May 2008 Archives

Solace in Stillness: Celebrating Where You Stand

By David W. Boles on May 30, 2008 7:09 AM | 26 Comments

We are always driven to move forward, to change, and to never stand still. Today, I wonder if there is value in standing your ground and solace in the stillness of celebrating where you stand.

Continue reading Solace in Stillness: Celebrating Where You Stand.

Miracle Myth Memes and the Propagation of Hope in Wen Chuan

By David W. Boles on May 29, 2008 8:36 AM | 10 Comments

The recent earthquake in Wen Chuan, China gives us a moment to reflect on our mortality in sorrow, express a renewed appreciation for being alive, and an opportunity to learn how we grieve and how we always try to look for stories of hope in the propagation of news from a disaster site.

I call those propagated stories of incredible survival -- "Miracle Myth Memes" -- and they are a fascinating cultural salve against the unthinkable.

Continue reading Miracle Myth Memes and the Propagation of Hope in Wen Chuan.

Aging Less Perfection

By David W. Boles on May 28, 2008 7:03 AM | 27 Comments

Would you want to live long enough to see your 128 year-old face in the mirror -- half-blind and wholly inert -- staring back at you?

Continue reading Aging Less Perfection.

Best Cup of Coffee

By David W. Boles on May 27, 2008 7:03 AM | 26 Comments

When and where did you drink the best cup of coffee you ever had the honor of tasting and swallowing?

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Picture Yourself Learning Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac

By David W. Boles on May 22, 2008 7:39 AM | 18 Comments

I am delighted and honored to announce my latest book -- Picture Yourself Learning Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac -- is now published and available for purchase everywhere outstanding books are sold!

Continue reading Picture Yourself Learning Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac.

Google Health Wants Your Body

By David W. Boles on May 21, 2008 9:39 AM | 8 Comments

Google already has your mind. Now Google wants your body!

Continue reading Google Health Wants Your Body.

When Sorry is Not Really

By Dananjay Anandan on May 20, 2008 6:05 PM | 9 Comments

Dananjay Anandan wrote this article.

It was sometime in the late nineties and I was still in college. It was the month of January and IIT, Madras was hosting "Saarang," its annual cultural festival, and I, along with thousands of other college-goers from all over the country and overseas flocked to each of the five days that the festivities spanned.

Continue reading When Sorry is Not Really.

The Wonder of Experience Without Meaning

By David W. Boles on May 20, 2008 9:35 AM | 28 Comments

I'm sure you've met them before -- the people that do a thousand things yet have no meaning or magnitude attached to the learning in the experience. They live overwhelmed and without wonder.

Continue reading The Wonder of Experience Without Meaning.

Obambi as Curious George

By David W. Boles on May 19, 2008 8:12 AM | 16 Comments

Which is the better way to diminish a man: Having his wife publicly castrate him, or repeatedly comparing him to cartoon animals in print and on t-shirts?

Continue reading Obambi as Curious George.

From Ocher to Oil to Pixel: The Female Breast in Antiquity

By David W. Boles on May 16, 2008 8:50 AM | 18 Comments

We are a current culture obsessed by, infected with, and clamoring for -- the female breast. Have we always been breast-centric beings? Or is the modern breast in situ only our latest distraction from the real perils of the earthly world?

Let's turn to art to help inform the context that creates our culture. Early ocher cave paintings and even hieroglyphs made clothing -- more than the bare breast -- the most distinctive identifier of the human form:

Continue reading From Ocher to Oil to Pixel: The Female Breast in Antiquity.

Einstein and the Vatican Rock the Secular Universe

By David W. Boles on May 15, 2008 7:51 AM | 23 Comments

God believers have always held up Albert Einstein -- the World's Smartest Man -- as evidence that God exists because they believe Einstein said God was real.

Continue reading Einstein and the Vatican Rock the Secular Universe.

A Blind Dog and a Dungeon

By David W. Boles on May 14, 2008 8:34 AM | 26 Comments

Child abuse takes many ghostly forms and has a multiplicity of fathers. I can still remember, decades later, the one time I was enticed by an older man and how the awful hauntings of that dungeon-like experience still threaten me today.

Continue reading A Blind Dog and a Dungeon.

Can Mere Mortals Predict Miracles?

By David W. Boles on May 13, 2008 7:32 AM | 37 Comments

Is it possible for mere mortals to predict Miracles?

Continue reading Can Mere Mortals Predict Miracles?.

Picking Your Own Democrat Vice President

By David W. Boles on May 12, 2008 8:00 AM | 10 Comments

I had some great fun over the weekend picking my own Democrat Vice President online by answering a variety of qualifying questions. Here are the first few choices I made:

Continue reading Picking Your Own Democrat Vice President.

Private ASL Tutoring via Online Chat

By David W. Boles on May 9, 2008 7:51 AM | 16 Comments

Janna and I are pleased to announce a couple of new features added to our American Sign Language HardcoreASL.com learning portal.

Continue reading Private ASL Tutoring via Online Chat.

CBCInnovis and Fair Isaac Think Janna is Dead

By David W. Boles on May 8, 2008 7:56 AM | 14 Comments

Yesterday, Janna was shocked and horrified to learn CBCInnovis and "Fair Issac" think she is deceased!

Continue reading CBCInnovis and Fair Isaac Think Janna is Dead.

The Indian Premier League

By Dananjay Anandan on May 7, 2008 7:01 PM | 14 Comments

Dananjay Anandan wrote this article.

There's a new act in the circus and it's called the Indian Premier League.

Continue reading The Indian Premier League.

Time for Hillary to Go

By David W. Boles on May 7, 2008 7:33 AM | 12 Comments

Enough already! Hillary: Get. Out!

Continue reading Time for Hillary to Go.

The Covenants of Modern Faith

By David W. Boles on May 6, 2008 9:09 AM | 13 Comments

Is there such a thing as a universal covenant between people today that is unspoken, yet understood? Or are we all doomed to the niches of our own faith?

Continue reading The Covenants of Modern Faith.

This American Life with Ira Glass

By Gordon Davidescu on May 5, 2008 7:01 PM | 10 Comments

Gordon Davidescu wrote this article.

Last night I attended a one-time film event called This American Life Live. While, strictly speaking, it was not actually live due to my being on the west coast (Side note: for some reason, we on the west coast almost never get "live" broadcasts - they are always "time delayed") it was still a spectacular event.

Continue reading This American Life with Ira Glass.

Mind Manager or Paper Pusher?

By David W. Boles on May 5, 2008 7:24 AM | 11 Comments

When you elect a national leader -- do you want a Mind Manager or a Paper Pusher?

Continue reading Mind Manager or Paper Pusher?.

The Impending American Apocalyptic

By David W. Boles on May 2, 2008 7:37 AM | 18 Comments

Do Americans always look for the worst in the best? Is the one thing we universally share with each other a national Death Wish?

Continue reading The Impending American Apocalyptic.

Arguing Against Corridor Teaching

By David W. Boles on May 1, 2008 8:33 AM | 24 Comments

We must always teach our children universal ideas. The temptation to "corridor" teach them -- instead of bending young minds open to other doorways for learning -- is a national failing of a teaching philosophy.

Continue reading Arguing Against Corridor Teaching.

« April 2008 | Main Index | Archives | June 2008 »

David W. Boles: Let us know what the UK press is saying today, read more
David W. Boles: It was strange, Dananjay, to see McCain so full of read more
David W. Boles: Right, Katha! Now the really hard work begins. There's a read more
msdemmie: What a wonderful feeling to wake up to - 6there read more
Dananjay Anandan: !!! Now Obama can start with the real work! I read more
Kathakali Chatterjee: Yay!!! Heartiest Congratulations!!! I jusr reached the hotel and saw read more
David W. Boles: How can you sleep, Gordon? I have to hear Obama read more
Gordon Davidescu: Virginia helped finish it off too. :) Good night. Sweet read more
David W. Boles: MSNBC just called the race for Obama with the West read more
David W. Boles: Yeah! Obama is at 200. He needs 270 to win read more

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