As I watched the devastation in Japan I thought of one of my favorite quotes from Shakespeare dealing with missed opportunities. Yes, I know he wasn't talking about a tsunami, but it still came to my mind because of the reference to tides: Brutus:There is a tide in the affairs of men.Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;Omitted, all the voyage of their lifeIs bound in shallows and in miseries.On such a full sea are we now afloat,And we must…
"Shoot Pirates on Sight"? That was the title of an article by Amital Etzioni for CNN about the most recent Samali pirates shooting of the hostages. http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/02/26/etzioni.stop.piracy/index.html Certainly, pirates were considered "enemies of mankind" in ancient times because they posed a threat to maritime safety. Therefore, anyone could punish captured pirates and they were ordinarily excuted on the spot. The usual method was hanging them from the yardarm. In 1790 the First American Congress passed a law allowing federal authorities…
Harwood "Bill Bannister died Tuesday February 9th 2010. He was 95 years old and my former law partner as well as my mentor. He had an interesting life. His father traveled the Vaudeville Circuit as a magician "The Great Bannister" which also featured Bill in the act as the ventriloquist "Little Alexander and Tommy." In later years Bill was known to entertain the family with magic and ventriloquist performances in the family home. He had graduated from Stadium in Tacoma…
Today is January 11, 2011 or, more significantly, 1/11/11 and we will have the time as 1/11/11 at 11:11:11. That’s produced a lot of strange interpretations including the prediction it is a sign for the return of aliens in UFO’s or the end of the world. On a more realistic level I see that Papa John’s is offering a second large pizza for 11 cents when you buy one for $11 and a New York hotel is offering a day…
Everyone of my generation recognizes the famous photo of U.S. Marines raising the American flag on Iowa Jima taken in World War II. The photograph was taken by Joe Rosenthal which shows five U.S. Marines and a U.S. Navy corpsman raising the flag during the battle of Iowa Jima. The photo was instantly famous and was reprinted thousands of times. It is probably the most reproduced photograph of all times. It was the only photograph to win the Pulitzer Prize…
I wish you all a very happy and peaceful 2011
When I was a boy growing up there was no television. There was radio and the movies period. It was a time when you could find prizes in the breakfast food box or a coupon on the box to mail in for a special prize. Radio was the source of home entertainment. But, the radio was very special and a wonderful opening to a world of excitment and drama unlike anything television could provide because it involved the listener on a very personal level. You…
On March 9, 2008 I wrote about a unique man, Fred Hargesheimer, https://paulluverajournalonline.com/weblog/2008/03/an-inspiring-st.html He was P-38 fighter pilot in the Southwest Pacific who was on a photographic reconnaissance mission when the Japanese shot his plane down on June 5, 1943. Fred parachuted and ended up in the jungle. For some thirty one days he managed to barely survive when he was found by local natives who were hunting. They took him to their village and for seven months they nursed him…
The National Catholic Reporter this issue has an interview with Hans Kung. Father Kung is a Swiss Catholic priest and theologian as well as prolific writer. He has been a thorn in the Vatican’s side for some time over his writings about theology and the Vatican has rescinded his authority to teach Catholic theology. He teaches at a Swiss University as an emeritus professor. His priestly faculties have not been revoked in spite of his outspoken views critical of Vatican…
