My alma mater

After I received my undergraduate degree, I came to realize that I had not gotten a very good college education. In addition, I felt that although the college I attended claimed to abide by Quaker morals and ethics, in actuality the Quakerism was merely a cosmetic veneer. As a result, I decided never to give money to the college.

Fast forward to 2024, when Donald Trump chose Howard Lutnick to be Commerce Secretary. I vaguely remembered Howie Lutnick from college. About all I remembered about him was hearing from one of my college friends that Lutnick had become class president, in charge of raising money for the college from his classmates.

Today, the BBC reports that Lutnick had previously lied to Congress by claiming he had cut all ties to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein in 2005. Lutnick now admits, in testimony given to Congress today, that he visited Epstein’s infamous island in 2012, accompanied by his wife, his four children, and his nannies. No one is accusing Lutnick of molesting underage girls. But Lutnick not only lied to Congress about his ties to Epstein, he also retained his ties with Epstein even after the latter’s conviction of soliciting prostitution for a child. And knowing that conviction, he brought his own children to Epstein’s island. Yuck.

This was the president of my college class. He does not make me want to give money to my alma mater.

Groan

The OWL grade 7-9 class met this afternoon. OWL is the comprehensive sexuality education course for early adolescents developed by the Unitarian Universalist Association and the United Church of Christ, and beloved by parents; the initials stand for “Our Whole Lives.”

Class ended in time for Superbowl parties. One parent, as he picked up his teen, made a joke that I can’t believe I’ve never heard before. He was taking his child to the Superbowl from superb OWL….

It doesn’t seem so funny when I put it down in cold print, but it was definitely funny at the time.

Perry Mason

Over the years, I’ve written blog posts on several obscure topics. Some of those obscure topics — making your own burial shroud, washtub bass, composer A. B. Windom, etc. — result in some interesting correspondence.

Most recently, Don O. was looking through my collection of information about the Perry Mason books (not the TV show, mind you, but the books). I have a complete listing of the Perry Mason books, and have gradually been adding notes to each book about recurring characters, plot devices, and legal matters. Turns out Don is a professor of physics, and he sent me email pointing out how Erle Stanley Gardner, the author of the Perry Mason series, used some pretty good science in one of his novels. Thank you, Professor Don!

While I was updating that Perry Mason information with Professor Don’s contribution, I wound up rebuilding that corner of my blog, and I was able to add notes for several more of the books. If you’re a Perry Mason fan, check it out.

What the world needs now…

Carol was telling me about an influencer whom she follows. She told me one thing that this influencer said that seemed questionable to me. We argued about it for a bit. “You know influencers lack?” I said.

Carol looked at me skeptically. “What?” she said.

“Editors and fact checkers,” I said.

Two dying professions. I just wish we had more of them.

Wayside Pulpit

Tracey got a comic zine for me at a recent comic convention. Drawn and written by Sanika Phwade — who bills herself as “an illustrator, cartoonist, and reportage artist” — it tells about a minister who has fun with the signboard outside her church. The zine opens with the words: “Pastor Jamie Washam changes the sign outside the First Baptist Church in America every week.”

The cover of Sanika Phwade’s comic zine about Rev. Jamie Washam’s signboard

According to Phwade, by putting short aphorisms on the signboard, Rev. Washam is continuing the tradition of her predecessor: “He would call it The Wayside Pulpit — that preaches a sermon to whomever is passing by. I love that! But I also like having fun with these.”

As the keeper of the Wayside Pulpit outside our meetinghouse, I was jealous when I learned that people actually talk to Washam about the things she puts in her Wayside Pulpit. But then, her Wayside Pulpit is edgier than ours is. I put up sayings like “The moral arc of the universe is long but it bends towards justice.” No one comments on things like that. When Washam put up the phrase, “God Is Non-Binary,” sixteen people made comments:

“I have learned that it is the same signs that evoke both positive and negative reactions in people. Fifteen have said positive things about ‘God Is Non-Binary,’ and one person said, Hey what are you thinking? And I said well, let’s sit down and read genesis together. Because the text does support that. They thought I was just popping off politically, and yes I totally picked that up from Pride Fest. But it is completely substantiated by the text.”

Genesis 1:27 does in fact say, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” That is, both male and female are created in God’s image, which implies that God is (ahem) non-binary. Oh ye of little faith who try to place limits on God, limiting him to one gender (regardless of the pronouns we humans use to describe him).

World Ukulele Day

Actually, February 2 is World Ukulele Day. But Mary Beth, our music director, decided we would celebrate it today, by accompanying the first hymn in our Sunday service. We had maybe two minutes of rehearsal, which is why the photo below shows us all looking at the song sheets on the music stands. But we played it through, we didn’t totally suck, and we had fun.

Screen grab from the livestream. L-R: Mary Beth, Steve, Micah, me.

Mike Lynch, who organized the first World Ukulele Day, said the goal was simple: “Take your uke out of its case and play it.” Beyond that, he said you could use your ukulele to bring some fun and joy into the world. I don’t know how much joy we brought into our Sunday service, but we certainly brought some fun. Besides, Mike Lynch often played uke at his church, so what we did was very much in the original spirit of the day.

The real World Ukulele Day is tomorrow. Plan now to take your uke out of the case and play it….

Zeitgest

When I heard about the “Melania” movie, I assumed it was yet another vanity project assembled by yet another ultra rich person. What I didn’t realize was that the film has actually been released in theatres. I also didn’t realize was that Amazon paid to have this movie produced. The BBC reports that it is believed that Amazon paid USD$35million to market the film, and another USD$40 million for the rights.

Now that I know it’s not a simple vanity project, I’m fascinated. What is going on here?

Reviews of the movie so far are mixed. It’s easy to find negative reviews in the usual liberal media outlets like The Guardian, The Atlantic, and so on. Conservative Fox News, by contrast, seems enthralled. The politically centrist USA Today is not entirely negative, but still says it’s not a good documentary, giving it 1.5 out of 4 stars:

“‘Melania’ doesn’t quite work as a documentary, though that doesn’t matter: People who don’t like the Trumps won’t go near the theater, and those who love the Trumps probably will. Just don’t expect much insight either way: While it does offer an extremely flattering view of all things Melania, outside of a few candid glimpses, you’re not going to learn a lot about who she really is.”

Meanwhile, audience reviews posted on Rotten Tomatoes are generally laudatory. It’s hard to know if the reviewers are real people (after all, this is an Amazon movie, and Amazon is the king of fake reviews), but in a typical review “Karen M” gushes:

“As a creative—writer, pianist, singer, perfectionist, lover of classical music and art—I found Melania unexpectedly moving. The documentary opens her inner sanctum, and in doing so, created a quiet sense of sisterhood. I didn’t see a distant public figure; I saw someone achingly real—like watching your sister on her wedding day or hearing your daughter’s name called at graduation. There she is. Her elegance is unmistakable, yet the vulnerability is what lingers. She is refined without artifice, reserved yet deeply expressive. The film is not about Donald Trump—au contraire. It feels more like peering into the private life of a royal from afar, and realizing with pride: she is my First Lady. It has been a long time since young women—and grown ones—had a woman of such standalone strength to admire. Her quiet power rivals that of any great woman who has ever held a throne. Highly recommend, regardless of political persuasion.”

Maybe that is a real review. I can see that for someone who is fascinated by Melania Trump, this could be a fun movie to watch. Unfortunately, Karen M is probably mistaken, while USA Today is correct — Democrats are going to stay away in droves, Republicans are going to love the film. I guess those of us who belong to neither party can be bemused.

At this stage, it’s hard to know if people are actually paying to see the film in movie theatres. A very strange ad was posted on the gigs section of Boston Craigslist, offering people $50 if they would see “Melania” in a movie theater. This ad has since been changed to read:

“…due to widespread coverage and backlash surrounding this offer in the fake news media, counsel has advised us that proceeding would run afoul of campaign finance laws. Considering the funding of the film by Amazon, we were shocked to hear this, but cannot take the risk….On the bright side, this incredible film is now SOLD OUT everywhere, with box office success like no one has EVER seen.”

Even Snopes can’t decide if this was a fake ad, or a real ad. I mean, was this a bunch of Trump haters trying to make the movie look bad, or was this a serious offer to get people to attend the movie? Either way, it’s bizarre. And if ticket sales turn out to be good, we’ll be wondering — did the audiences pay to see the film, or did someone pay them to see the film? That uncertainty says less about the film, and more about the lack of trust in the United States today.

So far, Rolling Stone seems to have the most balanced, in-depth reporting I’ve seen about the film. They report that Melania Trump herself received 70% of the licensing fee, or USD$28 million, for herself — in other words, she got paid some big bucks, so this isn’t exactly a vanity project. They also report that the film crew liked Melania Trump, describing her as “friendly and very engaged in the process.” On the other hand, Rolling Stone also says that no one should expect any deep insight into Melania Trump: “‘Some people are boring,’ one crew member said. ‘Some people also never let their guard down.’” It sounds like Melania Trump fits in the latter category.

Something about this movie, and the varied reactions to it, seem to capture the zeitgeist of our times. And maybe part of the zeitgest is feeling that you can never let your guard down.

Update 2/1/2026: The movie has become even more zeitgeist-y. The BBC reports that the latest release of the Epstein files has a photo of the film’s director sitting next to Epstein, both with their arms around young women. It’s a fairly creepy photo….

More snow

It kept snowing all day today. The town’s plows haven’t been able to keep up, so the town has extended the on-street parking ban through Wednesday at 8 a.m.

Because it’s been so windy, it’s hard to say how much snow we got here in Cohasset. The National Weather Service reports that a trained spotter measured 13.5 inches of snow in Rockland, just south of here, at 5:13 this morning. We’ve had another 2 to 4 inches since then, and it’s still snowing. I’d guess the total snowfall will be at least 18 inches here in Cohasset.

I took a break from work in the middle of the day, and went snowshoeing in Great Brewster Woods, a 25 acre tract of conservation land close to our house. It felt like I was out in the middle of nowhere — a pretty amazing feeling for crowded suburbia. I didn’t see another soul, and the falling snow deadened all the sounds except for a Great Horned Owl hooting mournfully in a tree overhead.

Snowshoeing in Great Brewster Woods, Cohasset, Mass.

Update 1/28: NWS spotters from the immediate area reported 18 to 24 inches of snow from the storm. I’d guess about 20 inches here, though because of drifting it’s hard to tell. In any case, a very substantial storm.