Category Archives: Personal history

My Religious Upbringing, Such As It Was

Posted on 18 March 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

My upbringing was not especially religious; my parents attended church, and took their kids to Sunday school, but more out of social habit and propriety, was my impression, rather than from any deep-seated faith. My parents both grew up in … Continue reading →

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A note about book notes

Posted on 2 February 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

I’ve always intended to post notes about my reading on this blog. It’s a way of making my reading not just a selfish, personal endeavor, but a way to pass along the my experiences, along with my reactions, to books … Continue reading →

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Status mid-October 2019

Posted on 17 October 2019 by Mark R. Kelly

I’ve been light posting here for months now. Here’s the arc of where I’ve been this year, and where I’m going. It’s now just about 7 years since I was laid off from my 30-year career at Rocketdyne. It’s nearly … Continue reading →

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Apollo 11

Posted on 20 July 2019 by Mark R. Kelly

Like most others of my generation, I remember watching the Apollo 11 moon landing in grainy footage on a black & white TV in July 1969. I was not quite 14, and was living with my family in Glen Ellyn, … Continue reading →

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Ron, Ken, Howard

Posted on 26 June 2019 by Mark R. Kelly

Following up on the end of the previous post… Ron Hardcastle died in 2014. He was only 12 years older than me, but since I was in my mid-20s when I met him, he was half again my age, and … Continue reading →

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Cleaning Out the File Cabinet

Posted on 26 June 2019 by Mark R. Kelly

Some months ago I went through various folders in my small (two-drawer) file cabinet to see if there were things I still needed or if there were things I could dispose of. I pulled out several folders tentatively identified for … Continue reading →

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Specialists

Posted on 2 February 2019 by Mark R. Kelly

For years I’ve been bemused by TV commercials that show shiny happy people living glorious lives, with a narrator who claims the benefits of some prescription drug that you should consult your [particular specialist] about. (I gather that such commercials … Continue reading →

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Mouse in the House

Posted on 15 September 2018 by Mark R. Kelly

Last night I woke up around 1am to the sound of our two cats scrambling in the front corner of the bedroom after something, with accompanying odd noises. Something behind a row of books in a low bookcase there, apparently. … Continue reading →

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Play and Stranger Danger

Posted on 6 September 2018 by Mark R. Kelly

From Sunday’s New York Times Book Review: Does Our Cultural Obsession With Safety Spell the Downfall of Democracy?, by Thomas Chatterton Williams, reviews two books, including THE CODDLING OF THE AMERICAN MIND: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting … Continue reading →

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Late Night Notes from the Final Night of This Year’s World Science Fiction Convention

Posted on 28 August 2018 by Mark R. Kelly

(This post drafted on Sunday 19 August, late night in my hotel room; cleaned up and posted today, Tuesday 28 August.) I’m in San Jose, late on a Sunday night after this year’s Hugo Awards have been presented, and after … Continue reading →

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