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January 21
Welcome to January 21. It’s a date that seems to sit slightly off to the side, just a little bit out of the spotlight. Some dates are like that; they don’t feature the main events, but the supporting cast. For instance, January 21 is the birthday of a central figure in the epic tales of… Continue reading
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January 20
The twentieth of January has seen some “move-ins” as a new crew entered to try to control an established place. Remember back in 1997 when Great Britain returned Hong Kong to China after their 99-year lease expired? As it happens, there’s a lot more to the Hong Kong story. The English originally occupied the Hong… Continue reading
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Otter’s Trick
Raccoon snorted and jumped up. Otter was shaking her awake. “Hey, Raccoon, you fell asleep.” “Drat, how could I let myself fall asleep?” Raccoon muttered. “Did I miss it?” “Miss what?” asked Otter. “Sloth, of course,” said Raccoon. “Look out, Otter, you’re blocking my view of the tree.” “You want to look at a tree?… Continue reading
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Muse
If you find yourself musing about something, are you in thrall of the Muses of ancient Greece? Is that where music comes from, which we can use for amusement and which, in some forms, we might find bemusing? Well…no. It’s more complicated than that. Although some of the words above are related, others aren’t. The… Continue reading
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Bric-a-brac
After living in one place for an extended time, even if they don’t technically qualify as “hoarders,” many people find themselves surrounded by bric-a-brac. Tchotchkies. Knick-knacks. Odds and ends. Ornaments. Items, in other words, that were very likely purchased in those inexplicable establishments that seem to exist simply to purvey purposeless paraphernalia: gift shops (or,… Continue reading
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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
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
- It would be much more efficient…
- Step back to add perspective
- They’ll just say anything at all
- Educational Trip
- Yeah but what about the Jewish Space Lasers?
Categories
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Contact
peterharbeson@me.com