IN PRAISE OF THE COMMON PART 1
BEING THE ANGLOPHILE I AM—SHAKESPEARE, MARLOWE, Morgans, Dellows, and White Stilton with Apricots—I was attracted to Turner Classic Movies’ recent showing of This Happy Breed. This Happy Breed, based on … Continue reading
JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE TO GO BACK IN THE CRETACEOUS SEA PART 2
YESTERDAY, WE LEARNED FROM AAAS SCIENCE THAT THE CRETACEOUS SEA contained cephalopods of unprecedented size. Sources for this are Phie Jacobs’ “Octopus ‘Krakens’ as Large as Semi-Trucks Stalked Ancient Seas,” … Continue reading
JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE TO GO BACK IN THE CRETACEOUS SEA…. PART 1
AAAS SCIENCE TELLS US ABOUT NANIOUTEUTHUS haggarti: “the largest invertebrate ever described,” an octopus that makes even the sea-monster krakens of legend seem playful. What’s more, the 23 April 2026 … Continue reading
PUMPING URANIUM?
QUENTIN SEPTER EXPRESSES “DEEP UNEASE” in AAAS Science, April 23, 2026: “A push to expand mines that use fluids to extract uranium from aquifers is raising concerns about groundwater pollution.” … Continue reading
A LENTEN WORKAROUND—AND A BREAKFAST TREAT PART 2
YESTERDAY SARAH PRUITT HELPED US CATCH UP WITH NATIONAL PRETZEL DAY by way of her “The Pretzel: A Twisted History.” Today in Part 2, we continue with the theoretical side … Continue reading
A LENTEN WORKAROUND—AND A BREAKFAST TREAT PART 1
I MISSED NATIONAL PRETZEL DAY (APRL 26), though in a sense I celebrate it daily. Sarah Pruitt gave details in “The Pretzel: A Twisted History,” History, May 27, 2025. Here, … Continue reading
TESLA PROFIT-SHIFTING SHEDS SOME $400M IN U.S. TAXES
AUTOMOTIVE NEWS, APRIL 27, 2026, SHARES A REUTERS REPORT “Offshore Tax Tricks Likely Saved Tesla Millions,” This, despite Elon Musk saying back in 2024 when campaigning for Trump, “I’m often … Continue reading
COLOR—PHILOSOPHICALLY
DEIDRE MASK’S “DOES THIS COME IN PINK MARGARINE? A SURPRISING HISTORY OF COLOR NAMES” caught my eye in The New York Times Book Review, April 26, 2026. In fact, her … Continue reading
NICE WORK IF A.I. CAN GET IT
I HAD AN ADVENTURE WITH A.I. after enjoying (for the second time) A Damsel in Distress, a 1937 flick starring Fred Astaire, George Burns, Gracie Allen, and Joan Fontaine. Based … Continue reading
FROM MOTHER EARTH TO YOUR CAR’S TANK; SLEUTHING ADDED PART 2
MOLLY BOIGON GOT US OFF TO A GOOD START with her “Fluctuating Fuel Costs: How Refiners, Retailers and Regulators Set the Price at the Pump.” We continue today in Part … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 