Stories Short and Strange
17 short stories for general audiences ranging from the unusual to the unbelievable to the just plain strange.
The Beauty of the Bill of Rights
Maybe it’s the nerd in me, but whenever I’ve studied the Bill of Rights, I’ve always wondered why so much is crammed into the First Amendment. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Establishment of religion, free exercise
Saving Democracy?
With the extreme polarization of American politics, I’ve been seeing a lot of discussion about possible changes to our elections. Should we abolish the Electoral College? Do we need a stronger chief executive? How do we make our democracy more responsive? I’ve recently listened to a podcast that discusses this issue in detail — “Tweak
Lest We Forget — Some Historical Photos
A friend of mine has been sending me links to historical photos, which, as a history nerd, I think are worth sharing. There is no central theme except they are in the past, and I think they speak for themselves. Group One (Scroll down) — https://soulfoodfriday.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/getting-some-historic-perspective1.pdf Group Two (Click on each photo to move to
The passage of Time and Aging
Early in my life, time seemed to pass slowly, but now everything since about age 40 has been one big blur. I’ve always assumed it’s because I have lots of years with lots of memories, but recently I’ve read that the reason why time seems to go by faster and faster is not because of
Don’t Sneeze With Your Eyes Open
Some topics simply can’t be ignored. Like why you close your eyes when you sneeze. No one knows for sure, but there are two theories. Remember that a sneeze is a forceful expulsion of germ-filled air from your nose and mouth. So the first reason to close your eyes is to protect those delicate organs
What is Misophonia?
Almost everyone can be distracted by certain noises, like foot tapping. But for some people, these noises can cause them to feel like they’re going insane. This condition is called misophonia — intense emotion induced by highly specific sounds. These sounds are usually very ordinary, like mouth sounds, and the cause is unknown. “Chewing is
Be Like Dr. Seuss — The Power of Constraints
If you are an admirer of the children’s author Theodor Geisel, as I am, this story will interest you. In 1960, Theodor Geisel made a $50 bet with Bennett Cerf, founder of the publishing company Random House, that he could write a successful children’s book using only 50 words. The result was Green Eggs and
The Equinox Isn’t What You Think
The Spring Equinox ushers in the new, and very welcome, spring season. But like so much in life, everything is not as it appears. Equinox means equal, so on that day we should have equal amounts of day and night, right? Yet that’s not actually true, for two reasons. First, the sun is a pretty
Happy Spring!
In honor of spring, I’m republishing my poem My Rite of Spring, from my book Some Poems About Life. My Rite of Spring I consider myself a peaceable soul. I value all manner of livable things. Insects and mice, spiders and voles. Just about anything Mom Nature brings. But I do have my standards. I
Electrical Bacteria
The natural world never ceases to amaze me. This is especially true of the the single-celled organisms around us. For example, on March 5, 2019, scientists at Washington State University described the first collection of a type of bacteria that eats and breathes electricity. The site was the Heart Lake Geyser Basin area of Wyoming’s