Monthly Archives: September 2022

To Talk of Many Things… (Vol. #16 – Russia)

Posted on September 22, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

I read a lot of Russian literature and history. It is after all the great unknown; a land that lies behind a snowy curtain long after the Iron Curtain fell. A place of philosophy as deep as the cold dark … Continue reading →

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On Home

Posted on September 21, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

We are all born for somewhere else, I think. While we all have a sense of place coded deep within our DNA, a source of conflict and anger to be sure but also something that gives a tremendous sense of … Continue reading →

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Our Age of Un-Ideas

Posted on September 21, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

Listening to the United Nations General Assembly today, which I do out of habit not interest, was uninspiring. The Iranians blasted ‘hegemony’ (whatever that means); the Argentines complained about how the U.S. treats Cuba (and demanded the Falkland Islands back). … Continue reading →

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On Fatherhood and Faith

Posted on September 20, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

Raising a little boy in troubled times is a tremendous feat. They say marriage makes you a better man; but it is not a wife that improves you. Being a father makes you a better man, or it should. Carefully … Continue reading →

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The Approaching Event

Posted on September 6, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

The Dogon, who live in cliff dwellings nestled into the sides of a mountain range in central Mali have star charts that show Serius B, the white dwarf star that accompanies Serius A. If you climb the cliff-side (I have) … Continue reading →

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Hotel Bolivia

Posted on September 5, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

There was likely no more dramatic place for Jews fleeing the holocaust to end up than Bolivia. But for a small group, that unlikely land is exactly where they found refuge from Hitler’s wickedness. The crevice in the high Andes … Continue reading →

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I Should Be Writing My Armenia Book

Posted on September 4, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

This essay represents a failure, not complete for I remain optimistic but certainly a success deferred. I should be writing my Armenia novel. Each passing day, it gets a little harder. My parenthesis utopia is moving deeper into the past, … Continue reading →

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More on Money

Posted on September 2, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

One (of the many) issues which caused me to quit social media (Facebook and Twitter specifically) was the monetization of ‘interactions’ – likes and shares and retweets. People with many ‘followers’, generating lots of ‘views’ or ‘engagements’ were able to … Continue reading →

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Money

Posted on September 1, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

Continuing on my theme, though it has not been universally well received, of a ‘reality’ check – I felt it was important to address the issue of money. There are a lot of misconceptions about money; most hovering around ideas … Continue reading →

Posted in International Affairs, philosophy | Tagged | 1 Comment