Many of those that read my book, The Flight of a Wild Duck, said they enjoyed the personal stories very much and wanted more of that. So I am augmenting my book with a few such stories. Here is one. After checking into a pension on the eighth floor of a commercial building, I began … Continue reading
Latest Entries
Back to writing poetry
I recently learned that some of my correspondence with Allen Ginsburg was at the Stanford University Library. It must be some of the poetry I was writing while I lived in a bed-sitter in London. That was in 1966. I was the only person in the building not from Nigeria. Back then the only piece … Continue reading
Well-Done
We start life with dreams and end with memories. That is, if we are lucky. Otherwise, we end in pain or, sometimes, oblivion. As they say, ‘I am “healthy, wealthy and wise .” Many people remark on my youthfulness, energy, and even looks. Luckily, I picked the right parents. I eat well, sleep well and … Continue reading
Surprised by Budapest
While my wife and I travel about four months a year, I tend not to write about our trips (she does that on her blog, http://www.eatdrinkfly.com), but our recent trip to Budapest surprised me. Having traveled extensively worldwide for almost 60 years and being a history student, I pride myself on my knowledge of history … Continue reading
The Flight of a Wild Duck was published a year ago
My memoir, The Flight of a Wild Duck, was published a year ago. It took me three years to write; a year of research, a year of drafting, and a year of editing. While it was a lot of work, I found the experience rewarding. I learned a lot about the history I had lived … Continue reading
Joe Kamiya; My Most Impactful Mentor Died
I have had five mentors throughout my career and am grateful for their efforts. After learning of their deaths, I have written about Mort Ruderman and Ken Olsen. Unfortunately, I have just learned that Joe Kamiya, the most impactful of all my mentors, died last year. Joe Kamiya made me a scientist. Paul Hugenholtz made … Continue reading
Time Travel via the London Underground
Today I took a trip on a “time machine” via the London underground. I went back to 1965 when I first arrived in London at the age of 20. My grand uncle Joe Harris and his wife Alice, invited me to visit them. At that time, I was living in Paris. Living is not really … Continue reading
My talk to 150 high school students (mixed Jews and Arabs)
On Sunday, I had an opportunity to talk to about 150 students aged 16 and 17. I was the opening speaker for the summer program by a remarkable organization called MEET. They work with teens in what they call “The Region,” which is really Israel and the West Bank. Half of the students are Jews … Continue reading
Why the USA’s (and other countries’ ) approach to vaccine development is wrong
Sometime around October, the FDA is likely to authorize a new version of the Covid vaccination by Pfizer and Moderna and maybe others. This version was developed to be more effective against the Omicron version of Covid. But we have long since moved on from that Omicron. The issue is the FDA wants both … Continue reading
Living longer better
I have not given this blog much attention since I started writing my book, The Flight of a Wild Duck, four years ago. It was published in September of 2021. I have a lot more that I want to write, but frankly, the effort of writing a 340-page book dampened my enthusiasm for writing. Now … Continue reading
Two Thirds Done 