Commenter “Stan McQueen” wrote on the Conrad Aiken thread: I was especially touched by the inscription of “Cosmos Mariner-Destination Unknown” on his tombstone, which is in the shape of a bench.. He saw a ship by that name and looked … Continue reading →
Every now and then someone in the real (not cyber) world asks me what I do, and I tell them I write. A smaller number of people will then ask me what I write about. Because I don’t like to … Continue reading →
Yes, you read that right: someone climbed the monolith El Capitan in Yosemite without ropes, in what’s called a “free solo” ascent. That means crawling up the vertical rock face with only your hands, feet, muscles, and steely (some would … Continue reading →
Here’s a story about Ruth Madoff’s life these days. My question is: why the story, and in particular why the need to reveal where she lives? So people can harass her even more than they already do? I’ve written about … Continue reading →
[NOTE: The following is a re-edited and updated version of a post that has appeared previously on this blog.] Unbelievable that it’s been eight years since commenter FredHJr died suddenly and tragically. As time passes, the number of readers here … Continue reading →
Please explain this NY Post article to me: A “Breatharian” mom and dad of two have barely eaten for nine years as they live off “the universe’s energy.” Husband and wife Akahi Ricardo and Camila Castello believe that food and … Continue reading →
Until a reader alerted me, I hadn’t realized that one of my favorite movies of all time—one I’ve written quite a few posts about—had been turned into a musical. My gut reaction was that it must be a bad idea. … Continue reading →
Yesterday I wrote a post titled “A modern slave” about an article in the Atlantic. I had two articles on the subject open on my browser at the same time; not only were on the same subject, but they looked … Continue reading →
This morning commenter “Yankee” wrote: “Mr. Trump is both smarter and more honest than his critics think he is.” And commenter “Bill” responded: More honest? He’s one of the most transparently dishonest politicians I’ve ever been exposed to. It doesn’t … Continue reading →
The world seems to be abuzz about
Continue reading →Last month I got William Shirer’s The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich out of the library. I had actually read it many moons ago, when I was a teenager. But “read” is a bit of a euphemism. It … Continue reading →
I try to follow the general outlines of the current theories of theoretical physics, but it goes without saying that I don’t understand the math, and that I miss a lot of the details. So although I’d never even heard … Continue reading →