Mark R. Kelly
» Founder in 1997 and site-runner for 20 years of Locus Online (Hugo Award winner in 2002). Founder in 2012 and still site-runner of sfadb.com (Science Fiction Awards Database). Retired in 2012 after 30 years as a software engineer for a certain rocket engine factory.
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» Previous Views from Medina Road (2003-2013)
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- Joshua Greene, MORAL TRIBES, post 2
- Joshua Greene, MORAL TRIBES, post 1
- Believing Anything
- The poorly educated and the “cognishly umpired”
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Meta
Category Archives: Music
Tribal Psychology and Racism
What evolutionary psychology reveals about American politics — nothing new here, except to note that these ideas have reached the mainstream press; A former Republican speechwriter summarizes Trump’s vile racist remarks; Short items about Trump’s confusion of Nikki Haley with … Continue reading
Posted in conservatives, Music, Politics, Psychology, Science
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40,000 Stars in the Evening
An article about what “fandom” means today, and my brief reflections on science fiction fandom; Fringe items about blaming the devil, why only Christians should hold political offices, book banning, what Trump’s “best people” have said about him, and an … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Music, Politics
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Readings: Carl Sagan; Maggie Jackson
A 1987 Carl Sagan lecture, just published in 2022, about the protocols of science and government and the need to acknowledge uncertainty; A NYT opinion piece by Maggie Jackson about uncertainty and how to manage it; R.E.M.’s “Leave” Quillette, Steven … Continue reading
Posted in Music, Politics, Psychology, Science, Technology
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At the Edge of the Continent
Today my partner and I finished setting up my chic new curved widescreen monitor (a Christmas present), replacing the two standard-sized monitors I was using before. This new monitor (technically a “gaming” monitor) shows roughly the equivalent of three of … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Music, Personal history, Politics
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Take Another Trip Around the Sun
Let’s try to drill through accumulated links, if only briefly, and then move on to other things. Among many items, these themes: Republicans and “God gave us Trump” and America’s “collective pathology”; Adam Lee on the idea that conspiracy theorists … Continue reading
Posted in Music, Politics, Religion
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A Dream of Oceans, and Sunken Cities
Still enamored by R.E.M., which is why I’ve chosen another of their lyrics for today’s post title. Today: more items about trying to understand the modern world. How false information might be the top global risk in 2024; An example … Continue reading
Posted in conservatives, Music, Politics, Religion
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Now is Greater Than the Whole of the Past
Three items about how conservatives resist solving problems if those solutions would benefit the Democrats; A survey of readers, books they’ve read, books they own, and some of my own statistics; And R.E.M.’s song “She Just Wants to Be” which … Continue reading
Living in Space; Detox and Cleanliness
Today some more substantial links from the past week or so. Going into space for art; Why detox treatments are nonsense; Our obsession with cleanliness. There have been thoughts recently about the very plausibility of mankind living in space, or … Continue reading
Posted in Aesthetics, Culture, Music
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Sources of Meaning
How the Catholic League finds meaning at Christmas only in its own teachings, while presuming everyone else must be miserable; How Republicans have found tribal meaning in Christian Nationalism; How Republicans search for voter fraud only among populations who would … Continue reading
Posted in conservatives, Meaning, Music, Religion
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A Way to Talk Around the Problem
The “same color” illusion — an example of how we cannot trust our senses; How Rudy Giuliani descended into MAGA, and whether we’re all equally susceptible; How right-wingers are triggered by tap-dancing in the White House to The Nutcracker; Brief … Continue reading
Posted in Music, Personal history, Psychology, Science
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