Formal Season Greetings

Astral Facts, April 2011


Astral: (Theosophy) Consisting of, belonging to, or designating, a kind of supersensible substance alleged to be next above the tangible world in refinement; as, astral spirits; astral bodies of persons; astral current.

Formal Season Greetings

Many of us have grown up in the “Disney generation” of stories of the princess who lives happily ever after in some splendid castle. Often this is preceded by some trials and tribulations which really didn’t seem so necessary. How nice it would be to just skip over the trials and tribulations and jump to begin a life in the castle episode, even though that’s usually the end of the Disney tale! Of course, the prince usually has had a good life, albeit a bit incomplete, up to that point, but we can imagine that things later only get better for him as well.

Disney’s stories do have roots from the cultural tales of the past, but even back then, people were concerned about recognizing the line between reality and fantasy. According to essayist Deborah Ross, many of the fairy tales and romance stories were created with a “didactic” tone, guiding young women into understanding the value of proper roles and attitudes in the social milieu.

Ross notes, “Samuel Johnson was greatly concerned about the effects of fiction on ‘the young, the ignorant, and the idle’" and critics worried that the readers [in the 1700s] would look to some of these stories not only as entertainment but also as a source for moral and social guidance. Ross also touches upon the writings of Charlotte Lennox’s 1759 novel, The Female Quixote, whose protagonist challenged some of the social norms of the day before finally dismissing her fantasies and settling down to the traditional feminine roles (“Escape From Wonderland: Disney and the Female Imagination”).  Other sources have noted that such writings inspired later writers, such as Jane Austen, to critically explore the aspects of the feminine role in a patriarchal society.

Ross concludes by noting that the Disney versions omit the stage of the female princess protagonist’s objections or other really revolutionary questioning of the social systems.

Of course, these days, our young females seem to have progressed beyond the romantic yearnings for that princess in the castle lifestyle that Barbie has also helped enforce.

We may think so, but those Disney girls, now mothers with their own daughters, and the media may still be playing that same old tune, reinforced in the educational system with the hopes of skipping over that trials and tribulation segment, in spite of any teenage angst in catching the wry.

Perhaps nothing reveals this as much as a trip to the local high school gripped in the frenzy of “Prom Season” as covered in a recent ABC news report.   Here's a link to the news spot; unfortunately, you have to sit through the 30 second commercial at the start  (Note that no fathers or potential Prince Charmings were harmed during the presentation):

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Parenting/video/extreme-proms-spend-13426389

So much for the impact of “reality” television! With a royal wedding coming up as well, all I can say is,

Roll me in Elsie’s glue, cover me with glitter, and point me toward the princess!

Walter Lowe

Astral Facts is a monthly presentation of Humanities Science, produced in the bowels of the Humanities Science offices.

Mendacity in the Country

Astral Facts, March 2011

Astral: (Theosophy) Consisting of, belonging to, or designating, a kind of supersensible substance alleged to be next above the tangible world in refinement; as, astral spirits; astral bodies of persons; astral current.

Mendacity in the Country

In my freshman composition (English 101) class, students form groups and choose from a list of articles which they would like to teach to their classmates. Among them is a 1990 New York Times article written by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., “2 Live Crew, Decoded,” in which Gates defends the 1st Amendment rights of the controversial rap group.


Gates’ argument is that the content cannot be evaluated without first understanding the cultural background at its foundation. His point is that exaggeration and hyperbole are imbued in the culture, just as more mainstream cultural groups use the “tall tales” of the North to entertain. Due to the roots of slave oppression, African-Americans needed to create coded vocabulary to communicate among themselves while using what seems to be innocuous language.

These days, when the lyrics appear to cross beyond the innocuous, those in the mainstream culture can easily take the language content at face value, which Gates perceives as a problem at the receiving end. However, his commentary does not imply a blanket approval of the content, as he says,

“Still, many of us look toward the emergence of more female rappers to redress sexual stereotypes. And we must not allow ourselves to sentimentalize street culture: The appreciation of verbal virtuosity does not lessen one’s obligation to critique bigotry in all its pernicious forms.”

Obviously, he is concerned about the representation of the African American female stereotypes these lyrics portray, and back in 1990 he was anticipating a rebuttal to emerge from the community that is being misrepresented.It is now 21 years later and we might take a look to see what is happening in this cultural battlefield. Here is a posting by a group of young African American girls in response to content in the current music scene: (Although the presentation is by adolescent girls, expletives have not been deleted):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8nLCg6ZwjY&feature=player_embedded



Obviously, they didn’t post this up all by themselves, as the URL for a website does appear on the screen. (If you do go to the website advertised, you can find links to over 250 photos of women who would like to meet you!)


Those in the community do find it troubling:

http://www.bvblackspin.com/2011/02/15/profane-kid-video-demonstrates-the-need-for-our-own-revolution/


A ten-year-old’s letter to Lil Wayne:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pu0SeTXjC74

But as one of the comments on the first YouTube notes, “kids will be kids.”

Walter Lowe

Astral Facts is a monthly presentation of Humanities Science, produced in the bowels of the Humanities Science offices.

Astral Facts, February 2011



Astral: (Theosophy) Consisting of, belonging to, or designating, a kind of supersensible substance alleged to be next above the tangible world in refinement; as, astral spirits; astral bodies of persons; astral current.

Figuratively Speaking

Often we hear questions about the arts and humanities – what role do they play? Why do we study the texts from literature, art, music, and such from the past?

Even though we may merely regard them as such, frequently the stories they tell are more than just a thrown together plot with action and exploding cars (Spike TV) or the emotional stress of building and/or destroying relationships (Lifetime TV) with stuff in between (the other channels).

In a recent Frazz cartoon in the daily paper on Feb 18th, (I haven’t reproduced it here because copyright laws are too complex for my simple mind, but here’s the URL: http://comics.com/frazz/), a student tells three others that he gets $5 for every A on his report card, but another student gets $10 for each one. The three students respond differently:

“My mom says learning is its own reward,”
“My dad pays himself $100 for every A I get,” and
“My mom pays me the same each year, but I have to get 15% more.”

 In the final panel, Frazz (the young custodian) asks “What did you learn?” and the student replies,

 “That Katie’s mom is still in school, Egan’s dad is a CEO, Isabel’s mom is a sales director, and why grown-ups don’t talk about their salaries.”

Like this scene, the “story” may be filled with information, but real “learning” occurs when we exercise critical thinking and analysis to understand what the details or information means and why it holds significance in application outside the “text” itself.

The repeated and familiar texts of a culture are vehicles that frequently illustrate and communicate thoughts and ideals that extend beyond each text itself. However, without a foundation of cultural literacy, the meaning may escape us.

This was brought home to me recently when a family friend mentioned someone had recently been offered a transfer away from his relatives to work in Hawaii, and the person had commented, “Don’t throw me in the briar patch! Don’t throw me in the briar patch!” Our friend thought that was a weird non-sequitur. When I asked my children to explain it, they were equally clueless.

So I went to the library and requested a copy of The Favorite Tales of Uncle Remus by Joel Chandler Harris. A few days later over the after-dinner tea, I read aloud the story of “Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby,” but they still didn’t understand. So I got another version (Jump Again: More Adventures of Brer Rabbit), translated from the original dialect of the “American South” and we read “Brer Rabbit in the Well” followed by “Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby.” Now they get it!

In a recent column on the sports page of the Seattle Times, a reporter interviewed a former player from the Mariners now finally achieving some recognition with another team after many years in the minor leagues. Knowing that several other successful players have had such difficult journeys, the reporter asked the player whose life he most identified with. The player responded, “Odysseus!” Try as he might, the reporter couldn’t recall which team Odysseus had played for. (Perhaps associating it with Homer might not even help, for so many players have hit homers?)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/larrystone/2014280945_stone20.html

A few years ago, I heard a minister describe a retreat he had attended with other religious leaders, and at one point they were asked to identify which biblical character they most identified with. Many of them named various of Jesus’ disciples and noteworthy Old Testament figures. However, one of them said he identified most with Balaam’s Ass, which the minister found quite apropos.

I had to look it up (the minister’s intention for telling the story), and I have to say I see the connection in education as well as I encourage my students to get off the path that wanders into merely noting and remembering details and information.

Hopefully, we can have a citizenry that looks beyond the plot details of life and relationships rather than just living on the surface level of chase and action scenes, although taking a break  to watch a car exploding or Bruce Willis blowing away some bad guys can be relaxing!

Walter Lowe

Astral Facts is a monthly presentation of Humanities Science, produced in the bowels of the Humanities Science offices.

Where’s Ophiuchus?

Astral Facts, January 2011


Astral: (Theosophy) Consisting of, belonging to, or designating, a kind of supersensible substance alleged to be next above the tangible world in refinement; as, astral spirits; astral bodies of persons; astral current.

Where’s Ophiuchus?

As we see the Year of the Rabbit occurring in early February and with other minor current events going on these days, perhaps it has slipped under the radar, and many of us may not be aware of the current controversy of the missing Astrological Sign: Where’s Ophiuchus?

As we know, the Astrological Year is divided into the twelve lunar months. However, they are referenced to the 12 solar months, which doesn’t really reconcile if a true lunar month is approximately 28 days (28 days X 12 months = 336 days.) Thus, about 29.25 days are used as “filler” to extend the astrological zodiac over the 365.25 days in the solar year.

The Chinese calendar is based purely on the lunar phases, which is why the lunar New Year shifts each year, with an extra month added each leap year to “balance” the discrepancies. Here’s the recent pattern:
2005 Feb 9
2006 Jan 29
2007 Feb 18
2008 Feb 7
2009 Jan 26
2010 Feb 14
2011 Feb 3
2012 Jan 23

(The Moslem lunar based calendar doesn’t make such an adjustment, which is why Ramadan, the month of fasting, occurs about 11 days earlier each year and the Islamic New Year occurs Dec 7th 2010, Nov. 26th 2011, Nov 15th 2012, etc.)

The recent controversy revolves around the “missing” month of the Zodiac: Ophiuchus, referred to as the “serpent bearer,” which used to be included in the astrological charts until the Babylonians dumped it (for reasons unknown) according to a recent New York Times report. Ophiuchus should fill the time from about Nov 30th until Dec 17th. As the Times reporter, Jesse McKinley, notes, this would make it “the unofficial sign of Holiday Shoppers,” implying this may be the source of the slithering behavior in the malls and highways at that time!

In Western culture, the snake or serpent has a negative connotation, going back to the days of Adam and Eve and the problems caused in the Garden of Eden. However, in Eastern cultures, the snake or serpent is regarded as a symbol of wisdom. (Curiously enough, in the Adam and Eve story the deception on the part of the serpent is only possible because the serpent has wisdom. Unfortunately, the serpent misused the wisdom.)

Ophiuchus is associated with an historical Egyptian figure, Imhotep (mythical Asclepius to the Greeks) reputed to have had wisdom and knowledge in the field of healing and medicine. Apparently, the Babylonians didn’t agree with his bona fides.

If you’re wondering how all this might affect you and/or pick-up lines out in the ‘hood, here’s the suggested revision:

ACTUAL TRUE ZODIAC


1. ARIES = APRIL 19 - MAY 13
2. TAURUS = MAY 14 - JUNE 19
3. GEMINI = JUNE 20 - JULY 20
4. CANCER = JULY 21 - AUG 9
5. LEO = AUGUST 10 - SEPTEMBER 15
6. VIRGO = SEPTEMBER 16 - OCTOBER 30
7. LIBRA = OCTOBER 31 - NOVEMBER 22
8. SCORPIO = NOVEMBER 23 - NOVEMBER 29
9. OPHIUCHUS = NOVEMBER 30 - DECEMBER 17
10. SAGITTARIUS = DECEMBER 18 - JANUARY 18
11. CAPRICORN = JANUARY 19 - FEBRUARY 15
12. AQUARIUS = FEBRUARY 16 - MARCH 11
13. PISCES = MARCH 12 - APRIL 18

Of course, the natural scientists know that the Earth tends to wobble on its pathway, with the North Pole often shifting to point at different stars, so the distinctions may be subject to adjustment.

Even so, according to Rob Brezsny, syndicated horoscope author, “Astrology is a poetic language of the soul, not a scientific method, similar to a Neruda poem, Kandinsky paintings or a Nick Cave song” (McKinley).

As Robert Frost has noted, “And that has made all the difference.”


Walter Lowe
Astral Facts is a monthly presentation of Humanities Science, produced in the bowels of the Humanities Science offices.

Family Thanksgiving

Astral Facts, November 2010

(weather-delayed edition)

Astral: (Theosophy) Consisting of, belonging to, or designating, a kind of supersensible substance alleged to be next above the tangible world in refinement; as, astral spirits; astral bodies of persons; astral current.

Family Thanksgiving

While sitting in the dentist office waiting room last August, I was surprised to see a current issue of Newsweek on the table. This issue focused on the world’s top 100 countries, where the United States finished 11th overall (Some details are here:

http://www.newsweek.com/feature/2010/the-world-s-best-countries.html)

I was interested in the rating for education, where the US didn’t crack the top ten in education. (On the online chart, the US finished 26th, snuggled between Slovenia (27th) and Latvia (25th), far behind Finland (1st), as well as Kazakhstan (14th), and Cuba (20th).

The issue also included a sidebar commentary on what kinds of “fixes” might be considered.


1. Get kids into school as early as possible

2. Increase the time spent in school

3. Invest in teacher training


The researchers noted that American children spend half their waking hours outside of school, but children experiencing extensive preschooling at a young age, extended school days and years, and instruction from “effective” teachers do better.

As the section on education concluded: It may be difficult in some nations, but “…the fruits of this emphasis are still paying off in high test scores.”


A major problem is certainly being exposed here. I am sure everyone can see it plainly.


Of course, I am referring to how the emphasis on family is not only absent from the equation but also undermined.

Rather, the focus is on getting “good” test scores related to intellectual and factual knowledge and its application. How is “character” education being included or even acknowledged? What part of the curriculum includes respect for others, tolerance toward diversity, involvement in community service, etc?


I always thought the “first school” and basic education began within the family and the family continued to be the primary institution of learning in any stable society. However, the three points emphasized for reform combine to reduce the influence and involvement of the family. Is the cure really to put children in school at an earlier age, keep them in school more days and for a longer time each day, and place the responsibility for the children upon the “trained” educators in the school system?


In my freshman comp class, students read “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan, where she discusses the nature and complexity of the languages we use in intersecting worlds we inhabit. In giving a lecture about her book The Joy Luck Club, she found herself using the formal structure of academic English. Later in conversing with her mother and her husband, she commented on the high cost of furniture by saying, “Not waste money that way.” She realized this was a perfectly normal statement to make “in our language of intimacy” that she had grown up with as a member of an immigrant family. In her article, Tan recognizes the different “Englishes” she combines in her writing:

The English I spoke to my mother, which for lack of a better term might be described as ‘simple’; the English she used with me, which …’broken’; my translation of her Chinese, which …’watered down’; and what I imagined to be her translation of her Chinese if she could speak in perfect English, her internal language, and for that I sought to preserve the essence, but with neither an English nor a Chinese structure. I wanted to capture what language ability tests can never reveal: her intent, her passion, her imagery, the rhythms of her speech and the nature of her thoughts.

We also read and discuss “Children in the Woods” by Barry Lopez (referred to as “the nation’s premier nature writer" by the San Francisco Chronicle). Lopez owns some wilderness property in Oregon, where children frequently visit. He says the children often want to go into the woods with him. Lopez notes, “In the beginning, years ago, I think I said too much. I spoke with an encyclopedic knowledge of the names of plants or the names of the birds passing through in season.” He goes on to say that he learned later just to guide the children along paths of discovery from simple details they notice. He comes to realize,

In speaking with children who might one day take a permanent interest in natural history-as writers, as scientists, as filmmakers, as anthropologists-I have sensed that an extrapolation from a single fragment of the whole is the most invigorating experience I can share with them. I think children know that nearly anyone can learn the names of things; the impression made on them at this level is fleeting. What takes a lifetime to learn, they comprehend, is the existence and substance of myriad relationships: It is these relationships, not the things themselves, that ultimately hold the human imagination.

I would think such experiences as Tan and Lopez describe are important "astral" intangibles that the SAT, GRE, ACT, WASL (may it rest in peace), etc. overlook or even ignore. In this country, we see universities placing emphasis on community service, extracurricular activities, and personal narratives as much as the standardized tests that currently define “good” students.


Both my grandfathers died before I was born, so I never got to take a walk with them in the woods or discuss the olden day struggles with them; nonetheless, I learned a lot from my own father and mother about their lives and my own through our shared experiences as a family during the “down time” from school, something I make sure to do with my own children.


During this November and December festive holiday time when families traditionally gather, I hope everyone can have time for informal and internal education as a family, where tuition is cheap and priceless.

Walter Lowe

Astral Facts is a monthly presentation of Humanities Science, produced in the bowels of the Humanities Science offices.

Put Another Tree Limb on the Bonfire

Astral Facts, October 2010

Astral: (Theosophy) Consisting of, belonging to, or designating, a kind of supersensible substance alleged to be next above the tangible world in refinement; as, astral spirits; astral bodies of persons; astral current.


Put Another Tree Limb on the Bonfire

Often we use basic vocabulary without stopping to wonder why and how certain expressions have come to be. For example, the term “bonfire” is often used as teams rally the night before a big football match or when various groups have special evening gatherings at retreats or conferences at waterfront or forested locations.

However, the ties to the term's original concept and this weekend’s Halloween festivities might not be so apparent.

October 31st has long been viewed as the beginning of the new year in Celtic tradition, where the transition from one day to the next actually occurs at nightfall rather than some vague midpoint of the night. In the Celtic traditional stories, light came out of darkness (as in the Judeo / Christian / Islamic beliefs); thus, the darkness represents the transition into new life. Each day then begins in darkness, followed by the new life brought out in daylight.

At nightfall on October 31st, the light of summer ends and the darkness of the seed of the new year begins. Just as the “fruit” germinates unseen from within the seed, new life comes out from the darkness at the end of summer and the harvest season. The Celts call this celebration Samhain or Samhainn (pronounced “Sow-en”) celebrated on the evening of October 31st, according to the predominent solar calendar.

To the Celts, time was circular rather than linear. This is reflected in their commencing each day, and each festival, at dusk rather than dawn, a custom comparable with that of the Jewish Sabbath. It is also reflected in their year beginning with the festival of Samhain on 31 October, when nature appears to be dying down. Tellingly, the first month of the Celtic year is Samonios, ‘Seed Fall’: in other words, from death and darkness springs life and light. http://www.livingmyths.com/Celticyear.htm

According to the Celtic beliefs, at this time the veil between the physical world and the spirit world become very thin, as a sort of “in between” time gap existing between the 12-month solar calendar and the 13-month lunar calendar. In many ways, this became a very sacred and holy time.  During this time, ancestors from the Otherworld could revisit their haunts from their physical life time. Villagers opened doors and windows to welcome in their ancestors, and food was prepared for them. Since not all the spirits were friendly, faces of guardian spirits were carved on turnips and set at the doorways to turn away those bothersome spirits.

There was also a much lighter side to the Celtic New Year rituals. Children put on strange disguises and roamed the countryside, pretending to be the returning dead or spirits from the Otherworld. Celts thought the break in reality on November Eve not only provided a link between the worlds, but also dissolved the structure of society for the night. Boys and girls would put on each other's clothes, and would generally flout convention by boisterous behavior and by playing tricks on their elders. http://home.comcast.net/~buaidh/Samhainn.html

Villagers would slaughter cattle for a great feast where the whole community would gather around a large fire. The bones of the sacrificed animals would be put on the fire, with all other flames in the village extinguished. Then each family would relight its hearth from the one great fire, bonding the community together to start the new year.

So enjoy the celebration this weekend and other community gatherings throughout the year as you toss another limb from the family tree onto the bonfire!



Walter Lowe

Astral Facts is a monthly presentation of Humanities Science, produced in the bowels of the Humanities Science offices.

Age of the Humanities

Astral Facts, September 2010


Astral: (Theosophy) Consisting of, belonging to, or designating, a kind of supersensible substance alleged to be next above the tangible world in refinement; as, astral spirits; astral bodies of persons; astral current.

Age of the Humanities

In these days of changes and budget cutting, on campus we see the budget knife poised over the literature, arts, and humanities areas. Perhaps this should be troubling to us all.

 Historians and many social scientists will tell us that human civilization has shifted from agrarian societies to what is called the Industrial Age, where powers of production and labor capabilities were the bases for power and value. More recently, civilization has been in what some call the Information Age, where control and manipulation of knowledge and information have reigned. As we have continued into the 21st century and the third modern millennium, control over and access to information is no longer available only to a privileged few, as anyone can “Google” this or blog that.

Daniel Pink, a commentator on business and technology issues, has suggested that we are now in the Conceptual Age, where powers of human sensitivity will hold the key to success in life. In other words, the opportunities, capabilities and skills of “design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning” will be valued. It is not having the information and knowledge that will be important; rather, the application and use of the content will be of greater value.

British philosopher Roger Scruton has divided knowledge into three categories. He calls these “knowledge that, how, and what,” which can be restated as knowledge related to “information, skill, and virtue.” In other words, knowledge “that” would help us understand the meaning of a bicycle and the principles of its design. Knowledge “how” would refer to having the capability of pedaling it, applying the brakes, competing in BMX extreme sports, etc. Finally, knowledge “what” involves the proper time, place, circumstances, etc. in applying such skills – should we ride at full speed across campus and down the hallways between classes? Should we ride in the middle of the street and impede other vehicle traffic when no specific bike lane is marked? Scruton says such knowledge is the basis for a cultural “ethical vision,” which he says “is a knowledge not of facts nor of means but of ends: the most precious knowledge we have.”


And isn’t this the knowledge addressed by the Humanities? Isn’t it through the various disciplines of the Humanities (art, literature, philosophy, music, language, theater, etc.) that people are able to exercise and experience the components of the “Conceptual Age” that Pink has identified?


As many have noted, in a time when we see emphasis on multicultural inclusion, why are cutting off the avenues for the sharing of stories, empathy, symphony, etc. that connect us with the cultural diversity that surrounds us in the barrios, ghettos, ‘burbs, and other ‘hoods? Shouldn’t today’s students learn to develop an understanding of the skills, values, and knowledge “what” needed in the Conceptual Age?


This reminds me of the story of the prospector and his donkey.

Every month the two would come down from the hills to get fresh supplies. Each time the prospector was disturbed by the cost of feed for his donkey. Finally, he told the owner of the supply store that he had figured out a solution – he would train the donkey to live on sawdust, which was in plentiful supply in the hills.


After several months like this, the prospector came down to the town without the donkey.

Where is your donkey?" the shopkeeper asked him.

“Oh, I must be the unluckiest person alive,” moaned the prospector. “Just as I finally trained the donkey to survive on sawdust, it died!”

Walter Lowe

Astral Facts is a monthly presentation of Humanities Science, produced in the bowels of the Humanities Science offices.