Michael T. Starks

Category: Storytelling

  • The Princess Bride – Part 2

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    Okay. This is a first. I feel compelled to write about the fact that I watched The Princess Bride again. I LOVE THIS MOVIE! I wish that I could say this about so many more movies. Every single frame of this movie is unbelievably good. I’m sure that many movies can boast better cinematography. Maybe…

  • Friends of Mikayla

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    My daughter, Mikayla, is 24 years old. Because she has special needs, she still lives with us. When she was about six months old, she was diagnosed with Septo Optic Dysplasia (SOD). She’s missing the septum pellucidum, a thin membrane that typically separates the brain’s two hemispheres. Mikayla displays the following symptoms, which are typical…

  • The Princess Bride

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    This is one of my favorite movies ever made! The first time I saw it in the theater, I was late. So, they’re already making their way across the water, heading for the Cliffs of Insanity. While I didn’t know what was happening, I was instantly drawn in. I was loving every minute of it.…

  • Two Axes of Health

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    I’ve been listening to the book Languishing by Corey Keyes on Audible. One concept that resonates with me is that doctors should not just focus on fixing or minimizing the bad stuff. They should also promote well-being. They should help us maximize the good stuff. This works for physical and mental health. Here’s an example.…

  • Unimpressed

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    My younger self would not be so impressed with me. In college, I dreamed of getting a Ph. D. in physics. When push came to shove, I only got a master’s degree in physics. This would have been okay if I had stuck with physics. I taught math and physics for about five years after…

  • Screensavers

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    Most computers still have screensavers. Although it turns out the name ‘screensaver‘ has become a bit of a misnomer. It’s been about a quarter-century since computers needed a moving image to “save” a CRT monitor from getting a “burned-in” image. LCD and LED monitors don’t have this problem. So why do we still use screensavers?…

  • Address Labels

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    Today, I opened a letter requesting a donation to a charity that does good work. The non-profit organization included a special gift: address labels! I’m happy to receive useful gifts from any non-profit organization. It’s just that I don’t consider address labels as useful as they used to be. This is a comment on how…

  • Looks Like…

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    A couple of nights ago, someone said I look like James Spader. I asked if I looked like his character in The Blacklist and got an affirmative response. It made me wonder if I might look a bit like the character he played in Secretary! While he’s about ten years older than me, I’m taking…

  • Sir Ian McKellen

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    Sir Ian McKellen is not only one of my favorite actors; he’s been one of my heroes for over 25 years. I actually had the chance to meet him in person after the Denver premier of Richard III. I was working at the Mayan movie theatre in 1995. One of the benefits of working there…

  • Unfinished Projects

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    Each year, I work on several projects that I don’t “finish”. I see this as a good thing. Not every project needs to be completed. There is value in having unfinished projects. In fact, we can learn a lot from the patterns we notice associated with unfinished projects. Here are a few examples. One thing…