Yesterday was Elizabeth’s birthday. We celebrated. Part of her day was getting away from us all by herself to grocery shop. She was careful to dress properly.
This morning I got up and made cornbread. I have been eyeing a recipe to use with my cast iron skillet.
It has to cool for ten minutes. I substituted honey for sugar but other wise followed this recipe.
In my dream last night, someone asked me how old I was when I received my bachelor’s degree. I couldn’t figure it out in the dream. This morning I decided I was thirty-five.
I had two college dreams last night. In the first I was returning to school now to get a third degree. I think it was another masters degree and not in music. In the second I was simply starting a semester and trying to find my way around.
I listened to this podcast/YouTube still video this morning. I admire the way Arendt’s mind works. Her understandings are very helpful in the current madness of our world.
I read (re-read?) her preface to Antisemitism: Part One of The Origins of Totalitarianism this morning.
Here a couple of quotes that hit me.
Regarding the necessity of facing what is happening in the world with as much clarity as possible. Arendt (writing of understand antisemitism). says “Comprehension…. means the unpremeditated, attentive facing up to, and resisting of reality—whatever it may be or might have been.”
She is careful to sort through misconceptions and I find that helpful.
“Totalitarian politics … use and abuse their own ideological and political elements until the basis of factual reality from which the ideologies originally derived their strength and their propaganda value …. have (sic) all but disappeared.”
Remind you of anyone? Ahem. I found the ideas described in the podcast very helpful as well.
What Our Contagion Fables Are Really About | The New Yorker
Jill Lepore rocks. In fact this recent issue of the New Yorker had some pretty cool stuff in it.
I liked these:
Self-Isolating: A Pandemic Special | The New Yorker
Chris Ware does a nice comic strip.