Diaries Archives - Page 496 of 647

Medical Ethics Weakening in Cuba

A friend had this conversation while enduring the hardship of the metallic coldness of one of the unbearable post-operative tables at the Workers Maternity Hospital (Maternidad Obrera) in Marianao.

That Which Costs Us Nothing…

The overwhelming majority of the places here are not private. Social property makes things everyone’s but ultimately nobody’s. This can be verified easily in the difference of how private and public properties are maintained.

Huxley Didn’t Go Far Enough

Aldoux Huxley — an intellectual of the type no longer seen today and uncle of all hippies — was one of the first people to experiment with and study entheogens during the cultural revolution of the 1950s and ‘60s.

A Typical Cuba Scam

How is it that a family-owned business that’s starting up can do a better job than an operation owned by a government that practically monopolizes all the business on the island?

Brain Food?

Iron is good for the human brain, at least that’s what my mother has always told me, which is why my uncle used to wonder: “If that’s so, then I don’t know why there are so many absent-minded folks here in Caibarien.”

US Privacy vs. Cuba’s Socialization

Americans seem to be addicted to individual privacy. We are paranoid about ownership of our information, as if everything we have gleaned from life was of our own doing to which we retain exclusive rights.

A USA-style Xmas for Cuban Kids

Before an audience of millions of Cuban children, the little main character of the movie “Daniel el Travieso” (Daniel the mischievous one) demonstrated that all those adults who don’t celebrate Christmas will suffer from spiritual bitterness and ideological angst.

Nothing’s Perfect

These days a certain enthusiasm can be noted among the residents of Santiago de Cuba because of the urban revival the city’s experiencing. What we’re seeing are restored parks, street fairs, bars, restaurants, pastry shops, markets, etc.

The Unfathomable Mysteries of ‘Flatland’

I just finished enjoying a fascinating animated film for adults, “Flatland” (2007), based on the work “Square” (written in 1884 by Edwin A. Abbott). I’m taking advantage of this to continue a long and interesting discussion with some friends from here.

Bodybuilding in close quarters

So, caught between his mother’s protests and his body’s need to maintain its edge, he decided that his only way out was to create his own gym in his 9 x 12 foot bedroom.