Over at Jeff Vandemeer’s blog, Rachel Swirsky has a series ofm guest posts (start here if you prefer direct post links) about the recently completed Launch Pad workshop. this is a NASA funded workshop bringing a group of writers together for six days of lectures on modern astronomy from working astronomers. From the workshop web… Continue reading Launch Pad for Quantum Physics
Category: Pop Culture
Recent Pop Music
I bought a bunch of stuff recently, and as is my usual practice, iTunes has been shuffle playing the recent purchases for the last couple of weeks. The albums in question: Janelle Monae, the Arch-Android. Not usually my sort of thing, but I saw a bunch of absolutely rapturous reviews calling it groundbreaking, etc, so… Continue reading Recent Pop Music
I Write Like a Random Selection of Famous People
Via Crooked Timber, there’s a silly web site that lets you put in a chunk of text, and does some sort of statistical analysis of it to determine what famous writer’s prose it most closely resembles. It turns out, I’m kind of hard to categorize. For instance, when I’m writing about Holy Grails, I apparently… Continue reading I Write Like a Random Selection of Famous People
George Steinbrenner 1930-2010
I’m not much of a baseball fan, but as a New York resident and Williams alumn, it seems I’m contractually obligated to say something about the death of Yankee owner George Steinbrenner. He was a fixture in New York sports for as long as I’ve been aware of them, and his impact on baseball and… Continue reading George Steinbrenner 1930-2010
Nostalgia Isn’t What It Used to Be
SteelyKid has some molars coming in, which led to some intermittent generalized fussiness this weekend. When she gets that way, she can sometimes be calmed down using videos on the computer, such as the “Wheels on the Buss” DVD my mom has. In order to spare the sanity of the adults in her life, though,… Continue reading Nostalgia Isn’t What It Used to Be
Scientist-Approved Beach Reading
Summer is here, which means vacations for lots of people, which means “beach reading”– trying to read a book or two while kicking back somewhere. The ideal beach read is something that isn’t so heavy as to bring you down or demand too much attention, but is also serious enough that it’s not embarrassing to… Continue reading Scientist-Approved Beach Reading
Hugo Reading: Unpleasant Short Fiction
I have now finished all of the short fiction on this year’s Hugo Award ballot (links to most nominees are available here), and I have to say, the pickings here are pretty slim. The stories that aren’t forgettable or preachy are deeply unpleasant, leaving me wanting to put a lot of stuff below “No Award.”… Continue reading Hugo Reading: Unpleasant Short Fiction
Important World Cup Updates
The US managed to survive yet another appalling lapse of officiating and beat Algeria 1-0 on a goal in stoppage time. Simultaneously (in some frame of reference), England beat Slovenia 1-0. With South Korea advancing yesterday, countries with current or forthcoming editions of How to Teach Physics to Your Dog are 3-0 when it comes… Continue reading Important World Cup Updates
The Physics of the Imbecile: Chopra Interviews Kaku
I don’t remember who pointed me at this transcript of Deepak Chopra interviewing Michio Kaku, but if I remember who it was, I fully intend to hate them. DC: Is our conversation affecting something in another galaxy right now? MK: In principle. What we’re talking about right is affecting another galaxy far, far beyond the… Continue reading The Physics of the Imbecile: Chopra Interviews Kaku
How to Teach Physics to Your Brazilian Dog
As I was heading out with SteelyKid to do some shopping, I noticed that the mail had arrived, including a large book mailer from my agent. I was a little puzzled as to what that could be, but left it for my return. Where I was pleased to open the envelope and find: That’s a… Continue reading How to Teach Physics to Your Brazilian Dog