When Empirical Observation is Dangerous
"Gee whiz, I only said I THOUGHT I saw Neptune..." (painting by Rubens)
28 December 1612: heretical heliocentrist Galileo Galiliei (1564 – 1642) observes the heavenly body later identified as the planet Neptune. Twenty one years later he would be punished with permanent home detention because he would not adhere to the received wisdom that all moved around the static earth. “And yet it moves…” Galilei, in the play by Bertolt Brecht*, says: I offer my observations, and they smile. I place my telescope at their disposal so they can convince themselves, and they quote Aristotle. But the man had no telescope!…Truth is the child of time, not of authority. Our ignorance is…
Continue Reading →Superstition
(by Irwin J. Weill)
Songs in our Heart # 66 Superstition (Stevie Wonder) (written by Stevie Wonder; released October 1972) [100% groove, 100% funk, 110% soul. “When you believe in things, you don’t understand….then you suffer.” We don’t understand how this song works so well, but we believe, and it hurts real good.]
Continue Reading →More Than a Feeling
Songs in Our Heart # 65 More Than a Feeling (Boston) (written by ‘Tom’ Scholz; released September 1976) [Better than any drug. Just close your eyes, and slip away…]
Continue Reading →Merry Christmas
When did they build this Sky-deck?
Xmas 2016: Celebrating the most famous surrogate birth in history… And a Happy New Year to you all.
Continue Reading →Don’t Ask Me Questions
Songs in Our Heart # 64 Don’t Ask Me Questions (Graham Parker and the Rumour) (written by Graham Parker; released May 1978) [A thunderous song, whether played fast or slow, reggae or disco – the full-accelerator version here is a studio single from side 4 of The Parkerilla live album. “Who waves his mighty hand and breaks the precious rules?….ain’t no answer in me…]
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