Meeting of the Minds

Over coffee with my friends this week we continued our conversation on conversation. After a few minutes of muddling we remembered the television series that Steve Allen created in the 70s: Meeting of the Minds. Steve 'invited' thinkers from previous eras to get together to discuss and argue aspects of  today's culture 

Steve was by no means the first person to do this. Reading the following words of Niccolò Machiavelli I can easily see him going into his upstairs study, closing the door, and 'entering the ancient courts of rulers':

"When evening comes, I go back home, and go to my study. On the threshold, I take off my work clothes, covered in mud and filth, and I put on the clothes an ambassador would wear. Decently dressed, I enter the ancient courts of rulers who have long since died. There, I am warmly welcomed, and I feed on the only food I find nourishing and was born to savour. I am not ashamed to talk to them and ask them to explain their actions and they, out of kindness, answer me. Four hours go by without my feeling any anxiety. I forget every worry. I am no longer afraid of poverty or frightened of death. I live entirely through them." 

This strategy is also used in the Great Books of the Western World. Mortimer Adler, one of the major collaborators in publishing this collection, sees these books as an invitation to continue the Great Conversation 

The Meeting Of Minds were televised on PBS from 1977-1981. There were 24 episodes, 8 of which are available on YouTube.  The scripts of 22 of the episodes are available to us in the Sacramento Area through Hoopla.

MEETING OF THE MINDS EPISODES

Episode	DATE	TITLE (Links to IMBD)	(Links to YouTube)	Hoopla
S1, Ep1	1/10/1977	President Theodore Roosevelt, Queen Cleopatra, theologian Thomas Aquinas, and American revolutionary Thomas Paine Part 1	Show #01	Volume i
S1, Ep2	1/17/1977	President Theodore Roosevelt, Queen Cleopatra, theologian Thomas Aquinas, and American revolutionary Thomas Paine: Part 2	Show #02	Volume i
S1, Ep3	1/24/1977	President Ulysses S. Grant, Queen Marie Antoinette, Sir Thomas More, and Karl Marx, author of The Communist Manifesto: Part 1	Show #03	Volume ii
S1, Ep4	1/31/1977	President Ulysses S. Grant, Queen Marie Antoinette, Sir Thomas More, and Karl Marx, author of The Communist Manifesto: Part 2	Show #04	Volume ii
S1, Ep5	2/7/1977	English naturalist Charles Darwin, American poet Emily Dickinson, Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei, and feared conqueror Attila the Hun.: Part 1	Show #05	Volume iii
S1, Ep6	2/14/1977	English naturalist Charles Darwin, American poet Emily Dickinson, Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei, and feared conqueror Attila the Hun.: Part 2	Show #06	Volume iii
S2, Ep1	3/6/1978	German theologian Martin Luther, French philosopher and writer Voltaire, Greek philosopher Plato, and social reformer and nurse Florence Nightingale.: Part 1	Show #09	Volume v
S2, Ep2	3/13/1978	German theologian Martin Luther, French philosopher and writer Voltaire, Greek philosopher Plato, and social reformer and nurse Florence Nightingale.: Part 2	Show #10	Volume v
S2, Ep3	3/20/1978	American social reformer Frederick Douglass, formidable Chinese Empress Tz'u-his, Italian criminologist Cesare Bonesana-Beccaria, and French libertine Marquis de Sade.: Part 1	Show #07	Volume iv
S2, Ep4	3/27/1978	American social reformer Frederick Douglass, formidable Chinese Empress Tz'u-his, Italian criminologist Cesare Bonesana-Beccaria, and French libertine Marquis de Sade.: Part 2	Show #08	Volume iv
S2, Ep5	4/3/1978	English philosopher and Renaissance man Sir Francis Bacon, women' s rights advocate Susan B. Anthony, Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata, and Greek philosopher Socrates: Part 1	Show #11	Volume vi
S2, Ep6	4/10/1978	English philosopher and Renaissance man Sir Francis Bacon, women' s rights advocate Susan B. Anthony, Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata, and Greek philosopher Socrates: Part 2	Show #12	Volume vi
S3, Ep1	5/26/1979	theologian St. Augustine of Hippo, Byzantine Empress Theodora, American President Thomas Jefferson, and British philosopher Lord Bertrand Russell: Part 1	Show #13	Volume vii
S3, Ep2	6/2/1979	theologian St. Augustine of Hippo, Byzantine Empress Theodora, American President Thomas Jefferson, and British philosopher Lord Bertrand Russell: Part 2	Show #14	Volume vii
Unknown	6/2/1979	Greek philosopher Aristotle, Italian diplomat and author Niccolo Machiavelli, English poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and Chinese statesman Sun Yat-Sen: Part 1	Show #15	Volume viii
		Greek philosopher Aristotle, Italian diplomat and author Niccolo Machiavelli, English poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and Chinese statesman Sun Yat-Sen: Part 2	Show #16	Volume viii
S3, Ep3	6/9/1979	Shakespeare on Love (featuring the Dark Lady of the Sonnets, Hamlet, Romeo, Othello, and the Ghost of Hamlet's Father): Part 1	Show #17	Volume ix
S3, Ep4	6/6/1979	Shakespeare on Love (featuring the Dark Lady of the Sonnets, Hamlet, Romeo, Othello, and the Ghost of Hamlet's Father): Part 2	Show #18	Volume ix
S4, Ep1	3/29/1981	Scottish economist Adam Smith, birth control activist Margaret Sanger, and Indian leader Mohandas Gandhi: Part 1	Show #19	Volume x
S4, Ep2	4/5/1981	Scottish economist Adam Smith, birth control activist Margaret Sanger, and Indian leader Mohandas Gandhi: Part 2	Show #20	Volume x
S4, Ep3	4/12/1981	Leonardo da Vinci/William Blake/Niccolo Paganini: Part 1	Show #21
S4, Ep4	4/19/1981	Leonardo da Vinci/William Blake/Niccolo Paganini: Part 2	Show #22
S4, Ep5	4/26/1981	Oliver Cromwell, the only ruler of England who was neither a king nor a queen, Daniel O'Connell- "The great Irish Liberator"- and Catherine the Great, empress of Russia for thirty years: Part 1	Show #23	Volume xii
S4, Ep6	5/3/1981	Oliver Cromwell, the only ruler of England who was neither a king nor a queen, Daniel O'Connell- "The great Irish Liberator"- and Catherine the Great, empress of Russia for thirty years: Part 2	Show #24	Volume xii

MEETING OF MINDS COMPLETE SCRIPTS
Date	TITLE	Shows
1978	Meeting of minds : the complete scripts, with illustrations, of the amazingly successful PBS-TV series (Volume I)	Shows 1-6
1979	Meeting of minds : the complete scripts, with illustrations, of the amazingly successful PBS-TV series (Second Series)	Shows 7-12
1989	Meeting of minds : the complete scripts, with illustrations, of the amazingly successful PBS-TV series (Volume III)	Shows 13-18
1989	Meeting of minds : the complete scripts, with illustrations, of the amazingly successful PBS-TV series (Volume IV)	Shows 19-24

As an aside, the history of television is available through over 3,000 interviews of directors, screenwriters, and actors who have made that history: Television Academy Foundation Interviews.

Web Development 102

I'm using this page to capture links to topics in JavaScript that are beyond the basics but are nonetheless fundamental to know:

Classes:

• JavaScript Classes – How They Work with Use Case Example
• Classes (MDN)
• Classes (LinkedIn tutorial)

Prototypes:

• A Beginner’s Guide to JavaScript’s Prototype
• Object Prototypes (MDN)
• Objects and Prototypes - in depth (134min)

Modules:

• Javascript modules for beginners
• Chapter 10 of Eloquent Javascript
• mdn web docs article
• JavaScript Modules (7.5min)
• Modular JS (80min)

Bundlers:

• webpack
• rollup.js
• parcel

Regular expressions:

• Regular expressions for beginners
• Chapter 9 of Eloquent Javascript
• mdn web docs article

Partial application:

• How to use partial application to improve your Javascript code
• Partial Function Application in JavaScript and Flow
• JavaScript Functional Programming Explained: Partial Application and Currying

Currying:

• How to Use Currying and Composition in JavaScript
• Currying
• Understanding Javascript Currying

JSON:

• How to use JSON - Javascript tutorial (8min)
• Learn JSON in 10 minutes (12min)
• JSON - working with data and APIs in Javascript (16min)

Promises:

• Javascript promises in 10 minutes (11.5min)
• Asynchronous Javascript Course (96min)
• Promises (73mi)

Monday morning coffee: conversations

Every two weeks, me and my two friends get together for coffee, comradeship, and conversation.  I delight in the twists and turns of our talks. Today was a kind of meta-conversation, our tangent began with one actor movies and shows, marveling at the charm, cleverness, and creativity that enthralls an audience for over an hour. 

Willem DaFoe's performance in Inside, a movie released on St Patrick's day, is receiving some hype today.  None of us have seen it.

In our local area, Jack Gallagher has performed a number of his one man plays: Letters to Declan (1993), Just the Guy (2002), What He Left (2006), A Different Kind of Cool (2010), Complete and Unfinished (2013), 5 Songs (2015) Concussed: Four Days In The Dark (2017) and A Stand-up Guy (2019).

Here is a listing from Playbill's top 10 solo shows on Broadway:

Whoopi Goldberg: Back to Broadway	The 2005 movie is the twentieth anniversary revival of Whoopi Goldberg's monologue which introduced broadway audiences to her genius. It's available on HBO max and DirecTV
Elaine Stritch At Liberty	Elaine Stritch solo autobiographical play premiered in 2001.
Via Delorosa	David Hare performed this monologue in 1997. The link is to an audio only version on YouTube
Freak	John Leguizamo introduced his solo performance of his autobiographical storytelling in 1998. A filmed version directed by Spike Lee is available to rent on YouTube
Gray's Anatomy	a 1996 film adaption Spalding Gray's one man play by Stephen Stoderberg

And, of course, our favorite performer came to mind:

Robin Williams Live on Broadway 2002

Robin Williams was an actor and stand up comedian with unsurpassed improvisational skills

We talked about movies that had only two actors in a conversation and My Dinner with Andre was mentioned. Here are three movies with two actors in conversation that I'm interested in:

My Dinner with Andre	A 1981 film starring Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn. It's available on HBO max and for rent on Apple tv or Amazon prime.
Before Sunrise	A 1995 movie starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. It's available on HBO max and for rent on YouTube, Google, Amazon, etc.
The Sunset Limited	A 2011 production starring Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson. It's available on HBO max and for rent on YouTube, Google, Amazon, etc.

What does it take to be a good conversationalist? The talk show, of course, provides ample grounds for examples. The good hosts, especially those interviewing performers, provide encouragement, patience, and space for the interviewee to perform.  The work of James Lipton, Charlie Rose, and Terry Gross provide guidance:

Inside the Actors Studio	An American talk show in which James Lipton interviews actors before a live audience of acting students. The series ran for 23 seasons (between 1994 and 2018). A few are available on YouTube: compiled by Anita Patricio.  James Lipton wrote a book, Inside Inside, published in 2009. A copy is available in the Internet Archives.
The Charlie Rose Show	An American talk show hosted by Charlie Rose on PBS from 1991 to 2017. A complete, searchable listing of Charlie Rose interviews is available on Charlie Rose's website. Episodes can also be watched in the Internet Archives.
Fresh Air	An American radio talk show with host Terry Gross has been broadcast on NPR since 1985. They are available in the Fresh Air Archives

Here is a link to James Lipton's interview with Robin Williams in 2001. In this interview Robin demonstrates how to answer the question about how he thinks by opening his mind and dumping its contents.  James demonstrates how to step aside : )

Speaking of asides: a good resource for discovering where to find a show is JustWatch.

Web Development 101

Wow! Learning how much I don't know is humbling.

It turns out that the direction I was going in learning to do web development wasn't working. So I regrouped and headed off in a new direction. 

My son is comfortable working from the Terminal. Me, not so much!  I'm more comfortable working in a text editor like Visual Studio Code. First, of course, I had to get oriented by taking advantage of a couple of YouTubes:

• Learning Visual Studio Code in 7 minutes
• Visual Studio Code Crash Course

Since I'll eventually be using GitHub for version control and website development, it helps that Visual Studio Code is integrated with GitHub.  Dev World has a playlist of 7 videos: How To Use GitHub With VS Code  that provide guidance.

My next step was getting up to speed on essential web development tools, so I audited a coursera course:

• HTML, CSS,  and Javascript for Web Developers

This introduced me to responsive design and Twitter Bootstrap. I'll be reviewing the following tutorials (but right now they are on the back burner):

• Twitter Bootstrap 
• Bootstrap 4 Essential Training

Through my local public library I have access to LinkedIn Learning and took the following courses:

• Javascript Essential Training by Morten Rand-Hendriksen (If you don't have access to LinkedIn Learning, here is a playlist for a YouTube Javascript Essential Learning)
• CSS Essential Training by Christina Truong

Eventually I stumbled upon a wonderful resource, W3School, to learn and test myself web development technologies:

• HTML Tutorial
• CSS Tutorial
• JavaScript Tutorial

By signing onto the W3School website you can track your progress as you plow through the tutorial and quizzes. In addition you can play in a webpage of your own; here's mine: https://duckmarx.w3spaces.com

Speaking of free spaces for you to play in, Wordpress has a free subscription option.  Here is a link to my first post that gives my initial experience of Wordpress.

Latin for an Old Man

In high school I dropped the ball when it came to Latin. It was 1964 and one of the 'cool' kids in my all boys, St Aloysius High School brought a pony to Latin class. It galloped around the room and every one of us used it to quickly do our translation homework.  Everyone except Glenn Hymel!

Consequently I didn't learn Latin in high school.  In fact, other than Ola, Adios, si, no, and gracias, I speak only English, and being from New Awlins, even that is barely intelligible.

So, here I am at the age of 75 on a quest to rectify my academic failing.

Since this isn't the first learning quest I've attempted (my previous forays have been short lived, ending when my steed gets entangled on the windmill of enthusiastic lethargy) I'll try to be wise by adopting the following guidelines:

1. Complete 4 chapters a week.
2. Devote no more than 60 minutes to a lesson
3. Do an assessment at the end of each fortnight to adjust guideline 1 and 2

I've reviewed some on-line resources and decided to make my learning goals simple:

1. Complete the 14 Duolingo Latin Lessons
2. Read the 40 chapters in the 6th edition of Wheelock's Latin
3. Do an assessment when goals 1 and 2 are achieved.

Assuming that I can digest 4 chapters each week, it will take me a minimum of 10 weeks to do this.

3 WEEK UPDATE: It has become obvious that 4 chapters a week is too ambitious for me. The book is used for 4 quarters of first year Latin, so one chapter a week is more realistic.  To help me digest these chapters I've found two collection of videos:

1. Wheelock's Latin Chapter Videos by Rebecca Ceferatti
2. Wittenberg Academy: Wheelock's Latin by PastorCurtis

It seems that learning the declensions and conjugations is important so I've backtracked a bit to 'catch up".

The DuoLingo is fun.  It's more user friendly as a web app than a tablet/phone app (there are less advertisements in ther browser version). I may be able to complete the 14 Lessons within 40 days.

GitHub 101.0: cloning a repository on my work machine

(This has been superceded by GitHub 101.1)

Even better than a paragraph a day, a web app project that my son invited me to work on. He started me off with 2 tasks:

1. Make a repository on GitHub
2. Clone the repository to my work machine

So I haven't used GitHub, so first step was auditing the Coursera Introduction to Git and Github.  In this is 16 hour course you will learn to do the following steps. (But, yeah, I didn't take the class as my 'first step'. I went directly to Github, signed up and proceeded to do the steps below.  Then I realized that I really didn't know how Github works. So I'm taking the class : )

Next step, create a New repository by going to the upper right hand corner (if you're just starting you'll receive a prompt to create a repository).

So Task 1 was complete.

Task 2 turned out to be more complicated for me because I didn't have xcode installed.  So, if you are working on a Mac, create your AppleID, and download Xcode. 

I ran into an error when I tried to do the cloning so I had to install the Command Line Tools (reboot your computer after doing the install).

The cloning requires you to sign in from the terminal app and you'll need to create a GitHub personal access token.  

With these precursor steps taken care of, the cloning process was simple. Open the repository you want top clone, go to the "< > Code" drop down and get a copy of the HTTPS url.

Open the terminal window on your computer and enter:

$ git clone <HTTPS url>

You'll be prompted to enter your GitHub user name. Insert a copy of your personal access token when you're prompted for your password. 

Here is a link to the GitHub Cloning a Repository

a paragraph a day

I’m reading “Will College Pay Off” by Peter Cappelli which leads to an examination of the K-12 schools and how well they are preparing our young for life after high school graduation. The federal government National Assessment of Educational Progress provides an annual report card of how we’re doing as a nation as well as how individual states are doing. It turns out that Massachusetts is doing the best in the country, which begs the question, why are its schools so much better?

In short, Massachusetts uses a strategy of increased funding, paying attention to the under performers, longer school days, higher expectations of teachers, holding graduating students accountable (either an acceptance letter from a college or a job offer on company letterhead before they graduate), and covering the basics (students in vocational schools are expected to write about their daily activities.)

Obviously increasing funding for the Kansas school system is beyond my solitary capabilities so I'll focus on the basics: incremental increase in learning time and writing. Based on this I'll model behavior that I hope my children and their children will adopt: 

Write at least a paragraph every day

In Massachusetts schools they write essays. This is a hard task for most people and therefore counterproductive. What is do-able for me is a 15 minute writing session with the goal of 1 paragraph that I could enter in a journal, on a scrap of paper I put in a file folder, or on a social media app. If I can’t think of something impromptu to write about, here are two websites to get me started:

12 Things to Write About When You’re Fresh Out of Ideas grammarly.com

Interesting Topics to Write About journalbuddies.com

. . . and if I feel like a story:

Top 100 Short Story Ideas thewritepractice.com

Lastly, here is an excerpt from the article about why Massachusetts’ schools are 'so much better':

“I’ve always praised Massachusetts for their work on education, but they never want to be praised. They want to know where they’re weak,” he said. “K-12 education is supposed to prepare people to go to college, and a 78 percent graduation rate in Washington state — even though you thump your chest and feel good about your quality of life — means 22 percent of kids are immediately going to the very tail end of the labor-market queue, to the jobs no one else wants — if they get jobs at all.”

That was precisely the fate of 21 percent of students at Worcester Tech when Sheila Harrity, who had never set foot in a vocational school, took the reins when the new building opened in 2006.

Task No. 1: Double the number of honors courses and open them to all.

“What are you doing to our school?” her teachers shrieked. “These are not academic kids!”

A former college basketball star with a straight-shooting style, Harrity next took a hard look at test results. Forty percent of Worcester Tech students were scoring zeros on the written portion of the MCAS, she said. So Harrity imported teacher-trainers to address this. In every classroom, from home construction to hair-coloring, kids were taught to write essays in response to exam questions.

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