Brown Motion

My blogs tend not to be political.  Not to be favoring a particular demographic or national identity. Some readers might find this particular write up or perhaps some others for that matter not adhering to this ground rule.  As many readers  might be quick to note 'yours truly' does not care what or if you think.  LOL. But here I would go on a limb and state that the current government has botched this once in a lifetime opportunity to tackle the calamity, to pivot and be proactive and to lead by example. America is completely NOT what it could be.   The POTUS with his Narcissistic personality disorder (if I were to use a euphemism) has turned this great land of opportunity into the world's laughing stock. India with its deplorable record on many facets of daily life and with a threadbare but more effective healthcare apparatus is also taking indirect jabs at pointing out how screwed up America got in face of this horrible pandemic. I ...

I read the third international bestseller from an Israeli historian called Yuval Harari. A modern day thinker, this man has unpacked a lot in his writings over the past few years.  All his writings revolve around trying to answer some of history's most complex puzzles.  Who are we?  What is our purpose?  What comes next? In this latest installment he takes us on a journey way into the past to the point of creation and brings us crashing into the modern day earth and then paints a scary picture of what is to come.  Or at least a possible future. While it is hard to completely digest the entirety of this man's writings here are a few takeaways I can enumerate - 1.  Humans are really bad with large numbers.  Each of us to varying degrees has a switch that fails at computing 'scale'.  We can think of ourselves and our surroundings over a period of time but it is far too limited when appreciating our role as a species over extended periods....

Homo Deus - A 'now consider this' type of essay as a follow up to the famous history lesson called 'Sapiens'.  Written by Israeli historian Yuval Harari reads in part like a doomsday scenario and part like an agenda for the 21st century. While he is often viewed and perhaps criticized as an eternal pessimist, I actually find his writing thoughtful and realistic.  That said there are points of view he shares that do seem fantastical in part for the very idea that no one living on this planet can predict the future. He is careful to read from history to being able to provide a possible future state of the world we call home.  The entire premise postulates that while our species Homo Sapiens Sapiens has evolved over the last million years from the Homo Erectus and other apes before it we are in a state of migrating to the next logical stage of evolution.  He only half jokingly calls it Home Deus (to mean god-like).  Or divine. Divinity not in the form of ...

There are distinct architectural styles to a place and a large city is no exception.  The culture of the place shapes the city or state or country for that matter.  Here are some observations from places visited and how they differ. European cities largely tend to have a common theme - that of a large public square in which citizens gather to socialize, shop, eat and just have fun.  These squares are oft referred to as plazas and served as a central place in history for mass gatherings for political rallies and other non Facebook enabled events. Royal Palace in Madrid, Spain Often these plazas take the form of palace grounds or cathedral courtyards to allow people to come and admire, gawk or vicariously enjoy the grand life. Shores of Barcelona, Spain Some times the space is designed for a specific purpose like an expo and then used as a public gathering place for future. Plaza Espana - for World Expo in Seville, Spain Cities big and small also have...

Bill Bryson is an American living in Britain that has written a few works of non fiction.  Most have a history lesson feel to them but are extremely readable.  One of the more recent ones circa 2012 that came out dealt with the story of our homes.  As in how did the home with its many rooms that we live in came to be. It is an anthropological journey from the hunter gatherer man to his present day status as a civilized, biped occupying large swaths of livable land mass to feed, clothe and shelter his brood. It is a fascinating read that takes you through various digressions including various inventions that made fortunes for a few and many a remarkable brainiac that was forgotten by history.  In it he also remarks that history is often like that.  Truer words were never said. He delves in to the story of illumination (the literal kind) from wax and tallow to discovery and use of kerosene to why certain kitchen implements are the way they are.  We ten...