Author Archives: Fenster

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About Fenster

Gainfully employed for thirty years, including as one of those high paid college administrators faculty complain about. Earned Ph.D. late in life and converted to the faculty side. Those damn administrators are ruining everything.

Robertson Reducks

Posted on December 23, 2013 by Fenster

Fenster writes: I favor reasoned discussion about the actually important issues brought out in the Robertson kerfuffle.  But I recognize it is just so damn tempting, and so much fun, to just judge. That’s on display in my area.  In … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy and Religion, Sex | Tagged , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

A Walk Down Moody Street OR Fenster Does Dickens

Posted on December 23, 2013 by Fenster

Fenster writes: Head west from Boston five to ten miles and you’ll find yourself in one or another affluent suburb: Newton, Needham, Belmont, Lincoln, Weston, Wellesley, Lexington, Concord or Wayland. Then there’s Waltham.  It’s actually a small city sitting more … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Personal reflections, Photography, Travel | Tagged , | 6 Comments

How Blue is My Valley?

Posted on December 22, 2013 by Fenster

Fenster writes: The Uncanny Valley is a neat cognitive trick, occurring when “human features look and move almost, but not exactly, like natural human beings.”  In that valley, what results is a “response of revulsion among human observers.” So on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology | Leave a comment

Duck a la Paglia

Posted on December 21, 2013 by Fenster

Fenster writes: It is awfully easy to make light of dust-ups like the one over Phil Robertson.  Does it matter what a reality show celeb says and whether he stays on the air?  Narrowly speaking, no.  I didn’t know Robertson … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy and Religion, Sex | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

A Potent Cocktail You Won’t Soon Forget

Posted on December 21, 2013 by Fenster

Fenster writes: Consider those six glasses at the top of the UR page. One part The Odyssey One part Memento One part Twilight Zone (A Stop at Willoughby preferred) One part Waiting for Godot One part Groundhog Day (extra dry) … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Publishing and Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

NOT The Beatles

Posted on December 21, 2013 by Fenster

Fenster writes: Another in the series. Spotlighting The Spongetones, doing Beatles soundalike music for 25 years.

Posted in Music | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Careful With That Metaphor!

Posted on December 20, 2013 by Fenster

Fenster writes: We are often cautioned to make judicious use of metaphors in communicating.  It’s good advice.  It’s tempting to want to employ metaphor’s coattails as ladders to climb the commanding heights of the mountaintop of ideas.  But it is easy … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Publishing and Writing | 1 Comment

Artisanal + Pumpkin Spice

Posted on December 19, 2013 by Fenster

Fenster writes: But is it fair trade?

Posted in Food and health | 3 Comments

Cutting to the Chase

Posted on December 19, 2013 by Fenster

Fenster writes: No need to be fancy about it.

Posted in Photography | 4 Comments

Polygamy?

Posted on December 18, 2013 by Fenster

Fenster writes: I guess it was inevitable what with the legal OKs to gay marriage that polygamy would be back.  That’s not a slap at gay marriage, which I, like many, have come around to endorse.  It is a slap … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy and Religion, Politics and Economics | Tagged , | 4 Comments