May 8, 2026 - Review published on NPR Fresh Air by Justin Chang Some movies will forever change the way you look at plants. Unsurprisingly, many of them are thrillers and science-fiction films, like Little Shop of Horrors, The Day of the Triffids, or, more recently, the mind-controlling flower freakout Little Joe. You could probably... Continue Reading →
What is it about a painting? One image in two dimensions, a snapshot in this age of streamers – how can it compete for our attention? One answer could be the simple fact of genius compressed into a frame. The quote above, from a newsletter from The Observer, has me thinking about the photographic task,... Continue Reading →
Reposted from The Independent Sunday 19 April 2026 NPR (National Public Radio/US) received its largest-ever donation from a living donor this week when billionaire philanthropist Connie Ballmer gave $80 million to the media organization. Ballmer — a former member of the NPR Foundation's board — told the Wall Street Journal that she poured money into... Continue Reading →
Ken Gray, with materials from CBC News, Apr 12, 2026 Jenna Benchetrit explores AI implications for writers. “Hi; my name is Ken.” “Hi Ken.” “I occasionally use AI.” “Wow; did you make that up yourself Ken? Or did AI help? And if it did, how did AI help you?” “No I did not use AI... Continue Reading →
How the first American pope is reclaiming Christian values from the Trump administration By Christopher Lamb at CNN Flying to Algeria at the start of his landmark tour of Africa on Monday, Pope Leo had a choice. He could ignore Donald Trump’s extraordinary overnight social media tirade against him, or he could tackle it head... Continue Reading →
Published on Facebook by the Anglican Bishop of Edmonton, Stephen London - with many thanks to you bishop Just a year ago, we all probably would have been appalled at the blasphemy of the President of the United States posting on his own website that he is Jesus. Now it seems normal. That is a... Continue Reading →
NASA I don’t get it. We went round the moon first in 1968 and have the pictures to prove it. They were shot with a Hasselblad medium format (2¼ square) film camera — best in class. We all wanted one. Absolutely “cost the moon.” Lived with what we had at the time. Okay, we went... Continue Reading →
By Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons Mar 27, 2026 - Via Sojourners The third No Kings Day this Saturday is shaping up to be the largest day of nonviolent protests in American history. There were more than 2,000 protests during the first No Kings Day in June 2025 and more than 2,700 at the second No Kings Day... Continue Reading →
Schoolgirls in Iran (Photo by Paul Keller via Creative Commons license, edits by the Century) Article Mac Loftin in The Christian Century, March 9, 2026 The brief biblical account of Herod’s slaughter of the innocents raises the question of what faith demands when politics fails to stop the killing. The massacre of the innocents is... Continue Reading →
Wynton Marsalis just stepped down as the managing and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, which he founded nearly 40 years ago. He shares his thoughts on the state of democracy in the US presently using the craft he knows so well, Jazz, to illustrate his points. TRANSCRIPT (Generated; check against delivery) [Wynton Marsalis]... Continue Reading →
Take Note - Reflections on life, music, politics, retirement and more by Ken Gray 