More About Stories v. Reality

Posted on Monday 9 January 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Yet another item about that anthology of historical essays. Plus items about pandemics, bestseller lists, wokeness in the military, the attraction of conspiracy theories, and violence on TV.

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Myth America

Posted on Sunday 8 January 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Today in the papers, both an op-ed about and a review of a new book called Myth America: Historians Take On the Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past, edited by Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer, published by Basic Books a few days ago. It’s an anthology of essays by various writers.

There are interesting points to be made from these, though I doubt I’ll buy or read the book. Consider this post a meta-review perhaps, a reaction to what others are saying about the book. It’s of interest to me because it relates to my running theme of how humans understand the world through stories, and how this plays out politically, why some are more attracted to stories than others.
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Consumerism, and Political History

Posted on Saturday 7 January 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Two items today. Continue reading →

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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.

NY Times, Paul Krugman, 5 Jan 2023: Making America the Opposite of Great

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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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Inmates Running Half the Asylum

Posted on Wednesday 4 January 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

The news today is full of the chaos in the House of Representatives where the party in control, the Republicans, cannot elect a Speaker of the House (a position that is third in line for the presidency, after the Vice President). Long story short seems to be that a cadre of some 20 extremist MAGA Republicans will not approve the presumptive favorite for the job, Kevin McCarthy, without grave concessions. They’re rather like a third party candidate ruining the chances for the mainstream party to win an election, throwing it instead to the minority party. (This has happened.) Except I’m not sure how this will play out in a chamber that cannot function without a Speaker. We shall see.

For now I will note some related topics. Continue reading →

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Richard Dawkins, FLIGHTS OF FANCY: Defying Gravity by Design & Evolution

Posted on Wednesday 4 January 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

This book was released in the UK in November 2021 — here’s its Amazon UK page — and was announced for US release in May 2022. I ordered the latter when it came out; here is its Amazon.com page. Turns out they are not separate editions, but the same identical edition, from the Apollo imprint of Head of Zeus, with a single ISBN, and only the UK price in pounds on the back. Why the delay in US availability? Don’t know.

The books is pleasant but unusual in Dawkins’ oeuvre. Continue reading →

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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. Continue reading →

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Books Read in 2022

Posted on Tuesday 3 January 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Some of my Facebook friends are doing it, so I’ll do it too, though here, not there. Well OK, maybe there too.

The list is below. The photo shows all of them in order of finish, except that the 2022 SF novels, along with the last four nonfiction books, are stacked flat at the far end. The shelf was full. Continue reading →

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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. Continue reading →

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