Wednesday Wanderings: Thor’s Hammer Prank, What is Orbiting This Star?, Star Wars 7 Trailer, and DIY Halloween

~ M.A. Kropp

This is a great prank. This guy uses magnets and a thumbprint scanner to reproduce Mjollinor and confound a few would-be Thors: Thor's Hammer Astronomers using the Kepler Space Telescope have found something very unusual orbiting this particular star: Unusual Mass Orbiting Star I suppose everyone has seen the new Star Wars 7 trailer by … Continue reading Wednesday Wanderings: Thor’s Hammer Prank, What is Orbiting This Star?, Star Wars 7 Trailer, and DIY Halloween

Monday Musings: Chili Champions and One More Cook Off, Brrrr!, and Here Come the Holidays

~ M.A. Kropp

First thing I have to do is send a shout-out to our chili friend, Scott Navaroli from Massachussetts, who became the 2015 International Chili Society Salsa champion at the World Championship in Reno, Nevada this weekend. It is always good when a champion comes from our chili family. I always thought Scott made a championship … Continue reading Monday Musings: Chili Champions and One More Cook Off, Brrrr!, and Here Come the Holidays

Friday (Movie) Review: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

~ M.A. Kropp

Here's the thing- when I was a kid, like many kids, I read and collected comic books. I have not even so much as read a comic book in more years than I can count, but I remember them as part of my childhood. I collected, primarily, two sets- X-Men and Fantastic Four. Given that, … Continue reading Friday (Movie) Review: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

Wednesday Wanderings: Deaf HS Football Team, Clemson’s Team Entrance, Pretty Foliage Places in New England, and Massive Chinese Traffic Jam

~ M.A. Kropp

This is a great video about a deaf high school football team. It's not long, and certainly worth watching: Silent Night Lights While we are talking football, is the Clemson team's home stadium entrance not the best? Clemson Team Entrance One of the best things about Autumn is the changing colors of the leaves. And … Continue reading Wednesday Wanderings: Deaf HS Football Team, Clemson’s Team Entrance, Pretty Foliage Places in New England, and Massive Chinese Traffic Jam

Monday Musings: Flexing, Walking, Gardening, and Season’s Changing

~ M.A. Kropp

We got Fitbit Flex wristband trackers this week. We had on of the other models a few years back, but they were clip type things, and we both managed to lose them- several times. We are National Consumer Panel members and we had enough points to get two of the Flex bands. The bracelet type … Continue reading Monday Musings: Flexing, Walking, Gardening, and Season’s Changing

Friday (TV) Review: The Last Ship

~ M.A. Kropp

There will probably be a few TV, movie, or other reviews for a bit on Fridays. I am reading non-fiction right now, and that is always a bit slower reading for me. But, hey, I have opinions on stuff other than books, so it's all good, right? The Last Ship is one of TNT's original … Continue reading Friday (TV) Review: The Last Ship

Wednesday Wanderings: Best of Photo of the Day September, Shower Thoughts, Redesigned NFL Helmets, and Apples!

~ M.A. Kropp

I've linked to some of National Geographic's Photos of the Day before. Here's a look at the best of those from September (Warning: Baby fox cuteness!): September's Best Photos Y'know how everyone says they have their best thoughts in the shower? Well, here's twenty that prove this to be true (Numbers 5 and 20 were … Continue reading Wednesday Wanderings: Best of Photo of the Day September, Shower Thoughts, Redesigned NFL Helmets, and Apples!

Monday Musings: Is Escapism Wrong? Or, Does Everything Need to Have a Message?

~ M.A. Kropp

I've seen some discussion lately on "message fiction." That is, stories that have a defined theme, a point, a message, if you will. And the strong advocates of these will say that all stories must have a message embedded within them. The argument is particularly strong in the speculative fiction arenas, where there seems to … Continue reading Monday Musings: Is Escapism Wrong? Or, Does Everything Need to Have a Message?

Friday Review: The City Stained Red (Bring Down Heaven #1) by Sam Sykes

~ M.A. Kropp

The City Stained Red by Sam Sykes My rating: 4 of 5 stars This was my first book by Sam Sykes, and it was a good introduction to his works. The book opens with a band of adventurers (read: mercenaries) on a mission to collect the payment owed to them by their latest employer. They … Continue reading Friday Review: The City Stained Red (Bring Down Heaven #1) by Sam Sykes

Wednesday Wanderings: Water on Mars, Grimm(er) Fairy Tales, How to Tell if a TV Show Might be Good, and Star Wars: Special Editions

~ M.A. Kropp

The big news from NASA this week was the discovery of flowing salt water on Mars: Waters of Mars We all know that the original Grimm Brothers' fairy tales were not the cleaned-up versions we read to our children. But here are some facts about the stories I didn't know before: Grimm's Fairy Tales With … Continue reading Wednesday Wanderings: Water on Mars, Grimm(er) Fairy Tales, How to Tell if a TV Show Might be Good, and Star Wars: Special Editions