Category Archives: Discursive Detours

A catch-all category

Two Pilots, Flight Technician, Iranian President Dead: Briefly

A helicopter carrying two pilots, a flight technician, and at least five other folks crashed yesterday. They’re all dead. One of them was Iran’s president: which made the aviation accident international news. I am not happy that at least eight … Continue reading

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Spaceplanes: A New Analysis

This article makes a case for spaceplanes being both possible and — in the long run — an economic necessity. It’s not my current topic, partly because I was talking about this sort of thing last week:

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Boeing Starliner in Context: Apollo, Shuttles, and American History

For some reason, I expected Monday’s Starliner launch to go ahead on schedule. It didn’t, which is probably a good thing. But the delay, and staying up far later than I usually do, waiting for a news conference that I … Continue reading

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Grief, Chatbots, AI, and (Sort of) Talking With Dead People

Folks have a great many ways of dealing with grief and loss. For example, folks at the hospital took a photo of our youngest daughter. She died shortly before birth. That photo’s on an ‘in loving memory of’ memorial card … Continue reading

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Venice Biennale Holy See Pavilion: Art and Cities of Refuge

Pope Francis visited the Vatican’s exhibits at an international art show last Sunday. So this week I’ll talk about the Venice Biennale, why “With My Eyes” doesn’t horrify me, share a few quotes, and show pictures from “Con i miei … Continue reading

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