Ageless in Spirit: Discussions and interests for our times

 March 6, 2025     Lieutenant Kije is well known in the music world, the world of cinema, and a M.A.S.H. episode concerning Captain Tuttle ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lieutenant_Kij%C3%A9#:~:text=Lieutenant%20Kij%C3%A9%20or%20Kizhe%20(Russian,his%20rise%20through%20the%20ranks. ).  I enjoy the music of Prokofiev whose music for the film version of of Tynyanov's novella was written after he returned to Russia from Paris during the Stalin purges. Prokofiev enjoyed great success abroad but miss speaking with the Russian people in his native language, missed the music, folklore, literature and  ambiances of his native homeland. In the film version Emperor Paul and the lady in waiting initiate the parody so that the fictious Kije is sent to Siberia but then ultimately elevated by the emperor to General but since he was summoned the emperor was told he was killed. The five themes in the music are explained in the Wikipedia post (  https://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

 February 27, 2025     It's been awhile since I've created another post. My interests and emotional attention has been influenced by the USA political turmoil of our times. I am a member of a weekly group of up to seven people who meet every Monday at 1 PM at my home. We have been sharing our personal lives, our interests in various subject, and our understanding and sometimes consternations concerning our countries political problems. The media provides me with various opinions and reported facts that attempt to explain and elucidate the various issues with to me with sometimes clarity and deep concern.      Yesterday, I was walking the two and one-half miles into Koko Crater Botanical Gardens on Oahu with my wife and a friend. At the top turn around we were resting and talking when another hiker came up and he shared his concerns. A lawyer from Idaho now retired well traveled and an adventurer we talked about  this countries political turmoil and the...

 11/9/2024      It's been awhile away from these posts. I've had my ups and downs with adventures into our health system including two recent hospitalizations which deserve a blog just on our current health system. My hiking had uncovered some problems with my heart sustaining enough flow into it's own system causing ventricular tachycardia and medical evacuation via helicopter with paddle shock to convert my heart rhythm to a more healthy state and since I'm a stubborn person not wanting to recognize my limitations another episode of ventricular tachycardia after walking during a hot day for two miles in the neighborhood. This time I had a Life Vest which monitors my heart rhythm and almost at home I was faint, the alarm in the vest told me that it was going to give me a paddle shock so I lied down on the grass and levitated with some shock pain off the grass with more normal heart rhythm so my wife drove me to the hospital and two days later have an upgraded pacema...

 August 28, 2024     I write this blog mainly to think and write about about subjects that am interested in, want to learn more about, have an opinion that requires more thought, and wanting to share with others. This last goal is somewhat unrealistic since I have few followers and interested readers. Some of my posts have been to write about science, physics, cosmology, alternative ways to view what we know and believe. I suppose this may be boring to some unless they have similar interests.       In my January 14,2024 blog I wrote about Israel as a Zionistic state versus a democracy. I’ll continue with this posting ( https://mindandconnection.blogspot.com/2024/01/january-14-2024-my-opinions-concerning.html ).     I read an article concerning the Israeli government, the settlers in the West Bank aspirations, violent behaviors toward Palestinians, right wing Jewish movements aspirations and successes in controlling the government and investig...

  April 29, 2024     Yesterday, I had a discussion with my friend and wife concerning the October 7 massacre, rape, and kidnapping of Jewish residents near the Gaza border. The Israeli responses to find the hostages and free them, and eliminate any future attack against Israeli citizens is still ongoing with now concentration of attention at the Gazan city of Rafah. The millions of Gazan civilians, non combatants, women, children, elderly, infirm, and family members have had to move from various parts of Gaza with some warning and direction from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) while the IDF bombed, bulldozed, and attempted to root out the estimated 40,000 Hamas fighters and free the hostages. The controversies concerning this strategy in part relate to the injury of non combatant Palestinian Gazan people, the destruction of healthcare and hospital facilities and injury of health care and refugee personnel, and the reported dire starvation issues these civilians face....

 April 20,2024     I just finished walking 3.4 miles in under two hours from my home to the post office and back to mail a birthday card to my granddaughter. I wanted her to get the card before her birthday, I wanted to get exercise to keep my body including my heart healthy and  maintain my better body weight, and be out with sunlight and mild breeze. As I walked on the streets, parks, and stores to the post office I obeyed the crosswalk directions and signals, kept to the side walks and paths, and did deposit the birthday card at the post office. Earlier I greeted a friend who comes every few years to fix my computer which he did and we talked about his new job, his wife's job, some background about his parents and Rebecca shared some interests in jewelry making which his wife enjoys. His wife teaches at La Pietra Girl's school and I commented that we hiked with another art teacher from this school in the past and that the school had some horseback riding classes. ...