Peter Saint-Andre https://stpeter.im/ The journal of Peter Saint-Andre - philosopher, technologist, musician. https://stpeter.im/journal/ https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ 2026-08-06 tag:stpeter.im,2060 2026-08-06 2026-08-06

Although today is my sixtieth birthday, I can't say I'm feeling exceptionally reflective, likely because I'm always thinking about my life anyway (without, I hope, overthinking it). That said, during the process of self-discovery I've been engaged in over the last few months, I've come to realize that there are three things I was born for back on August 6th, 1966: making music, seeking wisdom, and giving love. By way of contrast, it's true that I had a successful career as a technologist, but I never felt that I was born for that work despite the fact that I excelled at it, had some significant accomplishments, earned enough to retire at age fifty-five, and collaborated with so many wonderful people....

tag:stpeter.im,2059 2026-07-17 2026-07-17

Before I likely disappear for a week or two, I wanted to mention that back in June I ran across (via The Hinternet) a little symposium in Plough magazine in which a number of writers and public intellectuals gave their opinion about which author might be the American Homer. Dana Gioia plunked for Robert Frost, A.E. Stallings for Laura Ingalls Wilder, Zena Hitz for Herman Melville, Ross Barkan for Hart Crane, Joseph Keegin for Walt Whitman, etc. You get the picture....

tag:stpeter.im,2058 2026-07-16 2026-07-16

Ever since Elisa passed away in February, I've been engaging in a great deal of self-reflection (which hopefully has not devolved into navel-gazing). One thing I've realized is that, to quote Walt Whitman, I contain multitudes. Although I wouldn't exactly say that I contradict myself, I do possess traits and tendencies that on the surface might seem to be somewhat at odds. Consider the following pairs (some of which require explanation and qualification, which perhaps I'll do some other day):...

tag:stpeter.im,2057 2026-07-15 2026-07-15

I've been posting some heavy stuff lately, so I figured I'd publish something lighter: ten haiku about the moon that I've written over the years. I love looking up at the sky (some would say I have my head in the clouds!) and the moon is a classic subject for Japanese haiku, so here goes....

tag:stpeter.im,2056 2026-07-14 2026-07-14

Recently over lunch with a dear friend, we got to talking about the fact that many people simply aren't very good at being friends. Given our modern obsession with technique, we're likely to say that such people lack "friendship skills" and that maybe a paid seminar or a few life hacks will solve the problem; however, I think there's much more going on here, because it seems to me that many folks are constitutionally incapable of freehearted giving, investing in people, or cultivating what Aristotle called character friendship. Similarly, José Ortega y Gasset (in his book On Love) distinguishes romantic love as the "prototype and summit of all eroticisms" from lesser forms such as affection and passion, claiming that "love is an infrequent occurrence, a sentiment which only certain souls can hope to experience" and that "falling in love is a marvelous talent which some creatures possess, like the gift of composing verses, the spirit of sacrifice, melodic inspiration, personal bravery" and such. He writes:...

tag:stpeter.im,2055 2026-07-08 2026-07-08

While I was giving that little concert recently, a neighborhood girl about seven or eight years old came to watch and listen with that look of wide-eyed fascination which you see only in children. It struck me that this might have been the first time she had ever witnessed someone making live music, so I gave her a big wink. ;-)...