Wednesday, September 12, 2018

September theater!

She was a Hollywood super-star and, surprisingly, co-inventor of technology used in missile guidance and cell-phones!

The award winning, hilarious, and thoughtful play "Hedy!" by my friend Heather Massie will be performed on Saturday September 15th in NYC!

Tour, tickets, pics: http://www.heathermassie.com/hedy



Thursday, April 19, 2018

Einstein's activism

Einstein's activism against lynching apparently takes up 20 pages of his FBI "Treason File #61". There's nothing treasonous in it.

Einstein's FBI file is available on the FBI website.

Its implications are discussed in the newly updated _The Einstein File: The FBI's Secret War Against the World's Most Famous Scientist_ by Fred Jerome. I went to the book launch tonight.

Apparently, Einstein didn't just sign a letter. He actively co-chaired an anti-lynching organization, in shock and anger at the wave of lynchings in 1946 after black soldiers returned from World War II. His co-chair was noted singer and activist Paul Robeson, who was also a friend. When a singer was not allowed to stay in a local hotel --solely due to her race--- Einstein let her stay at his house. In her memoir, she recalled him fondly.

Einstein was also active ---beyond writing--- on other issues. Free speech and nuclear weapons are still debated today. But on anti-semitism and race, Einstein's opinions, while radical in their day, are common sense now.

I like knowing this side of Einstein. For me, it humanizes him.

Monday, April 2, 2018

"Local" news

I was surprised that much of "local" TV news stations is not locally owned.

Is "local" commentary local?

If I choose to watch Fox, I know it's the same regardless of where I am. That's a fair choice.

If I watch a local news station, and the local anchor makes a commentary, I assumed that commentary was hers or his.

Apparently, Sinclair Broadcast Group gives local news anchors scripts that they must use --without telling that it is centrally scripted. Why do they hide this? 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/02/business/media/sinclair-news-anchors-script.html





Thursday, February 8, 2018

Agnostic?

I'm wondering if many atheists overlook the good of religion. Maybe atheists would do better to look for common ground with the religious. Prayer, for example, might be helpful, even significantly so, even if God doesn't exist. My hope is that the religious and non-religious will look for more common ground. Hopefully, I'll write more about this in the future.