Reading, Writing, Pondering: Big Life Themes, Literature, Contemporary/Historical Issues |
Welcome to the 14th century, in a farflung outpost of the Holy Roman Empire, and a new Convent outpost of the terrrifically powerful Roman Catholic Church. Sound historically dull? Hopefully not so--for this is NOT an ordinary 14th Century Convent. Back after a six-year hiatus.... From NaNoWriMo historical Supernatural novels in Scotland, Michigan, South Alabama and historical horror in Standwood Station, GA-to the Phantom Northern Woods-to singlehandedly refighting the American Civil War-to exploring Social Justice and standing for First Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution-we deal out horror, Supernatural, Historical, fantasy, mystery, and more. We do not fear outspokeness. And always, always, always, We Do History. Find it here. We write it. We read it. We hold strong opinions. We orate. Meanwhile, whether we're writing or just reading, we love to rave about books and authors right here! |
30-Day Travel Blogging: Philadelphia During the day we're going to enjoy some museums before having dinner at City Tavern on 2nd Street to enjoy a step back in history before we go ice skating at Rothman's. https://www.visitphilly.com/articles/philadelphia/top-things-to-do-in-philadelph... https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g60795-Activities-c49-Philadelphia_Penns... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Tavern https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60795-d478486-Reviews-City_Tavern... Ahh, the City of Brotherly Love! Thankfully we've escaped that Super Bowl traffic. I remember one year that Pittsburgh won the World Series: maybe this wasn't so during the V-E and V-J Day celebrations at the end of WWII, or on Armistice Day at the end of The Great War (which didn't end all wars), but in modern times it seems like a "big win" (World Series, Super Bowl, World Cup, NBA Championship), is just an excuse for folks to unleash that reptile brain and pig out, loot out, assault on, and so forth, go crazy with mass hysteria. It's saddening because it's so clear at these times how narrow is the veneer of civilization, even though the U.S. is considered to be the most prosperous and advanced nation in the world. If we'd gone to Pennsylvania just two days ago, we could have to Punxatawney and watched for Groundhog Phil. So I'll settle for the indoor Philadelphia Flower Show and Philadelphia Home Show; Philadelphia Museum of Art and Please Touch Museum. Oh boy! It's Black History Month, so let's visit the African-American Museum, the Free Library (yay!), t he African-American Children's Fair. (I think the Institute of Contemporary Art special exhibit Colored People Time: Mundane Futures would be a blast.) A lot of educational activities here! We can't miss the exhibit Mythic Creatures: Dragons, Unicorns, & Mermaids, held at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University! I'm going to have to stay the whole month--or longer!! |
Joy, hope you're feeling much better, soonest! Prompt: If you were to inherit or were given the ownership of a professional football team, or any other team of your choice, what would your priorities be where your players and coaches are concerned? What aspects of the game would you want your team to focus on, aside from winning? You know, all my life I've held this bizarre conception that the Environment and people are more important than profits. Gee, what was I thinking?? To my view, professional sports is a business just like Megacorporations. No difference between, say, any professional sports team, and corporations like Facebook, Google, Apple, AT&T, Enron....on and on ad infinitum. Everybody's in it for the profit. It would be great to see ONE team owner who bought the team because he or she or they love that particular sport, but let's get realistic: that ain't happening. It's profits from ticket sales, it's megacorporation sponsorship, it's how many millions can we throw at athletes (which the team ownership then has to recoup from ticket and merchandise sales). It's NOT about Principles or Integrity or Doing What's Right. I don't think it's even about love of the sport. It's just profit and greed. I got news for all of those greedy profiteers out there, no matter the field of endeavour: HE WHO DIES WITH THE MOST TOYS DOES NOT WIN. |