Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Frankenstein In Central Square, Part Six
Ar Lain Ta taps his shoulder. Moshe Dean’s head snaps up and he opens his eyes. “I was paying attention,” was what he said. “I was just thinking about something else,” he said as he wiped the soup casually from his forehead and ground a soft potato into his thinning hair. A car alarm blares.…
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Sparing the Rod
Like most of us, I’ve been following the mess that is the National Football League this season. I’m not talking about the games themselves. I’m talking about the controversy. The Ray Rice situation is pretty cut and dry, and yes, count me among those who believe the league knew all along about that tape. But…
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“The Skeleton Twins”: Laughter, Followed By A Punch In The Gut
By Marissa Giambelluca Grade: A At heart, “The Skeleton Twins,” a movie directed by Craig Johnson (“True Adolescents”), is a story of a brother and sister both on the brink of self-destruction. Quite literally, actually. The movie opens with Maggie (Kristen Wiig) about to down a handful of pills, but she’s stopped by a phone…
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Garret’s Movie Palace: Insidious, Chapter Two
By Garret Jordan Royal Rating: 2.5 out of 4 crowns Yeah, you read that right. 2.5 out of 4. I was so disappointed. The first Insidious movie came out in 2011, and when I saw it, I was terrified out of my wits. We were introduced to the Lambert family: husband Josh,wife Renée, and their…
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BPD’s Race Problem: In the Wake of Ferguson, Local Activists Are Targeting Alleged Abuses at the Boston Police Department
Citizens, community leaders and activists gathered outside the Boston Police Station at 1 Schroeder Pl. on Thursday, 9 October 2014 to rally against racially biased policing. The event came one day after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Massachusetts released a new report that found racial bias in police-civilian street encounters, and nearly two…
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Homesickness and the Endless War on Terror
Every spring, the mist over the shallow lakes across Kansas settles quietly in the early morning hours. During the long winter months in Massachusetts, the ponds and bogs encased by bent willows are sprinkled with slipping ducks on slick ice patches. On the mountaintops in California, in early fall, snow kisses their rocky tips, while…
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Frankenstein In Central Square, Part Five
When the wind blows like dragon-song in her ears, Rogue knows she is suspended in time. At times like this she thinks of her mother. She remembers her first awareness of being in the womb. The knowledge of her mission. And she opens her mouth, howling into the wind of the void, the place of…
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Labels and the Immigration Problem
A few weeks ago, the Mayor of Lynn was explaining how the flood of immigrants has affected Lynn’s economy in a not necessarily good way. She said the city is spending more on education, and most of the new immigrant children don’t know English well enough to get a proper education in the school system.…
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Computerized Unemployment Insurance System Creates Hassles for the Unemployed
BOSTON, Mass.—When the Commonwealth’s $46-million computerized unemployment insurance system launched in July 2013, officials declared it an instant success. However, emails that the Boston Globe recently obtained demonstrate systemic flaws and high levels of user frustration with the new Massachusetts Unemployment Insurance (UI) online system. In the emails, which the Globe obtained through a federal…
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