Monthly Archives: December 2022

Victorian Christmas Cards, Holiday Weirdness

I’ll be sharing some very odd 19th century Christmas cards today. And rambling a bit about holidays, history and whatever else comes to mind. Briefly, for me. Christmas and New Year’s Eve: a Double-Header Solstice Celebration Many if not all … Continue reading

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Pope Francis and “The Virtue of Vigilance”

When I saw “Vatican” and “elegant demon” in my news feeds, I cringed. Just a little. But not because I feared that the four horsemen of the Apocalypse were saddling up and the Antichrist was running rampant. Lurking Demons in … Continue reading

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Advent 2022: Remembering the Big Picture

My culture’s Christmas season begins with Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. Our traditionally-frenzied holiday shopping season does, at any rate. That’s not a particularly good thing, considering what stress can do to folks. On the other hand, America’s shopping frenzy inspired … Continue reading

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Single Stage to Orbit, Eventually

A tip of the hat to Anthony Stevens, whose recent op-ed started me thinking about this week’s topics. I’ll be talking about ideas that didn’t work out, or haven’t yet; three cool single-stage-to-orbit vehicles, including one that flew; and, finally, … Continue reading

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Exoplanets, Air, and the Marshmallow Planet

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) took that image of Jupiter, its rings and moons, a few months back. Aside from being, as one of my daughter’s noted, “shiny,” the picture gives scientists a new look at the Solar System’s … Continue reading

Posted in Discursive Detours, Exoplanets and Aliens, Journal, Science News, Series | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment