Recently updated blogs

About those New York Times headlines Historians: He’s a fascist. Political scientists: He’s a fascist. His own aides: He’s a fascist. The NYT: He shows a wistful longing for a bygone era of global politics. That, in essence, is the issue with these headlines. Breaking my rule about linking to Substack because the NYT coverage of the election has been abysmal. In a just world it would mean the end …

One of my all-time favourite games is stardew valley. I don’t actually play a lot of games, partially because they trigger migraines and motion sickness for me, and partially because a combination of adhd and terrible motor-skills make me bad at playing them. However stardew valley was relatively simple as a 2D pixel art game with simple controls. It had a lot of depth, so it kept me occupied for …

Charlie MartelRecently, I’ve argued for a federal constitutional right to vote for president. No court has yet held that citizens have an independent federal constitutional right to vote for president. In fact, the Supreme Court has twice held that under the Constitution, states have such “plenary power” to choose presidential electors that they can exclude citizens from voting for president. The Supreme Court cases rejecting the citizens’ right to vote …

Rebecca Clarren’s The Cost of Free Land: Jews, Lakota, and an American Inheritance is perhaps the single best articulation of a puzzle so many Americans and Canadians are now trying Read more The post David S. Koffman on Rebecca Clarren’s *The Cost of Free Land: Jews, Lakota, and an American Inheritance* first appeared on Society for US Intellectual History.

At the ultimate point Where extinguishing flips A cold switch, chilling dip And the lights go out One by one, one by one: Each a picture, each an image Of people, person, place; The furnishing awareness Dusted with half-remembering, Dissolves into people, person, place: The milliseconds of the only movie I ever made But never could publish Subsists for me alone: mon oeuvre Unique et solitaire: ma vie. The loves …

I have been very busy with some other matters--nothing to worry about--and I am also most of the way through Nate Silver's book, On the Edge, which is entertaining and stimulating. I will be blogging about it before long. In the meantime I may get to something else here, or I may not.The election remains, and probably will remain, a toss-up.History Unfolding

Starship’s fifth flight test launched on Sunday, October 13. The fifth flight test of Starship took another step towards full and rapid reusability. The primary objectives of the test flight were met: the first ever return to launch site and catch of the Super Heavy booster; another Starship reentry and landing burn, and an on-target, […]

On a Monday morning, the pharmacist injects my deltoid muscle with 1,000mcg of B12. It’s the biggest needle I’ve ever had. Thick syrup, metal lingering, the nails digging into my leg aren’t enough to distract me from the pain and a small noise comes out of my mouth just as the injection finally comes to an end. It has been four years of chronic fatigue, chronic pain, and chronic suspicions …

Today is a day of reflection for me. I am mourning every single life that has been lost or shattered because of the senseless, cruel violence of the past year, and I am reflecting on our part in it. I am thinking about the great frustration and helplessness that so many of us feel who have protested government policies, not just now, but going back thirty years and more. These …

It’s hard to find English-language information about Kaohsiung’s 10,000 Years Festival (Wan Nian Festival / 高雄左營萬年季). Last year, it took place while a friend was visiting from Australia. But, unable to find details about the event, after a 45-minute scooter ride north to Zuoying District, we arrived to a dispersing crowd and an empty stage.This year I was more fortunate: I was invited by a local from the neighboring Nanzih …

October 2024, SPIEL Essen, one day before the convention opens. I’m browsing through the novelty show, a press-only event that’s basically all new releases cramped into one convention hall. Each game has about 30-40cm of table width, maybe less, and the hall is buzzing with representatives of the publishers pitching their games as well as pretty much every bigger board game YouTuber, podcaster, or Instagrammer you can think of. Most …

So, weeknotes, hm? Work-wise things continued from last week – a bunch of ill-timed vacations and sicknesses turned a bunch of projects into chaos, but that seems like something that can be smoothed out. Probably just in time until I go on my ill-timed vacation. Oh well. Meanwhile the whole WordPress chaos is escalating further. I envy the people who can just sit on the sidelines and eat popcorn, but …

A guide to the Soekarno–Hatta Line – the Jakarta airport train. Travel information, tickets, and which stations are best for visitors. The Soekarno–Hatta Airport Commuter Line (formerly the Soekarno–Hatta Airport Rail Link) is the airport railway connecting Soekarno–Hatta International Airport to Central Jakarta. The Soekarno–Hatta Line was built with the combination of a new railway connecting to an existing track. As such the railway has to weave its way around …

“100% yes there are absolutely plans for a second one,” Sanders said today during a talk in London.