How to mourn like a Stoic

The death of people one is close to, either family and friends, inevitably triggers feelings of grief and sadness that will vary with the individual. In this article, Brian D. Earp says that how the Stoics mourned may have some lessons for us.

How should we grieve when someone close to us dies? Should we wail and gnash our teeth? Should we swallow our pain? Some would say there is no right answer. You feel whatever you feel, and heal however you heal, and that’s okay. But according to the ancient Stoics – those Greco-Roman philosophers making a comeback as preachers of practical wisdom in a self-help world – there is a correct answer to the question of how we should grieve. And the answer is that we shouldn’t. What’s done is done. There is nothing you can do to change the situation – so move on.

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Cleveland Orchestra sex abuse allegations

The Cleveland Orchestra has the reputation of being one of the best in the world. The city points proudly to it as one of its cultural crown jewels. But it too has been rocked by allegations of sexual abuse. Three women have accused the long-time concertmaster William Preucil of sexually abusive behavior. (In an orchestra, the concertmaster is a major figure, the leader of the first violin section and second in command of the orchestra after the conductor.) One allegation was made back in July by Zeneba Bowers about what happened to her in 1998 and two more women came forward just yesterday. (Massimo La Rosa, the principal trombonist of the orchestra, has also been suspended because of sexual abuse allegations.)
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Is it immoral to watch American football?

Today is a Sunday in the fall season in the US and many millions of people will gather round TVs to watch professional football. It used to be the case that Sundays were the only days when they were shown but now you can also see games on Mondays and Thursdays while college games are shown on Saturdays and when their season ends in December, professional football takes those slots too. So basically, football fans can indulge their passions most days of the week.
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The danger of golf

The appeal of golf eludes me, though it attracts fanatically faithful players and followers. Its appeal as a spectator sport is particularly baffling since it has all the speed of a chess game. And I say that as a fan of cricket, considered by many to be one of the slowest games on the planet. At least on TV, you get to see various players on different holes. If you are actually on the course, you get to see just a tiny portion of the game. And yet tournaments attract a huge number of spectators to the courses.
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Naomi Osaka and racism in Japan

The controversy over the behavior of Serena Williams at the US Open final overshadowed the powerful performance of the winner Naomi Osaka who showed great power and skill during a match that she dominated from the start. But while the US media may have talked most about Williams, in Japan it was quite different, and they exulted in Osaka’s win, which also had the effect of bringing to prominence the role of mixed-nationality people in a society that struggles with xenophobia and outright racism. As Jake Adelstein points out, pride in her victory enabled most people to overcome, at least in the short run, the antipathy felt by many towards those who are not considered ‘truly Japanese’, which not only means having both a Japanese mother and father but also having been born and grown up in Japan.
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Obsessing over the lives of others

People have always had a fascination about the lives of rich and famous people and it is a staple of the media to feature celebrity interviews that encourage them to open up about the most mundane elements of their lives. And if the celebrity is not willing to divulge that information voluntarily, then there are the paparazzi and other groups that will resort to all manner of methods to get it. Gossip sells.
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Martina Navratilova on the US Open drama

Much has been written about Serena Williams’s outburst during US Open final match again Naomi Osaka, with some defending her action saying that there is a double standard in tennis in which women are judged more harshly than men. (I expressed my own opinion here and here.) Another tennis legend Martina Navratilova, a tough competitor but always gracious in victory and defeat and who is deeply familiar with the rules and culture of the sport, has written a carefully argued op-ed in the New York Times where she says that that argument misses the point.
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If this doesn’t scare the hell out of people …

… about the danger posed by hurricane Florence, nothing will.

The Weather Channel has used green screen technology to graphically demonstrate what different levels of storm surges might look like if you happen to be trapped in it.