Ain’t Gonna Study War No More
By Ashleigh Brilliant   |   January 28, 2025

When I was in my teens and still living in England, both that country and the U.S. still had what was called a “Draft.” It applied only to men within a certain age range. But there were stiff legal penalties for failing to register. You might be exempted for medical reasons, but for healthy young […]

Going Back
By Ashleigh Brilliant   |   January 14, 2025

Most of us these days, by the time we may be considered grown up, have lived in more than one place – sometimes in several different places, even in different countries. In a way, this can give a different meaning to what we call “Home” – despite the once popular notion that there is no […]

 

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More from Montecito

Whistling Away the Dark
By Jeff Wing   |   January 7, 2025

Often I think my poor oldheartHas given up for goodAnd then I see a brave new face,I glimpse some new neighborhood..– Mancini/Mercer And here we are again. Another …. New Year?! This is a reportedly cyclical occurrence, begat by an explosion that, for reasons I’ve stopped trying to grasp, gave birth to both Time itself […]

Bad Grief
By Ashleigh Brilliant   |   January 7, 2025

It shouldn’t be necessary to do this, but I feel the time has come when somebody needs to say something against grief and grieving. Lately these topics have been getting a very positive consideration in the relevant journals. The word has gone out far and wide from highly qualified experts that, at least in certain […]

Holiday Cards and Weak Ties?
By Robert Bernstein   |   January 7, 2025

As a secular humanist, I don’t do Christmas. But I enjoy the end of year ritual of sending “holiday” cards. A few dozen people get real cards, and a larger circle get emails. Some of these people are close friends. But some are family and friends with whom I rarely have contact. Sometimes for years […]

Thinking Over Dover
By Ashleigh Brilliant   |   December 31, 2024

Allow me to share with you some thoughts and memories about a place called Dover, a town on the south coast of England. As you may know, it’s the closest land to France, across the English Channel which, at that geographical point, has the name of the Strait of Dover. The Channel between the two […]

News
By Ashleigh Brilliant   |   December 24, 2024

Until the era of electronic communication, getting word of happenings in other places (to say nothing of instantaneous moving pictures in color) used to be a long, slow process. News could travel on land only as fast as the fastest runner or rider. A man living in California might get a letter from his brother, […]

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  • Live Long and Prosper
    By Ernie Witham   |   December 24, 2024

    “Pass the salt, willya?” “I swear if you keep using that much salt, you won’t live to see 130,” my wife told me. “I hope you’re wrong. I want to see the great-great grandkids graduate.” I cleared my throat.  “Oh no, you’re not going to sing again are you?”  I strummed my air guitar. “Imagine […]

    Time and Tide and Nick
    By Jeff Wing   |   December 10, 2024

    The “Holidays” show up every year. If Life seems cyclical that could be – in part – because we live on a spinning ball, if you can imagine. So it’s December. Again. The year-end hullabaloo (to generalize) always gets me thinking about the throngs of people, the millions of hidden lives, the unsurfaced stories that […]

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    Only Kidding
    By Ashleigh Brilliant   |   December 10, 2024

    One of the songs I learned at some campfire gathering seemed to me to have profound significance – but I’m still not sure what it was. It’s about “Bill Grogan’s Goat” who, when “feeling fine, ate three red shirts, right off the line.” Bill Grogan was so outraged at this that he not only gave […]

    ACE Scores, Crime, and a Place for Everybody?
    By Robert Bernstein   |   December 10, 2024

    I recently participated in an all-day conference on prisons and recovery, co-sponsored by the Humanist Society of Santa Barbara. One recurring theme? The ACE score: Adverse Childhood Experiences. Here is a simplified list of ten such adverse childhood experiences: Physical abuseEmotional abusePhysical neglectEmotional neglectSexual abuseViolence toward motherSubstance abuse in householdHousehold mental illnessHousehold member incarceratedParental separation […]

    What I Learned
    By Ashleigh Brilliant   |   December 3, 2024

    Summer camp can be an educational experience, but not necessarily as the organizers intended. My first time was in 1943 at Camp Airy in Thurmont, Maryland. (It is still in operation today.) I was nine years old. World War II was still on. I went together with my best friend, Nathan Mensh, whose family lived […]

    Revolutionary Educational Mastery?
    By Robert Bernstein   |   December 3, 2024

    You have probably heard of educator Salman Khan and his Khan Academy. I recently attended a talk he gave for UCSB. Khan had been a hedge fund analyst. A good family man, he wanted to help his cousin Nadya with her math back in 2004. He tutored her over the phone and was able to […]

    Freedom and Sanctity
    By Jeff Wing   |   November 26, 2024

    Tony Soprano: You know we’re the only country in the world where the pursuit of happiness is guaranteed in writing? You believe that? Bunch of $%@! spoiled brats. Where’s my happiness then? Dr. Melfi: It’s the pursuit that’s guaranteed. Tony Soprano: Yeah… always a $%@! loophole, right? A dear friend asked me once; “Jeff, do […]

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