Category Archives: Culture

The Erratic March of Scientific Progress

Posted on Sunday 15 January 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Vox, Kelsey Piper, 11 Jan 2023: Why is science slowing down?, subtitled “Science is the engine of society, and the decline of truly disruptive research is a warning sign for all of us.” Is this really a new problem? Or … Continue reading →

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Consumerism, and Political History

Posted on Saturday 7 January 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Two items today.

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The World Is Laughing

Posted on Friday 6 January 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Just one item today. It’s always cool when some remark I make in my blog is amplified the next day by a widely read newspaper columnist. Actually, two or three remarks, from recent days, in today’s column from Paul Krugman. … Continue reading →

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Recurring Themes

Posted on Thursday 5 January 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Not enough time to write a review this afternoon, so I’ll just post a few links about current events. NY Times, Charles M. Blow, 4 Jan 2023: The Burn-It-All-Down Republican Caucus

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Good News of 2022; What Success at College Means

Posted on Tuesday 3 January 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

NY Times, Nicholas Kristof, 31 Dec 2022: Cheer Up! The World Is Better Off Than You Think.

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The Weekend, and Heather Cox Richardson on 2022

Posted on Monday 2 January 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

I’ve missed posting the past two days for various reasons.

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Self-Replacement?

Posted on Tuesday 27 December 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Today looking at an article about how conservatives worry about the “great replacement” (of US Christian whites by non-white, non-Christian immigrants) and how, ironically, conservative policies invite their being replaced, through simple natural selection. With comments at the end about … Continue reading →

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Assorted Links from Recent Weeks

Posted on Friday 23 December 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

About George Santos’s fictional resume, Tucker Carlson’s year of being wrong, Avatar 2’s “ecological Indian” cliche, the hypocrisy of right-wing “free thinkers,” Thomas Frank on the lack of imagination of Democrats, DeSantis and vaccines, book banning, and two religious graphics.

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Hanukkah Kitsch and Christmas Shopping

Posted on Tuesday 20 December 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

I spent most of this afternoon Christmas shopping. I can make that align with this article about Hanukkah kitsch. New York Times, 18 Dec 2022: Potato Latke Cocktail, Anyone?

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Assorted Items on Friday the 16th

Posted on Friday 16 December 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

About evidence and reason; conservative book bans; automobiles as creators of inequality; anti-vaxxers and traffic crashes; Trump as the emblem of a half population of semi-literates. I’ve seen this comment on Facebook before, but have never quoted it. It’s apocryphal, … Continue reading →

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