Magazine Posts

From Rumi to Blake to Nick Cave, by way of trees, hummingbirds, grief, and music. In this sixteenth year of The Marginalian, which draws primarily on the timeless wonders and wisdoms of the past, here are sixteen books of the immediate present that left on me a mark on par with those immortals — Read more

Neil Postman (1931 –  2003) was an American author, educator, media theorist and cultural critic.  He is best known for his books regarding technology and education, including Amusing Ourselves to Death (1985), Conscientious Objections (1988), Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology (1992), The Disappearance of Childhood (1982) and The End of Education: Redefining the Value of School (1995). He also wrote about postmodernism, semantics, linguistics, and technopolies.

Sources: Wikipedia, NeilPostman.org

Old proverb expressing the idea that convincing another person is best done by appealing to the interests of that person and not with reasoning skill or abstract motivations. Benjamin Franklin expressed it in a more concise form in the 1734 Poor Richard's Almanac: "Would you persuade, speak of Interest, not of Reason"

On November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln gave a two minute speech that has been quoted ever since. There are five copies of the speech. All written in Lincoln’s handwriting. Each copy differs slightly, probably as a result of Lincoln’s self-editing. The Library of Congress has two copies of the address, Cornell University has one, the Illinois State Historical Library has one, and one is in the Lincoln room in the White House.
                 The Gettysburg Address

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

“For what it’s worth..... it’s never too late, or in my case too early, to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit. Start whenever you want. You can change or stay the same. There are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you’ve never felt before. I hope you meet people who have a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of, and if you’re not, I hope you have the courage to start over again”

Source: From a short story Fitzgerald wrote in 1922 – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, from which the 2008 film of the same name was adapted.

F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer.  During his lifetime, he published four novels, four story collections, and 164 short stories. Although he achieved temporary popular success and fortune in the 1920s, Fitzgerald received critical acclaim only after his death and is now widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. 

Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher.[1] Among the leading intellectuals of his time, Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, a drafter and signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, and the first United States Postmaster General. Wikipedia

Anthony de Mello, also known as Tony de Mello (1931– 987), was a Jesuit priest and psychotherapist born in Bombay, India. A spiritual teacher, writer, and public speaker. He wrote several books on spirituality and hosted numerous spiritual retreats and conferences. He is known for his storytelling which drew from the various mystical traditions of both East and West and for introducing many people in the West to mindfulness-based practices he sometimes called "awareness prayer"
Quote source: "Awakening - Conversations with the Masters" - Wikipedia

According to the Department of Labor, the first Labor Day celebration in the US took place in New York City on September 5, 1882. On that day, between10,000 to 20,000 workers marched across lower Manhattan.(image below)
Before it was a federal holiday, Labor Day was recognized by labor activists and individual states. By 1894, 32 States had adopted the holiday, and on June 28, 1894, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday. Read more

Susan Horowitz Cain "SUSAN CAIN is the #1 bestselling author of Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole and Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, which has been translated into 40 languages".... Learn more
 Photo Credit: Aaron Fedor

William Frederick Halsey Jr. or Bull Halsey (1882 – 1959) Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, was a fleet admiral in the United States Navy during World War II. He is one of four individuals to have attained the rank of fleet admiral, the others being Ernest King, William Leahy, and Chester W. Nimitz.

 In his book, "Amusing Ourselves to Death" : Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business Postman argued that by expressing ideas through visual imagery, television reduces politics, news, history and other serious topics to entertainment. He worried that culture would decline if the people became an audience and their public business a "vaudeville act". Read the excerpt of the book's forward

Neil Postman (1931 - 2003) was an American critic educator and Author. In addition to Amusing ourselves to Death, Postman wrote several other books as well as magazine and newspaper articles regarding technology and education. His other books include Conscientious Objections (1988), Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology (1992), The Disappearance of Childhood (1982) and The End of Education: Redefining the Value of School (1995).

His interests were were very diverse. He wrote on the disappearance of childhood, reforming public education, postmodernism, semantics, inguistics, and technopolies.

Sources: Wikipedia, NeilPostman.org

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