The Dinosaurs Can Attest: Asteroids Are Dangerous
I tore an op-ed piece out of one of last week’s WSJ’s because it both worried and reassured me. It was about asteroids, one of which is expected to nearly hit the earth in 2032. It’s a long time from now, but in Russia, they are gearing up to actually […]
Spike Lee’s ‘Miracle at St. Anna’ a Bloody Mess
Last night I watched a Spike Lee movie. It was terrible, and it was very long. Amazingly, I kept on until the bitter end, until the last bullet hole was drilled into a body with spurting blood, until the final Nazi machine gunner was thrown down and the last leg […]
The Kingdom: "We Will Kill Them All"
“Watch your mouth. Don’t use those curse words!” Faris chastised the only Jewish member of the FBI investigative team as they surveyed the damage from a massive bombing and shooting attack at an American compound in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We were watching a 2007 film called “The Kingdom” […]
Role Reversal: Trying to Snag an Intern
We had a visit last night from a tall Chinese student named Sitian. He is a computer science major at UMass, and he applied for an internship with GoNOMAD. For the first time, the roles were reversed, and we were in a new position of really, really wanting him to […]
Aren’t You Glad The Holidays Are Over?
I don’t know about you but I can’t remember another time when I was so glad to be back to our regular routine…no more holiday days off, no more closed cafe, no more distractions from the good work that we all love. No, it’s simply, finally, Monday morning, January 4, […]
In Virginia, the State Now Offers Payday Loans
Have you ever taken out a payday loan? These loans are famous in working-class and minority neighborhoods and can add up to as much as 400% annual interest! In Virginia, the state is trying out a new program that offers cash-strapped workers a way to avoid the trap of these […]
A Year of Travel…Looking Back through 2009
My friend Johnny Jet presented a digest of all of his 2009 travels, and it inspired me to do the same. I often wonder just when I went to a certain place, so publishing the full record is a good way for me to remember them. Below is my 2009 […]
A Town on Tenterhooks
In the NY Times, Northampton was described as a “town on tenterhooks.” This expression goes back to 14th century, and refers to the ‘tenters’ which were used to stretch out wool in the sun, so that it wouldn’t shrink when it was being cleaned. The woodent tenter held it stretched […]