Students, teachers, administrators, lend me your ears;
I come to bury Latin, not to praise it.Continue Reading “Et tu, Espagnol?”
Et tu, Espagnol?
By on March 15, 2011
Creative Chaos
By on March 10, 2011
[This Commentary originally appeared in the March 8, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]
There used to be a car repair commercial about the Second Law of Thermodynamics: The Law of Entropy. Here’s something you might not know: Entropy actually lists as the third law of thermodynamics. For a while, physicists viewed entropy as the second most important idea in thermodynamics. Then, they discovered what they now consider the utmost concept in the field. Unfortunately, by the time of the discovery, everyone used the Second Law of Thermodynamics and the Law of Entropy interchangeably. The scientists could not very well shift everything down one. It would cause too much confusion.
Physicists, however, can often act as astute problem solvers. Since the nomenclature had already included the terms First and Second, they needed to invent a higher order Continue Reading “Creative Chaos”
The Roaring Eighties – R.I.P.
By on March 3, 2011
[This Commentary originally appeared in the March 1, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]
Like its predecessor the Roaring Twenties, the decade past seemed filled with excess. The eighties saw gargantuan gluttonous wrought forth upon a foundation of financial speculation and naïve hopes. But, enough has already been said about the sins of the last ten years.
Indeed, we come not to praise the eighties, but to bury them. While the calendar says we entered the nineties two full months ago, the end of February really Continue Reading “The Roaring Eighties – R.I.P.”
The Apolitical Blues
By on February 24, 2011
(Apologies to Little Feat)
[This Commentary originally appeared in the February 22, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]
“Politics must be avoided. Politics leads to trouble. Politics remains the domain of the greedy deceivers who can’t make it in the private sector. Politics should be shunned by all proper people.”
So go the thoughts of the typical citizen towards the professional which includes our government leaders. Where does this conviction originate? Why do most people view the political world with such disdain and mistrust? Why do honorable persons circumvent a discussion at the first Continue Reading “The Apolitical Blues”
Mid-Winter Blahs
By on February 17, 2011
[This Commentary originally appeared in the February 15, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]
As we approach mid-February we enter the depths of winter. All in all winter is a fine season. The pleasant snow covers everything. Yes, it’s a pain in the neck when it comes to driving, but it’s especially beautiful when it outlines the branches of all the trees.
The variety of the seasons enlivens us. Even constant sunshine and warm weather can oppress. The quarterly changes allow us to regularly anticipate and experience beginnings and endings. This cycle brings emotional health.
Yet, for all the good things, we must endure one great burden: the mid-Winter Blahs. I’m not quite sure if psychologists have coined a catchy term for this mental morass. I don’t read a lot of those hip psycho-analytic magazines. (Although I admit once some Continue Reading “Mid-Winter Blahs”
Like Crap Through a Pheasant: A Review of The Mirror Test by Jeffrey W. Hayzlett
By on February 15, 2011
As I read The Mirror Test: Is Your Business really Breathing?, one particular passage of the opening monologue of the movie Patton kept haunting me:
“Now there’s another thing I want you to remember. I don’t want to get any messages saying that ‘we are holding our position.’ We’re not holding anything. Let the Hun do that. We are advancing constantly and we’re not interested in holding onto anything except the enemy. We’re going to hold onto him by the nose and we’re going to kick him in the ass. We’re going to kick the hell out of him all the time and we’re going to go through him like crap through a goose!”
Author Jeffrey Hayzlett offers this message: Either your business is moving forward or Continue Reading “Like Crap Through a Pheasant: A Review of The Mirror Test by Jeffrey W. Hayzlett”
Celebrate Freedom Day!
By on February 10, 2011
[This Commentary originally appeared in the February 8, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]
This coming Monday we celebrate Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. Actually, we used to celebrate Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, now we just celebrate President’s Day. How unfortunate Lincoln chose to come into this world a mere week or so before George Washington’s birthday. I’m sure we would still celebrate Lincoln’s birthday had he been born in, say, March or June.
We cannot discount the gigantic symbol the Father of Our Country has become. Neither can we forget the courage embodied in Lincoln and his quest to promote freedom and equality for all. Maybe we can still recognize this great man by combining his birthday Continue Reading “Celebrate Freedom Day!”
“Remember, You are Just a Man!”
By on February 6, 2011
There’s this part of the Catholic Mass called the “homily.” It’s like the “sermon” of other denominations, albeit usually a lot shorter. For whatever reason, I tend to 
do my most creative thinking during homilies. That’s probably true of most people. According the Catholic Encyclopedia, the homily, in brief, intends to mix the specific practicum of everyday experience with the generic spiritual/philosophical treatise offered by the Gospel. It’s said to be the oldest form of preaching. These inspirational words must therefore prod one into reflexive thought; hence, my tendency to brew ideas as the priest speaks in the most general of terms.
Today was different. Not only was it Scout Sunday and I was dressed in uniform to accompany a small covey of Boy Scouts as they brought up the gifts, but today the priest didn’t communicate merely in generalities. Today he named specific names. Today, he pointed to me and proclaimed Continue Reading ““Remember, You are Just a Man!””
Japan Inc. Buys the Moon
By on February 3, 2011
[This Commentary originally appeared in the February 1, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]
Born in the 1960s, I might be called an Apollo Child. The term, of course, has nothing to do with any astrological myth. It aptly describes that first generation which fully expected to read of space travel as history, not as science fiction.
The intricacies and loftiness of heavenly flight glorify the post war success of America. NASA drove into our psyche the thirst for reaching ever upward. No problem – no matter how complex, no matter how new, no matter how large – lacked a solution.
Please don’t misjudge this zest for youthful idealism. While one can almost always solve a problem, one must recognize all solutions have a cost. Sometimes we simply cannot Continue Reading “Japan Inc. Buys the Moon”
The Impact of FTAs in a Multi-polar World
[This Commentary originally appeared in the March 15, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]
Despite these attributes, we generally tolerate children. After all, they quickly grow up into adults. Countries, on the other hand, take a lot longer to sprout a mature bearing.
We may offer the argument that nations, no matter how old, will always acquit themselves like children. They do, of course, have the obligation to protect their Continue Reading “The Impact of FTAs in a Multi-polar World”