Bees were  put on the endangered species list, recently, along with certain butterflies.  Some say a virus is killing them off.  Others argue the fault lies with pesticides or a decline in habitat.  The way builders are carving up agricultural land to erect houses makes me think a

Like Paul Revere,  I and others have spent time shouting, “The robots are coming.  The robots are coming.” I’m unsure what to do about it, but as writer  Jennifer Alserver notes, these machines are becoming smarter, more people sensitive and more versatile.   (“Is This Ro

My Facebook page is rife with pictures of crocuses and daffodils springing from the damp soil.  Temperate weather is ahead, my friends want to assure me   I see their selfies as they stand in waiting lines at airports or pat a camel somewhere on the African continent.  Winter is l

Writer Keven Baker’s modest proposal, tongue-in-cheek, is spiked with enough telling arguments to make me wonder why blue states go on funding the insanities of red states.  (“Bluexit,” by Keven Baker, New Republic, April 2017, pg. 19-25.) In 2015, when Texans circulated t

My Yahoo news page came up with the following headline, recently: “Bernie Sanders followers are among the smartest…  They don’t believe anything.  The post must have proof…”   I didn’t read further. I’m not a Bernie Sanders fan, though some of my Facebook friends hav

I saw several references to PewDiePie on Facebook, recently, and also in the gossip area of my Yahoo page.  Whether the name belonged to a person or a dessert, I didn’t know and didn’t much care.  But the buzz grew until it piqued my curiosity.  For my readers, many of whom are

The famous Guggenheim Museum began as  a private collection. (Blog 2/20/17)  An admirer of the old masters, Solomon R. Guggenheim was weaned away from them by a friend who took him to see the work of Vasily Kandinsky.  That was the beginning of a love affair with modern art and Gug

Sitting down to coffee with a woman who runs a small non-profit organization, she began our conversation by thanking me for my recent contribution. Her remarks were gracious and allowed me to imagine I’d given significant assistance to her cause.  Later, however, she let slip that

Over the years, collecting art has brought me much satisfaction.  As I mentioned in a recent blog (1/6/2017), the pieces I have acquired feel like members of my family, and I am saddened to realize one day they will be sold off, piece by piece, or possibly end up in a landfill.  My

J. K. Rowling’s criticism of Donald Trump is raising hackles on the internet. His loyal fans, once her loyal fans, are behaving like jilted lovers and threatening to burn their Harry Potter books in retaliation. Rowling says, “Go ahead. I’ve still got your money.” (Click)  Pr