Category Archives: Music

The Slow Death of Lawns in Deserts

Posted on Sunday 13 August 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Major item today about the slow death of lawns in deserts, especially in the US southwest; Then a few quick items, about the decline of Christianity, and Scientology’s psychological torture; And a musical piece by Ludovico Einaudi. – – – … Continue reading →

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More About Who’s to Blame for Trump

Posted on Monday 7 August 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

A Slate writer responds to NYT’s David Brooks about how the “elites” are to blame for Trump culture; A David Brin post; Some quick links with comments… Phil Plait on seeing the Milky Way; And George Michael’s “You Have Been … Continue reading →

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Doomscrolling Climate Change; and Small Towns

Posted on Sunday 30 July 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

The latest about climate change, and wondering when will the conservative deniers admit there is a problem; More about that vigilante justice country song, and Bruce Springsteen. Perhaps I should cut back on the doomscrolling. I don’t actually scroll looking … Continue reading →

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Sinéad O’Connor, and That Small Town Song

Posted on Thursday 27 July 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Recalling Sinéad O’Connor.

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Scientific Reality and Ideological Imagination

Posted on Friday 21 July 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Reality check about warp drives; Reality perspective about the Kardashev ladder; My evolving ideas about traditional vs. honest science fiction; How the latest conservative panic appears in the new film Sound of Freedom; How House Republicans are openly discriminating against … Continue reading →

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They’re Telling Us Who They Are, and What They Will Do

Posted on Monday 17 July 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Maya Angelou: “When people show you who they are, believe them the first time.” (source and source) How Trump and his acolytes are openly planning to set up an authoritarian government, should he rewin the Presidency; Similarly, Republicans in Ohio … Continue reading →

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About Immigration

Posted on Saturday 15 July 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

My own ancestors were immigrants, of course, in the 1800s, just like most of the US population; and recalling “Irish Need Not Apply”; NYT’s David Leonhardt about the global immigration backlash, without wondering why these migrations are happening; Paul Krugman … Continue reading →

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Some Sciency Bits

Posted on Tuesday 11 July 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Richard Dawkins on the ancestral language of DNA; How humans have interpreted fossils throughout history; Recalling the scientifically inaccurate and intellectually hostile movie Armageddon, from 1998; How an article about a refinement to our understanding of human evolution overstates its … Continue reading →

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Ideology vs. Reality, Endlessly

Posted on Monday 3 July 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Is this the core issue to rule them all? Since the survival of humanity seems to be in the balance? Item’s today: How the Supreme Court’s anti-LGBTQ case should never have been brought; How the rise of the religious far … Continue reading →

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George Winston

Posted on Thursday 8 June 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Died today. NY Times: George Winston, Pianist With a Popular Soothing Sound, Dies at 74, subtitled “He won a Grammy in the new age category, and his top-selling records helped define the genre. But his interests also included Hawaiian guitar … Continue reading →

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