Peabody Essex Museum,
Salem MA
Hooked up with long time GE buddy, Bill M., and trek'd there. Awful driving in Salem for all the construction, but we got there. Nice, medium size museum with a major blown glass exhibit right now.
Dave's Journal, May2021
Hooked up with long time GE buddy, Bill M., and trek'd there. Awful driving in Salem for all the construction, but we got there. Nice, medium size museum with a major blown glass exhibit right now.
Bought a new camera strap (I only had 63 up 'til yesterday ). Comes with this little tag.
I am pleased to learn that (as you can read) my radness has no bounds.
Perfect weather, not many people due to COVID restrictions. Never saw Boston traffic so light, on the way down (late morning).
I ask you . . . what would Mother's Day be without a CornHole Challenge tournament?
Would you send $25 to a lady in Latvia?
I did.
Tired of listening to political screaming from every direction, everywhere you go, and on TV and the internet ? ..... read on.
(Copied from the CSM weekly newsletter - I added the animations)
American membership in houses of worship has plummeted to below 50% for the first time in eight decades of Gallup polling, from 70% in 1999 to 47% in 2020. And that shift away from organized religion has dovetailed with the rise of an intense form of partisan politics that some see as quasi-religious - providing adherents with a sense of devotion, belonging, and moral certitude.
From MAGA devotees on the right to social justice warriors on the "woke left", political activism that can feel "absolute" in a religious way is rampant.
Especially among young people, "if your candidate wins, you have that ecstatic feeling," says Ryan Burge, an expert on religion and politics at Eastern Illinois University who is also a Baptist pastor. A stump speech can feel like a tent revival. Donating regularly to candidates is like tithing.
Why is this happening? Some point to social media and news consumption habits that have cordoned Americans off into ideological echo chambers. The sense of connection some find online may be replacing social networks once formed by houses of worship. A cultural emphasis on science and "rationalism" is also a factor.
"Our politics has become religion. It has a religious fervor to it now that it didn't have even 20 or 30 years ago," says Professor Burge.
Chris, Paula and Bela met us there.
Lovely day today. I spent some of it practicing my craft. This is a composite of images plus tweaks via The GIMP.
Yesterday. Parked at Alewife station and redlined it to meet them in Boston. Walked and talked all day. Ate at Tia's.
Encouraged by some internet chit-chat, I got into an artsy cinema mood and bought the DVD of what is reportedly one of the truly great Russion artsy movies - Andrei Tarkovsky's 1979 science fiction masterpiece in a new digital restoration.
In terms of cinematography it is fantastic.
That's the good news and it's the only good news.
Script? ... what script? except for a few short paragraphs, there is no script.
Plot? ... I know there is a plot going on, and I have some vague imaginings of what it might possibly be, but that's as close as I got.
When I got up to bed, Deb asked me what I was watching, and I said "some Youtube stuff" .
File these under "I don't get it" . . .
