The Ramblings of An Eternal Student of Life

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Photo ...

My brother and I took a little road trip out to Lancaster, PA over the weekend. Why Lancaster? ‘Cause we hadn’t been there before. And we wanted to meet Andrew, The Martini Czar. (Also, plenty of interesting arts culture around town.)

Well, we found the Czar holding court on Friday night at the Rosa Rosa Pizzeria on Harrisburg Pike. (Not to be confused with the Rosa Rosa Ristorante, a few blocks away; the Pizzeria is past Franklin and Marshall College, going west away from downtown). Members of his royal family were in attendance, and the Czar stayed busy mixing drinks for his loyal subjects. Andrew mixes a mean martini. And the food at the Rosa2 was very good, definitely up to New Jersey Italian restaurant standards.

But if you go, don’t get thrown when you walk in the front door and see just another pizza joint before you. You need to walk along the side, to a room in the back. You will find a door opening to the restaurant section, where Czar Andrew sets up his martini bar on Friday and Saturday nights.

Here’s a shot of the Czar (on the right in shades of royal gray), along with two family members (Joe in red and Bryan in blue). These people are definitely the real thing. And so are those martini’s!!

◊ posted by Jim G @ 9:54 pm Read Comments (2) / Leave a Comment

Friday, July 8, 2011

◊ Physics Paradox at the Planck Length

Science ...

If you read up on the state of particle physics and cosmology these days, you might notice that there’s a lot more humility out there these days. Not too long ago, physicists often gave in to the temptation to get haughty, given how far they’ve come over the past 100 years in untangling the deep mysteries of how the universe is put together at the most fundamental levels. First there was Einstein with his sophisticated notions of how time, space, force and gravity interact on a grand (and not-so-grand) scale.

Then came Bohr and the quantum boys, who unlocked the strange mysteries of matter and energy at the tiniest levels. With better and better astronomical observations over the years, the physics people figured out that the universe had a “big bang” that began it all some 13 or 14 billion years ago. As particle accelerators grew more powerful, a unified theory about what the most basic building-blocks of matter and energy came together (i.e., the “standard particle model”). These concepts allowed physicists to come up with predictions that in many cases were verified by observations and experiments. It seemed like the final “theory of everything” was just around the corner.

But then things got strange. The universe wasn’t acting right. There was too much gravity around, pointing to some kind of matter that we don’t know about (“dark matter”). Even worse, the galaxies were flying away from each other at an expanding rate, » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 8:32 am Read Comments (2) / Leave a Comment

Sunday, July 3, 2011

◊ The Zen of Near Death Experience

Brain / Mind ... Spirituality ...

During a “daisan” talk with my sensei (Zen teacher) recently, we delved into the ever-popular subject of death. We had started the discussion with a koan about change, (Zuigan’s “Everlasting Principle”) and then got around to fear and the anxiety caused by change. But ultimately, all the roads of change and fear lead to death. I don’t think that we resolved anything – Zen inherently resolves nothing – but at least we were both being honest.

What do we humans fear so much about death? Well, for me, it’s the idea of no more consciousness. No more experiences. No more knowing myself and the world around me. During our little discussion, I told the sensei that I realize that during any night of normal sleep, we lose all of our consciousness for a period. No dreams, no sensations, no nothing. It’s about the same as being under anesthesia. So what is so terrible about that? Nothing – no fear, no anxiety, no suffering – no hell. That moment of “black sleep” seems very natural (when you’re conscious, anyway). It isn’t a great tragedy. So why should a permanent state like that be seen as such a great tragedy?

And yet, consciousness itself seems so different from the doings of the objective world, something entirely special, “sui generis”, something that represents a gift » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 8:36 pm Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

◊ Don’t Criticize Your Boss!

Current Affairs ... Foreign Relations/World Affairs ...

A few weeks ago I wrote something here about the new Voice of Russia AM radio station in the New York metro area (at 1430 on the dial). They broadcast 24/7 and focus on news and international issues, at least when I listen during my morning and evening commutes to work. When I last wrote, the VofR announcers were mostly English-speaking Russians with noticeable accents. But since then, VofR decided to ‘Americanize’ things a bit; they focus more on local news in the New York and DC metro areas (those are the two places where they have stations; sorry, Chicago, Atlanta, LA, Dallas, etc., but you can listen on the web site). They even give occasional weather forecasts for DC and NYC, and have toned down the critical commentary (somewhat hypocritical, coming from Russia) regarding American imperialism. And instead of cuing “expert commentary” from old men with turgid accents at quasi-governmental institutions in St. Petersburg or Novosibirsk, VofR is now featuring mostly American guests on their shows. Again, at least during drive-time; at 10 PM on Sunday or 12 noon on Tuesday it might be Moscow Mailbag or Musical Tales from the steppes, or recipes for sturgeon and cabbage.

To deliver this lighter blend with an American flavor, VofR recently hired several aspiring young American news journalists as hosts. It’s quite an improvement and it gives VofR even more of an NPR flavor (but without all the pledge drives!). I still haven’t figured out just why the Russian government is spending good money on this, unless it’s a prestige thing (or maybe it’s good for business; perhaps it encourages American financial leaders to consider investing in Russia). But I’m glad they are doing it, as it presents a welcome alternative on the AM dial for us news junkies and policy wonks when the local network news stations are rattling off their commercials (dirty capitalists!) and NPR is begging for cash or playing “groovy” international music (damn socialists!).

One of the new drive-time shows on VofR is called “Capital to Capital”, hosted by two American announcers, one based in Moscow and the other in Washington. They discuss the local headlines from each capital and exchange thoughts » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 8:08 pm Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment

Saturday, June 25, 2011

◊ Smoke Fairies: railroads, moons and bathrooms . .

Personal Reflections ...

In my virtual strolls amidst the wandering pathways of the world wide web, I came across a muzu tv video from a couple of young British guitar women who call themselves “The Smoke Fairies”. What caught my eye and inspired me to give a listen was not so much their pretty blond hair and fetchingly subtle fashions and mannerisms, as the name of their song: “Erie Lackawanna”.

Erie Lackawanna!!!! That’s the lid of a treasure-trove of memories for me. Ah yes — the Erie Lackawanna Railroad, which ran trains over the various tracks that criss-crossed the neighborhoods of my youth (even behind my grandmother’s apartment). Back in my youth, we geek-loner types didn’t have the wandering pathways of the virtual network, but we did have wandering pathways of steel rail and wooden ties. I was a kid who just didn’t fit the mold in my high school, so finding friends was not easy. But there was the Erie Lackawanna Railroad just down the street, which became my friend. Once in a blue moon a crabby railroader or cop would come along and chase me out, but most of the time I was free to roam and watch and ask questions.

There was the Rutherford station agent (the late Jim Allen, a very mellow guy who wore a cardigan and smoked a pipe), the gate crossing guard » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 2:16 pm Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment

Thursday, June 23, 2011

◊ Hermit’s Visual World

Personal Reflections ... Photo ...

Back in the early 1990’s, after breaking up from a short but intense romantic relationship, I went through a period of fascination with monks, hermits and the contemplative spiritual life. It was a good time and it lasted more than a few years. In many ways it is still part of me today, even though I didn’t have it within me to join a religious monastic order, or live a truly eremitic life. But my life is still a good deal more quiet than most.

During my years of “quiet discovery / discovery of the quiet” in the 90’s, I became a big fan of Trappist monk and writer Thomas Merton, who lived as a hermit for the last decade of his life. Well, sort of, anyway. Merton still had a lot of human contact, and one of his secular friends, John Howard Griffin, got him interested in photography. I recently picked up a used copy of a wonderful photo book by Griffin published way back in 1970, just a few years after Merton’s untimely death on a trip to the Far East. It’s called “A Hidden Wholeness: The Visual World of Thomas Merton“, and it presents a fair number of artistic photos taken by Merton, and also photos of Merton by Griffin. Within the latter set are a series of shots, all black and white and quite wonderful, showcasing Merton’s living quarters (his concrete block ‘hermitage’ out in the woods of Kentucky). It gives a nice look at the day-to-day stuff like pots in the kitchen, the sink, his bedroom, a working desk, etc.

Well, I’m not anywhere near the spiritual or artistic caliber of Merton and Griffin. But these photos nevertheless inspired me to get out the camera and get a few “quotidian” shots around my own apartment and hermitage-of-sorts. So, here is my kitchen stove on a Saturday AM, with some cooking projects underway. And the cabinet shelf where I store my hats, gloves and scarves, ready to fight off any cold and inclement weather. In black-and-white, no less. But yea, Merton probably got by with a lot fewer hats, gloves and scarves than I do, and not nearly as much other junk on the shelves. It’s tough being a simple hermit in the 21st Century!

◊ posted by Jim G @ 8:16 pm Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment

Saturday, June 18, 2011

◊ Triumph of the Rich

Current Affairs ... Economics/Business ... Politics ...

When Barack Obama caught fire in 2007, pro-government liberalism tried to make something of a come-back in the USA. To be honest, Obama’s new liberal movement didn’t thrill me, given that it built itself politically on the stale form of left-over liberalism from the mid-20th Century, fronted by worn-out leaders like Nancy Pelosi, Barney Franks, John Kerry and Harry Reid. It wasn’t a good sign that one of the newest lights in the liberal world is a clown named Al Franken. (Oh for a Robert Kennedy and a Theodore Sorensen). And its biggest cheerleader is Keith Olbermann, a media jerk just as jerky as the Fox News bad boys (Glenn Beck, etc.). Jon Stewart and Rachel Maddow also fail to inspire me.

So I got interested in the counterviews being presented, quite intelligently, by conservative writers such as Victor Davis Hanson, Charles Krauthammer, George Will and Thomas Sowell. I was just about ready to support the more thoughtful contingent of young, upcoming GOP leaders such as Paul Ryan, Rob Portman and Marco Rubio (oh yea, and Nikki Haley).

But it finally occurred to me that despite some serious grains of truth mixed in with the new Republican stew, most of it is also pretty stale and warmed over. In the end, the GOP is still the party of the rich minority, » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 11:02 pm Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

◊ Quandaries of Life

Aspergers ... Science ...

A few days ago I wrote an entry here about “socio-Aspergers Syndrome”, using Wittgenstein’s concept of “family resemblance” as used to describe the approximate way that most words are defined in our language. I contrasted this to “clinical autism” (the classical “Kanner Syndrome” version of autism, with its effects on communication skills, learning achievement, socialization, etc.). I believed that “core autism” had a more strict, scientific definition.

But a few days later I read an article on the Scientific American web site about continuing research into autism and its genetic markers. Well, it turns out that there is no one “smoking gun” in the genes that determines autism. The genetic factors are in fact all over the place, with certain overlapping trends that cover maybe 20 to 30% of all autistics, but never a definitive set of genetic conditions common to all autistic people. So, even in the DNA realm, autism is a mixed-up fruit salad, a “family resemblance” thing. Oh well, just shows how wrong we all can be!

[Unless the study was “polluted” by the “spectrum” concept – i.e., if the researchers are not focusing on the “clear cut” cases, but instead » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 9:03 pm Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment

Saturday, June 11, 2011

◊ Betting Against Stephen Hawking

Brain / Mind ... Philosophy ... Science ... Spirituality ...

Stephen Hawking (the crippled world-class physicist) is on a metaphysical tear once again. In a recent interview, he re-asserted the metaphysical viewpoint that there is no God, no heaven, no spirits, no after-life, no karma, nothing AT ALL beyond what the physics books say about reality. He recently told the London Guardian that heaven is “just a fairly story for people who are afraid of the dark”. According to the Hawking view, the known laws of gravity, working in the context of “M Theory”, a super-string based unification of the known basic forces in a fashion consistent with both quantum mechanics and general relativity, allows for creation “ex nihilo” (from nothing). Reality, according to these laws and paradigms, creates all kinds of universes from nothing; just a random throw of the dice. Sooner or later, one comes along that can support sentient and self-conscious life. Nothing terribly special about it all. It just happens.

OK, well first off; M-Theory and superstrings have not yet been verified empirically. But so what, it’s based on a lot of well thought out deductions based on many proven laws, including quantum theory and general relativity and the standard particle model (or a super-symmetric expansion of it, anyway). Einstein’s theories on special and general relativity were likewise untested when announced back in the early 20th century; as scientific techniques and abilities progressed, his ideas were eventually shown to be spot-on. So why shouldn’t M-Theory and superstrings and super-symmetry be taken seriously, pending verification from new tools such as the CERN particle accelerator and a variety of space-probes planned over the next 20 years, including the LISA multi-satellite gravity-wave detection system.

There is a slight tinge of anti-scientific hubris in this attitude, given that science is supposed to be open to surprises until the “field data” reaches a high level of confidence. But OK, Hawking is an extremely smart fellow who devoted his life to this entire stuff, so I wouldn’t bet against him regarding M-Theory. But still, » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 4:31 pm Read Comments (2) / Leave a Comment

Thursday, June 9, 2011

◊ Wittgenstein, Socio-Aspie?

Aspergers ... Philosophy ... Society ...

During my readings today I happened across a discussion regarding philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein’s thoughts on words and language. Wittgenstein made the point that most common nouns do not have a precise definition, one that would satisfy the rules of science. That’s not too surprising, as most languages and words evolved long before humankind conjured up the rules of science. According to Wittgenstein, things like chairs and tables and trees are recognized for their “chair-ness” or “tree-ness” by having a significant number of “family resemblances”. However, any one chair need not have ALL of the basic characteristics that chairs can have; it’s as if there were a menu of “chairness” features, and when an object has enough of those features (but not all of them), then it’s a chair. The next chair probably has a different set of features, but with some overlap.

And if you had a hundred different chairs, no one element on the “chairness” list would be present in every chair. But each chair would share at least a handful of characteristics with any other one. That’s just the nature of common language, that’s just how our minds work for day-to-day things. When science came along, it taught us the benefit of having strict definitions; so we can say that beryllium must have a certain number of protons in order to be beryllium (I think the number is four; beryllium is a very light metal, versus uranium with its 92 protons).

This made me think about Aspergers Syndrome. As I’ve said before, Aspergers Syndrome and I have some common ground; I’m not formally diagnosed with it, » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 9:17 pm Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment

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