A panoply of social types go into making our world; ranging from social butterflies to shy lemurs. We each encounter, and perhaps embody, a variety of selves in a variety of situations. But what impels us to act in certain ways in certain circumstances? And, speaking especially of the motivational mishaps endemic to a chosen… Read more »
Red Solo cups lie akimbo, their shallow brackish contents daring any quicker picker upper to accidentally spill them and make things worse. A light, Tchaikovsky, dusting of snowy powdered sugar coats tabletop surfaces creating a sticky gloss. It’s the morning after Hallowe’en and the real trick is cleaning up from all the commotion! But, like… Read more »
Working with one’s mind or talking with one’s mouth can give a veneer of importance to our ape-ish natures. Yet, the input of symbolic stimulus is a far cry from the primal production provided by working with one’s hands, prestidigitating toy slime. or eating tasty finger food. The tools of language fall short when we… Read more »
Heat is a particular trigger for people to behave poorly to one another. And knowing that we are in a warming world consigns the old salvation of summer fun to the cultural museum. Consider the classic blues song lyrics: “summertime, and the living is easy. Fish are jumping and the wheat is high.” Instead of… Read more »
At a birthday party a professional virtual reality gaming crew arrived in a van; they handed us plastic boxes to put over our heads and the entertainment began. Soon everyone was in fine digital gaming fettle, battling terrorists and rescuing damsels and defeating all comers in a wrestling ring. At first it felt weird to… Read more »
Like delicate bromeliads insufficiently misted in a dry climate, wilted and desolate and displeased as they gaze out from a sunny windowsill, we humans bear a suffering countenance on a warming planet. Unlike flora and fauna in nature, however, heat impacts us in a psychological, as well as physiological, arena. Contesting dire predictions about the… Read more »
The prospect of AI proof-reading our sloppy rough drafts contains an air of excitement. Sure, a few nuggets of genius emerge as we write and re-work our various essays but, along the way, countless hours fall off the cliff of time as we dot our proverbial I’s and mind our proverbial Q’s, bearing in mind… Read more »
Motivation and attentiveness are twinned foils for countless creative and educational pursuits. Both sensations induce sighs of underwhelmed lassitude at the prospect of climbing another of life’s hillocks, and flitting glances adrift from the scene of the present to the yawing gulf of the imagination. The history and practice of education may largely be seen… Read more »
Visible human minorities, to those of a less generous or downright bigoted bent, can seem to present a bit like plants out of place who threaten to overwhelm the garden of our culture. As such, those dreaming of a better life by entering North America bear the brunt of unfair criticism. But let us to… Read more »
As a child on a farm, I enjoyed bringing treats to the chickens, cows, and sheep. On occasion, during a humid summer, caterpillars would bloom freely on feral apple trees in our pasture. I’d climb up and tear down some branches infested with pulsing hordes of caterpillar nests. Then I’d drop the branches amidst our… Read more »