The divisiveness of specialization

The most profound differences between human beings arise from the divergent demands of specialization. The greater the deviation from shared general norms, the more compelling the specific idiosyncratic needs become and the more tension is created between the specialist and the general population. (For an example of a case where an entire population specializes into two different, if complementary, modes, consider sexual dimorphism.)

Chicken adobo, Philippine style

I will tweak the recipe next time (more spice!), but this was a good start.

I have posted 9 new poems.

For Christmas Eve

Turkey roasted in sections rather than whole.

Chocolate chip cookie cake.

Chicken noodle casserole

An easy chicken casserole I found online. It turned out better than expected (I added a little heat to it, of course).

Yes, I've posted five more poems.

Locked inside (Saramago)

We seem to be locked inside Plato’s cave. We have jettisoned our responsibility for thought and action. We have turned ourselves into inert beings incapable of the sense of outrage, the refusal to conform, the capacity to protest that were such strong features of our past.

Jose Saramago, from The Notebook

Respond without gravity if you wish to rise.

On writing

Writing reflects the dominant human impulse: seeking the specific in the general.

Poems

I have posted five more poems.

Broccoli & tomato pasta with hearts of palm

On the truth (Pratchett)

The truth may be out there, but lies are inside your head.

Terry Pratchett, from Hogfather

Baby butterflies

 

Don't they know it's winter?

5 more

I have posted five new short poems.

Be careful? (Bukowski)

FACT

careful poetry
and careful
people
last
only long
enough
to
die
safely.

Charles Bukowski

Poems

I've posted five new poems.

From the net (Rakovszky)

From the net which is our selves, there is no
getting disentangled, no way out, and no
solution: not by undoing the knot,
picking at it, pulling it even tighter,
or vanishing through your own interstices
in the waters of the world.

Zsuzsa Rakovszky, from "No longer"

Free? (Krynicki)

It was my fortune to overcome fear:
I didn't sign the loyalty oath
— and yet I am free. Free?
My hour of trial

nears.

Ryszard Krynicki

Carrot and turnip soup

On freedom (Holan)

Freedom is always kin to voluntary poverty.

Vladimir Holan

Authority

Don't just question authority—interrogate it.

Bonanza!

I have posted 13 new poems.