Who I am…
I am a lawyer, former mother of teenagers, and a quixotic seeker after and champion of factual truth.
I make the best damn brownies you have ever had that are not regulated by the federal government.
I love movies, Broadway, and intelligent conversation.
I think in song lyrics and movie and television quotes.
I believe in the use of proper spelling, punctuation, and grammar even in text messages. I am willing to debate the use of the Oxford comma, if you know what the Oxford comma is. It also makes me very happy if people use the subjunctive mood when appropriate.
I have been told I intimidate people. I am really just a fluffy-centered teddy bear. Really.
- It's all my fault. No, really. The views expressed in this blog are mine and mine alone and in no way whatsoever represent the views of anyone else, including any past, present, or future employer.
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Words to live by ….
“He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Micah 6:8.
“Pray for the dead, fight like hell for the living.” Mary Harris (“Mother Jones”).
“Don’t boo. Vote.” Barack Obama.
“Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.” Reinhold Niebuhr.
“No one ever thinks of themselves as one of Them. We’re always one of Us. It’s Them that do the bad things.” Sir Terry Pratchett.
“Damning facts are still facts.” Steven C. Holtzman.
“If you don’t stick to your values when they’re tested, they’re not values — they’re hobbies.” Jon Stewart.
“Darkness never sustains, even though it sometimes seems it will.” Doctor Who.
“Writing is a form of mischief.” Stephen Sondheim.
“An idea is not responsible for the people who believe it.” Don Marquis.
“If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step, you know it’s not your path. Your own path you make with every step you take. That’s why it’s your path.” Joseph Campbell.
“Truth is our strongest ally, our biggest weapon, and our best defense.” Me.
“Reality has a well-known liberal bias.” Stephen Colbert.
“The opposite of war isn’t peace, it’s creation.” Jonathan Larson.
“We live through times when hate and fear seem stronger.
We rise and fall, and light from dying embers
Remembrances that hope and love last longer.
And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love;
Cannot be killed or swept aside.”
Lin-Manuel Miranda.“If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be part of your revolution.” Emma Goldman.
“No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” Samuel Beckett.
“I believe that the God who made (among other things) light, and space, and number, and time, and the spiral curve of Fibonacci numbers, must be acknowledged to understand more than I do about why there’s pain in the world.” Teresa Neilsen Hayden.
“No, it’s not fair. You’re in the wrong universe for fair.” John Scalzi.
“Liberals got women the right to vote. Liberals got African-Americans the right to vote. Liberals created Social Security and lifted millions of elderly people out of poverty. Liberals ended segregation. Liberals passed the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act. Liberals created Medicare. Liberals passed the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act. So when you try to hurl that label at my feet, ‘Liberal,’ as if it were something to be ashamed of, something dirty, something to run away from, it won’t work, because I will pick up that label and I will wear it as a badge of honor.” Lawrence O’Donnell
“So keep fightin’ for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don’t you forget to have fun doin’ it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce. And when you get through kickin’ ass and celebratin’ the sheer joy of a good fight, be sure to tell those who come after how much fun it was.” Molly Ivins.
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Tag Archives: NASA
Thirty-five years ago today.
One of the earliest posts I wrote in this blog, in January, 2006, was on the Challenger disaster. It still encapsulates my thoughts about the tragedy.
Movies: facing the past.
On Tuesday, I saw Hidden Figures, about three African-American women who fought bigotry and misogyny to become important figures at NASA. It’s a great movie, and a story that needs to be told. And, like Selma, I found it difficult … Continue reading
Fallen heroes.
It’s been thirty years today since Challenger. I don’t know what to say that I have not said before, but it seems important to me to mark this anniversary again. So, once again, I salute the brave men and women … Continue reading
The Martian: a review.
“The story is such a ripping good ride and so gorgeous to watch that you don’t merely want to suspend your disbelief, you want to tie it to a parking meter outside the theater and order it not to disturb … Continue reading
Ten years ago today…
It is one of those dates. For most of the country, there is November 22, 1963, and September 11, 2001. Where were you? What do you remember? And in the case of 9/11, did you know anyone in the Towers? … Continue reading
The Rocket Scientist in McMurdo, from yesterday: He’s the small speck of white (those are his pants) in front of the blue building. He wrote yesterday that it was warm (34 Fahrenheit!) and that he had seen an Emperor penguin. … Continue reading
Today, the Rocket Scientist has Antarctic “Survival School.” He’s excited. I’m not. Before scientists are allowed to go into the interior to do their research, they have to demonstrate that they can handle the conditions. They are tossed on the … Continue reading
The Rocket Scientist just texted a picture of him and other scientists in the plane that will take him from Christchurch, New Zealand to McMurdo Station, Antarctica. They have been prevented from going for days, and yesterday they got an … Continue reading
Gold and Darkness
Today, January 31, 2008, is the fiftieth anniversary of America’s entry into space. On January 31, 1958, the aptly named Explorer I took to the skies from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, headed to earth orbit where, besides being … Continue reading
To the ends of the earth…
At the gift shop in Resolute Bay, Nunavit, you can buy a shirt that says “Resolute Bay is not the end of the world, but you can see it from here.” Not many people live in Resolute — 215, as … Continue reading
To inspire and guide….
On Devon Island, in the Canadian Arctic, there are seven inukshuks. An inukshuk is an Inuit “stone man” — it serves to comfort people on dangerous journeys and mark pathways. The inukshuks are a little smaller than life-size, and are … Continue reading
Mission 51-L
The mission page for Space Shuttle mission 51-L looks pretty much the same as for any other mission. Until you skim past all the verbiage about the launch and orbit stats (not too many of those) and see “Landing: None. … Continue reading
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