I trust everyone has survived Friday the 13th? I’ve never been very superstitious, but I’ve been wondering how we got to fear this particular day. So I dug out the book An Uncommon History of Common Things (National Geographic, 2009, page 118). As one might suspect, the answer isn’t very straightforward. First, the Friday component.
My poetry book, Some Poems About Life, is now available on Amazon.com in a Kindle edition for only 99 cents! The direct link is: https://www.amazon.com/Some-Poems-About-Life-Actually-ebook/dp/B01FIE2LV8?ie=UTF8&keywords=Bob%20Welbaum&qid=1463085597&ref_=sr_1_3&s=books&sr=1-3, or search “Bob Welbaum” under Books
For the past several years, we’ve heard a lot about post-traumatic stress and how it has ruined many lives, especially service people who have been through combat. But have you ever heard of post-traumatic growth (PTG)? Yes, there is such a thing. Psychologists Richard G. Tedeschi and Lawrence G. Calhoun at the University of North
Somehow in this political year it seems fitting to write about Machiavelli, famously the author of The Prince. He was born in Florence, Italy, on May 3, 1469, into one of the prominent merchant families of this city-state. However, the family was not wealthy, and financial worries would dog Niccolo throughout his life. He became
Do you have a dog? If so, do you care about its ancestry? Actually, I don’t have any pets, but I do love dogs. So a blurb entitled “King of the Canines” recently caught my eye. It’s in the “Explore” section of the February 2016 National Geographic magazine and it lists the 10 most popular
I have always tried to avoid discussing politics on the Internet (although sometimes it’s difficult). But in an unusual (not to mention critical) year, I might as well try to make a contribution. To begin with, I am a history nerd and over the decades I have developed an interest in the political landscape. Plus
I suppose everyone knows about vaccination, but what I didn’t realize is that other species can practice a form of vaccination too. In the February 2016 issue of National Geographic, an “Explore Science” entry is entitled “Immunity For Insects”. Apparently vaccinations can also be passed from mother to young. We knew higher animals could do
No, I have not been drinking. But I’ve run across something so wild that I had to being it to your attention. Could our limbs have evolved from the paired fins of fish? And before that, from fishes’ gills? That was originally suggested in 1878 by German anatomist Karl Gegenbaur. But there was no evidence
I run as a sport, and have been since 1980. One of the byproducts I have noticed is I always seem to get my best ideas while running. I am happy (relieved?) to read recently that it’s not just me. In fact, it may go a lot farther than that. In an article on the
This is an original short story. A version was published as “Days with Rob… and Sherri” in Bewildering Stories #591, http://www.bewilderingstories.com/issue591/index.html My Best Friend “Morning, Sherri! What do you want to do today?” Sherri looked up from the skillet. “My Rob, you’re up early!” Rob grinned, walked over, and kissed her on