Mark R. Kelly
» Founder in 1997 and site-runner for 20 years of Locus Online (Hugo Award winner in 2002). Founder in 2012 and still site-runner of sfadb.com (Science Fiction Awards Database). Retired in 2012 after 30 years as a software engineer for a certain rocket engine factory.
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» Previous Views from Medina Road (2003-2013)
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Recent Posts
- This Much is Reality… and This Much is Fantasy
- The Anticipation of Unintended Consequences
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- The Overton Window of Deviance
- Shocked, Just Shocked
- Continuing Our Studies of Human Nature…
- Here’s a New One: Terrain Theory
- A Little Knowledge… Is a Dangerous Thing
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- There Is Always Long Term Progress and Short Term Retreat
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Meta
Category Archives: Religion
Third Birthday
Third ‘birthday’; Why American Christians support Israel; More polarities and correlations for my chart; Examples, just from recent days, about Republican ambitions to turn back history; More examples of Christian indoctrination. This week is the third anniversary of my heart … Continue reading
Posted in conservatives, Narrative, Personal history, Religion
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Floating
After three days summarizing recently read nonfiction books, today let’s capture recent items from the news. A conservative blames the unpopularity of an ice cream flavor on Biden; Conservatives are eager to impose Christian indoctrination in Florida and Texas; Paul … Continue reading
Jonathan Gottschall, THE STORY PARADOX
Here’s a nonfiction book from 2021 that I read just a couple weeks ago. It’s similar in heft to the two books just discussed, in terms of length and conceptual depth, perhaps somewhere in the middle below Wilson and above … Continue reading
Posted in Book Notes, Narrative, Psychology, Religion
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Robert Charles Wilson, OWNING THE UNKNOWN
This is a book about theology, atheism and the idea of God, from the perspective of a science fiction writer. Wilson is a significant contemporary SF writer whose fiction output has slowed in recent years; I reviewed his 2015 novel … Continue reading
Posted in Book Notes, Religion, science fiction
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Living By Stories, Not Reality, Part 2
A New Yorker review of a new book about human origins; Robert Reich on how Americans don’t understand the reality of Trump and Biden; Short items about the Pope, and fundamentalists beliefs in the evil nature of human beings; how … Continue reading
Posted in History, Narrative, Psychology, Religion
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Rules for Storytelling
Vatican updates rules for identifying miracles; Some conservative Christians, dealing with gender wars and their own kids identifying as gay, are bowing to reality. If storytelling, more than we realize, drives the human experience — if people understand only through … Continue reading
Posted in Narrative, Psychology, Religion
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Liberalism and Its Discontents
David Brooks on how authoritarians have momentum, because liberalism doesn’t appeal to people’s needs for a higher metaphysical meaning; Biden and Trump: appearance and reality; Double standards at Fox News about Butker and James; Republicans about Trump: loyalty vs. principles; … Continue reading
Keeping Things In Perspective
How Biden is less unpopular than leaders of other major nations; How 17% of voters blame Biden for the end of Roe (that is, many voters are not paying attention); and how I think many voters select a presidential candidate … Continue reading
Robert Reich on Red vs. Blue
Robert Reich on red vs. blue states; Shorter items about the eagerness of Republicans to kill people (not just dogs); MAGA blaming Biden for Red Lobster; Red states anxious to discriminate against LGBTQ students; a pastor who apparently truly thought … Continue reading
Posted in conservatives, Politics, Religion
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Fundamentalist Simplicity and Autism
A fundamentalist preacher who denies that PTSD, OCD, and ADHD, exist; A New Yorker article about how psychiatric labels reinforce behaviors; and how I think autism is a condition, not a disease. Here’s a short item about a fundamentalist that … Continue reading
Posted in Psychology, Religion
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