#the new humanist

[passionthatmoves]

In any case, in 2024 it is possible to eat delicious food you didn’t make yourself, watch movies that have recently come out in the cinema, buy all manner of clothes, tools and fripperies, do the food shopping, speak to friends and family and earn a wage – all without ever leaving the house. Why should we, then? What’s in it for us? There are a number of ways to answer those questions, not all of which will appeal to everyone, but it is worth setting them out. Living a real, physical life outside the home is good because humans need friction. Convenience is alluring but it is dangerous, because getting used to it means forgetting that being alive isn’t meant to always be easy. We should run our errands in person and queue at the Post Office and eat in restaurants because it is good to remember that sometimes we have to wait around, or go to several shops because the first one didn’t have what we needed. Resilience is one of the most important traits a person can and should develop, and it works like a muscle. Glide effortlessly through life and, when something bad does happen, because it always will, you won’t know how to react. On a similar note, forcing ourselves to go out even when we’d rather stay on the couch can remind us that good, surprising things usually tend to take place when we least expect them. You may bump into an old acquaintance while out buying a pair of shoes or a carton of milk, or see someone you’d forgotten even existed. You may get to pet a very cute dog, or have a nice laugh with an old lady who struck up a conversation with you, or help someone else who got knocked off their bike and feel good about it, or, or, or – the possibilities are endless. That’s the entire point. The outside is where the unknowable can and will take place, and that’s what makes it so wonderful. A life without any serendipity is hardly worth living and yes, chance is precious enough that it is worth its cost.

Marie Le Conte, 'The Introverts are Winning' (25 July 2024) The New Humanist

[maurafranklin]

god i wish that were me

[arabdoll]

I wish I could show you,

When you are lonely or in darkness,

The Astonishing Light

Of your own Being!

Hafez

[mijamija1234]

Humanist - Brother feat. Dave Gahan

[compressednerve]

I'm enjoying this a lot more than I thought I would 📚 alas it's bed time so I have to put it down, but I could easily read this in one sitting. 10/10 love it.

[francepittoresque]

3 septembre 1653 : mort de l'humaniste et philologue Claude Saumaise ➽ http://bit.ly/Claude-Saumaise Médecine, jurisprudence, théologie, philosophie, histoire ecclésiastique, antiquités grecques et romaines, langues anciennes, langues orientales : dépeint par Ménage comme le plus honnête et le plus sociable des hommes, Claude Saumaise avait tout fouillé

[jimmygneccoofficial]

Straight off a month of European dates opening for Depeche Mode, Jimmy will embark upon a US and European solo tour in support of his upcoming official release…Jimmy Gnecco New Age Heroine. He will also be opening a run of dates for Jane's Addiction with Humanist.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW

[daincrediblegg]

people who say foundation is bad and badly written fundamentally misunderstand that it's space lord of the rings and I have literally no idea what they're talking about

[verminfang]

Tagged by @shillelagh

I'm actually not too sure where the venn diagram of mutuals who do tag games and actually have spotify is but I'll no pressure to do it tag @importantangeldefendor based on that being someone I vaguely remember posting a spotify wrapped this year

let your spotify predict your 2024! shuffle your on repeat playlist, and the first twelve songs represent your 2024

January - Spite by Vandaveer

February - Can't Keep Johnny Down by They Might Be Giants

March - Zydrate Anatomy by Repo The Genetic Opera

April - It Ain't Psychedelic (Unless You Kill Someone) by The Golden Pelicans

May - Devoid of Redemption by Pallbearer

June - Chain Breaker by Brothers of Metal

July - Babes in the Abyss by Sleep of Monsters

August - Discipline by Nine Inch Nails

September - Slaughter Beach by Clutch

October - Vivid by SikTh

November - The Forest Dark by Green Druid

December - New Millennium Cyanide Christ by Meshuggah

[passionthatmoves]

"We should all make an effort to leave the house more often not solely because it may benefit us, but because the world needs us to. Small business owners need customers to browse in their shops. Little local restaurants brighten every neighbourhood, but the competition of delivery apps is making many unsustainable.

We like knowing that life is out there waiting for us, just in case we do decide to venture out, but it won’t remain there for much longer if everyone relies on everyone else to do the sometimes tedious everyday living. This doesn’t mean that even the most introverted among us ought to be rounded up and forced to go to their local pub three times a week. Instead, everyone should attempt to leave their comfort zone once in a while.

Bruckner was right to point out that today’s world isn’t especially welcoming, but retreating from it is an ultimately selfish choice, as it ensures that things are unlikely to ever get better. Future generations will then shun each other even more, and things will get even worse. In order to function, a society needs its inhabitants to reach out to one another. If they collectively choose to retreat, it will stop existing.

The only way out of the spiral is to remember that no man is an island, and we all eventually left the womb for a reason. Slippers may be comfortable but will you, on your deathbed, really wish you’d spent more time in them?"

Marie Le Conte, 'The Introverts are Winning' (25 July 2024) The New Humanist

[raspberry-gloaming]

You don't realise how fucking funny the "men thinking about Roman Empire" thing is now I've started a history degree. The cycle of Roman obsession really been going for more than a thousand years.

[intergalactic-deathray]

(x)

[tourmelion]

*WHEEZE

[bopinion]

2023 / 49

Aperçu of the Week:

"We want the world our children inherit to be defined by the values enshrined in the U.N. Charter: peace, justice, respect, human rights, tolerance, and solidarity."

(UN secretary general António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres)

Bad News of the Week:

Negative headlines dominate in Germany...

The ruling traffic light coalition is in permanent crisis.

Germany's flagship automotive industry is weakening.

Trains are being canceled or are at least running late.

Satisfaction with Chancellor Scholz is at a record low.

The real energy costs will hit us at the turn of the year.

Viktor Orbán is still Hungary's prime minister and a pain in the ass for all Europeans.

The financing of important measures against climate change is shaky.

We won't be able to absorb it if US military aid for Ukraine decreases or even stops.

There are more Italian or Asian restaurants than traditional German cuisine.

It's raining and it's cold.

Conclusion: everything is bad.

There are also positive aspects, but they are easily drowned out:

We still have the "Germany ticket", which allows you to use all local public transport at a flat rate and at a low price.

The European Union acts and functions despite Orban & Co.

We have taken in the most refugees from Ukraine.

At the UN Climate Change Conference COP28, things at least seem to be moving in the right direction.

We have been able to live in peace for over 70 years.

There are vaccinations against coronavirus, which is knocking on the door again.

We still support the Palestinian people.

And that doesn't make us anti-Semites.

German rap is no longer as bad as it used to be.

We're sitting dry in the warmth.

Conclusion: Not everything is bad. But a lot.

Good News of the Week:

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has often earned my respect. Because he uses the only weapon he actually has in this office very effectively and strikingly: clear statements. For example, on the subject of migration: "As a global community, we face a choice. Do we want migration to be a source of prosperity and international solidarity, or a byword for inhumanity and social friction?". Or geostrategy: "Our own objective is to make Africa overcome its difficulties, to make Africa a continent of hope, to make Africa a continent of the future, to make Africa a pillar of the world in which we live - not seen as a problem but seen as an opportunity." Or gender equality: "Far too often, girls are not given the space and opportunities they need to achieve their full potential." Or environmental protection: "The facts are clear. Our oceans are a mess."

He positions himself fundamentally as a humanist idealist: "When we achieve human rights and human dignity for all people - they will build a peaceful, sustainable, and just world." "We have to transcend our differences to transform our future." Or "Our world faces many grave challenges: Widening conflicts and inequality. Extreme weather and deadly intolerance. Security threats - including nuclear weapons. We have the tools and wealth to overcome these challenges. All we need is the will." And as a convinced pacifist: "In all circumstances in the world - even the most difficult circumstances - we need to push for dialogue." "Preventing conflict means going back to basics - strengthening institutions and building resilient societies." Or "Nowhere in the world has the use of force alone resolved a conflict."

Guterres has received a lot of backlash for many of his recent statements. Even from the supposed good guys. Why? Because he is one of the few - who, unlike Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, for example, cannot be accused of partiality - to clearly criticize Israel's reaction to the Hamas terror attack. He never tires of describing the situation in the Gaza Strip as a "crisis of humanity". He repeatedly called for the immediate release of the hostages taken to Gaza, but also for a humanitarian ceasefire. "Gaza is becoming a graveyard for children," he said again to journalists in New York. And officially called on the UN Security Council to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe. Whereupon Netanyahu's gang seriously declared him a "danger to world peace".

Guterres never loses sight of the long-term perspective. "Clearly, the response to terrorism and violent extremism must respect human rights and comply with international law. That is not just a question of justice but of effectiveness." Only a balanced two-state solution can bring peace to the region. Especially when those who are sitting on the powder keg themselves are playing with matches and fuses, third parties are needed to call for prudence. And take the side of the weak. Because "We live in a chaotic world." Okay, I'm clearly a Guterres groupie...

Personal happy moment of the week:

Last Thursday, my son came home from school, ate a snack - spaghetti with prawns - and was taken to basketball practice by my wife. Less than fifteen minutes later, he called: he must be having an allergic reaction and I should come straight away. I pile into the car, drive to the sports hall and meet a young man with pustules all over his skin. All the doctors' surgeries were already closed, the nearest hospital was about an hour away and I asked him every two minutes how his circulation was and whether he had any breathing difficulties. At least the pharmacy in the medical center was still open. Two very helpful ladies told me that he needed cortisone, but without a doctor's prescription they could only give him a skin cream to relieve the itching.

And when I called the emergency medical service, I ended up in Bad Reichenhall, 150 kilometers away, after an eternal five-minute recorded message and "Please press number 3". A pharmacist then ran off and knocked on doors all over the medical center to see if there was still a doctor there. She found one who was still in his practice, which had actually been closed for a long time, and was completing formalities. And who was willing to see my son. He did and injected him with cortisone. And just as quickly as the allergic reaction (we suspect the prawns) came on, it went away again. Son and father were able to sleep peacefully. Thankful that there are medical professionals who do more than just work to a timetable.

I couldn't care less...

...about the political future of UK's prime minister Rishi Sunak. The British government is pressing ahead with its plans for deportations to Rwanda - and will not be stopped by the courts. For Prime Minister Sunak, this is also a matter of his own political survival, as he had also stuck the label "taking back control" on the country's borders. If this means human ignorance and a disregard for the fundamental right to asylum, he deserves nothing less than to be voted out of office - whether within the Tory party or against Labour in the upcoming elections.

As I write this...

...Germany is in PISA shock. Reading and math skills are at an all-time low. Says the "Program for international student assessment". Have pupils become dumber or is the education system no longer working? We will know when the current generation of students starts their careers. Will "Made in Germany" remain a seal of quality or will it become a stigma? We shall see...

Post Scriptum

I don't like my first name. Because "Klaus" was always the dork in all the school books who couldn't get anything together. That's why I established "Bo" early on - and everyone around me knows that they can really drive me up the wall with "Klausi-Mausi". Once a year, however, I can come to terms with my name. Namely when the most famous of all name days is celebrated by everyone: St. Nicholas / Santa Claus. On the morning of December 6, like many others, I was standing on a cold, wet platform hoping that trains would start running again after the heavy onset of winter. And then a Santa Claus came (from the railroad company, as I found out later) and gave us all gingerbread and wished us a Merry Christmas. And all the faces that had just been grumpy turned into smiles and everyone started the day in a better mood. And than the train arrived too.

[francepittoresque]

9 avril 1553 : mort de François Rabelais ➽ http://bit.ly/Francois-Rabelais Son esprit avide embrassa toutes les sciences que les livres pouvaient alors révéler. La connaissance des langues lui devint surtout familière : il possédait l’hébreu, le grec, le latin, l’italien, l’espagnol, l’allemand, l’anglais et même l’arabe