Monthly Archives: October 2009

Opium Smoking in Old China

Posted on October 31, 2009 by Roger Walck

A 1952 New Yorker article describes a visit to a Chinese opium den, or divan, as it is properly called, just like we used to see in old Fu Manchu movies.  The then-new Communist government was vigorously closing them down, … Continue reading →

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Getting Lost

Posted on October 26, 2009 by Roger Walck

Having all of the past New Yorker magazines on DVDs (see the previous posting), I find myself easily getting lost for an hour or so concentrating on just one or two issues.  When I look up from my computer screen … Continue reading →

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Overwhelmed

Posted on October 21, 2009 by Roger Walck

The electronic age may have done me in.  I have just received a set of eight DVDs that contains every page of every weekly issue of The New Yorker magazine since its inception in 1925 through to 2005.  All of … Continue reading →

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Phillies Fans

Posted on October 17, 2009 by Roger Walck

I am not a sports fan, never was, probably never will be.  Back when the Flyers won the Stanley Cup, I was puzzled by the corn-faced Philadelphia teenagers yelling into the TV news cameras, "We’re number one! We’re number one!"  … Continue reading →

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Egypt and the Moon/Bull, Sun/Lion

Posted on October 14, 2009 by Roger Walck

From the previous posting, you now know the ancient mythology of the bull representing the moon and its symbolism of the life cycle, and the lion representing the sun and its symbolism of the spiritual world. Egyptian tombs show a … Continue reading →

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The Sumerian Tile

Posted on October 10, 2009 by Roger Walck

Well before Old Testament times in the Middle East, there was Sumeria whose largest city was Ur, the traditional home of Abraham, and this tile dating from about 2500 BC.  The tile is unimpressive, only about five inches square and … Continue reading →

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Teachers and the Dancing Shiva

Posted on October 7, 2009 by Roger Walck

The previous posting explained the meaning of two of the arms of the Dancing Shiva, but what about the other two? The right hand with the raised palm is the universal symbol of blessing, of the good things that will … Continue reading →

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Time, and Where It Goes When It Goes By

Posted on October 2, 2009 by Roger Walck

I recently finished abstracting the paperback book  “The Fabric of the Cosmos”  by Brian Greene, a surprisingly young and boyish-looking  professor of physics and mathematics at Columbia University.  He is sometimes seen on various TV science programs explaining modern physics … Continue reading →

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