Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how… Continue reading Beams, motes and mocassins
Category: Psychology
Working for a giant
As regular followers of this blog know, I have two jobs: freelance teacher and part-time barista. I work as a humble part-time barista for the largest coffeehouse company in the world, Starbucks. And I can´t deny that this results in mixed feelings. I am older than this upstart of a company. In fact, I am… Continue reading Working for a giant
Snowflakes from Nazareth
Recently in my (far too) regular visits to Facebook I stumbled across a cartoon that made me smile so I forwarded it along to others without thinking too much about it at the time. “Don´t be absurd! Nobody made us! We evolved by chance from snowflakes!”, says one snowman to the other. “Sorry, but all… Continue reading Snowflakes from Nazareth
Dark discussions
I asked Reggie, my American cousin in all but bloodline, why Americans are responding with such fear and suspicion to Syrian refugees. He responded that I should not be so surprised considering how America treats its minorities already resident there. Why, I asked Reggie my ebony brother, was there so much violence against black folks in… Continue reading Dark discussions
Saints and monsters
It was with the greatest pleasure that I spent most of the first two days of December in my favourite European City, Freiburg im Breisgau, the “capital” of southwestern Germany´s Black Forest. I have in two previous posts briefly touched upon my last visit to Freiburg (Sign of the Times / Victims of the Machine)… Continue reading Saints and monsters
And no birds sing
I hardly knew him. He was never in my classes in high school. We never hung around one another. His brother and I, though the same age and level, never really knew each other, except by recognisable face in the hallway or presence in the classroom. Until the high school reunion two decades later, I… Continue reading And no birds sing
Pedestrian on the Information Highway
There is a powerful short story, referred to in Fahrenheit 451, called The Pedestrian, by the late great sci-fi writer Ray Bradbury. A man regularly goes for a stroll through the empty streets of a big futuristic metropolis to observe and absorb the world outside his door. One night a robotic patrol car stops him… Continue reading Pedestrian on the Information Highway
Fury in the Slaughterhouse: Guns in America
“There’s an old lady, Living in an old house Since her husband died She hasn’t been out. She lives in her own world With her own little nightmares And she’s stopped counting the days. She buys a radio station With her husband’s legacy. She does her own show 10 hours a day Plays poems and… Continue reading Fury in the Slaughterhouse: Guns in America
Saying “Davka” to Power
“In Hebrew, “Davka” is a gruff, one-word response to someone in authority. So in Hebrew you might ask an Israeli teenager “Why are you doing that?” and get the answer “Davka” – Because I chose to, because I want to do it this way rather than any other. Just because. Davka is about expressing determination,… Continue reading Saying “Davka” to Power
Welcome to Customsland
I have friends who just can’t seem to get a break whenever they try and visit faraway places, because when they try to enter these lands, customs deny them entry. One might ask why, because, after all, they are no obvious threat to anyone, have no criminal background, are not a visible minority and they… Continue reading Welcome to Customsland