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The last regular posting at the What in the World? website was in December 2024. The Post Scripts section contains the occasional posts and "special editions" since then.
Also, there is a What in the World Flipboard magazine of curated articles. The linked articles explore the wonders of the universe from the deepest reaches of space to the creations and discoveries of the human mind and spirit. They also look to the best of humanity and at what these wise and courageous people say about our place in the universe and about living a good and rewarding life.
Labor Day 2025 - The Rolling Stones, Random and Sundry, Octavia Butler's chillingly prophetic sci-fi, World Peace Day, and the long struggle for worker's rights and economic justice
Fall 2025 Special Edition - Some quotes and music, some posts from the archives, a few new finds, some news and commentary, a reflection on community and a look back at the student protests of 1968 - "my year of being 20".
October 2025 Mini-Edition - A Marcus Aurelius quote on lifting your spirits, A Demand for Justice playlist (Dylan, Springsteen, Wilco, Disturbed, Green Day, Decemberists, Clash, Roger Waters), the art of Gerhard Richter ("the twenty-first century's Picasso"), and two "Best from the Web" posts (The Fray)
POSTED DECEMBER 6, 2024
What in the World? is approaching its 7th anniversary. After 900 or so posts, it is now "closing time". The posts of the week commencing December 1 are our last. Thank you for dropping by over the past few years.
I started this website in January 2018 as Trump's first term was approaching the one year mark. Since the site's inception, I've tried to separate fiction from fact in the events of the day and to share my thoughts and passions on non-political topics. I hope you have enjoyed reading these posts as much as I have enjoyed writing them.
Looking back at The Fray national news posts from those early days is a reminder of how much remains the same as we approach a second Trump term..."fact-checking Trump's 2018 State of the Union"..."anti-immigrant and Islamophobic rhetoric scapegoating and endangering entire communities"; "the unconscionable claim that Medicaid fueled the opioid crisis"; "the creeping authoritarianism of the 45th president"; and "A Tale of Two Firings"...Rex Tillerson at State and Andrew McCabe at the FBI fired to make way for people more attuned to the Trump's dangerous and divisive world view. I finished the final post at The Fray a couple of days ago, Resistance: a survival guide to the Trumpocalypse 2.0. Stay strong, stay informed, stay engaged. We'll get through this.
Another "closing time" post - at my earlier blog "The Left Bank Café", contains some of the thoughts, inspirations and sentiments that inform both that primarily political blog and WITW's The Fray. WITW grew from The Left Bank Café to cover a wide variety of non-political topics. To those sentiments at the Left Bank Café, then, I'd add Gandhi's marvelous statement: "Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” I've learned much during my research for posts in The Arts, The Sciences, Mind & Spirit, Travel and Mostly Sports. I've tried to share what I learned in the hope that you too could find enjoyment, knowledge, fulfillment and inspiration. If you have the time and inclination, take a look at some of those posts.
I'm especially fond of :
the Soul Values posts and Earth Day Reflections in Mind & Spirit
Preparing for a Radically Changed Planet and the numerous posts on AI in The Sciences
La Serenissima - An Homage to Venice, Poets and Poetry, In Search of Beethoven, Three poems, three takes on getting older, and The Arts and Culture of Japan series in The Arts
The Silk Road Series in Travel, and
the Activist Athletes page in Mostly Sports.
Miscellany:
The Archived Quotes page contains the wisdom of my favorite thinkers, while the Random and Sundry posts are musings about more personal experiences. I love music, and I've created a Music section that contains many of the music videos presented on the Homepage over the years. I'll close this final WITW post with a link to some Christmas music videos.
and a verse from one of my favorite songwriters:
May God bless and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always do for others
And let others do for you
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
May you stay forever young
Peace.
Images and text on this website may be subject to copyright. Their inclusion on this site is within the fair use doctrine of copyright law.