Author Archives: John Swinburn

Sometimes, my habit of looking back at my blog to see what I was thinking a year ago is a mistake. Today, for example, I looked back to see what wrote on Thanksgiving, 2020. I wrote that I was making … Continue reading →

My relationship with religion in general is not simply tolerance. It is more like acceptance, though not in the sense that I accept a belief that runs utterly counter to my own. For several years—at least six or seven, I … Continue reading →

I read in passing in a newsletter [recently renamed The Marginalian (formerly Brain Pickings)] a mention of “fractals,” a term with which I am familiar but whose definition I have never fully understood. I set aside the newsletter, but the … Continue reading →

Here it is, three years and three days post-surgery. I failed to celebrate the three-year anniversary of my thoracotomy and lobectomy, the outcome of which was to prevent me from dying of lung cancer. On reflection, three days after the … Continue reading →

Yesterday, I prepared a broccoli and rice casserole; I will take it out of the refrigerator and heat it for 40 minutes before taking it to church this morning for our pre-Thanksgiving luncheon. If memory serves me correctly, I think … Continue reading →

The Ötztal Ice Man, a mummified corpse found on the Hauslabjoch in the Tyrolean Alps in September 1991, had tattoos—sixty-one of them, in fact. Otzi, as he is affectionately known, offers glimpses of the first tattoos known to humankind. Tattooed … Continue reading →

FICTION Plumes of dark grey smoke arose in the distance, evidence of the arsonist’s hatred of the man. The man’s thumb had pressed on the syringe that delivered a fatal dose of poison to the condemned prisoner’s bloodstream. The person … Continue reading →

One of the draws of places like desolate stretches of unpopulated desert landscapes is the absence of artificial light. When night falls on miles and miles of empty countryside, the sky takes on a mesmerizing appeal; a wondrous black canvas … Continue reading →

The sellers responded favorably to our list of necessary repairs; they agree to have the repairs (all relatively minor) made in advance of closing, which is now scheduled for the ends of this month. Oh, did I mention we’re buying … Continue reading →

Two of the fingers on my right hand are stained with cyan ink, thanks to my handling of a replacement ink cartridge for my printer. “Handling” may not be the right word; “bumbling” probably describes the situation more clearly. I … Continue reading →

Our trip to Galveston last week brought back memories of a trip we took during the waning weeks of 2008. We spent several days in southern Louisiana, where we visited Natchitoches, ate Natchitoches’ famous meat pies, and wandered the Tabasco … Continue reading →

Manfred Steiner will celebrate his 90th birthday this month. He has another reason to celebrate. At age 89, he recently earned his Ph.D. in physics from Brown University. “He admired the precision of physics,” an AP article about him says … Continue reading →

More than one thousand miles over the course of sixteen-plus hours, in just five days. Including three days of kicked-back relaxation. That’s what the five of us experienced, beginning on Monday morning this week. We got home yesterday evening. Worn … Continue reading →

The bloody weather may have turned on us, but it’s hard to tell. That’s the trouble with relying on distant visions, through doors. It does’t matter. Either way, we’re homeward bound today. The topography will adapt to the sky, above, … Continue reading →

“Galveston Pyramids.” Others say “Moody Gardens.” Either way. You either know them or you don’t. If you don’t, you should. Because they embody wisdom. Raw wisdom. Wisdom that has escaped being shaped by power-hungry despots with ego issues. But, back … Continue reading →

Here I am, on Galveston Island, Texas. Passenger seaport. Host to one of the most powerful hurricanes. Ever. But I am in the calm of the storm. With enough money, anyplace can be tolerable. Here, a person could get by … Continue reading →

Time speeds by every morning. Between the time I wake up and the time I sit down at the keyboard to think with my fingers, half an hour has disappeared into the mist of history. How can it take half … Continue reading →

We must continue to repeat asking the unanswerable questions; not simply because we may one day have answers, but because questions without answers challenge us to think abstract thoughts. Most questions, I believe, were once unanswerable. Science and physics and … Continue reading →

The air in Galveston, Texas is twenty-five degrees warmer this morning than the air in Hot Springs Village. While, in Galveston, the temperature is a brisk 57°F, it is barely freezing in HSV, just touching 32°F. Daytime highs on the … Continue reading →

I haven’t mentioned that my IC and I suddenly and with little provocation decided to buy another house in the Village. Yes, that’s right. We made an offer on a house deep, deep in the forest. The offer was accepted. … Continue reading →

My toenails were getting dangerously long; turning my toes into sharp, weapon-like appendages that could slice sheets and carve flesh. I should have cut them myself, but I felt a strong desire to get a pedicure. There’s something about a … Continue reading →

One’s circumstances can change, dramatically, in a matter of hours. One moment, the Earth seems intent on following its accustomed path around the sun; the next minute, it veers sharply off course, as if undecided about which star’s guidance is … Continue reading →

Today is my late sister’s birthday, a day I’ll always cherish as a moment to remember all that was good about her. When she died on February 19, 2010, the world lost a beautiful soul, someone who modeled real-world decency … Continue reading →

This morning, when I could find nothing in my head to write about, I decided to look back a year to see what was on my mind then. A year ago. Of course I remember, now, what was on my … Continue reading →

A couple of specific colors of paint hold me in their grip this morning. The paints’ appeal began yesterday, when I skimmed bathroom designs online. One of the paints, Wayfair’s Cashmere Gray, made an especially well-suited match for a bathroom … Continue reading →