Today I know the eternal source of all strength. It is in nature, in the earth, in people who don’t hesitate to cast away their existence for the sake of an idea. They are the ones who can love. Alma Mahler, in a letter to a rejected suitor late in her life (The Other Mahler – Samuel Lippman, The New Criterion)
The Alma Problem – Sarah Connolly, The Guardian, UK
Alma Mahler – biography at alma-mahler.at
bonus:
Filed under music
h/t: image purloined from Subverting the Genre, thanks Chris.
The contretemps involving a Fox talking head Lauren Green interviewing scholar/author Reza Azlan was much more amusing than shocking. The shocking part was, for me, Mr. Azlan believing Fox was even capable of interviewing him about the ideas in his new book Zealot.
(For a more high minded conversation, here are the video clips of his interview with Sister Rose.)
Then, in the aftermath, the rippling consequences are probably all completely predictable. Some Christians will condemn Azlan to Hell Fire; some scholars will remind people that the facts about Jesus are simply the facts contained in The New Testament. And, familiar characters will imply he is a jihadi sympathizer. The vicious will annunciate in blog comments that ‘it is certain Azlan is a terrorist.’
The distinction between the historical Jesus and Jesus of the New Testament has always struck me as the entry point into a fascinating historical detective story. This great historical problem did not seem to be of interest to Fox’s Lauren Green, given her interview with Mr. Azlan focused on a ridiculous hypothesis. Oh, I forgot, there now is a new wasteland of internet leavings asserting that only Christians have the ability to accurately investigate Jesus.
Personally, another keen point of interest is what devout people understand of any stripe to be the conjunction between their own beliefs/understandings and the contextualizing historically focused question,
What’s the connection between your religious commitment, and, the other Abrahamic religions?
I wonder what percentage of Christians, Jews, Muslims, would respond by asking, “What do you mean by Abrahamic religions?”
On the two occasions I’ve pitched this very same questions, both persons knew what I meant by Abrahamic religions, and, both persons did respond with something like, “I’m going to have to think about it.” It seems to me the easiest aspect to understand is comprehending the most significant and solitary cosmic ramification of monotheism, yet, evidently it is harder than I think.
Then, there are other questions I might pose.
Filed under cultural contradictions, Religion
2013 Flags S.Calhoun 20″ x 14″
2013 The Caller S.Calhoun 25″ x 18″
digital proofs for giclee
Filed under visual experiments, my art
If the resistance to change depends partly on the value which the group standard has for the individual, the resistance to change should diminish if one diminishes the strength of the value of the group standard or changes the level perceived by the individual as having social value.
This second point is one of the reasons for the effectiveness of “group carried” changes’ resulting from procedures which approach the individuals as part of face-to-face groups. Perhaps one might expect single individuals to be more pliable than groups of like-minded individuals. However, experience in leadership training, in changing of food habits, work production, criminality, alcoholism, prejudices, [calling balls and strikes,] all indicate that it is usual easier to change individuals formed into a group than to change any one of them separately. Kurt Lewin
. . see you there!
Filed under adult learning, play
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