Recent Posts

  • SHINY OBJECTS GALORE

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      F“The link between literacy and revolutions is a well-known historical phenomenon. The three great revolutions of modern European history — the English, the French and the Russian — all took place in societies where the rate of literacy was… Read More ›

  • A DAY OF CELEBRATION

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    “Knowledge is a skyscraper. You can take a shortcut with a fragile foundation of memorization, or build slowly upon a steel frame of understanding.” ― Naval Ravikant   This morning, out in Knoxville, the nation’s First Lady Jill Biden kicked… Read More ›

  • AND TO THINK I THOUGHT I HAD NOTHING TO SAY

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    “When life seems hard, the courageous do not lie down and accept defeat; instead, they are all the more determined to struggle for a better future.” ― Queen Elizabeth II This week, two notable events transpired that are worthy of… Read More ›

  • SPLITTING THE EARS OF THE GROUNDLINGS

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    “Are people so unhappy when they love?” “Yes, Christine, when they love and are not sure of being loved.” ― Gaston Leroux,   Over the last several weeks I’ve been reading accounts of a wave of “quiet quitting” sweeping the… Read More ›

  • IN THE PEOPLE BUSINESS

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    So long as one’s just dreaming about what to do, one can soar like an eagle and move mountains, it seems, but as soon as one starts doing it one gets worn out and tired.” ― Ivan Turgenev   Earlier… Read More ›

  • EXACTLY WHO IS IN CHARGE?

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    “Being smart and rich are lucky, but being curious and compassionate will save your ass. Being curious and compassionate can take you out of your ego and edge your soul towards wonder.” ― Mary Karr, Now Go Out There:  … Read More ›

  • WHO ARE WE SERVING?

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    “You’ve been dreaming lies again, Susana.” ― Juan Rulfo, Pedro Páramo   Go ahead and pull up a chair. We are going to be here a minute or two. Every week seems to come with its own little touch of… Read More ›

  • THE DOGS OF WAR

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    “Access to useful information also was determined by literacy and the availability of reading material. It is now widely agreed at least for Britain that increases in literacy were relatively modest during the Industrial Revolution. Yet literacy is not particularly… Read More ›

  • APPEARANCES CAN BE DECEIVING

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    “Do you tell other people when you realize they were right?” ― Julia Galef, The Scout Mindset: The Perils of Defensive Thinking and How to Be Right More Often   Some of you may be familiar with Tammany hall and… Read More ›