Stories Short and Strange
17 short stories for general audiences ranging from the unusual to the unbelievable to the just plain strange.
How Small Details Make a Big Difference in History
It’s a shame history books have to generalize, because some major historical events have been decided by minute details. That’s the most interesting part, but few classes have time to delve into such detail. Like during the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War, part of the Confederate force assaulting Little Round Top ran
Are Trolls Ruining the Internet?
Have you seen this week’s Time magazine? The cover story has the provocative title of “Why We’re Losing the Internet to the Culture of Hate” by Joel Stein. Stein usually writes more humorous pieces as “The Awesome Column”. Sometimes his less-serious writing style doesn’t match well with the length of a cover story, but not
Thought From the Olympics — Do Athletic Rituals Work?
If you’ve been watching the Olympics, you may have noticed some athletes engage in certain pre-competition rituals. For example, sprinter Usain Bolt always points to the sky. Why? An article on the Quartz website written by Olivia Goldhill (http://qz.com/757757/athletes-who-wear-lucky-socks-arent-wrong-psychologists-say-superstitions-yield-real-advantages/) tries to answer that question. So much of what athletes undergo is beyond their control, like
Happy Birthday to the Refrigerator
As hot as this summer has been, I through it would be appropriate to page homage to the refrigerator. According to The Writer’s Almanac, the first refrigerator was patented in the United States on August 8, 1899. Not that the idea of keeping food cold to preserve it was anything new. Before the ‘fridge, food
The History of Political Correctness
I can’t remember when I first heard the phrase “political correctness”. Certainly it has an unfortunate reputation now; I have a friend who equates it with original sin. But if you define it as being appropriate for the circumstances, political correctness goes back a long way. I’ve recently read a “Verbal Energy” column by
Where to Find Inspiration — A Postscript to The Hunger Games
One thing I’m learning is that inspiration can come from anywhere. Earlier I had reviewed The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I had initially resisted reading what sounded like a gruesome concept, but found it to be a well-written, engaging story. How does an author develop a plotline like that? It so happens Ms. Collins’
How Egalitarian a Society Are We?
We like to have a positive view of ourselves and our country. But every so often we find something that jars us into rethinking our complacency. I just ran across a review a book with the rather shocking title White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America by historian Nancy Isenberg. It proposes
A Great Time for Meteor Watching
If you haven’t heard, we’re in the peak period for the Perseid meteor shower. The shower was predicted to peak this morning, August 12th, but is continuing on Saturday morning, August 13th. Meteors are visible anywhere on Earth, but came best be seen in the Northern Hemisphere. For more information, visit EarthSky.org at http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-perseid-meteor-shower#outburst
My Olympic Moment — Finish of the Men’s Marathon
As the barricades came down and traffic was restored, Ken, Ellen and I said goodbye to the mile chief. We were off to the nine-mile mark, at the point where the course came back to follow the beach along Ocean Avenue. It was only about a mile and a half away. When we got there,
My Olympic Moment — The Start of the Men’s Marathon
The women’s marathon had been new territory. We all had been tentative and unsure. But the men’s marathon would be different. Everyone knew exactly what to expect. Also, we would be wide awake. The plan was about the same, only we allowed an extra hour for traffic. We shouldn’t have worried; we arrived at the