“I amar prestar aen… (The world is changed.) Han mathon ne nen… (I feel it in the water.) Han mathon ne chae… (I feel it in the Earth.) A han noston ned gwilith… (I smell it in the air.) – Galadriel, Lord of the Rings. It doesn’t take much awareness to notice that the world […]
Avatar idealism: Can it provide a way out of this crisis?
“She’s always going on about the flow of energy, the spirits of animals. I really hope this treehugger crap isn’t on the final.” This is Sully talking about the nature and ideals of the Na’vi. His worry is that it’s all just meaningless mumbo jumbo. I just feel that perhaps because of this ‘treehugger crap’ […]
Is mobile technology threatening our social skills?
On my way home from London the carriage was almost quiet. Few people talked. They were either reading a paper, a book, or like myself engrossed in their phone, tablet, or laptop. But its not just here, technology has worked it’s way into our social life everywhere. We talk to each other keeping one eye […]
How society creates outcasts (and the socially anxious)
Shame floods my mind, my breath quickens, my heart pounds, I walk away even though I want to run. I’ve often felt flawed, alone and unworthy, it’s why I think of myself as socially anxious, an introvert. Woefully lacking in any skills todo with talking to others. When I have made a faux-pax, a social […]
Personal development according to Dickens
Few characters have undergone such a transformation so quickly as Scrooge during three nights in the classic A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. One of the most beloved stories in western literature. It tells the story of Scrooge, a mean spirited, miserly old man. His attitude towards society is one of borderline contempt. He is […]