We were in Sin City this past weekend. There’s so much to do in Las Vegas that we’ll focus here only on those that are FREE and also in the proximity of the intersection of The Strip and Flamingo Road. That means you could do all 5 Free Things in one day! Bellagio Fountains Walk past the Bellagio Hotel on The Strip, and the … Continue reading 5 Free Things to Do in Las Vegas
Last Friday, actor Leonard Nimoy died. The New York Times reported, “the sonorous, gaunt-faced actor who won a worshipful global following as Mr. Spock, the resolutely logical human-alien first officer of the Starship Enterprise in the television and movie juggernaut ‘Star Trek,’ died on Friday morning at his home in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles. He was 83.” As Anna drove around town that morning, … Continue reading RIP Leonard Nimoy
“VOICES CARRY” by ANNA LEAHY & DOUGLAS DECHOW Roughly ten days ago, The Huffington Post asked us to write an article for their next TED Weekends feature. They chose a popular Ted Talk–Honor Harger’s “A History of the Universe in Sound”–and asked some of their bloggers to write responses and riffs that would be posted over several days. We are pleased that HuffPost noticed our work and … Continue reading Lofty Ambitions at The Huffington Post
Thirty years ago—on January 21, 1983—The Eurythmics released a single called “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of These).” In that song’s video (see the end of this post), Annie Lennox stands at the end of a long conference table surrounded by empty chairs. On the table sits a globe. Behind her, a screen shows the Apollo 11 launch and then an image of the Earth from … Continue reading The Eurythmics, Apollo, the International Space Station, and Landsat
We know this week’s guest blogger exceptionally well. Brigid Leahy is Anna’s sister and a fellow alum of Knox College, where Doug met her lo those many years ago. By day, Brigid is Director of Legislation at Planned Parenthood of Illinois, but when she’s not at work, she’s an Elvis fan and fosters dogs for the Animal Protective League. Honestly, we thought, if Brigid wrote … Continue reading Guest Blog: Brigid Leahy
Late on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, we overpacked our suitcases and headed out on the highway. Five hours later, we had checked into our Las Vegas hotel and were in search of the food you can find at the wee hours in the city that really does never sleep. On Monday, we made our now-annual visit to the Atomic Testing Museum on Flamingo Road. We’ve … Continue reading In the Footsteps (Part 10)
On October 30, 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a secret document mandating that the United States maintain and develop its nuclear weapons arsenal. Just four years later, on this same date, the Soviet Union detonated the largest explosive device ever, Tsar Bomba. The estimated yield was 50 megatons, which is almost one-and-a-half times the power of the combined yield of the two bombs detonated … Continue reading On This Date: Five Notable Events
“Jet lag,” muttered one of his friends, “long trip from California. Really mucks you up for a couple of days.” “I don’t think he’s been there at all,” muttered another. “I wonder where he has been. And what’s happened to him.” ~Douglas Adams, So Long and Thanks for All the Fish In our blog anniversary post (click HERE for that one), we tried to make … Continue reading Last Chance to See (Part 12)
Today, our thoughts are with the families of the twenty people killed and injured in Saturday’s shooting in Tucson. We extend our condolences to those who lost a family member or friend, and we are pulling for those whose family member or friend is facing difficult recovery. Astronaut Mark Kelly is the husband of Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head and remains … Continue reading Astronaut Mark Kelly, our thoughts are with you
On October 23, 2001, Apple released the iPod into the world. The snazzy little device cornered the market within three years, and 220 million iPods had been sold by fall of 2009. Sales of the iPod dropped earlier this year, perhaps because folks with iPods already in one hand want a new gadget like the iPad in the other. The Center for Disease Control warns, … Continue reading October 23: Sing, Sing a Song
Lofty Ambitions Blog 