Archive for the ‘All’ Category
My Father
The following is an autobiographical sketch that my father wrote recently for his church newsletter. I do this in his honor, and to mark his death earlier this afternoon. That's Me! – Bob Shaumeyer I was born on June 18,1923 in Kansas City, Kansas. My parents were Albert and Rosina Shaumeyer. I was the youngest […]
On Finding the Way
If at the end of our journey There is no final Resting place, Then we need not fear Losing our way. — Ikkyu Sojun (1394–1482), Zen master and poet [quoted in Jennifer Michael Hecht, Doubt: A History. New York : HarperSanFrancisco, 2003. p. 268.]
In: All, Books, Common-Place Book
Shaumeyer Endorses Dodd
I have come to my decision: I am endorsing Christopher Dodd for president. I was mulling this over tonight, thinking about the positives I have in my mind for Dodd and for John Edwards, and the balance tilted towards Dodd. If I were voting in an election (or primary) of the type where one voted […]
No "O"
We were at a mall this weekend (in Columbia, MD, in fact), flowing around with the crowds and enjoying the flow, largely because we didn't go there with a list of necessary purchases, when I was stuck by a thought. "Look!" I told a bewildered Isaac. "There's no 'O' store. Can you imagine that! Shouldn't […]
Schermer on Science
Science is not a thing, it's a verb. [Michael Schermer, "Why People Believe Weird Things (video)" TED.com, February 2006.]
In: All, Common-Place Book, It's Only Rocket Science
Single-Issue Voting: Reason #1
I was just remembering what I said a while back about how reproductive rights really are a litmus test. It's not that I automatically trust anyone who appears to be pro-choice (Feinstein), it's just that I definitely don't trust anyone who isn't. Basically, no one who doesn't believe a woman should control her own body […]
So Out of Tuna
Perhaps because my mind has been on other things, but also perhaps because we were out this afternoon and I did a bit of remaindered cookbook shopping at Daedalus Books (drag a remaindered cookbook in front of me–like catnip), when I read this headline* on one of Andrew Sullivan's posts, what I thought he wrote […]
In: All, Laughing Matters, Such Language!
The "New Atheists"
I decided to make a note of the following because I wanted to give the essay it's from more attention that I have available at the moment. 2007 was the year atheists in America came out of the closet. And indeed, a glance at the state of our world suggests this was a predictable response. […]
Sister Wendy on Marriage Equality
I read the blog posting referenced below mostly because it mentioned Sister Wendy in the title, and we here at Björnslottet are big fans of Sister Wendy Beckett. For those of you who don't know her, Sister Wendy is a nun who has made some wonderful documentaries about art and written some nice books about […]
Impressive News
This just in. Headline news just read on my local junior-college radio station tells me that, in the just-completed debate in Iowa, Republicans could agree on one thing: reduced government spending. I'm pretty impressed, but that's only one of the impressive things I've heard or read as the news of the day. Apparently the Pope […]
Speaking of Spam
Speaking of spam, Seth Godin wrote What a shame that we let organized crime, aggressive promoters and selfish nebbishes wreck such a useful medium. [Seth Godin, "When Spam Approaches Infinity", Seth's Blog, 6 November 2007.]
Definitely Finite
WASHINGTON – The Bush administration now acknowledges it is trying to recover nearly $500 million from people who improperly received federal aid money intended to help victims of two deadly hurricanes, Katrina and Rita, along the Gulf Coast two years ago. It said the amount may increase further. “This is a moving target and not […]
In: All, Splenetics, Such Language!
McCarthy Reconsidered
I've been thinking some about the universal excuse conservatives use to exculpate their bad ideas and failed policies: "we didn't go far enough!" It comes with numerous variations, of course, like "we didn't give it a chance" (not far enough in time), or "he wasn't a true conservative" (not far enough ideologically). We've had plenty […]
A Moebius Ballet
I learned about it from Science News Online (here), but evidently it has been on its way to becoming a mini-phenomenon since it was posted on YouTube in June, 2007. It's a short animation of some mathematical concepts, called "Moebius Transformations Revealed". To quote from the creators' website (here): Möbius Transformations Revealed is a short […]
In: All, It's Only Rocket Science
To Listen More Hearingly
The New York Times (here) said that Alex Ross' The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century is one of its ten best books of the year. It's his history of the century past as heard through the century's "classical" music. I have no complaint, by the way–I like Alex Ross' writing and the […]
In: All, Books, Common-Place Book, Such Language!
Gay Marriage, Gay Revenue
And while we're in the mood for economic vs. moral justifications, this just in: Legalizing same-sex marriage in Maryland would result in a $3.2 million gain to the state’s annual budget and significantly boost the state economy, according to a study released Wednesday by the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, School […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity
Universal Health Care for Healthy US Business
Here is the outline of an argument for universal health-care in the US that might appeal to your more business-oriented, Republican types, demonstrating that universal health-care can be good for capitalism. Business is good. More business is better. Big business is good; small business is great. Small businesses (<500 employees) employ lots of people, about […]
History Flashes By
Last night Isaac and I decided to go to Annapolis for our dinner. It's about a twenty-minute drive from Bowie. We took the main highway between here and there. (US RT 50, for those following along on the map.) It was after dark. Not long after we got underway we saw the flashing lights of […]
In: All, Current Events, Raised Eyebrows Dept.
Delta-Wealth Drives Capitalism
I just read this. I don't have any idea yet whether I agree, whether I think it's a profound observation, or whether it's trivial nonsense. Nevertheless, it jumped out at me and I expect I'll think about it for awhile. … capitalism can only work with great imbalances of wealth, and when it is working […]
Less than Permanent
Alas, the much-touted, and much-feared, "permanent Republican majority" of the twenty-first century seems to have become somewhat less than permanent, with chunks falling off every day. Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott's resignation announcement on Monday was the latest in a wave of retirements to hit congressional Republicans, making an already difficult 2008 electoral landscape even […]
In: All, Current Events, Splenetics