Category Archives: Reviews

In Search of Zarathustra

Posted on January 6, 2024 by smellincoffee

Today is the Feast of the Epiphany, in which Christians celebrate the arrival of the Magi to Bethlehem. It is fitting, then, on this day about wise men of the east following stars, to take a look at at a … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Religion and Philosophy, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

My Selma

Posted on January 5, 2024 by smellincoffee

Willie Mae Brown was a child during the Civil Rights movement, which reached its high point in 1965, with the Selma to Montgomery march that resulted in the Civil Rights bill of 1965, with great assistance from the local sheriff and … Continue reading →

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Curbing Traffic

Posted on January 4, 2024 by smellincoffee

A few years ago, Chris and Melissa Bruntlett moved from Vancouver to Delft, and wrote a book (Building the Cycling City) on how Dutch city design not only facilitates, but encourages, cycling as a primary of transportation. Having explained how, Curbing Traffic delves into … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

The Reactionary Mind

Posted on December 31, 2023 by smellincoffee

Arise, you consumers, from your slumber –  arise, ye impoverished of purpose!    Michael Warren Davis  here picks up his pen in defense of medieval civilization,  self-reliance,  Luddism,  and letter-writing.   He bids the reader smash his cellphone and turn … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, Society and Culture | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Science Survey ’23

Posted on December 31, 2023 by smellincoffee

I finished this year’s science survey early in the year — very early, in May — and ended up with 18 titles in total, which was below the 20 I’d hoped for. Taking a look at “Predicting….Science Survey 2023“, I see … Continue reading →

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Reads to Reels: All the King’s Men

Posted on December 27, 2023 by smellincoffee

This won’t be a traditional RtR because it will be a very quick take. Last weekend I watched two different versions of All the King’s Men after finishing the novel, as well as Kingfish, a nonfiction film about the life and death … Continue reading →

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Cemetery Road

Posted on December 27, 2023 by smellincoffee

Marshall McEwan (who is not Marshall McLuhan, disappointingly) ran away from small-town Mississippi to become a journalist in D.C. He found great success there as  a talking head on what passes for TV news, talking down with great condescension about the place … Continue reading →

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Short rounds: The Office, sword-making, and love in the time of yellow fever

Posted on December 19, 2023 by smellincoffee

The Office BFFs, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey.   Foes on the show, but IRL best friends Jenna and Angela here deliver a very personal memoir of not just the show, but of their friendship over the years – forged … Continue reading →

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Visiting with Huey on the Mississippi

Posted on December 18, 2023 by smellincoffee

Good morning from the Mississippi river. For the last few days I’ve been in Natchez, enjoying the sights of a rare southern town that has not lost its soul to Progress: its city streets are marked by people and shops, not … Continue reading →

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America’s first female astronauts

Posted on December 14, 2023 by smellincoffee

When NASA was formed and began looking for astronauts, they settled on test pilots as the initial base: such men were already known quantities, with proven physical and intellectual gifts that could be applied to the pioneering work of Mercury and beyond. Although … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments