The Blaisdell Blog

This editorial was published in this Sunday's issue of The Monitor.   Last week I received a large, carefully packaged box from my sister.   Inside was a framed copy of my Grandfather’s baptismal record.   I couldn’t read a single word of it.   Franz Paul Jarkowski was baptized into the Catholic church in 1883 in the town of Conitz.   Despite its various spellings (now it is Konitz) the town is part of Pomerania and belonged to either Poland or Germany depending on who won the last war.   In 1883 it was German and three years later that same boy left for America from Dusseldorf.   The spelling of his last name changed three times before he got to Minnesota and was turned into the unpronounceable jumble of letters that became my maiden name.   And that leads me to my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving.   Let me explain. I love Thanksgiving.   I always have.   It was a day filled with family, games, endless talk and laughter a...

On November 17, 1558 Elizabeth, second child of King Henry VIII of England, was taking a brisk walk in her garden.   This was not her home, but her prison.   She was not here by her choice, but by her sister’s decree.   Her host was her jailor.   But, isolated and without any means of transportation, she could walk the grounds each day, rain or shine, as was her habit.   On this November day, the weather was sunny but quite cold.   She saw a small group of riders coming up the road to Hatfield at top speed.      The leader of the Privy Council moved quickly to her side; the others close behind.   The men fell to their knees as their leader handed Elizabeth the ring of office that had been on her half-sister, Queen Mary’s, hand.   That ring would only have been removed upon Mary’s death.   Elizabeth dropped to her knees, breathing, at first, too fast to speak.   Finally, she raised her head and her hands.   Spe...

In the summer of 1993, I was invited to take part in a fellowship at the Harvard University Center for Astrophysics.   Besides several all-expenses paid weeks in Massachusetts and some killer field trips, it was a chance to study and write curriculum about the concept of time.   For that golden summer I had the chance to work with some of the country’s best theoretical physicists and astronomers.   It was a feast for the mind.   It also means that when I see articles about astrophysics, I grab the popcorn and settle in like I’m watching a Bette Davis movie.               Recently, there has been a “crossover” hit in astrophysics.   That is, information that starts and usually stays in the scientific journals has become popular in broad circulation media.   Usually this happens when there is a catchy or thought provoking topic, paradigm shifting concepts being presented, or visuals that work f...