Category: Miscellaneous
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Priorities
I don’t normally post about current events, but this caught my attention. I’m not sure if this reduces my respect for Washington journalists — or increases it. Peter Gimus posted this about the immediate aftermath of this weekend’s attempt to murder the President. I am a senior coordinating producer for the White House Correspondents’ Association…
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Found Art
I went on a walk Saturday afternoon, on the banks of the Connecticut River in Turner’s Falls. I’ve never been down there before, and it came as a wonderful surprise. The abandoned factories along the river have crumbled, and the fallen stones and bricks have turned into a kind of post-industrial mosaic. Changes in the…
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Seasonal Exhortation
In honor of the founder of Earth Day, let us all make sure to dispose of unwanted items properly.
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The Mask Slips
They are coming into the light. Today’s NYT “Spelling Bee” puzzle (April 19). The pangram, using all the letters? ILLUMINATI! Coincidence? I think not. (fnord)
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The Solution
Last time I discussed the terrible danger that widespread peace and prosperity pose to travel — in particular the twin dangers of homogenization turning many places into a global monoculture, and the overcrowding of the few unique locations that remain unaffected. Fortunately for human civilization, I have a solution. The issue is simple, really: we…
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The Threat to Travel
My recent tour of Indochina made me think about travel and why we do it. I like to go places, and I grew up in a city that was becoming a major tourist destination, so I think I have at least some understanding of both sides. What is “Travel” anyway? We spend time and money…
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Interlude: My Boskone Schedule
Instead of talking about a trip I took in the past, today I want to look at a trip in the future: my journey to the familiar Boston Westin Waterfront hotel for this year’s Boskone science fiction convention. This is the 63rd Boskone, which is kind of amazing. Among other things, that means Boskone was…
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Ho Ho Ho
It’s coming up on Christmas Eve, and that means it’s beginning to look a lot like NORAD. The oddest, silliest, yet curiously sweetest Christmas-themed site, another front in the U.S. armed forces’ ongoing war against irony.
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A Glorious Thing
The Center for the Study of Space Crime, Piracy, and Governance is hosting a Webinar this coming Thursday, July 24, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time. The topic: "SciFi and Space Piracy: How Imagination Can Drive Policy." I'll be moderating an all-star panel — Geoffrey Landis, Laura Montgomery, Allen Steele, and Walter Jon Williams — as…
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Music Theory
A while back I bought a set of CDs of all nine symphonies by Ludwig Van Beethoven. On long solo car trips I can now listen to them instead of trying to find a radio station which won't fade out after ten miles. I know — welcome to the 1990s. That's not the point. As…
The Cambias Digression 