Category Archives: Personal history

Links and Comments: Star Trek and Humanism; John Cleese

Posted on Wednesday 25 February 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

A couple more links noticed in recent days, before I lose or forget them; my daily routine, as we settle and unpack in our new home in Oakland, will be a while getting back to have time for more considered … Continue reading →

Posted in Humanism, Personal history, Philosophy, Religion | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Star Trek and Humanism; John Cleese

Boyhood

Posted on Friday 20 February 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

I need to say something about the film Boyhood, before it does, or more likely does not (given the current prognosticators), win the Oscar for Best Picture on Sunday. I didn’t see it in the theater, but watched the DVD … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Films, Personal history | Comments Off on Boyhood

Provisional Conclusions

Posted on Tuesday 10 February 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

(Update 9 March 2015: After removing most of the post when I created a separate ‘page’ for this list, I’m restoring the original post here, to capture the original version. The page version will revised ongoingly…) Inspired by various alternative … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal history, Philosophy | Comments Off on Provisional Conclusions

Packing Books

Posted on Saturday 17 January 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

I have begun packing my books, in anticipation of our move from LA to the Bay Area. We are in the final week of escrow on a new home in the Oakland Hills (about 5 miles south of the Locus … Continue reading →

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Inherit the Wind

Posted on Sunday 23 November 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

Saw the movie INHERIT THE WIND today for the first time in many years. This is the 1960 film version of the 1955 play by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, as directed by Stanley Kramer, about the famous 1925 … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Evolution, Films, Personal history, Reviews | Comments Off on Inherit the Wind

Weekend in Oakland

Posted on Tuesday 4 November 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

Back from another weekend in the Bay Area, looking at potential new homes and hanging out — dinner at The Terrace Room on Lake Merritt, in downtown Oakland, Friday evening after I flew up; a nice dinner with unexpected entertainment, … Continue reading →

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Journey to the Beginning of Time

Posted on Monday 27 October 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

I got two responses to my query late last week on Facebook about a film I’d seen in the mid-1960s and only vaguely remembered, a film about boys in a rowboat going back in time — responses from Alan P … Continue reading →

Posted in Evolution, Films, Personal history | Comments Off on Journey to the Beginning of Time

We’ll ride on the rain… we’ll worship the wind

Posted on Sunday 6 July 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

We watched Pedro Almodovar’s Law of Desire the other night, a 1987 film possibly set earlier, since there is a scene in which a famous 1960s pop song, “If You Go Away”, is sung [in Spanish] to a stage performance. … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, Personal history | Comments Off on We’ll ride on the rain… we’ll worship the wind

Clarke, Childhood’s End, part 2 – themes

Posted on Friday 6 June 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

Last week I started my discussion of re-reading several classic Arthur C. Clarke novels, and summarized the plot of Childhood’s End, in this post. Now some comments on themes. My purpose in these rereadings is not to explore the history … Continue reading →

Posted in Arthur C. Clarke, Book Notes, Personal history, Reviews, science fiction | Comments Off on Clarke, Childhood’s End, part 2 – themes

Clarke, Childhood’s End, part 1

Posted on Saturday 31 May 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

I have been re-reading several classic novels by Arthur C. Clarke, published in the 1950s and ‘60s, because they were books that I read in my formative years (i.e. ages 13 to 15), and so influenced my early thinking and … Continue reading →

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