It started as invasion by France to collect a debt, but the larger and better equipped French invasion force was defeated by a ragged group of Mexicans, some armed with little more than machetes and pitchforks. The Battle of Puebla on 5 May 1862 was 150 years ago this Saturday. It was not decisive, needing a few years before the colorful armies and politicians could sort it all out. But the victory at Puebla is a story deep at the heart of Mexican character – a determination and toughness that the great continent of North America shares as a very odd, sometimes dysfunctional family.
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Category Archives: People & Culture
All about the standing-upright chimps that really love to talk about themselves.
K-Waves
The possibility of the world ending this December still makes the rounds, often as a joke. Very few people believe it will happen, and certainly no Mayan ever predicted such a thing. But the idea caught on for an obvious reason: we do appear to be at the end of some kind of cycle.
Then again, we’re also at the start of another.
While there may be morbid comfort in the idea that the world might end, an emerging new world should be much more comforting. That’s why the K-Wave concept is likely to catch on. This theory is not only more hopeful, it’s robust enough to explain an awful lot about our world from investing to generational identification – and more.
Science, Technology, & Public Life
If you peer through a magnifying glass at a bug on a leaf, you may find yourself looking at a different world. Tiny legs might work their way along the delicate structure, as firm as a human hiker across the solid ground itself.
This world takes on the color of the mind observing it when it becomes a story. Some may see this new thing and ask questions – how the bug came to like that particular leaf, how it is able to grip it, and so on. Others may be content reporting the details of the situation, such as the shape of the legs and jaws of the bug.
Anytime new perspectives open up the difference between science and technology is revealed at its basic essence. Science is a practice of asking questions far more than providing answers. Technology is about rendering that new information into something practical and useful. That difference may seem subtle, but it is critical to understanding how new information shapes our personal and public lives in a world bombarded with new ideas and observations.
The Conch Republic
April 23 is the 30th birthday of the Conch Republic. It is an important day because it is now old enough to start lying about its age. Lying is an important part of the story because a well told lie is the heart of any legend.
You may not have heard of the Conch Republic, the Independent Florida Keys. To some people, that’s just as well. But the story needs to be told because it is a tale of lust, greed, power, and … well, actually, it’s just a lot of fun. You can get a lot further with a good gag than you can by being a jerk. And so it begins.
Fort Road Federation
The crowd took their seats slowly, grudgingly giving up the moment to catch up with neighbors they hadn’t seen in a while. The formal program of the Fort Road Federation Annual Meeting started off last night with the same kind of connection, a brief talk by former Mayor George Latimer. As Mayor 22 years ago he had butted heads with many of the people in the room who had their own ideas about how the community should develop and proceed, different from the city of St Paul’s big plans. But through a few jokes, salty comments, and heartfelt statements of respect he made it clear – what makes the West Seventh community strong are the neighbors that make it work.
Neighbors, that is, and their connections that become community – something beyond each and every one of us.
Not every city has organizations like the Fort Road Federation to knit together the commitments and connections into one coherent whole that can make a difference. But they should.
Barataria - The work of Erik Hare 