To think that Dr. Blackwell came to the US to start a hospital for down and out women, who had no one to administer to their health needs, and we (US)To think that Dr. Blackwell came to the US to start a hospital for down and out women, who had no one to administer to their health needs, and we (US) just barely okayed her work, making her take classes over and over again and still refusing her credentials until her life is half over, one does really feel for her plight.
We should make a shrine to her rather than to those who have killed people. ...more
Greatest story never told, or near the greatest story.
Five daughters of the most powerful men of the talk among the Russians (Stalin); the USA (FDRoosGreatest story never told, or near the greatest story.
Five daughters of the most powerful men of the talk among the Russians (Stalin); the USA (FDRoosevelt); Great Britain (Churchill); the USA (W. Averell Harriman).
Stalin's daughter makes a couple of appearances, but it was quite obvious that her appearances were the only tools she was given.
FDR's daughter, Anna, played an essential role in overseeing FDR's health regime. (FDR died less than two month's later.)
Churchill's daughter, Sarah, was still serving in the Royal Armed Forces when she got a leave to go to Yalta with her father.
Harriman's daughter, Kathy, was easily the most broad-minded of the group, due to her matchless confidence and her athletic ability.
Very interesting story that my friend Cathy G told me about. Thanks Cathy!...more
And so, to bed. Knowing that it took 185 years to decipher the 5 different codes that Samuel Pepys used to write the diary, one shouldn’t be surprisedAnd so, to bed. Knowing that it took 185 years to decipher the 5 different codes that Samuel Pepys used to write the diary, one shouldn’t be surprised that he includes his bowel movements at times, and a good deal of his out of marriage affections, including his drunken kisses to any maiden, young daughter, female worker or other female aristocrat whose husbands mirrored Pepys own behavior.
Pepys accuses his wife and her maid of "Sluttery" or being "whores" when they burn the food . Pepys is so addicted to seeing all the plays that come to town. One week, he went to see the same play 3 times. And who doesn't love to hear about "Lord Sandwich."
I loved reading about the constant comings and goings of the Dauphin, one of the most popular pubs of its time, where Pepys regularly stopped by to have a "morning draft."
But, in looking back on history where The king’s father, CHARLES I, was beheaded 10 years earlier before Pepys’ diary entries, by some anti-monarchists, it would seem unwise to provide honest opinions in a document that could prove a recipe for the author’s own beheading. This the codes.
It took 150 years before the entire diaries were translated. Pepys wrote the bulk of his diary in a shorthand devised by Thomas Shelton, with only a few words, such as names of people and places, written longhand. It should therefore be remembered that this is not Pepys’ diary as he wrote it, but a 19th century transcription....more
While I absolutely loved the whole creative idea of this book, I felt that a little over half way, I was losing interest. When the color scheme was fiWhile I absolutely loved the whole creative idea of this book, I felt that a little over half way, I was losing interest. When the color scheme was first introduced, I marveled about the creativity, but unfortunately, I didn’t expect it would get old, and then once it was preposterous, it was a dud for me. I loved the shortage of spoons and the overt prejudice of those colors on top, and it’s correlation with our own diversity problems. That was a great idea. But it turned out to be a book that missed a “teachable moment.”...more
An amazing "who done it?" by Dick Francis. Praised as one of his best books. Find out interesting details about horse jockeys and jumpers; the mechaniAn amazing "who done it?" by Dick Francis. Praised as one of his best books. Find out interesting details about horse jockeys and jumpers; the mechanics of acquiring a prize-winning horse; and horse doctors. It's all here....more
A great summary: "And even on the surface of the earth , our powers are very limited. Above all, we cannot prevent death, although we can often delay A great summary: "And even on the surface of the earth , our powers are very limited. Above all, we cannot prevent death, although we can often delay it. Religion is an attempt to overcome this antithesis. If the world is controlled by God, and God can be moved by prayer, we acquire a share in omnipotence."
Quoting Russell:
The amazing power of desire blinds even very able men to fallacies which would otherwise be obvious at once . If we were not afraid of death, I do more not believe that the idea of immortality would ever have arisen. Fear is the basis of religious dogma, as of so much else in human life. Fear of human beings, individually or collectively, dominates much of our social life, but it is fear of nature that gives rise to religion. The antithesis of mind and matter is, as we have seen, more or less illusory ; but there is another antithesis which is important that, namely, between things that can be affected by our desires and things that cannot be so affected . The line between the two is neither sharp nor immutable — as science advances, more and more things are brought under human control.
Nevertheless there remain things definitely on the other side. Among these are all the large facts of our world, the sort of facts that are dealt with by astronomy. It is only facts on or near the surface of the earth that we can , to some extent, mould to suit our desires. And even on the surface of the earth , our powers are very limited. Above all, we cannot prevent death, although we can often delay it. Religion is an attempt to overcome this antithesis. If the world is controlled by God, and God can be moved by prayer, we acquire a share in omnipotence.
In former days, miracles happened in answer to prayer ; they still do in the Catholic Church, but Protestants have lost this power. However, it is possible to dispense with miracles, since Providence has decreed that the operation of natural laws shall produce the best possible results. Thus belief in God still serves to humanize the world of nature, and to make men feel that physical forces are really their allies. In like manner immortality removes the terror from death. People who believe that when they die they will inherit eternal bliss may be expected to view death without horror, though, fortunately for medical men, this does not invariably happen. It does, however, soothe men's fears somewhat, even when it cannot allay them wholly.
Religion , since it has its source in terror, has dignified certain kinds of fear, and made people think them not disgraceful. In this it has done man kind a great disservice : all fear is bad, and ought to be overcome not by fairy tales, but by courage and rational reflection . I believe that when I die I shall rot, and nothing of my ego will survive. I am not young , and I love life. But I should scorn to shiver with terror at the thought of annihilation. Happiness is none the less true happiness because it must come to an end, nor do thought and love lose their value because they are not everlasting.
Many a man has borne himself proudly on the scaffold : surely the same pride should teach us to think truly about man's place in the world. Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cosy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own.
The philosophy of nature is one thing, the philosophy of value is quite another. Nothing but harm can come of confusing them. What we think good, what we should like, has no bearing whatever upon what is, which is the question for the philosophy of nature. On the other hand, we cannot be forbidden to value this or that on the ground that the non-human world does not value it, nor can we be compelled to admire anything because it is a “ law of nature. ” Undoubtedly we are part of nature , which has produced our desires, our hopes and fears, in accordance with laws which the physicist is beginning to discover.
In this sense we are part of nature; in the philosophy of nature , we are subordinated to nature, the outcome of natural laws, and their victims in the long run. The philosophy of nature must not be unduly terrestrial; for it, the earth is merely one of the smaller planets of one of the smaller stars of the Milky Way. It would be ridiculous to warp the philosophy of nature in order to bring out results that are pleasing to the tiny parasites of this insignificant planet. Vitalism as a philosophy, and evolutionism, show, in this respect, a lack of sense of proportion and logical relevance. They regard the facts of life, which are personally interesting to us, as having a cosmic significance, not a significance confined to the earth's surface. Optimism and pessimism, as cosmic philosophies, show the same naïve humanism : the great world , so far as we know it from the philosophy of nature, is neither good nor bad, and is not concerned to make us either happy or unhappy. All such philosophies spring from self - importance, and are best corrected by a little astronomy. But in the philosophy of value the situation is reversed . Nature is only a part of what we can imagine ; every thing, real or imagined , can be appraised by us, and there is no outside standard to show that our valuation is wrong. We are ourselves the ultimate and irrefutable arbiters of value, and in the world of value Nature is only a part. Thus in this world we are greater than Nature. In the world of values, Nature in itself is neutral, neither good nor bad, deserving of neither admiration nor censure . It is we who create value, and our desires which confer value. In this realm we are kings, and we debase our kingship if we bow down to Nature. It is for us to determine the good life, not for Nature -- not even for Nature personified as God....more
One could draw a Venn Diagram with the strategies used by Aaron Burr during his trial of treason in 1807 and those of Donald Trump used during his twoOne could draw a Venn Diagram with the strategies used by Aaron Burr during his trial of treason in 1807 and those of Donald Trump used during his two impeachment trials in 2017 and 2021. This book provides details of heretofore , hidden details concerning our third Vice President and a play-by-play trial of his acquittal concerning TREASON. The title « American Emperor » describes Burr and attests to the outsized ego of a narcissist, but this title could also describe the person behind the subterfuge continually presented by a recent American president too. Perhaps 130 years in the future, all will be known about Donald Trump. ...more
What a thoroughly researched book. Hochschild weaves the story of several people into his narrative, including Ernest Hemingway and Martha Gellhorn. IWhat a thoroughly researched book. Hochschild weaves the story of several people into his narrative, including Ernest Hemingway and Martha Gellhorn. I can really appreciate what one of the survivors of the Spanish Civil War said about 50 years later, "Life is never as easy and as black and white as what one thinks." It is so true. In youth, one thinks that they know everything. Only later, does one learn to appreciate the nuances.
My husband's niece's husband's grandmother is mentioned in the book, Lini Fehr, as she was a nurse in the Lincoln Brigade. Unlike most of the others who returned after the Civil War, she was found to be a traitor to her country, and her citizenship was revoked. She moved to Mexico, and made a new life for herself. ...more
When I read Marcel Proust's "Swann's Way" for the first time, I was continually reminded of all the flora and fauna Swann noticed in his village. (e.gWhen I read Marcel Proust's "Swann's Way" for the first time, I was continually reminded of all the flora and fauna Swann noticed in his village. (e.g. Swann remembered when a neighbor's flowers had grown). In the same brilliant way, the biographer of "Oscar: A Biography," Matthew Sturgis, picks up on the same love for the colorful plant-and-flower-world manifested in Oscar's village, using Oscar's own words of description.
Swann's clinging attachment to his mother and summers in the country, including the two walks his family was in the habit of taking—one by an aristocratic estate, the other by an unknown house. Oscar takes walks, too, and both see so much more beauty in images outside the house, and both describe them so lovingly, that one feels sure each could have been a famous painter.
Much as Swann is consumed with regret for his misspent life; Oscar, too, tries to make things right over and over again, but fails always in the end. However, Oscar's continuously flourishing carnal knowledge must have been a small pleasure among all the chaos, rejection and madness....more
As a French-language learner, I have always been confused about the use of "Est-ce que" in French as a substitute for the English word "DO." (Not a peAs a French-language learner, I have always been confused about the use of "Est-ce que" in French as a substitute for the English word "DO." (Not a perfect match, of course, but close enough.). BTW, out of the 6,000 languages on Earth, only English and Gaelic use "DO." However, unlike English, I have found that eliminating the "Est-ce que" in a sentence in French doesn't seem to matter so much anymore as far as "Duolingo" is concerned. I may be making a huge mistake, but for me, "Why bother" adding extra word, when I'm practically encouraged to drop it? I assume this is what McWhorter meant when he said that "What is written can often be strikingly different from what is spoken." The reason? The Germanic arrived in England after the Celts. And the two languages lived side by side for a thousand years. So, this was the little bit of what English speakers added to their own language. However this is controversial, since there is not a direct link, but how can you prove something that is only spoken and not written down.
With McWhorter's book, I finally have my answer about "DO" or as he calls it, "the meaningless DO" in the English language. He makes an excellent case of the Celtic language influencing English with "the meaningless Do." McWhorter also presents a different case for "the verb noun present." I.e. making a verb, like "feel" into a noun by adding "ING" "feeling." Apparently this is something that both the Welsh and the Cornish did also, and no other language. How could it be denied that since these three different influencers of English lived side-by-side with English?
I actually met the author Mr. McWhorter at a speaking engagement at the downtown LA Library, where he was being feted for his brilliance. However, when they asked for questions, I stood and asked him, why does an "h" word occasionally use the "an" (non-specific article) in front of it as in "an historic building" and sometimes not, "a history lesson." He dismissed my question out of hand while the interviewer, quietly tried for an answer, saying there is an aspirated "H" and an "un-aspirated H." Anyway, I was disappointed that McWhorter couldn't more deftly handle my question. But I've forgiven him because he is so smart concerning language, and he writes in a brilliant, yet matter of fact way that can amuse too....more
Some would think that Catherine of Aragon, to be the most fortunate of Henry VIII's wives because she was the first wife, who was saved from living thSome would think that Catherine of Aragon, to be the most fortunate of Henry VIII's wives because she was the first wife, who was saved from living the rest of her days with a tyrannical husband when the love had faded. She remained generously provided for after the King's annulment of their marriage, including servants and several houses. But rather than be grateful for getting off scot free, she spent the rest of her life bemoaning the fact that the rituals of the Catholic faith were not being observed properly. And to be fair, she did have the Pope on her side, if only temporarily, which brought a papal suite of lawyers to her side, too.
However, my money is on Germany's proffered trophy, Anne of Cleves--the 3-E'd Anne. Yes, her marriage was annulled because Cromwell told King Henry that Cleves was pretty, even though Henry didn't think so, and so sent Cromwell to the guillotine because of his "exaggeration." But what a financially generous annulment package she received for her unloveliness. A beautiful home, queenly jewels, a matured friendship with the King after a few years, and a maternally fulfilling relationship with Henry's daughters, both (Bloody) Mary and Elizabeth (I) when they were young and carefree. Cleves also lived the longest of all of Henry's wives and was fortunate to have lived in England for the rest of them after her workload of pleasing the King lasted only a short 6 months. So, in this case, it paid to NOT be so beautiful. However, there is one detail about her that disturbs me.
The King in is disappointed fury about Cleves was politically positioned where he had to marry her because of the needed alliance with Emperor Charles from whose country Cleves represented. So, much to his disgust, on their wedding night, King Henry said that not only was Cleves unattractive, but she also "smelled." OUCH! I can't decide if this was something King Henry creatively embellished about his bride on her wedding night because he wanted to provide added justification for sending Cromwell to the guillotine-OR-might she have had some bad advice on how to please the king from a prankster advisor. Such a small detail, but a troubling and prejudicial-seeming Teutonic one, if true....more
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