Friday, September 06, 2013

The Realm of Whispering Ghosts: If Truman Met Einstein - NOW PLAYING in Seattle: recommended!

I just saw the first showing of a play I will recommend to you all: "The Realm of Whispering Ghosts: If Truman Met Einstein".

The premise: in the Buddist afterlife, a student killed at Hiroshima and an American POW try to change history by get Truman to discuss the danger of atomic weaponry with Einstein. This is a meeting that might have happened; several atomic scientists worried about the implications of the bomb had tried to talk to the President; perhaps the leading scientist of the age may have had better luck, had not (in one of the many historical details revealed in the play) FDR died before opening his letter asking for a meeting.
This idea could be done well or be done badly, and I'm happy to say that it has been done very well indeed.
It is an extraordinarily thoughtful work, well cast and superbly staged, and designed to raise more questions than it answers. It is necessarily a "talky" play; the characters interact through speech rather than action, because they are fundamentally trying to make decisions. If you need song-and-dance numbers or fight scenes, this is not the work for you.
But within that structure, the play renders every character, and most especially the protagonists not as idealized fictions or Mary Sues, but as persons with competing interests, flaws more unheroic than heroic, and fundamental misunderstandings.

  • On a personal level, the doom has already fallen upon the lovers and they are in the uncomfortable position of attempting to reverse, rather than forestall it.
  • On an historical level, the work is loaded with historical details that advance the plot, or rather, explain why history worked out the way it did.
  • On the political or moral level, the work raises questions that are difficult to answer, because no answer that is apparent to the characters is really satisfactory. 

Only the audience has a God's-eye view, understanding the misunderstandings that prevent a peaceful outcome to the impending clash. It makes you think about our current era; what are we missing that we see no path to peace that does not allow thousands to die.
As proof of the power of the work, I saw the audience discussing these issues most earnestly throughout the intermission and for quite a while after the show.
Title:
The Realm of Whispering Ghosts: If Truman Met Einstein
When/Where:
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday August 30-September 15
The Bathhouse Theater
7312 W. Greenlake Dr. N
Seattle, WA
Tickets:
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/391493
BONUS SHOWING (free!):
The public is invited to have a word with President Harry S. Truman and Nobel laureate Albert Einstein at the Swedish Club, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 10.

A new play, “The Realm of Whispering Ghosts: If Truman Met Einstein,” imagines how a meeting between the two men might have changed history.  Following the successful opening of the play at the Bathhouse Theatre this past weekend, the Hit and Run Theater Company is offering the community its own chance to meet these two iconic figures.  Albert Einstein (or his lookalike, Arne Zaslove) will engage in conversation with Harry S Truman (Mike King, an appellate lawyer who has stood in for President Truman in numerous local events).  The discussion, which the public is invited to join, will be facilitated by Seattle attorney and legal educator John Rapp.

The conversation takes place on Tuesday, September 10, at the Swedish Club at 1920 Dexter Avenue North, Seattle 98109.  On the eve of the anniversary of 9/11, and in the midst of deliberations about a possible military strike against Syria, it is more urgent than ever to engage in discussion about how vital world-changing decisions are made.  The characters in “The Realm of Whispering Ghosts” urge the scientists and politicians to “keep talking” – and audience members linger after the show because they want to do just that.  Says director Arne Zaslove, “We have been struck by the number of people who come forward and say ‘My father was a chemist or engineer engaged in secret work during the Second World War’ or ‘My father was on a warship, waiting to land in Japan, when the bombs were dropped.’  Their stories are both moving and fascinating, and there is a hunger to talk more about what has happened in this country, and what is happening now.”

The conversation with Truman and Einstein takes place in the Three Crowns Room on the top floor of the Swedish Club, with a beautiful view of Lake Union, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 10.  Admission is free, and there will be a no-host bar and light refreshments offered.  For more information, contact John Rapp at jfs.rapp@gmail.com.

“The Realm of Whispering Ghosts: If Truman Met Einstein” continues its run until September 15 at the Bathhouse Theatre, 7312 W. Greenlake Drive N., Seattle 98103.  Tickets are available through Brown Paper Tickets: .

Contact:  
Claire Zaslove
claire@zaslove.com
(206) 285-2881
Learn More:
https://www.facebook.com/TheRealmOfWhisperingGhostsIfTrumanMetEinstein


The Amorphous Mercenary Song

He's an amorph sarge
Who leads the charge
With a great big plasma gun
Now bein' a merc
 Is real hard work
But he thinks it's mostly fun
He'll eat a foe
 It makes him grow
But he won't eat me
I've had enough
I'm now a Tough
I joined Schlock's company!
 He's an armed and dangerous glob of goop
And he looks like a pile of silicon poop
All hail Schlock the Mercenary!
 --- REWINN 09/06/2013
For references, see http://www.schlockmercenary.com/
In response to a call for filks at https://www.facebook.com/groups/2372714756/

Wednesday, September 04, 2013

Creationist Xeno's Paradox

Creationists often argue that there are no "transitional forms" between fossils, or between fossils and living species. This is a dishonest argument because it depends on a "Xeno's Paradox" problem. Imagine:

  •  Scientist: "Fossil A is the remains of an ancestor of Living Creature Z."
  • Creationists argue "Hey there's no fossil record of anything between A and Z".
  • Scientist: "Look I discovered Fossil J, midway between A and Z!"
  • Creationist: "Hey there's no fossil record of anything between A and J". 
  • Scientist: "Look I discovered Fossil D, midway between A and J!" 
  • Creationist: "Hey there's no fossil record of anything between A and D".
  • Scientist: "Look I discovered Fossil B, midway between A and D!" 
  • Creationist: "Hey there's no fossil record of anything between A and B". 
  • Scientist "LOL",
There's really no need to go into more detail as to why Creationists are wrong on this.

Monday, September 02, 2013

Cilantro Becomes Coriander

Coriander
One of the unexpected fun bits of gardening is discovering what happens if you just leave a plant alone.
A surprising number of them produce seeds, which is often given the disparaging label of "going to seed" but which is actually a very useful thing ... if you want seeds.
Our nasturtiums, for example, produce many large seeds, easily picked up off the ground around the plants and saved for next year. I've been experimenting with seed from cabbage, rhubarb, bluebells and others.
Today I learned what happens when you let cilantro go to seed - you get coriander!
I was thinking of saving some to plant next year, but coriander is just such a useful spice that I'm afraid we're going to use it instead. This must be the sort of dilemma that faced real farmers; thank goodness we have the luxury of choosing either path!

Sunday, September 01, 2013

4freeCLE: Free CLE Webcasts & Events! September 1, 2013

 
4freeCLE:  
Free CLE Webcasts & Events!
September 1, 2013
In This Issue
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virgin Islands
Virgina
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Other States
Archive

This program gives attorneys the tools to identify and eliminate bias in the legal profession.
The speaker, San Diego County Deputy District Attorney 
Wendy L. Patrick 
, highlights the legal and ethical authorities that deal with bias, paying particular attention to various federal anti-discrimination statutes as well as the California Rules of Professional Conduct. 

This recording is sponsored by Lexvid. 

Learn More Now!
 
 
 
The World's Funniest Lawyer Jokes: A Caseload of Jurisprudential Jest
by Steven D. Price
Kindle Edition




Keep Calm And Call Your Lawyer
Coffee Mug
by Go Banners
 




How to Start and Build a Law Practice
by Jay Foonberg
Kindle Edition ~ Read Instantly! 




Welcome Subscriber 1000!
- From the Editor
R E Winn
Thanks! --- REW
4freeCLE has reached this year's goal of one thousand subscribers
(not counting twitter feed followers, and thousands more who check the free CLE listingsdirectly.) THANKS! Your support means a lot to me.
Sharing news of free continuing legal education is intended to help providers, such as pro bono programs, experts, academics and others, to get their news out about their CLEs and to help attorneys, such as yourself, to find quality education, especially if you're on a budget. (And aren't we all "on a budget"?) Your subscription says this service is valued, and I thank you sincerely.
As you check the listings, please support the advertisers who make this work possible.
As always, please share this with friends by forwarding this email or sending them links to our listings. 4freeCLE will always be free!
Green 
All Webcast CLE
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Webcasts Bring CLE To You!
Heres a list of free CLE webcasts regardless of state of accreditation. If the sponsor has not applied for credit in your state, you may be able to apply for credit through your state's credit-granting authority.
For the list for CLEs granted credit in your particular state(s), whether in-person or webcast, see scroll down to your state below!

CLE State-by-State
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Keep On Learning!
Each of these programs can earn you credit, at no cost, in the state in which it is listed. Starting this this issue, we're listing in-person programs and webcasts together, for your convenience!
In some cases, the programs require that attorneys attending apply for credit via reciprocity or other rules; check with the credit-granting authority in your state.

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Delaware

District of Columbia

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio 

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Vermont

Virgin Islands

Virginia

Washington 

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

Other States
According the the ABA, the following states have no mandatory CLE requirement: 
  • Connecticut 
  • District of Columbia 
  • Maryland 
  • Massachusetts 
  • Michigan 
  • South Dakota.
Attorneys there may still find CLE programs substantively useful, but I have not focused on finding free resources for those states in the absence of a requirement.
 

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