In the wake of the Charleston shootings, the Baltimore Sun has an article today about removing Confederate symbols from Maryland’s license plates (which is now possible thanks to a Supreme Court ruling last week that allowed Texas to ban it) and renaming Robert E. Lee Park in Baltimore. The article doesn’t address the most prominentContinue reading “The Confederacy and Maryland’s State Flag”
Monthly Archives: June 2015
The Itch to Build
In my closet there’s an ammunition crate, painted red. It’s where I keep my LEGO bricks. There are LEGO bricks in that crate that are older than some of my coworkers. No, I’m not kidding. There are some LEGO boat pieces (that float on water) that I know date from the late 1970s, and IContinue reading “The Itch to Build”
The New Peanuts Movie Trailer
This week the new trailer for November’s Peanuts trailer was released: In November, I wrote about the first trailer, and in the days since the new trailer was released I’ve left a few comments here and there. Why don’t I share my thoughts on the new trailer here? My read on the trailer is thatContinue reading “The New Peanuts Movie Trailer”
Charleston and Empathy
I feel that I need to say something about the act of domestic terrorism that happened in Charleston, South Carolina yesterday evening. I use the term “domestic terrorism” deliberately. A man went into a church, sat with twelve people for an hour, and murdered nine of them, reloading his weapon, according to a surviving witness,Continue reading “Charleston and Empathy”
Buying Harrisburg Senators Baseball Cards
Today I bought baseball cards. I was in Harrisburg today for the Senators game, and it was steamy — 90-plus degrees and 1500% humidity. I’m not exaggerating on the humidity. A sauna would have been less moist than City Island today. The Senators were playing the Trenton Thunder today. I noted on Twitter… The lastContinue reading “Buying Harrisburg Senators Baseball Cards”
Things I’ve Been Watching: The Oranges
There’s a reason why a movie is on the DVD rack at Big Lots for three dollars. There’s a high probability that it’s not very good. The movie in question was The Oranges, a 2011 film starring Hugh Laurie, Oliver Platt, Allison Janney, and Leighton Meester. Laurie and his wife (Catherine Keener) live across theContinue reading “Things I’ve Been Watching: The Oranges”
Uncovering the Story of a Lost Church
There’s a website (and Twitter feed) that I like to follow called Ghosts of DC. It posts articles and pictures of Washington, DC as it was decades ago, from the wood etchings era of the early 1800s to the dawn of photography a few decades later to color photography in the 1950s. It’s fascinating toContinue reading “Uncovering the Story of a Lost Church”
Making Spacescapes
For no particular reason, I wanted to make a spacescape. I have graphics editing software (specifically, the GIMP), and I was sure there was a tutorial online somewhere. Google was my friend, and within two minutes I had an article that fit my needs — How to Create Space Scenes Quickly and Easily in Gimp.Continue reading “Making Spacescapes”