As a child, Willa was friends with the monster under her bed. In the present, she’s a famous artist and she has a feud with a television psychic, which is a fun set up.
Continue readingI Am the Monster Under the Bed by Emily Zinnikas
The X Files Season 2
At the end of Season 1, the X Files had been discontinued and Mulder and Scully have been assigned to other duties. Season 2 kicks off with “Little Green Men” (S2, E1) in which Mulder investigates an alien signal picked up by the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. This episode feels very cinematic. There’s a lot of location shooting, a car chase, and Mulder and Scully are separate for much of the episode each doing their own thing. We also get a flashback to Mulder’s sister being abducted. It’s like a mini movie. I had forgotten about how much Mulder likes sunflower seeds until the opening scene depicts him with his feet buried in shells.
Continue readingGood News Friday
- Since 1990, global under-five deaths have fallen from 13 million to 4.9 million a year thanks to vaccines, oral rehydration, bed nets and safer births. Unicef.
- The youth literacy rate in South Asia has risen from 53% in 1985 to 93% in 2023. Our World in Data.
- Child labor drops 38.5 percent in the Philippines over last two years. Philstar.
- Virginia has passed 25 gun reform laws, including a ban on assault weapons. The Trace.
- After 1,400 years, the first female Archbishop of Canterbury is enthroned. The New York Times.
- Mexico’s monarch butterfly population jumps 64% year-over-year. The Guardian.
- Waymo self-driving cars were involved in 92% fewer crashes that cause serious or fatal injuries than human drivers, meaning they’re 13 times safer. Waypoint.
- Battery costs have declined by 99% in the last three decades, making electrified transport a reality. Our World in Data.
- China approves brain chip to treat paralysis — a world first. Nature.
For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.
Good News Friday
- 6.2 million fewer people are experiencing hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean since 2020. PAHO.
- Cancer death rates in the UK have fallen to their lowest level on record. The Conversation.
- 1.5 million people moved above the poverty line in Uzbekistan in 2025. Euro News.
- In Malawi, between 2016 and 2024, and maternal mortality declined from 439 to 224 deaths per 100,000 live births. Afro Barometer.
- Fentanyl-related overdose deaths fell by nearly 30 per cent in the space of a year in the US. NewScientist.
- A generation ago, Poland rationed sugar and flour while its citizens were paid one-tenth what West Germans earned. Today, the economy of the country has edged past Switzerland to become the world’s 20th largest with more than $1 trillion in annual output. AP.
- The Quapaw Nation brought one of America’s most contaminated mining landscapes back to life. The Guardian.
- Cycle lanes, electric cars and other interventions have helped 19 global cities slash levels of pollutants by more than 20% since 2010. The Guardian.
- India’s second largest state is rolling out free rooftop solar for its poorest citizens. India TV.
- The whooping crane population has climbed from barely more than 20 individuals worldwide in 1941 to roughly 800 today after decades of habitat protection and captive breeding and release programs. The New York Times.
- Scientists discover how to turn plastic waste into vinegar. Good Good Good.
For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.
Etidorpha, or the End of Earth by John Uri Lloyd
I got this book a while ago and don’t remember why I got it in the first place. I’d say this book is about half fiction and half philosophical musings. There are long lecture-type sections about a variety of topics including alchemy, intoxicants, and the limitations of science. He claims all food is really sunshine and only seems like it’s other things because matter is the carrier of sunshine. He claims liquid can sometimes go against the force of gravity. I kept wishing he’d just get on with the story rather than lecturing us so often and at such great length.
Continue readingGood News Friday
- Maternal mortality in Oman has fallen by 53 per cent. Observer.
- An integrated primary health care model in northern Togo cut the risk of death before age five by 29%. Gavi.
- The proportion of girls married before the age of 18 in Cambodia dropped dramatically, from 26.3% to 9.5%, while marriage before age 15 declined from 2.5% to just 0.6% thanks to the Time to Act Project. Asia News Network.
- A record 1 in 3 U.S. workers now have access to paid leave. The 19th.
- In 2025, solar and wind produced more electricity than fossil fuels in the European Union. Our World in Data.
- BYD rolls out EV batteries with 5-minute flash charging. Tech Crunch.
- UK emissions fall 2.4% in 2025 as coal hits 400-year low. CarbonBrief.
- After being hunted to local extinction in the early 20th century, bearded vultures have returned to the Alps. BBC.
- Black soldier fly larvae show promise for safe organic waste removal. ACS.
For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.
Good News Friday
- The share of the world population living in extreme poverty has never declined as rapidly as in the past three decades. Our World in Data.
- Malaria vaccination reduces hospitalizations, deaths of children in northwestern Nigeria. Gavi.
- Oil spills from tankers have fallen by more than 90% since the 1970s. Our World in Data.
- Chile becomes the first country in the Americas to eliminate leprosy. WHO.
- Croatia is officially free of landmines, three decades after the Yugoslav wars. TVP World.
- Renewables generated 26% of the United States’ electricity in 2025, a new record. Bloomberg.
- How ‘smog capital of Poland’ saved 6,000 lives by cutting soot levels. The Guardian.
- North Aral Sea regains a third of its water thanks to restoration efforts spearheaded by Kazakhstan. Euronews.
- The kakapo, a flightless New Zealand parrot, was down to 51 individuals in 1995, but has bounced back to a population of 236. The New York Times.
For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.
We Dance Upon Demons by Vaishnavi Patel
“Most people don’t change the world, and yet, most people still matter.”
Nisha works in an abortion clinic in Chicago. The forty days leading up to Easter are the most difficult as there’s extra protesters during Lent. To make things even worse, her ex-boyfriend Aaron now works at the clinic with her. He used to be an anti-abortion protester so she doesn’t trust him.
Continue readingPsych
Psych (2006-2014) is a hilarious show about a guy named Shawn who is hyper-observant and has a perfect memory, yet somehow forgets a lot of things and often lacks common knowledge. He pretends to be a psychic and solves murders with his best friend Gus. There are a lot of eighties references and famous guest stars (many from the eighties). It doesn’t entirely hold up (there’s some scattered instances of homophobia and objectification of women in a few episodes here and there which I thought was old-fashioned even when it originally aired), but overall, it’s still watchable.
Continue readingThe Simpsons Season 10
Since US Presidents are an interest of mine, I’ve been keeping track of presidential references in The Simpsons. For season 10, we have a reference to then-current president Bill Clinton in “The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace” (S10, E2). A couple radio DJs joke that the President has a new website: http://www.[whistling noise].[boing noise]. This is a reference to Clinton’s womanizing ways. It’s interesting that The Simpsons is said to be a liberal show when, so far at least, they make fun of Democrats as much as, or more than, Republicans.
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Mania Delight 