Ummagumma

Jordan Peterson continues his presence on YouTube and elsewhere, apparently still mysteriously unwell. He (or his staff in his stead) has recently started the Jordan Peterson Academy and, to help promote that online offering, he placed a free lecture out there so people could get a feel for his "academy." It is ostensibly  an introduction to Nietzsche , packaged in a high-tech studio with dramatic lighting, graphic overlays, and the full production weight behind it. It is meant to be a promotional piece, really. Still, you have to measure up to the content you create. I became aware of Peterson several years ago through my interest in Nietzsche. My YouTube feed gave me a college professor who spends  45 minutes discussing a single paragraph  from  Beyond Good and Evil . I was impressed with the effort. I didn't necessarily think this guy had Nietzsche figured out but I admired what he had to say. As long-time readers know, I have followed Peterson ever since, with hi...

In the 21st century the discipline of psychology has evolved into something far more diverse and sophisticated than its founders like Freud and Jung ever envisioned. Through advances in neuroscience, medical technology, new research methodologies, and an explosion of diverse theoretical models, we now have unprecedented tools for understanding human behavior, cognition, and development both individually and culturally. This progress deserves recognition and celebration. The 1990s represented something of a high-water mark for psychology's recent influence on mainstream society and institutions, particularly through the viral psychological concepts of Flow and Emotional Intelligence. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's concept of Flow, introduced to the mainstream through his exceptional 1990 book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience , has demonstrated remarkable staying power and practical influence. Csikszentmihalyi, a professor of psychology at Claremont Graduate University an...

Kendrick Lamar with his 1987 Buick GNX.  I love the minimalism here. I have been impressed with the music of Kendrick Lamar since I got into 2017's DAMN. back in 2019 . I was definitely late for that party but better late than never, right?  His Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers (2022) didn't really impress me . But, I was on point (kinda accidentally) when GNX , his latest album, dropped with minimal fanfare on November 22, the anniversary of JFK's assassination (which is probably just coincidental). I was captivated by it for a couple of days but then had to refocus and finish my originally preferred interest in the music of Florence Price . But even while working on that I would sneak in some GNX now and then. The juxtaposition of Kendrick with Price is rather symbolic of the bizarre way my mind works most of the time.  Ah, dichotomy. I was introduced to GNX through a 1-minute teaser video that really caught my attention, mostly for its marvelous, powerf...