Monthly Archives: October 2022

Time’s Arrow

Posted on October 23, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

I’ve always been concerned with time. How it appears to tick away, methodical and unstoppable. How it has a directionality that is irreversible – “Time’s Arrow”, as Arthur Eddington called it in 1927. “This thing all things devours: Birds, beasts, … Continue reading →

Posted in philosophy | Tagged | 2 Comments

RIP My Best Friend

Posted on October 18, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

My wife always tells me I have no friends. But that is not exactly true. I had one. Yes, somebody who stuck by me in the best and worst and all of that. But it was more. As I’m digesting … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | 5 Comments

On Being a Refugee

Posted on October 16, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

I never expected to become so heavy of heart as I have found myself recently. I suppose it should not have come as a surprise, though it did. When we are growing up we are imbued with optimism. Our parents … Continue reading →

Posted in International Affairs | Tagged | 2 Comments

The Shadow of the Winter Palace

Posted on October 12, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

I can think of no better place to go to understand the current war in Russia than “The Shadow of the Winter Palace” by Edward Crankshaw. In miniscule detail Crankshaw delves into the minutiae and characters and twists and turns … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review | Tagged | 2 Comments

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Posted on October 10, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

Scientists have recently discovered a sixth great ocean, underground, between the upper and lower layers of the Earth’s crust. Jules Verne wrote about this in “Journey to the Center of the Earth”, published in England in 1871. Verne was an … Continue reading →

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A Story of Yazidi Genocide

Posted on October 10, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

I don’t know if anyone else remembers that raw footage of ISIS clawing its way onto Sinjar Mountain, a twisted madness in their eyes. ISIS had taken over the plains where the Yazidis had lived for generations, and the Yazidis … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, Liberty | Tagged | 1 Comment

The Cider House Rules

Posted on October 4, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

I bought this book because the movie was beautiful, and I wanted to read a beautiful book. The depression era produced America’s greatest works of literature. Trauma scares and scars and the most sensitive take to the pen to try … Continue reading →

Posted in America, Book Review | Tagged | Leave a comment

From Zanzibar to Timbuktu

Posted on October 1, 2022 by Joel D. Hirst

“What will become of Africa?” That is the most common question asked by anybody who has spent any meaningful time on the continent. It is realism, not racism – that facile solution which is so common today in the minds … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review | Tagged | 5 Comments