LATEST BLOG POSTS

Of the throngs of people who pass this Gandhi statue in Union Square, I’d guess a few percent notice it. That modesty and humility are part of its appeal to me. Also that my parents met in Ahmedabad, India, where his ashram was. I spent a year there as a child. My father probably spent ten or fifteen years of his life there. Also that Gandhi has long been one[…] Keep reading →

This week I finished: Manufactured Landscapes, by Jennifer Baichwal and Edward Burtynsky: I hadn’t heard of Burtynsky before reading a review of an exhibit in Manhattan of decades of his photography, which included several images. He creates images that are compositionally beautiful of scenes that are scary and horrific but resulting from our culture and lifestyles. They show mines, factories, dying landscapes and ecosystems, and apocalyptic scenes. I plan to[…] Keep reading →

This week I finished: Mein Kampf, volume 1, by Adolph Hitler: I’m partly nervous about posting about finishing it or even reading it. The First Amendment may make it legal, but just associating with it can blemish, but I oppose that thinking. I finished other works this week but put them in a separate post since who wants to be on a page with Mein Kampf? When I teach the[…] Keep reading →

When people talk about helping men, a lot of people think any and maybe every man might just have latent misogyny, so helping him risks augmenting misogyny. Richard Reeves has researched the situation extensively and for whatever advantages they (we) once had in some areas, still have in some of them, society has been kicking us down, especially in education, income, medicine, and law. A big part of his job[…] Keep reading →

Two people are walking down the street. There’s litter on the ground. One picks up some of the litter. The other doesn’t. Which person has more love in their life?

Sound pollution is pollution. You know it’s been growing for your whole life with little sign of decreasing. I wish I lived in a world with less sound pollution, but given that I do, I’d rather be aware and conscious of it than not know. Ignorance of how much sound was affecting me wasn’t blissful. Noise still affected me. Awareness enables me to act. But it’s not what you think.[…] Keep reading →

Sanitation systems across the nation are on strike. It started in Boston: and expanded to the west coast in solidarity: Since people who are conservative and libertarian often don’t like strikes, which they may see as socialist, communist, or moving in that direction, Today I want to clarify for them: Sanitation systems are socialist and motivate waste, violate Enlightenment thinking and practice, and violate the original intent of the Constitution.[…] Keep reading →

A recent article on artificial intelligence in the New Yorker wrote about how people who are suffering from loneliness are finding help from artificial intelligence. Some people can’t help loneliness, not out of character defect but circumstance. It gets the reader thinking about the elderly, for example, who outlive everyone they’ve been close to, or it describes as worse, if those who remain are senile. Sorry to give away the[…] Keep reading →

Common roles for auxiliary police officers include crowd control and traffic control during big events, like parades. July 4th fireworks is another big one (scroll down for pictures from last year’s Thanksgiving parade). This year my patrol during the fireworks was right next to the water. I took a video toward the beginning (after ensuring it was okay with the officer I report to). Should I say it’s only a[…] Keep reading →