In 2017, I cancelled my plans to see a total eclipse, asking myself, “Why do I want to stand in a giant shadow?” I’d seen a few partial eclipses before. I didn’t want to get caught in what some feared would be a days long traffic apocalypse. Still, I was enamored of the idea of…
I Owe the Honey and the Bees
Some mornings I am lucky enough to have a breakfast of Greek yogurt, topped with walnuts and drizzled with honey. I don’t particularly care for yogurt, or for nuts of any kind, yet I have affection for this small luxury. Perhaps the honey is doing the heavy lifting, but honey isn’t enough to make me…
The Persistence of Wrong
I teach a class for 4th, 5th and 6th graders, tantalizingly called “The Mystery Class.” In it, I ask them how they know anything, then I share with them optical illusions. I created this optical illusion specifically for the class. In it each dot is the same color, but the dots appear quite different in…
The Good Place is Network TV’s greatest achievement.
I am still reeling from last night’s finale of The Good Place. It was an existential mediation on love, grief and free will, wrapped in a sitcom. That shouldn’t be possible. The Good Place attached us deeply to it’s characters and, in its final episode, understood the sadness that comes when our human empathy is…
The Guilty Never Want a Witness
Over the years, I’ve witness dozens of accidents, or their immediate aftermath, in the crosswalk in front of my home. It’s a bad spot on an over-taxed road. Each time an accident happens, I rush outside to check that everyone is okay, and offer both drivers my contact information. From this I’ve learned something useful:…
The Rise of Skywalker, the Fall of History
My least favorite thing about the Star Wars prequel trilogy almost became my favorite moment of the series, thanks to The Rise of Skywalker. But, sadly, it never materialized on screen and I am left, thinking about what might have been. (Spoilers abound, be warned.) First, I have to tread over some very old territory,…
No Man’s Sky NEXT
There is a remarkable achievement hidden in the story of No Man’s Sky NEXT and you won’t be able to see it on any of its 18 quintillion worlds. It happened on Earth. Sean Murray, the reluctant public face of the game, has come forward after two years of near silence with some explanations and…
A Review of Boston’s Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Spectacular! Spectacular like fireworks. Thrilling like a rollercoaster. Bombastic like, well, the 2001 film on which it is based. If you liked Baz Lurhman’s 2001 movie Moulin Rouge, you are going to love Moulin Rouge! The Musical. If you don’t, it probably won’t be your cup of tea, though I did watch the show win…
No Man’s Sky and the double edged sword of Curiosity
The first time I hopped in my spaceship, I flew up through the atmosphere and found a point in space where I could look down on the world from which I’d come. I wanted to see a few things. I was deeply curious. A whole universe was promised for me to explore. I didn’t know…
Laurel vs. Yanni
Audio illusions are rarer by far than optical illusions. The new, Laurel vs. Yanni illusion is maddening in its apparent impishness. I hear Laurel and couldn’t hear Yanni without some work. I’ve broke out the low end: … from the high end: Even in the latter case, I can only begin to, sort of, hear…