One of the greatest capitalist rip-offs of the second half of the 20th century was to convince women that they would be better off and happier being “liberated” to leave their families and to emulate the meaningless hamster-wheel work life (so falsely glamorized) that their mates “enjoyed.” So now we end up with (more…)
July 26, 2012
My venture into comparative sensory capability — with tarantulas
At one time I was going to do auditory behavioral research with spiders, and chose tarantulas because they were fairly easy to work with (at least you could observe their reflex behavior readily — crouch to an air blast, and they are not web weavers). I would use classical conditioning to check for frequency discrimination associated with an air blast for similar frequencies pairs. Anyhow, this creepy crawly box arrived while I was on vacation. A graduate assistant was assigned (more…)
Why was Pearl Harbor any surprise?
War with Japan was not a surprise for most Americans. What was a surprise (more…)
Is (was) Paul a survivalist? Yes and No.
It’s interesting to consider that half a century ago, I had some things somewhat comparable to this rather over-the-top survivalist, stashed in the trunk of my car. I always kept (more…)
Gradualism and/or revolution in climate change? It’s not just about the whales anymore.
Although any individual instance does not establish a trend, the pattern of an increasing number of hot days and weather extremes, along with other climate changes, unfortunately makes the climate-change danger irrefutably clear (except for a few in the pay of the 1%). (more…)
July 6, 2012
Calling all married/established activist couples – where are you?
Fran and I do many of our social actions together as a couple. We have always done some things separately, but we are often together. But in my experience we are the only married/established couple present (more…)
July 5, 2012
Whither Occupy?
Fran and I attended the Occupy National Gathering that was held in Philadelphia the week of July 4th, 2012. For part of the time we were a Friendly Presence assigned to the parking area (actually, the old grave yard) of the Meeting House at 4th and Arch Streets, where Occupiers congregated and slept at night. We were (more…)
June 4, 2012
NOT June 4, 1940
“We shall go on to the end, we shall resist throughout the world,
we shall resist on the seas and oceans,
we shall resist with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our rights whatever the cost may be, (more…)
June 2, 2012
Quehanna Trail — “backpacking wonderland” or FRACKING “…that endangered life and property.”
We’ll be on the Quehanna Trail in the Moshannon Strate Forest in three days. Described in Backpacking Pennsylvania (Mitchell) thusly – “This region epitomizes expansive isolation with deep forests, wetlands, beautiful streams, open meadows, and scenic glens…This is a backpacking wonderland.” BUT… (more…)
May 20, 2012
Fran (and Paul) and Earth Quaker Action Team (EQAT) walk to Pittsburgh.
PNC bank funds mountain top coal mining that destroys the environment. This includes poisoning rivers and streams, and one result of this is a documented increase in disease and birth defects in the immediate vicinity of this work. But what can you do (more…)