Author Archives: Mark R. Kelly

Denying the Denialists? and Bros

Posted on Thursday 20 October 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Just time for one Reading today, then some comments about seeing a movie in a movie theater for the first time in nearly 3 years.

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Readings: On Freedom of Religion, and Unholy Alliances

Posted on Wednesday 19 October 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

I posted this link a couple days ago but without comments. It’s worth revisiting (it was in today’s print paper, so I reread it) to dig out key points. New York Times, Steven Paulikas (an Episcopal priest), 15 Oct 2022: … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Religion | Comments Off on Readings: On Freedom of Religion, and Unholy Alliances

It’s Been Happening Here All Along

Posted on Tuesday 18 October 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

NYT, Jamelle Bouie, 18 Oct 2022: The U.S. Thinks ‘It Can’t Happen Here.’ It Already Has. The quoted phrase is, of course, the title of a famous 1935 novel by Sinclair Lewis, on the idea that the fascism of Hitler’s … Continue reading →

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Voter Suppression, Supply-Side Economics, Empathy; and Links

Posted on Monday 17 October 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Heather Cox Richardson, Facebook, October 16, 2022 (Sunday) Richardson, a political historian, posts several times a week with longish (2 to 3 screens) summaries of recent events, grounded in historical perspective. This one is about the connection between voter suppression … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Psychology | Comments Off on Voter Suppression, Supply-Side Economics, Empathy; and Links

Ian R. MacLeod, “New Light on the Drake Equation”

Posted on Sunday 16 October 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

This week’s Sunday novella is “New Light on the Drake Equation” by Ian R. MacLeod. It was first published on the (long-gone) website Sci Fiction on May 2, 2001. (The site, edited by Ellen Datlow, won a Hugo Award in … Continue reading →

Posted in science fiction, Short Fiction | Comments Off on Ian R. MacLeod, “New Light on the Drake Equation”

The Latest on Quantum Mechanics and Gravity?

Posted on Saturday 15 October 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Frederik Pohl, the SF writer and editor who wrote Gateway and many other novels, once wrote a book called Chasing Science: Science as a Spectator Sport, which was about him not being a scientist, but interesting in following new scientific … Continue reading →

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Neil deGrasse Tyson; Gregory Berns; the Myth of a Lost Golden Age

Posted on Friday 14 October 2022 by Mark R. Kelly
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Yom Kippur, Belief in Belief, Doctrine of Discovery, the SBC

Posted on Thursday 13 October 2022 by Mark R. Kelly
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Jim Al-Khalili, The Joy of Science

Posted on Wednesday 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 →

Posted in Book Notes, Philosophy, Science | Comments Off on Jim Al-Khalili, The Joy of Science

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

Posted on Tuesday 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 →

Posted in Book Notes, science fiction | Comments Off on Emily St. John Mandel’s Sea of Tranquility, and Its Reviews