Simon Elmer Der Zauberlehrling (1797) is the title of a famous ballad by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a re-telling of an ancient Egyptian myth that was later put to music by the French composer, Paul Dukas, in his orchestral scherzo L’Apprenti sorcier (1897). The latter was chosen for the title of a text published in …
Lucy Davies Narcissism and its associated abuse; control, manipulation, greed, exploitation of power, an audacious sense of entitlement to name a few traits, has been the bedrock of our societies for thousands of years. Different people will relate to it from different experiences of various aspects of life, but whether these manipulative, conscience-void, power-grabbers are …
Edward curtin By the lake’s lapping shore above the town and the railroad tracks, my wife and I stopped and marveled, struck stone silent by two dazzling Baltimore Orioles, clawed together as they tumbled, wrestling in the green morning breeze above our heads. They perched upon a branch and sang a morning hymn, an ode …
Todd Hayen When I was a young lad of 11, I was fascinated with computers, or what little there was of them at the time. It was about 1966, and I checked out a book from the school library on the short but exciting history of the machines. I pored over every page of it. …
CJ Hopkins So, here’s a “conspiracy theory” for you. This one is about the global-capitalist thoughtpolice and their ongoing efforts to purge society of “insensitivity.” Yes, that’s right, insensitivity. If there is anything the global-capitalist thoughtpolice can’t stand, it is insensitivity. You know, like making fun of ethnic or religious minorities, and the physically or …
Edward Curtin My title comes from a 19th century author whose name does not matter nor would it mean much if I mentioned him. It’s an old truth that has not changed a bit over the centuries. I think, however, it would be more linguistically accurate to say that most people want to be deceived, for …
Edward Curtin “No one knows who will live in this [iron] cage in the future….” Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism I would prefer not to relay the following very strange story given to me by a fellow sociologist, but he had done me a number of favors, and since he …
Kevin Ryan Belgian psychologist Mattias Desmet published his book The Psychology of Totalitarianism in June 2022. The book brings attention to the need to understand our own psychology in this time of global crisis. It outlines the process of mass formation by which the masses find themselves to be hypnotized members of a totalitarian state. It also …
Jordan Henderson Freedom of Religion can no longer bring about the freedom that it could have in past ages had it actually been implemented; only a Freedom of Belief System could do that today. The reason for this is straightforward; Freedom of Religion would have been a big deal back when the dominant belief system …
Edward Curtin “The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.” Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus Really? Or was he joking? Whenever January rolls around and a new year begins with its implied ending, I think of my father and Albert Camus, both born in 1913. …
