Category Archives: Personal history

Star Trek at 60

Posted on Tuesday 8 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

NPR, today: 60 years later, ‘Star Trek’ continues to ‘live long and prosper’ and LA Times, today: ‘Star Trek’ is celebrating its 60th anniversary. Why its optimistic vision of the future endures As “Star Trek” marks 60 years, the creatives, … Continue reading →

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Truth, Myths, and Levels of Reality

Posted on Friday 28 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Given inevitable pandemics and inevitable conspiracy mongering, could AI be the answer?; A new Sean Tan book, and how perhaps some truths can only be told through myth; Bruce Ledewitz at OnlySky recalls a time when the US government was … Continue reading →

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A Muted July 4th

Posted on Sunday 5 July 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

San Francisco fireworks hidden by fog; Trump’s July 4 speech. Last night, the DC fireworks being delayed, and the SF fireworks obscured, we were left watching Trump’s July 4th speech. The fireworks shot off the Golden Gate Bridge were yet … Continue reading →

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Five Years On; and, More About Morality, in a Way

Posted on Thursday 21 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Five years since my heart transplant; That IRS deal and presidential corruption; Paul Krugman describes this as “MAGA corruption reaches the point of no return”; Amanda Marcotte calls the White House ballroom “a symbol of Trump’s failure.” – – – … Continue reading →

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The Secret to Happiness, and How Best to Use Your Time

Posted on Tuesday 19 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

The secret to happiness: don’t obsess pursuing the best; How best to use your time: monitor your activities, plan wisely, plan small. – – – A couple matters of personal psychology for today. NY Times, guest essay by David Epstein, … Continue reading →

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Recalling American Life Before Vaccines, Including My Own

Posted on Monday 11 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

A remembrance of America before vaccines; How the DOGE-ing of the Humanities is being reversed, fortunately; Briefly noted: Trump’s intuitive thinking is wrong about vaccines and autism; a Republican who thinks racial discrimination is a thing of the past, as … Continue reading →

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Are All Weddings the Same?

Posted on Sunday 12 April 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

We attended a wedding yesterday, in Alameda, between my partner’s older son’s wife’s sister, and a man from a non-Catholic family, who had converted, and gotten baptized a year ago, in order to marry into my partner’s older son’s wife’s … Continue reading →

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Latter Day Skiffy Flix: STTNG: Encounter at Farpoint

Posted on Thursday 19 March 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

A couple evenings ago I rewatched the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, called “Encounter at Farpoint,” for the first time since I watched it as the series premiere back in 1987.

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The Demise of Mass Market Paperbacks

Posted on Sunday 1 March 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Trends in publishing can take place over decades, so they won’t be noticed by most people unless they’ve been buying (or borrowing) books for decades. Here’s a trend I’ve noticed for a while, which is now being noticed by the … Continue reading →

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Documenting My Reading; Holiday Shopping; and Tr*mp

Posted on Thursday 18 December 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Infrastructure note: I’ve updated all the pages under the “Nonfiction Books” tab in the menu above. I set up those pages a year ago, in December 2024, and updated a few of them in May 2025, and now have updated … Continue reading →

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