JA Grier - Rando on the Internet

Education Resources for Hard Times

A potpourri of resources for teaching during hard times. Most are at the K-12 level, but remain quite valid for use in the university and college environment. Noted situations of crisis include pandemic (Covid), war in Ukraine, apar South Africa, Myanmar, etc.

Cherry Grape Custard Pie

I created this recipe to use up a lot of bits and bobs around my kitchen, and I thought I'd share. Try whatever combination of fruit you have on hand - it's hard to go wrong with this.

Disabled Writers - Music to Prompt that Poetic 'Muse'

A mix-tape of songs that resonate with a variety of disabled human experience along with related writing prompts and lyrics document for download. A great set of resources for yourself, your class, or your writing group.

Single Point Vulnerabilities - Disabled Preparation for Tough Times

If you are preparing for tough times as a disabled person, you may need to take special care in prioritizing and meeting medical needs such as having enough medication and finding low cost durable medical equipment. Here are a few thoughts that might help.

Disabled and Preparing - An Outline for Tough Times

An overview of basic topics related to preparation by disabled folx for emergencies, crises, or widespread austerity situations. I'll be updating this episodically, as well including links to more detailed documents on each subject with strategies and more resources (as spoons allow.)

Airless Bodies of the Inner Solar System - Grier & Rivkin

“Airless bodies” in the inner solar system have become a class of objects unto themselves. Continued pressure to (re)visit these places with probes, landers, rovers, and even human explorers has underscored the need to properly characterize the nature of these rocky surfaces.

Reading Tarot from Standard to Strange: Choosing a Deck - Part One

So what do I mean by saying "standard to strange" and why does it matter when using Tarot? In Part One, we'll do a comparison of four of my favorite decks ...

The Shining, Salem's Lot, and The Dead Zone: Early King's Novels to Movies

Modern horror is in many ways "King's Monster." King dug up the pieces of the genre, stitched them together, added lightning, and a gloriously gruesome entity emerged. Given this ...

What We Do in the Shadows (2014) - Movie Review

Vampire movies have long been my very favorite, and so when getting in the Halloween/Samhain mood, I turn to my collection of vampire movies to kick off the season. As of about 2015, that first movie slot of October has been filled by ...

The Crisis of Naming the Universe

Names and the act of naming have incredible power. As a writer and as a scientist, I have a great deal of respect for the power of words. Naming focuses our thoughts ...