The Glass Looker, Vol. 2 by Mark Elwood

~ D. J. Moore ~ Leave a comment

The Glass Looker Volume 2 details the treasure digging activities of the young Joseph Smith. (I wasn’t able to read Volume 1 since it’s out of print, but Volume 2 made sense to me on its own.) The artwork is great, especially the scary-looking toad. The end of each chapter provides quotes from the historical record so you know Elwood isn’t just making this up. Of course, the historical accounts are often contradictory and a lot of information is missing, so Elwood provides extensive notes in the back of the book justifying his narrative decisions.

Continue reading →

Andrew Johnson by Annette Gordon-Reed

~ D. J. Moore ~ Leave a comment

Andrew Johnson was born in a log cabin in 1808 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Despite being the state capitol, Raleigh was still a small town at the time. His parents were illiterate. His older sister died as a child. His father, Jacob Johnson, died soon after heroically saving three men who were in a capsized boat.

His mother, Mary (Polly) Johnson, was left to care for two boys by herself. She was a seamstress and laundress. Because Andrew had black hair and a darker complexion than his older brother William (who had freckles and light hair), there were rumors that Andrew’s biological father was a lawyer his mom did laundry for. Poor white women at the time did the same work as enslaved black women and were likewise at the mercy of the men in whose houses they worked, so the rumors are at least plausible.

Continue reading →

H.L. Hunt Motive & Opportunity by John Curington

~ D. J. Moore ~ Leave a comment

In the 1950s and 60s, H.L. Hunt was the richest man in the world. He hosted a conservative radio program called Life Line which told the world about the evils of JFK, RFK, MLK, and labor unions. He wanted to promote his radio show at the 1964 New York World’s Fair and spent millions of dollars on roller coasters and other investments, however his contract was cancelled and he lost all the money. Vice President LBJ told him the decision had been made by a “higher authority”, which Hunt took to mean President JFK. On the plane ride back to Dallas, Hunt told John Curington, the author of this book, “I’ve about got a bellyful of those Kennedy boys. They both need to go.”

Continue reading →

Good News Friday

~ D. J. Moore ~ Leave a comment
  • New study: Poverty has decreased more than we thought, as has inequality – including within countries. Warp News.
  • Real wages of low-wage workers grew 12.1% between 2019 and 2023. Economic Policy Institute.
  • Each of the past four generations of Americans (Millennials, Generation X, Baby Boomers, and Silent Generation) was better off than the previous one. SSRN.
  • In Cambodia over the last two decades, the mortality rate from tuberculosis has dropped by 45 percent, saving an estimated 400,000 lives. The Star.
  • Toxic chemical releases have declined 21% in 10 years in USA. Clean Technica.
  • Scientists say they have successfully eliminated HIV from infected cells, using Nobel Prize-winning Crispr gene-editing technology. BBC.
  • Surgeons transplant pig kidney into a patient, a medical milestone. New York Times.

For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.

The Year’s Best Science Fiction, Sixteenth Annual Collection edited by Gardner Dozois

~ D. J. Moore ~ Leave a comment

It’s not immediately obvious, but the year in question is 1998. This whopper of a book, containing over a quarter million words of fiction, begins with a 50-page summary of all the science fiction novels, short stories, collections, magazines, movies, TV shows, and more that appeared in 1998. It’s humorous in retrospect that editor Gardner Dozois says South Park is beginning to grow repetitive and he predicts its influence is beginning to wane, since it’s still making new episodes over twenty years later.

Continue reading →

Good News Friday

~ D. J. Moore ~ Leave a comment
  • For the first time on record, the number of children worldwide who died before their 5th birthday has dipped below 5 million. In 2022, 4.9 million young children died – that’s fewer than half the number who died in 2000. NPR.
  • In the United States, there was a 13% decline in murder last year (the largest one-year decline ever recorded), 6% decline in violent crime, (likely the lowest rate since the late 1960s), and a 4% decline in property crime. Jeff-alytics.
  • Germany’s emissions fell by record 10.1% in 2023. Euronews.
  • Brazil installed about 17 gigawatts of solar last year, roughly equal to its entire solar market in 2021. These catapulted Brazil to the world’s third largest solar market in 2023, after China and the US. BloombergNEF.
  • Woman given a new 3D-printed windpipe in a world-first. BBC.

For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.

Catching up with the MCU: The Marvels, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and Echo

~ D. J. Moore ~ Leave a comment

I think I’m once again caught up with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Marvels was a lot of fun, but apparently didn’t do well at the box office. The poor showing is being blamed on the amount of homework you have to do before watching the movie. Monica Rambeau previously appeared in WandaVision, Nick Fury previously appeared in Secret Invasion, Kamala Khan previously appeared in Ms. Marvel, and, of course, the movie itself is a sequel to Captain Marvel.

I don’t think you have to watch all those shows before watching it, though. There’s no reference whatsoever to the events of Secret Invasion and the movie tells you all you need to know about the events of WandaVision and Ms. Marvel. Of course, WandaVision and Ms. Marvel are worth watching in their own right, but you don’t have to watch them first to enjoy this. Of course, you should watch Captain Marvel before watching The Marvels, but that’s it.

Continue reading →

Good News Friday

~ D. J. Moore ~ Leave a comment
  • India eliminates extreme poverty. Brookings.
  • Breast cancer death rate dropped 58 percent over the past 44 years in the U.S. The Washington Post.
  • After near extinction, the saltwater crocodile has achieved a full recovery in Australia. Science Direct.
  • The Florida Golden Aster removed from the endangered list. US Fish and Wildlife Service.
  • In Pakistan mangroves expanded nearly threefold between 1986 and 2020. Mongabay.
  • Since 2016, 2.5 million plants and 880,000 trees have been planted in 30 corridors in Medellín, reducing pollution and bringing temperatures down by 2°C in a city of 2.5 million people. Reasons to be Cheerful.
  • 1 in 5 new car sales globally were EVs in 2023. Electrek.
  • In 2023, solar represented over half of the electricity added to the United States grid. Latitude Media.
  • Spain has so much solar that electricity costs are almost free. Bloomberg.
  • Due to a new breakthrough, life expectancy for those with cystic fibrosis has risen from 35 to 82. The Atlantic.
  • In Nepal, the maternal mortality rate has declined from 536 per 100,000 live births in 1996 to 151 by 2021. Nepali Times.
  • Nearly half the electricity produced in the Netherlands is now renewable. CBS.

For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.

Good News Friday

~ D. J. Moore ~ Leave a comment
  • $1 billion donation will provide free tuition at a Bronx medical school. The New York Times.
  • Italy, home of the mafia, now one of Europe’s safest countries. Yahoo News.
  • The Biden-Harris Administration has approved student debt cancellation for nearly 3.9 million Americans totaling almost $138 billion in relief. US Department of Education.
  • Slovenia has seen cases of cervical cancer drop by almost half over the last 20 years, with the number of deaths from the disease also falling. WHO.
  • Nepal’s Terai Arc Landscape initiative restored 66,800 hectares of forest and significantly increased the Bengal tiger population in the region. Mongabay.
  • How Finland halved its suicide rate. The Guardian.
  • Electric car sales hit record with over 1 million sold in January. Warp News.

For more good news, check out Future Crunch and The Progress Network.

Good News Friday

~ D. J. Moore ~ Leave a comment
  • How Finland conquered homelessness. Spiegel.
  • Critically endangered parrot bounces back in huge conservation victory. Science Alert.
  • Mapping the world’s corals reveals more reefs than previously known. Bloomberg.
  • Greece becomes first Orthodox Christian country to legalize same-sex marriage. The Guardian.
  • In the half-century before the covid-19 pandemic, the black unemployment rate was on average twice as high as the white one. At the end of last year the black unemployment rate was only 1.5% higher than the white one, the narrowest gap on record. The Economist.
  • Polio eradication is within reach. Our World in Data.
  • Cambodia on track to eradicate malaria by 2025. Khmer Times.

For more good news, check out Future Crunch and The Progress Network.