The Place : a small, racially and ethnically mixed neighborhood of long-term families and gay fixer uppers now seeing an influx of me-uppies [all about me and my property value, conservative suburbanites scratching an urban itch] The Time : the 21 st century The People : a representative assortment of people, products of their times “Is this a weed?” I asked my neighbor living to the right of me. She shuddered, then disdainfully pronounced, “Of course it is; it’s going to take over your... Read Full Story
Cup Stacking Will Defend America (Notice the Bob Dylan Book and the Official Cup Stacking Mat) As the days and weeks evolve, I often think to myself, since when, did Pop America become a society of sissies. Since when, did it become posh, to be the pocket protector sporting nerd of the world? People, this is a wake up call. Actually, that is far too polite. This is the garbage truck coming at three AM and knocking over your trash can so you can snap out of your lethargy. Now is not the time... Read Full Story
(Photo Credit: Randy Montoya) Photo not really related other than it is a big awesome machine designed to experiment with nuclear fusion (apparently successfully too) but it is kind of how I imagine the "nerve centre" for the machine in the following story.
Perhaps that title caught your attention and it's not just a gimmick to get attention but part of the theme of today's reading. I'm talking about "The Machine Stops" written by E.M. Forster in 1909. The fact that you saw that title and... Read Full Story
Amazing: scientific studies recently published in “Scientific American” are just beginning to acknowledge the importance of the body, in particular, body memory that prompts cognition. DUH. CRINGE. Obviously, these brain researchers have no background in the arts and never bothered to give any credence to either child development studies or to the amount of literature and art research concerning the role of movement in therapy, education, articulation, etc. I’m sure any artist still working... Read Full Story
Note: This post is about egalitarianism and transparency. In other words, it's about democracy. A friend of mine once said to me, "I hate it when I go home to visit my parents and they automatically start treating me like I'm twelve. But I hate it even more when I start acting like it." I laughed because I once thought the exact same thing. It's easy to fall into these absurd power structures and childish roles, and we regularly give up our hard-earned independence because it's comfortable... Read Full Story
Snowing outside—bright, glazed white porcelain snow glinting diagonal streaks across the dull, matte white, horizontal blinds. Warm inside, light grey steamy mists rising perpendicular to darker grey, vertical heating pipes. Cold sunlight crosses hot lamp light, casting a lace collar on the faded, ash-blonde wood floor. A chiaroscuro painting. My black hair drifts in clumps to the floor—point, counterpoint, snippets alternating with the white, old man's hair falling outside. A mulch-covering... Read Full Story
As children, we dreamed, designed, colored, built, and devised art from whatever was at hand. In tribal societies, our lifestyle for thousands of years, everyone practiced a "craft"—and stamped traditional designs with their individuality. Our urge toward self-expression reaches out to us from ancient cave walls, stone pillars, adornments in burial graves, crockery … We yearn for our own creations, not just those of others; to repress this integral part is like cutting off a limb or... Read Full Story
Lawsuit Accuses AARP of Age Discrimination Courtesy of Fox News Wow, so maybe everything is turned inside out and backwards in the world today. Apparently the AARP passed over a 63 year old woman from Michigan repeatedly (9 times) for vacanices and now will have to pay the piper for it. She's launching a lawsuit claiming age discriminiation. Personally I'm surprised that she's not suing for emotional damages...that's got to sting when even the AARP tells you: "YOU'RE TOO OLD... Read Full Story
This election cycle has seen quite a bit of apathy among the electorate and really who can blame them? None of the candidates are exciting, interesting or even slightly different from the steady crop we’ve had over the last couple of decades. In fact, in some cases, there is quite a bit of anger and frustration on the part of the electorate over which candidates managed to get to the top slot(s) - and many suspect the ‘fix is in’ . They may be right. However, we are stuck with those who have... Read Full Story
This is our group blog, which is unique because any Zimbio member can post an entry to it. Some members blog about recent news and trends related to the portal topic, others recount relevant personal stories. You can also comment on and rate existing blog entries, to voice your opinion and to help the community identify which members and entries on the portal are must-reads. Got an interesting idea or story to share with other members of this portal? Well, then put on your journalist's cap... Read Full Story
