I remember when the first “Mortal Kombat” movie came out in 1995. That’s not to say I remember “seeing” the first “Mortal Kombat” movie, because I didn’t. The movie was rated PG-13 and I was too young to see it. But I remember even then thinking that audiences were getting short-changed with a PG-13 “Mortal […]
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Education: Libraries
“Summer is icumen in…” School’s out pretty soon. But another important educational institution is about to re-open: from May 3 we can get into the Bethel Library (with appropriate precautions) whatever our age or student status. We’ve had curbside service, but now we can browse. Catalogs, especially subject catalogs, are all well and good, but […]
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Posted inAdvertiser Democrat, The Bethel Citizen
Energy Matters: Is hydro really dirtier than coal?
Once again, when it comes to energy choices and the environment, it is not sufficient to say something is good or bad, right or wrong. There are no absolutes here. If we hope to arrive at sensible policy to save our atmosphere, we need to pay attention to quantitative comparisons. The Numbers may set us […]
Posted inThe Bethel Citizen
Twilight sky dancers take flight
Spring is a season we can look forward to in so many ways, including experiencing a twilight sky dance that is now occurring in old fields and pasturelands all across Maine. Experiencing a sky dance is not too dissimilar than seeing a four act performance. It’s best to arrive approximately 10 minutes after sunset and […]
Posted inThe Bethel Citizen
Education: College towns
As the pandemic eases, opportunities will reappear. Got teenage kids? Got time? Try a family field trip to a college town. They’re interesting places for all, and get us thinking about what to do after high school. It’s not that a college town’s college is necessarily the best sort of higher education. But aspects of […]
Posted inThe Bethel Citizen
AFCI news
CORONAVIRUS Nationwide, over 2,000,000 COVID-19 vaccinations have been administered, and over 80% of adults over 65 have received at least one shot. Maine is the leading state in its percentage of population already vaccinated! Hooray! If you’re not there yet, FYI: * All ME residents over 16 years old are now eligible for vaccinations, and […]
Posted inAdvertiser Democrat, The Bethel Citizen
Tree Talk: In case you’ve never heard it
For some reason, while on a recent trip northern Maine, the first few words of a poem came to me, but I couldn’t recollect the rest of the lines or who had written it. I tiny bit of research on the internet revealed the entire poem and the author’s name, Joyce Kilmer, a soldier who […]
Posted inAdvertiser Democrat, The Bethel Citizen, The Franklin Journal
Movie Review: Voyagers
Before I get into trashing sixth place weekend box office finisher “Voyagers,” I want to take some time to say some nice things about eighth place finisher “In the Earth.” The latter film played on less than a third as many screens as “Voyagers,” yet it made nearly two-thirds as much money. The underpromoted horror […]
Posted inThe Bethel Citizen
Education: Costs of COVID
The problem began with official xenophobia: visas were hard to get. Then came COVID. International students can’t get here, or risk not being able to get home. What are the consequences for American higher education? And for the individual “domestic” student? Education becomes less cosmopolitan. Which means that all students miss out on the stimulation […]
Posted inThe Bethel Citizen
Backyard Reflections: Finding the mother tree
Susan Simard received her PhD in Forest Science and is a research scientist who works primarily in the field. Part of her dissertation was published in the prestigious journal Nature. Currently she is a professor in the department of Forest and Conservation Sciences at the University of British Columbia where she is the director of […]