For most of my life, I’ve been obsessed with plane crashes. It began when I was in first grade, and my dad and his squadron went to Turkey on TDY (temporary duty assignment — the military equivalent of a business trip). They were there to practice dropping bombs from their fighter jets. Dad qualified […]
Month: November 2013
Several years ago, I splurged on a gorgeous red hardcover edition of Strunk and White’s classic book on writing, The Elements of Style. Illustrated by Maira Kalman, the pages are filled with fanciful depictions of punctuation and grammar rules. To demonstrate the use of the apostrophe in the phrase “Somebody else’s umbrella,” Kalman drew a […]
I have been to see the National Zoo’s Sumatran tiger cubs, and I have important news: They are adorable. The twin cubs, a boy and a girl, were on display for the first time yesterday at the zoo here in Washington, D.C. A little after 10 a.m., keepers opened the metal door at the bottom […]
One of the ornaments that will come down from the attic in the next few weeks has a fairy wearing a blue gown on it; she’s sitting on a crescent moon. This picture has a quote below it: “If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairytales. If you want them to be […]
11- 15 November This week it was revealed that “assholes and dinosaurs do sometimes seem to be inseparable.” No- shhh. Shh. Don’t. Just read Ann’s post. Erik explained science journalism using the metaphor of toe fungus. Jessa explored whether scientists are public property. I wondered why African Americans, paradoxically, have more robust mental health than […]
The budding astronomer looks at clouds: “I see a duck!” The amateur astronomer looks at stars: “I see a belt and a sword!” The professional astronomer looks at nebulae:
It’s a long-standing mystery in public health: despite the inarguably vast number of psychological and sociological stresses they face in the U.S., African Americans are mentally healthier than white people. The phenomenon is formally described as the “race paradox in mental health”. The paradox became apparent in the mid-1990s. Since then, an overwhelming majority of […]
As a frequent flyer I have begun to be able to spot those airline passengers who have not yet twigged to the cabin crew’s role. A flight attendant could give you a more accurate figure, but I’d guess roughly a tenth of passengers think the plane is equipped with on-board waiters. A small paradigm shift […]
