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Milwaukee Christmas Tree arrives at Red Arrow
Yesterday marked the 100th year that the City of Milwaukee has placed a pine tree downtown during the holiday season. Our longstanding tradition is supposedly second to New York City, but the first...
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Is climate change cyclical?
Although most media reports on climate change focus on forecasts of disaster looming, I’ve read some interesting articles recently that look backward and provide a long-term perspective. Apparently...
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He couldn’t keep a jailer: Why Nelson Mandela was a great leader
Much has been said about Nelson Mandela over the past day. But one thing I haven’t heard anyone speak of on the news channels—because, really, it’s pretty small potatoes when compared with this man’s...
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The marketing campaign that helped The Return of the King sweep the Oscars
Today’s Variety has an interesting article about how ten years ago The Return of the King was nominated for—and won—an astounding 11 Academy Awards. Only two other films have won that many Oscars:...
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The Russia–Ukraine–Syria connection (and why Turkey may be in crisis next)
Sometimes looking at a map can tell you a lot. Take a look at this map, for example. It shows that Russia is a largely landlocked country. Unless you count its far northern shores deep inside the...
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Art -vs- Science: An Artificial Divide
I was paging through the weekend Wall Street Journal this morning and practically jumped out of my chair when I saw Walter Murch’s face looking out from the “Review” section. Murch is an Oscar-winning...
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Boston Marathon, one year later
As is all over the news, today marks the one-year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings near the finish line by two brothers with presumed terrorist motives. The Boston Globe has a short article...
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“Smart” is kind of creepy
Today’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has a story headlined “Madison software firm Solomo develops customer-tracking technology.” Yes, I’m creeped out, although seeing this story just pulls together a...
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Three Memorials: The 32nd Infantry, Patrick Lucey, and Dontre Hamilton
On my Starbucks run while taking a break from making up the final exam for my political science class, I was struck by this sight. The granite arrow honors the 32nd Infantry Division of the U.S. Army...
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Casey Kasem: Keep reaching for the stars
I was on I-65 driving south from Chicago Sunday when I heard the news that Casey Kasem had died. Because I’d seen recent news stories of family drama pitting Kasem’s wife against the children from his...
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Black Friday – Spreading Like Retail Ebola
I am both mystified and appalled to discover that the Black Friday phenomenon is fast becoming a new international “holiday.” In scrolling through my Twitter feed last night, I came across a BBC News...
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Red Arrow “Slice of Ice” (plus “Hank” the Dog)
The “Slice of Ice” skating rink at Red Arrow Park in downtown Milwaukee is nearly ready for skaters. It opens for the season tomorrow (Thursday, December 4) at 4:00. Yesterday I noticed that the...
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How Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer teaches like a humanities professor
As yesterday’s 59–0 Ohio State victory over Wisconsin shows, something is working very well in the Ohio State coaching strategy. A story in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal provides some insight into...
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Communication lessons learned from the Indian Ocean tsunami and other natural...
It has been ten years since the December 26, 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami. Many “anniversary” articles today will look back at this even, so this post doesn’t cover the same ground. Because my academic...
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Brian Williams, Jonah Lehrer, and kleptomania
By now, who hasn’t heard the news about NBC anchor Brian Williams? That he lied multiple times, over a period of many years, about his helicopter being hit by ground fire in Iraq. That he apparently...
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Buddha mummy proves truth about statues
Last April I wrote a short post titled “The Truth About Statues” about my childhood belief that statues were made by pouring concrete over dead people—or maybe not dead until AFTER the concrete casing...
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He came to the fork in the road . . . and took it. RIP, Yogi Berra.
America’s greatest living philosopher is no more. He died yesterday at the age of 90. The New York Times ran a beautiful obit, which you can read here. Yogi Berra the baseball player was phenomenal,...
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Russia, Syria, Ukraine, and Turkey: And so it begins
I hardly know where to start with this post; so many bits of knowledge are swimming around in my head. First, I think something really significant is happening in the Middle East right now. Lots of...
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Another post on America’s role in the Middle East (or lack thereof)
I just picked up this morning’s Wall Street Journal and was surprised to see an article on the front page of the “Review” section that echoed my own thoughts about what’s happening in the Middle East...
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Dontre Hamilton: “Rest in Power”
In making the wide circuit back to my office after running an errand on the other side of campus, I decided to swing through Red Arrow Park to pick up a sandwich for lunch at Starbucks. And this is...
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