imagined-community

Cuz I’m feelin’ a bit nostalgic this Music Monday before Halloween — the full version of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” (but in three parts for best video quality). Everybody loves it and so do I. Regardless of what Michael may or may not have done on his path through life, he WAS a brilliant musician back in the day. The thrill is still there for me with this vid! (If the video is not scary enough for you, check out the Halloween Web Cam.)
Happy nearly Halloween!

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I’ve walked past this house at 95 Irving Street in Cambridge a million times and never noticed the blue plaque marking it as the home of American philosopher William James. Not until the house was transformed into the Halloween House did I notice the historic landmark sign underneath the candy corn lights.

I am actually a fan of both William James and Henry James. I read Henry James for the first time in college, in a comparative literature class. The professor was a passionate James-junkie and started us off with What Maisie Knew, a nineteenth-century account of a dual-custody divorce (Maisie being the child caught in the middle of her parents’ bitter squabbling). My interest in William James came a bit later, but also in college, when I drew from the James-Lange theory of emotions (in a nutshell, emotions are a response to physiological experiences, and thus can be directed or controlled, not the other way around — we don’t run because we are afraid, we are afraid because we run) for a literature paper.

There are many historic homes in Cambridge, E.E. Cummings’ house is across the street from the WJ Halloween House, although there is a VERY high fence around it. You can see a list of historic Cambridge houses (with photos) at the Cambridge Historical Commission.

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My next post may not be until the end of the week… right now I am working on my website — the reason I started blogging. If you haven’t checked it out yet, click on over to imagined-community.com. As you’ll see, I believe passionately that if we want peace and caring to triumph over war and fear, we need to understand each other as people, as local communities, and as nations. I believe that understanding and an enduring commitment to peace happens through our dedication to learning who the other is by listening, listening, listening, walking that proverbial mile in another’s shoes, working side-by-side, talking, talking, talking, and then listening, walking, working and talking some more. That is why I am so invested in international volunteerism. It requires more than a little openness, humility, curiosity, resolve, and generosity to go to country where no one knows your name, and maybe doesn’t even speak your language, and allow yourself to be put to good use at the same time that you are hearing things you’ve never heard before and communicating in ways you’ve never communicated. Now that’s multi-tasking!

Since October’s webpage will be centered on Ghana, I thought that I would wet your appetite with a little hiplife music from Ghana. This music video features rapper Castro Destoyer. You can see more hiplife videos at the hiplife complex written by a blogger in New York.

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