Author Archives: Mark R. Kelly

Robert Reich Speaks, Writes, and Cartoons

Posted on Tuesday 25 April 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

More about Robert Reich’s appearance at UC Berkeley last night; and summary notes about his book Economics in Wonderland.

Posted in Book Notes, Economics | Comments Off on Robert Reich Speaks, Writes, and Cartoons

Saw Robert Reich Today

Posted on Monday 24 April 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

At an event on the UC Berkeley campus, Zellerbach Hall. Later afternoon, 5:30pm, and so home at 7:30 for dinner and now running a little bit late. So longer post about this tomorrow. Cal Performances: An Evening with Robert Reich. … Continue reading →

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The Continued Deadly Consequences of the Obsolete Second Amendment

Posted on Sunday 23 April 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

The latest in the endless commentary about gun violence in the US: items about how America fails the civilization test; how gun violence is worse in Red States (despite what the Republicans say about big Blue cities); and how the … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Culture, Lunacy | Comments Off on The Continued Deadly Consequences of the Obsolete Second Amendment

A quiz about which personality quiz applies to you

Posted on Saturday 22 April 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

The Atlantic, Kelly Conaboy, 18 Apr 2023: What Your Favorite Personality Test Says About You, subtitled “Are you a Myers-Briggs person, an Enneagram person, or something else? The Atlantic made a quiz to help you find out.” (Updated Sun 23 … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal history, Psychology | Comments Off on A quiz about which personality quiz applies to you

Our New Hillside, and the usual political matters

Posted on Friday 21 April 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

First of all, tree trimmers have been near us for two days, trimming and potentially cutting down the eucalyptus trees on the hillside next to our house. This is welcome news because eucalyptus trees are fire-prone, and because a couple … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Personal history, Politics, The Gays | Comments Off on Our New Hillside, and the usual political matters

Zbigniew Preisner, and the Daily News

Posted on Thursday 20 April 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Some slow thoughtful music, to keep things in perspective, against the daily news. And then daily news about frightened old people using their guns.

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Lunacy, Music | Comments Off on Zbigniew Preisner, and the Daily News

About New Books by Phil Plait and Jamie Green

Posted on Wednesday 19 April 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Phil Plait’s Under Alien Skies Jamie Green’s The Possibility of Life And a Facebook cartoon about the cynicism of anti-intellectuals Phil Plait on John Scalzi’s blog today, about his new book Under Alien Skies: A Sightseer’s Guide to the Universe, … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Book Notes, Cosmology, Lunacy, science fiction | Comments Off on About New Books by Phil Plait and Jamie Green

A New Episode of The Most Beautiful Music in the World

Posted on Tuesday 18 April 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

This was an early Zbigniew Preisner score, for a Polish TV series Dekalog, with ten episodes released in 1989, each based on one of the Ten Commandments. I happened to listen to my YouTube bookmark of this as I wrote … Continue reading →

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Making the Story Go Away

Posted on Tuesday 18 April 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

The big news today: Fox News has settled the case brought by Dominion Voting Systems. (Fox News had repeatedly implied that the 2020 election was somehow stolen via manipulation of the voting machines built by Dominion. Without an ounce of … Continue reading →

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Drag, the Abortion Pill, Blue Cities in Red States

Posted on Monday 17 April 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Why conservatives are so upset by drag; The Comstock Law, an antiquated precedent conservatives use to justify things they don’t like, like the abortion pill; And how people are fleeing blue states for red states — but into blue cities.

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Politics | Comments Off on Drag, the Abortion Pill, Blue Cities in Red States