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Archive for the ‘Other’ Category

No One’s Ever Really Gone

Posted in Entertainment, Other, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 10, 2024| Leave a Comment »

James Earl Jones (1931-2024)

His career spanned three-quarters of a century and included work from stage to voice to movies, but for me he will always be Darth Vader. I’ve written about my love of Star Wars before, and that’s my anchor when thinking about James Earl Jones. 

Who else could have captured Vader’s complex and contradictory traits? Who made us both hate and finally feel for the tortured soul that was Anakin Skywalker? 

‘Star Wars’ colleagues lead tributes to James Earl Jones

“James was an incredible actor, a most unique voice both in art and spirit. For nearly half a century he was Darth Vader, but the secret to it all is he was a beautiful human being. He gave depth, sincerity and meaning to all his roles, amongst the most important being devoted husband to the late Ceci and dad to Flynn. James will be missed by so many of us…friends and fans alike.” 

— “Star Wars” creator George Lucas

A lot of tributes are being published, and if you’re interested in learning more about his impressive and wide-ranging career, I recommend reading them. Here’s just one, from NPR: Actor James Earl Jones, a beloved baritone, dies at 93.

But if you just want to take a quiet moment to appreciate the loss of this generational talent, may I recommend this: 

Thankfully, as Luke says, no one is ever really gone.

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Photo by Josh Howard on Unsplash

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Busy, Being Silly

Posted in Other, tagged , , , on September 9, 2024| Leave a Comment »

“Mix a little foolishness with your serious plans. It is lovely to be silly at the right moment.”

— Horace

Hope you have fun being a little silly today too.

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Photo by Harry Cunningham on Unsplash

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A Thought on Indecision, and the Inexorability of Time

Posted in Other, tagged , , , , , on September 8, 2024| Leave a Comment »

I gave this advice to a friend once and still find it to be useful: Whatever you do, make sure you do it on purpose.

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Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

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The Essentials

Posted in Other, tagged , , , , , , on September 7, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Light, water, kindness, and not giving up. These are huge; all there is.

— Anne Lamott

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Photo by Ian Chen on Unsplash

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Sayonara, Shadows

Posted in Other, tagged , , , , , , on September 5, 2024| Leave a Comment »

“Keep your face always toward the sunshine—and shadows will fall behind you.”

— Walt Whitman

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Photo by Johen Redman on Unsplash

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Tinged in Red

Posted in Other, tagged , , , , on September 4, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Nights are cooler, the afternoon sky is a crisp blue, and the outermost leaves of the giant maple tree across the street are tinged in red. It must be time for fall foliage predictions!

Fall foliage map: When and where to expect autumn colors

Click through for animated maps and links to more info, explainers, and a printable coloring book for the kiddos (or you, I don’t judge!).

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Photo by Chad Madden on Unsplash

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We Are Connected

Posted in Holidays, Other, tagged , , , , on September 2, 2024| Leave a Comment »

“From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: that we are here for the sake of each other – above all for those upon whose smile and well-being our own happiness depends, and also for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy. Many times a day I realize how much my own outer and inner life is built upon the labors of my fellow men, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received.”

― Albert Einstein

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Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

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Calling All Medical Device Designers (Or Kids with Apps, Whatever Works!)

Posted in Other, tagged , , , , on August 28, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Surely, surely, there must be a better way to mammogram. 

Imagine, if you will, a world in which we have all of the current tools and science we have now, but no system to create detailed imagery of mammary tissue. There is an obvious need for such a thing, but how would you do it?

Would you create the medical equivalent of a panini press? I bet you would not!

Seriously, though, it’s like the Dark Ages. We can do better.

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I couldn’t find a good image of a panini press, but this antique laundry wringer gets the point across, I think. Photo by Eric Prouzet on Unsplash

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Reaching Out

Posted in Other, tagged , , on August 27, 2024| Leave a Comment »

“We need to remember that we’ve all got our blind spots and contradictions and prejudices; and that if we want to win over those who aren’t yet ready to support our candidate, we need to listen to their concerns – and maybe learn something in the process.”

— Barack Obama

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Photo by youssef naddam on Unsplash

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Thinking Odd Writer Thoughts, or What’s Wrong with the Classics?

Posted in Other, Science!, tagged , , , , on August 23, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Here’s an interesting puzzle: How Do You Send a Warning 1,000 Years into the Future? – Now I Know

Think back to what the Earth was like a thousand years ago — the year 1,015. Almost everything would be foreign to modern eyes and ears — even the language would be incomprehensible. For all intents and purposes, humanity from a millennium ago may as well be an alien species (culturally, at least) with similar DNA, which simply happens to have lived on the same planet we do now.

How do we communicate with people so far removed from our own language, culture, and assumptions? It’s a great question, whether you’re thinking about the safest approach to nuclear waste disposal or contacting aliens.

In order to keep the people of the future safe from the radioactive goop created today, we need a way to tell them to watch out. And more likely than not, very few aspects of today’s society will be around to do that. Even a sign warning travelers of potential dangers would be insufficient — who among us could translate runes from the Middle Ages?

(My mom, that’s who, but point taken.)

What particularly interests me about these proposed solutions (an Atomic Priesthood dedicated to perpetuating knowledge through myth? color-changing cats?!) is that they seem to have skipped over the most obvious approach. How to conjure the fear of death, to warn people away, and to alert the future not to what is there, but what will happen if it is disturbed?*

This is a plague panel from the early 17th century. If you saw this on a house, would you go in or turn and run the other way?

Deutsches Historisches Museum Berlin, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

In the end, the U.S. Department of Energy plan opted to go with warning signs in multiple languages illustrated with images of people in pain. Still, I wondered, what’s wrong with the classics?

Another odd writer thought, brought to you by an odd writer.

* Also, the real problem seems to be the gap between exposure and untimely demise. If you break into a tomb and die immediately, that sends a pretty strong message. And no one has to tell people not to build on an active lava flow, but a peaceful-looking mountain with fertile soil close to the bustling port of Naples and the dynamic town of Pompeii (circa 78 AD)? What’s not to like?

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Photo by chris robert on Unsplash

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