Students For ..........Nobody!

I have students who have "opted out" of the whole process of democracy!  They don't vote because "the Federal Government has nothing to do with me!" Or so they say. When questioned they admit that they pay taxes; they expect the Fed Gov to keep the Interstates flowing, and to "save" them from disasters, and to protect them if they are "attacked" by another country, or a terrorist, or whomever.

But they don't know anything else about anything!  Depending on whether they know (or like) immigrants they are for or against Trump's "wall;" they like or don't like a higher minimum wage;
they want higher (or lower) taxes; they just want to be "left alone" and have no involvement with anything that might shake the sameness of their own particular "status quo."

So they are not paying attention; they are not doing any research; and they don't intend to vote! We've gotten to the point that only the KKK and White Supremacists are interested in voting "for their rights." Yikes!

Ms. Clinton the Democratic Nominee for President of the US

History has finally happened. A woman has been chosen as a Presidential Nominee for a Major Political Party in the US. Given our racist past, and our chauvinist tendencies -- a miracle of no small order!

Now the campaign for the Presidency really begins. On one side a racist, misogynistic, xenophobic con man -- on the other, a politically savvy former First Lady, who believes in our systems of government. Selfishness/egoism versus service/empathy! Hmmmm -- what a choice!

Integrated Art

From time to time I am struck with thoughts of art, drama, dance, and the alternate lifestyles that go with these professions. The human spirit -- spiralling upward, striving to be free of earth -- and things -- and mass; lives a life well beyond ordinary living. The art of life is at play.

With a glass of wine and high hopes for experiences that will transform the humdrum into the holy,
the ordinary into the heart of things. A life well lived is a life lived with art in mind -- being artistic means being adventurous.

Colin Has "Left the Building"

As Tropical Storm Colin leaves the greater Savannah area -- it leaves with flooding in some streets, disrupted schedules (school was "called off" in mid-class on Monday at 5:00 PM), anxious locals, wary public officials!

Why? Two Tropical Storms in five days will be enough to make people a bit uncomfortable. Classes get "put behind" as people worry about simple travel across the area, street closures complicating picking up children, and just feeling like "none of us are really in control" during this messy time. All of that is true and raises the level of anxiety for all.

Welcome to Tropical Storm Colin

Yet another huge rainmaker is heading for Savannah, this time from the Gulf Coast side across the narrow nexus that is the Panhandle, then up through Southern Georgia, grazing Savannah as it heads out to sea. We will get lots of rain from it (5-8 inches or more) and plenty of cloudy weather -- but no high winds.

Rain all day Monday; rain all day Tuesday! Flooding all day -- both days -- but especially at high tide!

Welcome to strange springtime weather in the South!

Building the Wall

Some construction, or rather reconstruction, work being completed on my house today of the low-lying wall around the yard. Years and vegetation had eaten away several lengths of wall -- varying from 8 feet to about 1 foot.

Ms. Natalie Henshaw, ace former History Prof at Savannah Tech, and now bricklayer/plasterer extraordinaire is working of that project even as I write this. Thank you Natalie -- you are "worth your weight" in more than just dollars. Kudos to you...

Strange New World

Spending any amount of time "online" one soon discovers that the world has changed. In some ways the knowledge base, constantly growing and progressing, has been overtaken by the informational deluge surrounding it. Machines now talk to each other regularly -- cars to people, cars to dealerships, cars to services, refrigerators to the rest of the "integrated home," the Internet of Things has begun!

And with that -- and all the medical, feedback, and testing devices we can wear on or insert into our bodies -- keeps the information flow about our lives moving. And we can pass on that information to doctors, trainers, caretakers, or anyone we choose. The internet has quietly connected us to, and made us an inseparable part of, the universe.

Not everyone has noticed the change however. Some people still don't understand that the internet actually does exist; and it is not a fad; and it has already written the script for the next 100 years of our lives as humans. And then what?  Artificial intelligence isn't saying!