A present from a New Hampshire daughter, The Tide is a delightful, entertaining, and thought-provoking mix of lucid, often poetic, language with numerous literary quotations plus detailed scientific explanations of the tides that embellish our lives on this earth. It is Aldersey-Williams’s thought-experiment. It is also his history of the oceanic tides, mixed with a bit of … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘The Tide’ by Hugh Aldersey-Williams
Columnists
Reading Uncertainly? ‘Being Mortal’ by Atul Gawande
Here is a challenge and a question. The challenge: “Our decision-making in medicine has failed so spectacularly that we have reached the point of actively inflicting harm on patients rather than confronting the subject of mortality.” The question: Can the medical profession change from its former “priestly doctor-knows-best” and its current “informative” models to a more … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘Being Mortal’ by Atul Gawande
Legal News You Can Use: How do you Hold an Impaired Driver Accountable After an Accident?
SPONSORED POST: In fatal motor vehicle accidents, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration collects blood alcohol content levels for analysis in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System. This reporting requirement applies to all states. However, authorities do not have as standardized an approach to non-fatal crashes. After responding to the scene of an accident, … [Read more...] about Legal News You Can Use: How do you Hold an Impaired Driver Accountable After an Accident?
Letter From Paris: (Old Hand) Putin Meets (New Kid) Macron With Surprising Results
The hour-long press conference held jointly by long-standing Russian President Putin and newly-elected French President Macron in the Palace of Versailles on May 29, was a spectacle not to be missed. Putin had been absent from the high-powered week during which US President Donald Trump met with heads of state at the new NATO headquarters in Brussels and at the G7 … [Read more...] about Letter From Paris: (Old Hand) Putin Meets (New Kid) Macron With Surprising Results
Letter From Paris: And Then There Were Two … Candidates Left for French President
Out of a chaotic and divisive campaign to elect the president of France came a surprisingly middle-of-the-road and constructive vote. Emmanuel Macron, age 39, Europhile leader of the En Marche (EM) movement climbed to the first place with 24.01 percent of the votes. Marine Le Pen (Front National or FN), received 21.3 percent, both therefore qualifying for the run-off election … [Read more...] about Letter From Paris: And Then There Were Two … Candidates Left for French President
Reading Uncertainly: Chaos Monkeys: ‘Obscene Fortune and Random Failure in Silicon Valley, by Antonio Garcia Martinez
Let’s face it, we are all, every one of us, irrevocably married to this new and all-pervasive technology. We are computers and they are us. So isn’t it time that we learn something more about its source? Antonio Garcia Martinez takes us on a four-year, inside-tour of Silicon Valley and San Francisco, an autobiography of life in the Valley: long-winded, discursive, sarcastic, … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly: Chaos Monkeys: ‘Obscene Fortune and Random Failure in Silicon Valley, by Antonio Garcia Martinez
Letter From Paris: Erdogan Wins Presidential Superpower in Turkey’s Rigged(?) Referendum
The good news about the victory of Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the April 16 referedum, increasing his constitutional powers to govern, is that his accession to the European Union (EU) has become more unlikely. If he wins another referendum on whether to restore the death penalty, that will be "crossing the red line," French president François Holland said and it will remove … [Read more...] about Letter From Paris: Erdogan Wins Presidential Superpower in Turkey’s Rigged(?) Referendum
Letter From Paris: Paris, Berlin Need to Work Together as the EU Determines its Future
For the French, Germany can be a source of admiration or of irritation . The Franco-German "couple" has been the pillar of the European Union (EU.) The couple worked beautifully until the departure respectively of Francois Mitterand in 1995 and Helmut Kohl in 1998. Today more than ever, the two countries need to spearhead initiatives to bring about a new Europe. Marcel … [Read more...] about Letter From Paris: Paris, Berlin Need to Work Together as the EU Determines its Future
Letter From Paris: Thoughts on the First Few Days of Brexit
This was a very good editorial, civilized and compassionate. It avoided throwing oil on the fire, playing the blame game or making doomsday predictions. On March 30, in le Monde, an editorial appeared under the following title: "An Appeal to London and the 27." Actually it was a collective message published simultaneously by The Guardian, Le Monde, La Vanguardia and Gazeta … [Read more...] about Letter From Paris: Thoughts on the First Few Days of Brexit
Letter From Paris: One Man’s Opinion: ‘How to Save Europe’
"The sixty years since the Treaty of Rome, on March 25, 1957, have not been a long quiet river for Europe", commented academic Robert Frank. This is an understatement. Today, the disaffection for the European Union (EU) has reached such a point that the need for its re-foundation is considered a matter of survival. A good place to start the soul-searching process is by … [Read more...] about Letter From Paris: One Man’s Opinion: ‘How to Save Europe’
Letter From Paris: The Netherlands to the Rescue
Thank goodness for The Netherlands! Their March 15 vote for their House of Representatives was exactly what Europe needed at this point - the reassuring voice of a founding member of the European Community (EU) expressing its belief in Europe while being open to the world. The result was greeted with a sigh of relief by pro-Europeans. It was another sign -- after the … [Read more...] about Letter From Paris: The Netherlands to the Rescue
Reading Uncertainly? ‘Notes From Old Lyme: Life on the Marsh and Other Essays’ by Sydney M. Williams
Another neighbor turns to words, to look at where and how we live. Sydney Williams, formerly of Smith’s Neck in Old Lyme and now of Essex, gives us an engaging and thoughtful autobiography and personal peregrination, in fits and starts (brief essays), leading us from Madison, CT and Peterborough, NH, to Massachusetts, New Hampshire again, the U.S. Army, Greenwich, CT, New … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘Notes From Old Lyme: Life on the Marsh and Other Essays’ by Sydney M. Williams
Letter From Paris: The ‘Centre Pompidou’ Turns 40
The Musée National d'Art Moderne (MNAM), better known as the Centre Pompidou - that crazy structure with tubes, exhaust pipes, chimneys and metal rods in bright primary colors - is celebrating 40 years of existence. Its revolutionary architecture oriented toward multidisciplinary activities, which turned it into what virulent opponents called a "supermarket for the arts," … [Read more...] about Letter From Paris: The ‘Centre Pompidou’ Turns 40
Letter From Paris: Another Presidential Race, But French-Style This Time, Filled With Pride, Passion, Power, Intrigue
The presidential campaign in France is undergoing a series of twists and turns, often spectacular, sometimes violent. Traditional politics are going through a crisis and may come out rejuvenated from the turmoil. The rest of Europe is watching the developments with anxiety because its future is at stake. By the end of February, five candidates were still in the race: … [Read more...] about Letter From Paris: Another Presidential Race, But French-Style This Time, Filled With Pride, Passion, Power, Intrigue
Legal News You Can Use: Protect Your Most Precious Cargo
As the seasons change and we transition from winter to spring, many of us also experience a change in our daily lives and schedules. The days get longer, and children begin outdoor activities. As these inevitable changes occur, the need for parents to transport their children sometimes becomes more frequent. This being the case, it is imperative for parents to be … [Read more...] about Legal News You Can Use: Protect Your Most Precious Cargo