Beware the Ides of March |
Eye on Faith
Friday, March 15, 2024
Julius and the Jews
Wednesday, March 6, 2024
Beware the Apple
Had Eve never partaken of the proverbial malus, today’s world might be fraught with far less malice.
The apple’s lure is as strong as ever, albeit in quite a different form. Today’s Apple can manifest as a Vision Pro headset that is difficult to resist, even while cruising down the roadway. Fortunately for one such driver, police stopped him before a brick wall would.
The parent company had been savvy enough to issue this warning: “Never use Apple Vision Pro while operating a moving vehicle… or in any other situations requiring attention to safety.” Just as in biblical times, humans routinely ignore benevolent guidance.
Resources
https://www.iheart.com/content/2024-02-05-watch-tesla-driver-wearing-apple-vision-pro-headset-gets-pulled-over/?mid=1228317&rid=98364581&sc=email&pname=newsletter&cid=NATIONAL&keyid=National%20iHeart%20Daily%20NewsTalk&campid=headline5_readmore
Tuesday, February 27, 2024
How pious was Pius XII?
The
word “pious,” often used to describe a
devoutly religious person, is sometimes sarcastically
used to connote hypocrisy. Pope Pius XII, circa 1951
(Public Domain)
During World War II’s Holocaust, Pope Pius XII remained publicly silent. He did, however, discreetly aid numerous Nazi victims. Was his public silence a sign of cowardly hypocrisy, or did it pragmatically facilitate his clandestine efforts to save lives?
Practical as his stance may have been during the war, what happened next seems murky. Archbishop Sergio Pagano, current Prefect of the Vatican Apostolic Archive, pointed out that Pius continued this stony silence long after the war ended. Pagano firmly declared, “After the war, I would have expected a word more, for all these people who went to the gas chambers.”
Pagano has also shown “disdain for the incomplete research behind Pius’ sainthood cause, which is now apparently on hold…” Pius may very well have been a confusing mixture of saint and sinner, very much like many a human here on Earth.
Resources
https://news.yahoo.com/keeper-vatican-secrets-retiring-wants-090357472.html
Thursday, February 15, 2024
United We Land
Sunrise at Sojiji Zen Temple (Atlanticpuffin) |
United Airlines feels your pain and has issued a memo reminding staff that personal cell-phone usage is forbidden during shift times.
It not only seems rude to ignore customers while on the job, but also seems downright dangerous. While eyeing texts rather than cabin developments, attendants might miss some clear and present threats.
Many a worker has endured on-the-job lag times without resorting to dopamine hits. Mindfulness practices can help to uplift these so-called downtimes.
Resources
https://news.yahoo.com/united-airlines-leaked-memo-reveals-145707446.html
Friday, February 9, 2024
Super Bowl End Day
NASA Chart (Public Domain) |
Should it perchance strike our planet with the force of “141 gigatons of TNT,” the destruction would be considerable. If a city were directly hit, the resulting crater would be “11 miles wide.” The human casualty count could be as high as 13 million, two million of which would be subject to instant vaporization.
The statistical chances of this occurring are one in thousands, which sounds lucky unless Earth happens to be that one. If such a strike were to occur, then even the Super Bowl would be second-rate news.
Resources
https://news.yahoo.com/nasa-issues-warning-asteroid-size-150847943.html
Friday, February 2, 2024
Duel or Duet?
Hamilton and Burr (Painting by J. Mund) |
Not to worry, Burr was able to soon pick up where he left off as Vice President of the United States. His New Jersey indictment was removed on the technicality that Hamilton actually died in New York.
Sounds about as logical as what’s been happening lately. Senator Nick Schroer of Missouri flippantly proposed that dueling be reinstated as a way of settling political disputes. His explanation: “I mean, if we’re going back in time and acting like an uncivilized society…” In other words, if the shoe pinches, blow it to smithereens…
Some of us still hold out hope for a peaceful solution, one that sounds more like a duet than a duel. It might not be in perfect harmony, but discordant debate sounds a lot better than raucous violence.
Resources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burr%E2%80%93Hamilton_duel
https://www.iheart.com/content/2024-01-26-missouri-lawmaker-wants-to-bring-back-duels-to-settle-differences/?mid=1223430&rid=98364581&sc=email&pname=newsle
Wednesday, January 24, 2024
Unreasonable Facsimiles
Religion has traditionally had the monopoly on resurrection. Not so much anymore. Science has been creeping farther and farther into that domain.
Those who have lost loved ones may soon be fooled into thinking that technology can bring them back. As audio and visual replications become highly sophisticated, folks may soon be virtually attending their own funerals.
This holographic trend has been dubiously compared to watching videos of loved ones long after they’re gone. Such videos, however, have not been interactive. When doppelganger avatars begin to talk back, it’s a whole new ball game with many potential strikes.
And what might AI prompt the deceased to say? Would it be anything like what a spiritually resurrected mother, father, husband, wife, son or daughter might proclaim? Will they speak of wonders that resemble heavenly accounts, or will they simply disclose where the life-insurance papers are hidden?
Resources
https://www.yahoo.com/news/ai-can-allow-us-to-talk-to-the-dead-but-is-that-healthy-204447488.html