I was primarily focused on European history from Ancient Greece and Rome to the present, and the history of science. In recent decades, I have read deeply and widely in our Civil War, WWI, WWII, Vietnam, and German history. I had a great course in Japanese history at UCLA which my present wife also took, though we did not meet until 20 y…
I was primarily focused on European history from Ancient Greece and Rome to the present, and the history of science. In recent decades, I have read deeply and widely in our Civil War, WWI, WWII, Vietnam, and German history. I had a great course in Japanese history at UCLA which my present wife also took, though we did not meet until 20 years later. I have also read a fair amount in Japanese and Chinese history, and studied Mandarin for two years at UCLA Extension, becoming modestly proficient and able to speak with Chinese people we met on vacations to Europe.
Unfortunately, a rare and very debilitating ailment struck me in 2002. Destroying most of my hearing and my balance, so tonal languages don’t work for me. Heck, even English is garbled! But the written word is still superb. Thanks to my poor vision, I read almost entirely on my Kindle app where I can enlarge the print, but still love books more. I just find the small print too much of a strain. I do fondly remember researching amongst the seldom consulted treasures of the vast UCLA libraries. Indeed, on one of our last days in LA before moving to our present home in Sacramento, my wife, oldest daughter and I spent a day at the main undergraduate library at UCLA and wandered the campus reminiscing about our years there. As we downsize now, the one thing we are finding very difficult to part with is our rather large library. We may end up donating much of it, though interested recipients are diminishing in this electronic age. I feel blessed in many ways that we spent most of our life in a time when books and libraries were still the norm.
I'd forgotten about Greek and Roman history. I devoured library books about Greece and Rome, reading above my grade level when I was in grade school. Wanted to go to Greece and Rome. Life had other ideas. I used to spend days in the libraries nearest our home. In NYC, the library was only a few blocks away. When I was in HS in Binghamton, it was a walk of over a mile, no buses there, and I was still there almost every weekend.
Sorry about your health. My hearing is fine, but I don't listen to speeches - I read what was actually said. Which is why I couldn't figure out what was so bad about Biden's debate. He spoke English, Donald only spoke gibberish. Optics overrules actual words in today's world.
I started life Roman Catholic in the “old days”, so Latin was one of my earliest memories. I loved learning it in high school. An interest in ancient history came with all of that. As a Navy brat, I haunted base and hometown libraries wherever my Dad was stationed.
You are right about optics over content. As a competitive debater in high school and college, I learned the importance of both. Now, it’s all about perception and the show. Substance seems lost on a country whose people appear to have mass attention deficit disorder.
I was primarily focused on European history from Ancient Greece and Rome to the present, and the history of science. In recent decades, I have read deeply and widely in our Civil War, WWI, WWII, Vietnam, and German history. I had a great course in Japanese history at UCLA which my present wife also took, though we did not meet until 20 years later. I have also read a fair amount in Japanese and Chinese history, and studied Mandarin for two years at UCLA Extension, becoming modestly proficient and able to speak with Chinese people we met on vacations to Europe.
Unfortunately, a rare and very debilitating ailment struck me in 2002. Destroying most of my hearing and my balance, so tonal languages don’t work for me. Heck, even English is garbled! But the written word is still superb. Thanks to my poor vision, I read almost entirely on my Kindle app where I can enlarge the print, but still love books more. I just find the small print too much of a strain. I do fondly remember researching amongst the seldom consulted treasures of the vast UCLA libraries. Indeed, on one of our last days in LA before moving to our present home in Sacramento, my wife, oldest daughter and I spent a day at the main undergraduate library at UCLA and wandered the campus reminiscing about our years there. As we downsize now, the one thing we are finding very difficult to part with is our rather large library. We may end up donating much of it, though interested recipients are diminishing in this electronic age. I feel blessed in many ways that we spent most of our life in a time when books and libraries were still the norm.
I'd forgotten about Greek and Roman history. I devoured library books about Greece and Rome, reading above my grade level when I was in grade school. Wanted to go to Greece and Rome. Life had other ideas. I used to spend days in the libraries nearest our home. In NYC, the library was only a few blocks away. When I was in HS in Binghamton, it was a walk of over a mile, no buses there, and I was still there almost every weekend.
Sorry about your health. My hearing is fine, but I don't listen to speeches - I read what was actually said. Which is why I couldn't figure out what was so bad about Biden's debate. He spoke English, Donald only spoke gibberish. Optics overrules actual words in today's world.
I started life Roman Catholic in the “old days”, so Latin was one of my earliest memories. I loved learning it in high school. An interest in ancient history came with all of that. As a Navy brat, I haunted base and hometown libraries wherever my Dad was stationed.
You are right about optics over content. As a competitive debater in high school and college, I learned the importance of both. Now, it’s all about perception and the show. Substance seems lost on a country whose people appear to have mass attention deficit disorder.
" Now, it’s all about perception and the show. Substance seems lost on a country whose people appear to have mass attention deficit disorder."
Sadly have to agree.