Some people love Danish modern furniture. They swoon “o-o-o” and “ah-ah-ah” over its sleek lines and the absence of ornament. “So uncluttered,” they remark. I reply that a kid’s park slide is uncluttered, but I wouldn’t want it in my living room. Give me couche
While browsing through the internet the other day, I learned about an exciting new discovery in quantum physics. Scientists have learned that some quantum particles adhere to one another, not by electromagnetism, as we supposed, but by something called the strong force. I will ventu
My New Years’ resolution for 2020 will be to reduce the number of my Facebook friends. Unlike the woman from Kenya who had 5000, I can’t manage 400. Some friends I doubt are real. They never comment on the news feed. Once a year I send them my annual birthday greeting to whi
The axiom, “Liars sometimes speak the truth,” existed as far back as the ancient Greeks, and is still accurate today. But how are we discern the difference between truth and a lie? With regard to articles of impeachment, Donald Trump’s supporters have dispensed with the need to
A young woman from Kenya sent me a friendship request on Facebook the other day. Because I lived in east Arica for a time, I agreed. Seconds later a new message popped up. This one was from Facebook. The woman whose friendship I’d accepted had 5,000 already. The website wouldn
A woman quit Facebook today, after saying goodbye to her friends. She’d have enough of the growing incivility. I admit some of the messages on my news feed sound like word bombs from Syria. Surprisingly, much of this foaming at the mouth comes from liberal democrat
I love Russian literature. Much of it is pessimistic, of course. If a bright future lies ahead, it will come in another lifetime. Certainly, that’s the view of Anton Chekhov. (Click) At the very least, I find this point of view eccentric. A Russian countess in Dostoevsky’s
On the corner of my large writing desk, I’m collecting a stack of articles written by women about what it means to be a woman. One day, I hope to write a feminist manifesto based upon these essays. I say a manifesto and not the manifesto,” because my intent is to open possib
Since the 2016 election, we’ve heard a good deal about fake news. Bogus sources seem to spring up overnight. Even Gig data can’t be trusted. Click) How do we tell the news from propaganda in this environment? With 2.2 billion users sharing information on Faceboo
I have no idea what generation would claim me. I’m not a baby boomer and the alphabet soup that follows – Xers, Ys, Zs, — are far too young. Egads! Some of these youth have never seen a landline. Never mind, I don’t know the difference between emails and text mes