Monthly Archives: October 2022

Jim Al-Khalili, The Joy of Science

Posted on 12 October 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Here’s a short little book that is basic but substantive. Familiar yet essential. Frankly, if I had seen it in a bookstore, I would have glanced through it and likely set it back down. Seeing it online made it difficult … Continue reading →

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Emily St. John Mandel’s Sea of Tranquility, and Its Reviews

Posted on 11 October 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

This is what would be called a “literary science fiction” novel in that it’s clearly SF yet is written by a writer with a “literary” background rather than one in the SF genre, and so whose approach would be expected … Continue reading →

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Today’s Links and Comments about Politics and Religion

Posted on 10 October 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Andrew Sullivan and Connie Willis on the current state of affairs; End-times thinking; Edsall on Two Americas; the crushing of American socialism; more items about politics and religion.

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Ian McDonald, “Tendeléo’s Story”

Posted on 9 October 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

This week’s Sunday novella is “Tendeléo’s Story” by Ian McDonald. It was first published as a chapbook by PS Publishing (in the UK), both in hardcover and paperback, in 2000. Subsequently it’s been published, aside from in the Dozois anthologies … Continue reading →

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Julia Morgan and Julia’s

Posted on 8 October 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Last night we had dinner in a restaurant in the Berkeley City Club, a structure just south of Cal, UC Berkeley, designed by the famous architect Julia Morgan, who was the subject of a KQED profile last week. She designed … Continue reading →

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Republicans and Socialism

Posted on 7 October 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

So many political links, so little time. I do think I should scale these back, and focus on what I can say that nobody else is saying. On the other hand, there are so many crazies in the land, so … Continue reading →

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Never Ending

Posted on 6 October 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Big Think, Nirit Weiss-Blatt, 4 Oct 2022: Bombastic eulogies: Let’s put an end to cynical “The End of” headlines. Subtitled: “We can never hope for a future with no problems. The solutions to problems create new problems, which in turn … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Progress, Technology | Leave a comment

Cities and Towns

Posted on 5 October 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Caption to photo: “Cities are bastions of elitism and filth.” Also today: MAGA in 2022; It’s not that Trump is nuts; about Herschel Walker.

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Not Pixel

Posted on 4 October 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Not Pixel:

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Marin Vaxxers

Posted on 3 October 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

NYT, Soumya Karlamangla, posted 2 Oct 2022, in today’s paper: Once Known for Vaccine Skeptics, Marin Now Tells Them ‘You’re Not Welcome’ Subtitled: “The wealthy California county just north of San Francisco has one of the nation’s highest Covid-19 vaccination … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Human Progress, Lunacy, Science | Leave a comment