Dimensionally Barrett

It's been a lovely time. Leaving is bittersweet, of course; however, the next leg of this journey takes me back to New Jersey and Pennsylvania, where I'll be spending long overdue family time!  In the meantime, returning to old haunts, some changed beyond recognition, has been fun. Much has happened in the world since I've been back, but over the course of the next few entries, I'm likely going to spend more time on art, gardens, literature, and reminiscences shared and unshared. I restricted myself to well-trod paths (in some cases, literally; there's the Alewife Footpath, and the lovely stroll into Harvard Square from my dear friend Graziella's house, which will henceforth and ever be called Venti. I could sing Graziella's praises all day; she's not just a gracious host, but a woman of innate strength, deep introspection, and a huge heart. She and Joyce, another of the inestimable heart-sisters in my life are a team of love and fun that can raise the s...

U.S. violent and property crime rates have plunged since 1990s, regardless of data source/Pew Research Center Okay, I'm not a fan of the man but I'm glad he's all right. Of course, the grazed ear thing could just as well have been a full blast to the chest, but lo! The MAGA Lord is immortal. That's really all I care to say about the matter. The pundits and peanut galleries will continue their cant and cavil ad nauseam and the press will do whatever the hell it does.  To that last point, I've been wondering why people lose their shit over debates, why we have them, and how damn dumb are folks - looking at you, Democrats - anyway. Debates are performative and viewers are told what they've seen by analysts who figure you're too stupid to figure out for yourself what you watched. In some cases, that might be necessary. If I listened to a debate or discussion between two neuroscientists or abstract mathematicians, I'd need someone to translate what I was hear...

Huh, the Supreme Court building...looking morally vacant. I hope no one was surprised by the SCOTUS ruling on limited immunity regarding the 45th president's criminal cases. I'm unpleasantly shocked that it finally happened, but now that's passed, all I can think of right now is ruminating on how it's all come to this. Essentially, the ruling paves the way for any number of possible futures of governance in this country. I don't feel like reading tea leaves, but in the short term, it has rendered holding power at the highest level accountable nearly impossible.  The ruling is vague enough to tie up cases in what is to be considered "official business" at any given point in a president's tenure, but no matter how you may want to spin it, its meaning is clear; the president cannot be tried for criminal acts while in office. The president is now quite literally "above the law" and this, to anyone paying attention - and I'll definitely be rev...

  I don’t put much stock in New Year’s resolutions. I resolve throughout the year to fix what I can, improve where I can, and try to find faults and change them as I can.  That said, I do find myself making notes to myself, advice if you will, of how to be a better human being. There are way too many other figures throughout history who have written such texts (and far more profoundly and eloquently than I).  All of this said, perhaps there is something in sharing this “Advice to Myself” at the turning of this year.  NOTE: my original draft is a little more geared to a Buddhist approach. I’ve “universalized” it a bit more tor our common humanity’s sake. Advice to Myself Before going to sleep; dedicate whatever merit you have accrued throughout the day to all beings; offer a thought, a prayer, a resolve, that all beings be happy and free from suffering and may all bear both triumphs and defeats, moments of joy and suffering with equanimity. This includes oneself (of c...

Originally, I wanted to write up a piece about the participatory aspect of democracy and how, if you want to see change around you, one very important way to be that change is to be involved. Voting, sure. Advocacy, sure. But also, to avail yourself of meeting your representatives on issues that matter to you. Emails are fine, but depending on your reps, mileage may vary according to how accessible they are; I’m lucky, my House Representative is very accessible and I was able to promote some legislation on Burma/Myanmar while I was in DC recently. That was something else I wanted to write about; updates on what’s transpiring in Burma and the attendant issues surrounding the military’s continued oppression.  However, like many around the world, I woke Sunday morning to horrible and horrifying news out of Israel. There will be more tragedy to come out from the region and I do not look forward to it. I am not, by any means, a fan of Netanyahu and his hard move toward further authorita...

Jesus and Buiddha by Xiron/Deviant Art For  Kelly Ann Morrow Recently, I was reminded of how notions of religious practice and/or dogma intersect with secular custom and why I really don’t like to identify as a Buddhist (although, yes, I am a card-carrying member thereof of the Tibetan variety.) I tend to keep my affiliation private and if someone knows my history, then fine, I’m happy to represent. I am not always certain that some Buddhists would want me to do so, perhaps for some reasons that we may encounter here.  Buddhism isn’t monolithic. This tends to rub some practitioners the wrong way, but it’s frankly obvious. Just as Christianity isn’t monolithic. Or any other group, tradition, or for that matter, individual. We - all of us - contain multitudes. That being said, the question surrounding how different practitioners encounter the world is likely to vary. An amusing - well, to me - example is, do or can Buddhists celebrate Halloween? Sure, I’ll bet there are some con...

Biphoton state holographic reconstruction. Image reconstruction. a, Coincidence image of interference between a reference SPDC state and a state obtained by a pump beam with the shape of a Ying and Yang symbol (shown in the inset). The inset scale is the same as in the main plot. b, Reconstructed amplitude and phase structure of the image imprinted on the unknown pump. Credit:  Nature Photonics  (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41566-023-01272-3 Quantum entanglement flies in the face of our quotidian “us-scale” reality. For that matter, post-Euclidian math and physics are for the most part, contradictory of the so-called “real world” and yet, humanity continues to live as though it knows what is real. In large measure, we don’t. Am I making a claim that quantum mechanics is the truest depiction of reality? Well, let’s put it like this; it seems to provide a telling proof that things are not as we perceive them (which any artist or philosopher or mystic over the past 10,000 years would av...