Saturday, May 23, 2026

It's Crazy That It Ever Went Away

 Education Week: Cursive is making a comeback.

Rescuing New York City



New York City has a talent pool and structural problem.

And the solution can be found by studying what happened in an Arizona desert city in 1942.


[Photo by Triston Dunn at Unsplash]

Friday, May 22, 2026

First Paragraph

 This is the story of a group of extraordinary individuals, a constellation of talent in eighteenth-century London that was known simply as the Club. Though not a large group, its members made brilliant contributions to our culture that are still celebrated today. But there was another, perhaps even more important, requirement for Club membership: you had to be good company - ready to talk, laugh, drink, eat, and argue until late into the night at the weekly meetings at the Turk's Head Tavern. Unlike some later clubs, it had no premises of its own, but met in an ordinary London pub.

- From The Club: Johnson, Boswell, and the Friends Who Shaped an Age by Leo Damrosch

Thursday, May 21, 2026

Black-and-White Films Flashback

 


What Would You Have Told Pontius Pilate?

If I were still teaching ethics workshops, I would, despite my obvious bias, add "Pilate's Magician" to the reading list and ask, "What should the Roman lawyer have told Pontius Pilate?"

Hmm

 


The Most Mysterious Cruise Line Out There



The most mysterious cruise line out there may not be a cruise line at all.

It's Artificial Intelligence.

AI touts the equivalent of exciting experiences and smooth waters, but its advocates get vague when you ask for a detailed description of the final destination.

This doesn't mean that there will never be a satisfactory description. It simply means that the current description is one we've often seen:

TO BE DETERMINED.

Stay within sight of shore.


[Photo by Peter Hansen at Unsplash]