 1,000 lives per day. We are engaged in a great social experiment testing whether we can open our economy without a plan to deal with the virus. This post is scheduled to go online roughly 15 days after the holiday weekend. If the President’s gamble was correct, the average death rate will be at or below 1,000 per day. If his gamble (with our lives) is incorrect, the death rate will be higher – and potentially much higher. Only time will tell. — KMAB] | |
(2021) Follow Up to Last Year’s (2020) Post (115,000+): | |
The “post” above is from one year ago. It is still too early to tell how good / bad a gamble President Trump took with the health of the nation. Partly because it is still too soon to have had academia take a look at the data and partly because a number of states – mostly (but not exclusively) with Republican governors (Florida) – are using their office / administrations to hide the true / accurate numbers of illnesses and deaths for political reasons. We do know that since the Inauguration, the vaccine count has gone from under 50 million to over 300 million. Over 50% of the U.S. population has received at least one dose of vaccine. Part of this success is attributable to a competent President / Administration and part to the manufacture and distribution of the various vaccines ramping up. | |
As for our losses, the current “rolling” weekly death average is under 500 per day. A few weeks ago, the CDC also updated the information on their site to “confirm” that not only are the vaccinated unlikely to get seriously ill and die (still 5 – 10% chance of illness, and less than 1% chance of death), you are also unlikely to become infected and ill at all (15 – 20% illness rate once vaccine period is completed). Again, it’s too early to KNOW the exact numbers, but in this case it’s because (it is my understanding) “illness” is being self-reported. Still, this is “good” news and we should see the economy and society begin to return to normal. We’ve dodged a bullet this time folks. I am not making light of the individual losses to family members and friends, but the virus could have been a lot more lethal and we still have a considerable way to go on getting the rest of the way to herd immunity. Let’s hope we are better prepared for the next epidemic… | |
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On This Day In: | |
2021 | One Year Later (Now 604,000+) |
Good Intentions | |
2020 | 115,000+ |
2019 | One Generation’s View |
2018 | The One Thing |
2017 | Never Give Up |
2016 | Which Generation Are We? |
Congratulations, Kyle! | |
2015 | Centered |
2014 | Economic Trinity |
2013 | At Both Ends |
2012 | Holding Allowance |
2011 | The Power Of Good |