culture

Like alcohol and driving, it’s hard to mix cultures

(Below is blog post. It contains naive ramblings and no great conclusions—and lots of mizpellings and grammatical errors.)

Why is it hard to mix cultures?…What is a culture?

A culture is a collection of people who share certain beliefs and values and, to some degree at least, share ideas on how those values should be expressed. For example, I was raised a Catholic, but I’m not Catholic anymore. To become a Catholic, I adopted Catholic values and beliefs; indeed, to become a member of the Catholic Church I had to profess those values and beliefs in various rituals.

So why did I leave that culture, that community? (more…)

By Decaf, ago

What some teen girls see in the mirror ~ photo commentary

I was struck by this  photo of an anorexic teen girl looking into a mirror and seeing a plumper reflection of herself. With images of ever slimmer runway models filling all the screens in a teenage girl’s life, it’s easy to imagine how impressionable young girls (or adult women for that matter) could be deluded into always seeing themselves as too fat–no matter what their true figure.

(more…)

By Decaf, ago
Neil de Grasse Tyson ~ Photo by John Roling

Neil deGrasse Tyson ~ We Stopped Dreaming

This collection of Neil deGrasse Tyson clips (assembled by Scrunchthethird on YouTube) are inspiring. I’m old enough to remember when we landed on the moon and the excitement that generated in me as a child. It was a great way to grow scientists. It was a great way to keep us dreaming. We’ve lost our vision of what space means to us on so many levels: spiritually, economically, intellectually.

The impact of NASA is not easily estimated, so it’s often easily dismissed. The opportunities lost by failing to dream are also not easily estimated and easily dismissed. What a shame.
(more…)

By Decaf, ago