protectivearts

The Spanish Inquisition

The abstract is all I have access to: Empirical evidence on contemporary torture is sparse. The archives of the Spanish Inquisition provide a detailed historical source of quantitative and qualitative information about interrogational torture. The inquisition tortured brutally and systematically, willing to torment all who it deemed as withholding evidence. This torture yielded information thatContinue reading “The Spanish Inquisition”

Father, Son, Grandson

___________ There are several permutations of the story. A Zen-priest is asked to provide a blessing, and he obliges, “Father dies, son dies, grandson dies.” The beneficiary is confused and angry, “What kind of blessing is THAT?!” And the wisdom is revealed: “Would you rather it happened another way?” With the received wisdom of theContinue reading “Father, Son, Grandson”

TAKING A HIT

I have the distinct disadvantage that my face is precisely level with my son’s elbow while guarding him playing basketball. In a two-on-one game, he passed me, boxed out his younger brother and while doing so, swung an elbow squarely into my chin. Fortunately for me it was aligned to drive my jaw nearly straightContinue reading “TAKING A HIT”