Stories Short and Strange
17 short stories for general audiences ranging from the unusual to the unbelievable to the just plain strange.
The Benefits of Going to the Moon.
I was listening to a podcast this morning when someone mentioned we went to the moon for political reasons. I’m not denying there were major political ramifications, but wasn’t it more than world politics? My on-line search tuned up an article from July 25, 2014 entitled “The Continued Socioeconomic Impact of Apollo 11”. According to
Book Review — Battle Royale
On December 6, 2015, I gave my thoughts on the novel The Hunger Games. I was so impressed with the overall story that I’m rereading it to catch all the subtleties and clues to the ending that I missed the first time. As an aspiring author, I did some research after my first read and
How to Counter Violent Extremism
After the Orlando attack, you may be wondering exactly what are we doing to counter violent extremism? If you haven’t heard, there is an FBI website entitled “Don’t Be a Puppet: Pull Back the Curtain on Violent Extremism”, aimed at young people who might be leaning toward terrorist groups. It’s like a video game,
The Wonderful World of Color
You probably have heard of seed banks, but color banks? I was surprised to read about just such a collection, a pigment library at Harvard, in a recent article on the website Fastcodesign.com. The story goes something like this — Today we have an infinite range of color choices on our computer screens. But for
Happy Birthday National Parks
“Keep it for your children, your children’s children, and for all who come after you.” — Theodore Roosevelt A very important birthday is coming up this summer. The National Park Service (NPS) traces its origin to August 25, 1916, when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Organic Act. Today the NPS has 20,000 employees who manage
An Upside to Nightmares?
I don’t know of anyone who thinks a nightmare can be a good experience. It’s been a long time (fortunately) since I’ve had one, although I tend to have dreams where I either have to go somewhere or do something and I never quite make it. But if you’re unlucky enough to be haunted by
Book Review — End of the Cold War
Nothing is as simple as it first appears. That’s my frustration with history — so much gets left out of the textbooks. I’ve just finished reading The End of the Cold War: 1985-1991 by Robert Service. It’s a very detailed, and heavily documented, account of the events leading up to the fall of the Berlin
Underdogs Worth Rooting For
I will never make it to the Olympics, even though athletically I’ve come farther than I’d ever hoped. (If you’d seen how I struggled in Little League, you’d know what I mean.) But I do share one trait with elite athletes — disappointment. It’s very discouraging to set your sights on a goal, particularly one
The Baby Who Refused to Die
Are you about ready for a positive story? The background — I got an iPod several years ago to listen to when I run. I do have a modest music library, but mostly I listen to podcasts. One of my favorites is NPR’s “Radiolab”, which produces shows “about curiosity. Where sound illuminates ideas, and the
Another ‘Side Effect’ of Marriage — Becoming Biologically Alike
I have never been married (which is a whole another story), but I’m fascinated by some of the impacts being so close to another person for so long can have. The latest is an article entitled “Being Married for Decades Means That Your Bodies Become Biologically Alike” on the May 26th, 2016 edition of the