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Newitz, Annalee. The Future Of Another Timeline. New York: Tom Doherty, 2019. 347 pages. Premise: In an alternative present, five “machines” have been discovered hidden in ancient rock formations throughout the globe. By tapping rhythmic sequences into the rocks at these locations, travelers are able to open wormholes to visit the past (though they cannot…

When I was 12 or 13, I was introduced to The Mask of Zorro at my Uncle Buddy and Aunt Janna’s house. My world was never the same afterwards. Along with an entire generation of boys, I wanted to be Zorro. I wanted to stand bravely against injustice, ride a black horse through the desert,…

I have read through all the Chronicles of Narnia during two different phases of life: first as a child, and again as an adult. I thoroughly enjoyed them both times, but for very different reasons. As a child, I was drawn into the story, and imagined myself fighting the evil Witch, sailing to the edge…

Last weekend was interesting. Right about the time that I generally think we are out of the woods for cold season, I caught a persistent cough that made me sound like a 20-year 3-pack-a-day smoker. Unfortunately, homeschooling parents get no sick days (unless extra screen time counts), so I went into the weekend feeling more…

The girls (and Jack, to a lesser extent) have been really into a show called Bluey. It’s put out by BBC Australia, and from a parental perspective is just about the perfect show (if you can get past the fact that all the characters are anthropomorphic dogs). The episodes are only eight minutes long. It…

I should preface this missive as well as the next few with a disclaimer: it will be less about the “Thomases in Tandem” than what my dear Aunt Gail Ann once described as the “lamentations of a unicyclist.” As I had hinted at in the conclusion of my last letter, this—being a stay-at-home dad homeschooling…

In my experience, parenting can be an all-consuming, and consequently lonely, task. In my pre-child days, I loved the chance to write out long updates on life in the hopes that someone might read them and benefit from them, that I might get the chance to catch up with far-flung friends from the past, and…

Hi. My name is Michael. You may vaguely remember occasionally getting periodic novel-length emails about my life and adventures over the past ten or so years. You may even have wondered about the almost exactly two years of radio silence in which I have not sent out a single update, and have had a very…

My, my, my, but it’s been a busy couple of months. (Come to think of it, we don’t really seem to have any other kind…I think that I’m ready to settle into a more boring, steady, adult routine). Without further ado, here are the “news” from the Thomases in Tandem: New Baby: As you may…

A belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all. While I love the idea of a traditional Christmas letter, and hope to start on that tradition some day when we are more established, for the moment, another email update will have to do. I have not written for the past six months for…