Thomas Jefferson purchased the Natural Bridge of Virginia in 1774 from King George III so he could experience and share the sublime; but, before he did so, he acquired the theory of the sublime from Edmund Burke’s A Philosophical Enquiry into the Sublime and Beautiful (pub. 1757). Historian Charles Miller observes that Jefferson absorbed the [...]
Meeting Nature’s God: The Jeffersonian Sublime When: Weds. May 4, 7-8:30 PM Where: Watson Room, Forbes Public Library, Northampton, MA Thomas Jefferson’s natural philosophy is distilled in a phrase he wrote to his nephew: “freedom is the gift of nature.” His natural philosophy informed both his political theory and his theology. At the center of [...]
This painting is part of Philip Taaffe’s Anima Mundi series on display at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, March 23 – June 12, 2011. _____ A few days ago I celebrated Earth Day with two bright & excitable 2nd grade classes. My goal was to get them to wonder. I wanted to seed [...]
Biocitizen will be @ the Putney Coop on Sat. from 2:30-4, teaching folks how to preserve vegetables w/lactose acidophilus. woo woo! Faithful readers, you know why biocitizen is so committed spreading the gospel of old-fashioned salt-water brine pickling; but for the readers who have missed the missive: DIY lacto-fermentation —allows us to preserve foods w/out [...]
They will lead you to a vernal pool! There’s a nice frontpage article in today’s Gazette by Bob Flaherty, about a vernal pool walk conducted by the Kestral Land Trust, Valley Land Fund and the Broad Book Coalition (whoo). Read it! Right now, the amphibs are leading the charge of the return of life to [...]
My guess is you’ve had enough of the Fukushima meltdowns. Same here. We’ve gone through the stage of being horrified, then the stage of believing the technocrats know how to make everything right, then the stage of knowing that they can’t, and that’s how we got to the point where we have to move on: [...]
Technological determinism is a phrase that describes how technology influences human evolution: how who we are is determined by the tools we invent and use. I’d like you to start using it to understand why the world is what it is today. A perfect example of technological determinism: cell phones. Twenty years ago there were [...]
Lucky! I saw a large Bald Eagle when I pulled out of the River Valley Market Coop on Thurs. around 5 pm. Can you see it? They used to be rare; but in 2007 they recovered from acute DDT poisoning and were removed from the Endangered Species List: thank you Rachel Carson! More common today, [...]
Our Place summercamp combines healthy outdoors exercise with healthy mental exercise, and this sets it apart from other camps. For 5 days, campers roam the Valley and are immersed in its biotic vitality. As they have fun romping around, they are prompted to hone their abilities of perception—to see, hear, smell, touch and taste with [...]
