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Gotham
“Gotham” has been a nickname for New York City since 1807, when Washington Irving used it in a magazine called Salmagundi. The magazine ran for 20 issues, and besides writing for it, Irving was also the publisher. The whole point of the publication was to satirize the city and everyone in it. The reason Irving… Continue reading
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Lysander Spooner
Today is the 216th anniversary of the birth of Lysander Spooner, who was born in Massachusetts in the US. He was a controversial figure for his whole career. Maybe that should be “careers,” because in his 79 years he worked on a host of different things. His first controversy was his first career itself. He… Continue reading
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Phobias
For many centuries English speakers who were afraid of getting dirty got along pretty well by saying something like “I’m afraid of getting dirty.” Similarly, if they were afraid of spirits, they’d tell their friends “I’m afraid of spirits.” There are plenty of other examples. They didn’t need any special words for their fears. Anna… Continue reading
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A.A. Milne
“The question is,” said Rabbit, “where is Christopher Robin?” Piglet hadn’t heard that Christopher Robin was missing, and he edged closer to Pooh. “Pooh,” he whispered, “is it true? Is Christopher Robin really Somewhere Else?” “Well,” said Pooh, “Christopher Robin might be Somewhere Else. But inside ‘Somewhere Else’ there’s a ‘Somewhere’ sitting quietly, just waiting… Continue reading
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Krazy Kat
Krazy Kat was a comic strip from 1913 to 1944. It was pretty unconventional, from the odd premise to the stylized dialog to being occasionally self-referential — sometimes the characters addressed the cartoonist, criticizing some aspect of that day’s strip. The main characters were Krazy Kat herself (or himself; it was never clear), and his… Continue reading
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Words of governance
The ancient Greek word for “city” is “polis.” The Greek word “polites” (pronounced with three syllables) is derived from “polis” and means “citizen,” and THAT word led to “politikos,” which means “having to do with citizens.” Latin adopted “politikos,” where it became “politicus,” and that led eventually to English (which adopts everything) and “politics.” The… Continue reading
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Eugéne Augustin Lauste
Everybody who enjoys movies should make a note that today is the birthday of Eugéne Augustin Lauste, who was born January 17, 1857, and had a lot to do with the early technology of moviemaking. Lauste was born in Montmartre, France, and was a fast starter — by the age of 23 he held 53… Continue reading
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Popeye
Popeye the Sailor Man is a cartoon character that first appeared in1929. He wasn’t the star of a comic strip at first; he was just a minor character in Thimble Theatre, a syndicated comic that had already been published daily for ten years. The main characters in Thimble Theatre at the time were Olive Oyl … Continue reading
About Me
I’m Pete Harbeson, a writer (among other things) located near Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to writing my own content, I’ve learned to translate for my loquacious and opinionated pup Chocolate Bossypaws. No surprise, she mostly speaks in doggerel. You can find her contributions tagged with Chocolatiana.
Check out my newsletter, Artisanal Scribbles, where I’m grappling with writing, authentic human authorship, integrity, and the craft of beauty in the AI age. You can also find some of my old software projects at GitHub. Nothing very impressive. I mostly wrote tiny utilities in Python and shell scripts. I’m mostly retired from coding nowadays.
I find myself suddenly de-corporatized (their choice, not mine). To help keep the lights on, buy me a coffee!
Recent Posts
- Hang on, I’m busy
- Sometimes it’s not an improvement
- Do not call your friend…
- Once more, into the breach
- Be Here Now. And Sit.
Categories
Artificial Intelligence
Chocolatiana
Essays
History, sort of
Immorality
Incompetence
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Tales from the Forest
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Tragedy
Unanticipated Consequences
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Contact
peterharbeson@me.com