One of the most profound parts of my visit to Berlin in September, 2015 was seeing the “Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe”. At first glance it seems like a great expanse of concrete blocks. But start walking, and the smaller blocks on the periphery become larger and larger as you find yourself descending
The idea of free college surfaced during the recent election. Is it a good idea? It’s generally agreed that college graduates make more money over a lifetime, along with other advantages. (I Googled “benefits of a college education” and got 373,000 hits.) But college isn’t for everybody and such programs are very expensive. So, on
Looking for an unusual gift, especially if money is no object? There are plenty of them around. Here are some ideas. The Neiman Marcus department store has always been famous for luxury gifts. Their website has a “Fantasy Gifts” section, http://www.neimanmarcus.com/Gifts/Fantasy-Gifts/cat48140738_cat000672_cat000000/c.cat, which includes — For the fantasy thespian, there’s walk-on role in the Broadway musical Waitress
If you’re a Disney fan (like I am), I’d recommend The Vault of Walt book series by my good friend Jim Korkis. I’ve just finished Volume 2, but I’ve discovered Jim is way ahead of me — he’s up to Volume 5! As a history nerd in general, I realized a long time ago that
Some people claim to be able to talk to animals (or at least communicate with them), but talking to a plant? There may now be a way to break through the human-plant communication barrier. A team of scientists has embedded living spinach plants with carbon nanotubes designed to detect the kinds of compounds found in
Since things have (hopefully) cooled down from this election by now, I want to tell you about something I did for the first time in my life — I was a local volunteer for one of the major political parties. Which party I worked for is not important because this is about the process —
It’s snowing and the first serious winter weather is rolling in, so I’m reposting my poem on snowfall (which is in my book Some Poems About Life, available on this website). Perspective The son stood in the doorway, Behold a beautiful sight! As far as he could see, nothing but fluffy white! Today would
Have you ever heard of the legal case Batson vs. Kentucky? Few people have. Yet this was a major legal landmark in the legal system; this case determined that a prosecutor cannot use peremptory challenges to remove a juror from a jury pool based on race. A bit of explanation — potential jurors are examined
If you flip a coin and get heads three straight times, what do you think the fourth flip will be? The odds are still 50-50 you will get heads again because each flip is independent (and the coin can’t remember how it landed in the past). Yet that’s not what human nature wants to believe.
I think it’s close enough to the holidays to repost my annual Christmas story. Thanks, Santa I guess I shouldn’t complain. I live in a nice house on a street with nice houses. I think our house is the nicest, two stories with a pool in back and a garage with room for three