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Posts in category "Uncategorized"

Locating Long-Ago-And-Faraway On your GPS

Today’s GPS systems are one more modern marvel. They seem capable of locating virtually anything anywhere anytime. Or can they…? I tried a simple experiment knowing it would fail — locating that special long-ago-and-faraway in my life. To be sure, neither computers nor satellites promise to do what memory alone can. Which means these marvels... Read more »
By Jack Spatafora,
today at 12:50 pm
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So What's Your 3 Worst Dirty-Little-Secrets!

Another campaign. Another time to leak dirty little secrets. Past affairs, past lies, past deals, past birth certificates & resumes. But the relevant word, my friend, is “past.” All usually in the person’s past. Long ago, far away, and probably totally disconnected from the current campaign. Besides, if we were to score the two nominees... Read more »
By Jack Spatafora,
Monday at 10:25 am
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What's Wrong With Being The Best...? A Lot!

Socrates is always a good guy to quote: “Beauty is a short-lived tyranny.” Ask any Hollywood glamor girl to explain that. Next, consider this twist to Socrates: “Being best is also a short-lived tyranny.” By all accounts, America is “the best.” At least in terms of wealth, power, productivity, and global influence. But where does... Read more »
By Jack Spatafora,
May 27, 2012 at 10:59 am
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Join Me Next Tuesday Night At PBS For Some Baling Wire

Next Tuesday, prominent historian Nial Ferguson hosts Part II of his PBS documentary “Civilization: The West and the Rest.” Part I showed how the West has dominated these last 500 years because of such assets as capitalism and science. Now he’ll have to explain why our scientifically sophisticated capitalist Goliath is showing signs of weakness... Read more »
By Jack Spatafora,
May 26, 2012 at 10:09 am
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If You're Suffering From On-Set Adulthood, Take This With A Warm Glass Of Milk

A Secret Garden…? You had one. I did too. We all did. But somehow, with on-set adulthood, we lost it. This is how it is with very serious 21stC rational adults. And yet, somewhere the fragrance of our childhood’s Secret Garden still giggles in our thoughts. Far too many of us permit those gardens to... Read more »
By Jack Spatafora,
May 25, 2012 at 9:31 am
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Right Now We're Traveling Tunnels-of-Time

Think tunnels. Physical tunnels, like those in say an ant colony or a copper mine. Then think time-tunnels, like the ones in which everyone is traveling right now. Including you and me. All hurrying through our particular appointed rounds for the day. Breakfast, getting to work, doing the job; later reading, thinking, socializing. But each... Read more »
By Jack Spatafora,
May 24, 2012 at 10:29 am
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Life's Biggest Joke On Us

Uncle Harry used to give me a little wink: “Essere intelligente…! Be smart, kid, and learn it now. You gotta live life forwards, but really you can only understand it backwards.” And yet I ask you, who’s smart enough at 13 to understand one of life’s biggest jokes? The Uncle Harry’s of the world can... Read more »
By Jack Spatafora,
May 23, 2012 at 11:09 am
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Security -- Guns, Guts, Or God?

Chicago’s recent NATO Summit is one more example of how our species — from caves to skyscrapers — still huddles together seeking security in a dangerous world. For all our bravado with fast cars, big homes, and large portfolios, scratch bravado’s surface and you find a desperate need for security. The evidential numbers are staggering... Read more »
By Jack Spatafora,
May 22, 2012 at 10:01 am
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Mix Equal Part Sex & Cars And You Get A Hollywood Hit

We exist in a world bristling with pleasures and pains. Of the pains, cancer is arguably the worst. However, there is no argument about which pleasure is the best. The female orgasm. Science has gone to astonishing MRI lengths to quantify this fact.. Perhaps that explains why the intoxicating pleasure of sex is woven into... Read more »
By Jack Spatafora,
May 21, 2012 at 10:05 am
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OK, What Do We Do With The Old Folks?

All through human history there have always been old folks. However, never so damn many of us! What’s going on here? Lot of explanations, but in a way they all come down to this basic irony: Young people have been making more old people, and now aren’t quite sure what to do with us. Our... Read more »
By Jack Spatafora,
May 20, 2012 at 10:09 am
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