Romulus, Remus, and the Rape of the Sabine Women. Tullus Hostillius and the Horatii. Sextus Tarquin and the Rape of Lucretia. These are the legendary stories of the founding of Rome and the violent developments that ultimately led to the overthrow of the hated Tarquin kings and the establishing of the Republic. On Tuesday November […]
We often have a sense of pride in a product that we have made, and the effort we put into forming the thing gives us a sense of ownership. After years of practice with the soccer ball and the playing field, I feel on the “inside” of soccer, I feel that soccer is “my thing.” […]
Recently, I found myself in a dull part of Pittsburgh, looking for a place just to get off the street, relax, and have a drink with a friend. The only place we could find promised live music–a bonus, from my point of view, since witnessing live music is one of the most rewarding experiences I […]
“Did you earn it or inherit it?” This is the question that Socrates asks the shield-manufacturer Cephalus at the beginning of Plato’s Republic. Socrates asks this question about Cephalus’s wealth, noting that people who inherit wealth from another tend be less careful about its use than do people who have earned it themselves. Already this […]
Music is essentially about time, about the way a note or a beat picks up on those that went before and sets up those that will come after. A metronome responds to this essential temporality. It produces a rigid beat to which a musician can refer in order to hold firmly to the temporal “skeleton” […]
In his dialogue Lysis, Plato gives a nice description of a very familiar human experience. Lysis, a young teenage boy, would like to come over to join a conversation that Socrates is having with some others, but he is too timid to do so. When his friend Menexenus arrives, however, he feels able, in the […]
This Sunday, October 16, at 9 pm, come out for some live jazz music at Holy Oak Cafe. Michael Davidson (vibes), John Russon (guitar), Chris Banks (bass), and Dan Gaucher (drums) will play original and standard jazz tunes. It’s a cozy club, and a great spot for music. Please come out with your friends! Holy […]
How many times have you circumnavigated the globe? How often have you been hailed as a god? If you haven’t had those experiences, perhaps you should come and hear about someone who did have them. On Tuesday, October 25, Don Beith from McGill University will tell the story of Captain Cook. Come sail with us […]
“I can finally relax,” she said. “I couldn’t really enjoy the music when we were with them. I really like those guys, but I’m not at ease with them. I’m happy now to be able to go out with you, so that I can just focus on what I’m doing.” That’s something I heard recently, […]
Apparently, some urban elementary schools now encourage their 12-year-old students to “go out for lunch,” that is, to get together in small groups and go out to purchase their lunchtime meal at a nearby downtown restaurant. When I first heard this, I was surprised, and my first thoughts were critical. “Should schools be encouraging consumerism?” […]