In the Bible there are many references to the Jordan river. Joshua 03:17 “The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing […]
Literary Criticism
In November 1954, in Amazing Stories, Frank Herbert wrote a short story “The Gone Dogs” about a global pandemic that wiped out man’s best friend, all canines. As Science Fiction aficionados know well, Frank wrote the classic book “Dune”. It’s not the best short story that I have read, but […]
I was watching the Democratic debates tonight, and heard Tulsi Gabbard talking about the word “Aloha”. She says that it is so much more than marking comings and goings of meetings of strangers and friends — it is the recognition that we all share a connectedness, whether it is our […]
What do I mean when I say that “I like to eat meatballs at 1 A.M.“? This statement (or it can be phrased as a question, as in “Do you like to eat meatballs at 1 A.M.?” I like to eat meatballs. I like to eat at 1 A.M. I […]
Alvin Toffler wrote a book called “Future Shock” back in 1970 which posited the premise that individuals and society, as a collective whole, was experiencing a psychological syndrome akin to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This had been known to first World War (‘the Great War’) as shell shock, from living […]
Three Science Fiction authors that I remember well have surnames that start with “H” — Harrison, Haldeman, and Heinlein. All three of these wrote novels that were spring loaded with action which motivated and kept the plot moving. At their best, I would eagerly flip page after page, following the […]
Philip K. Dick wrote a bunch of science fiction books that I read back before I had a laptop computer, before I had an Android, or I-phone. One of those books is “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” I don’t think I ever read this book. I remember it as […]