I know where you think this is going, after reading that headline, and it’s not what you think. See, Canada is depressed. And our stuff weighs less. OK, enough with the cuteness: Canada is depressed because during the last ice age a sheet of ice called Laurentide, more than 3km thick, pressed down on the earth’s crust here, and apparently… Read more →
Year: 2007
Yay for Justine!
Congratulations to my online friend Justine, who just won the second annual Norton AwardDespite what is says (at least at the moment I’m writing this) at Wikipedia, this is the second year of the award. Holly Black won last year at the inaugural occasion. for her Magic Trilogy. This must be an especially satisfying win for her, since the shortlist… Read more →
On Speeding Tickets
Did I mention that I got a pretty big speeding ticket in the backwoods of Maine (on the “Airline”) while on my way to that session in Boston last month? Some facts and observations: This is my first speeding ticket in more than seven years. Hell, I haven’t even been pulled over in more than seven years, except on the… Read more →
Those who fail to learn from history…
See also. Read more →
Saturday night with the books
Man, am I in a bad mood right now. Maybe closing a bunch of book-related tabs will cheer me up. Let’s start with Justine Larbalestier‘s justified outrage about another recent YA book-banning. This kind of shit really pisses me off–thinking about it probably won’t help me get out of my pissy mood, actually. If I didn’t already have a copy… Read more →
A Friday Afternoon Miscellany
Sorry about the pause there. It was a combination of tax shock, work, visiting friends, and my avoiding writing a big post about how to construct an amoral ethics. To ease myself back into blogging, let’s do a nice easy link-blogging post. Need to waste a few minutes at work? Are you a child of the 80s? Well then, you… Read more →
Relief, followed rapidly be shock
So, I am finally home from the interminable Boston séjour. I had a minute or so of relief at being home, after a nice drive, when I realized that my taxes are due by the end of April. I.e. Monday. Damn it. I guess I know what I’ll be doing tomorrow night. Read more →
Go Jon Go!
I am watching Jon Stewart on the new Bill Moyers show right now. I have never been more impressed with Jon. And that’s saying something. If you missed this, you should be able to watch it from the show’s web site some time soon. UPDATE: Damn, the second half of the show is talking to Josh Marshall. Yes, Josh Marshall… Read more →
WARNING: The consumption of alcohol is the leading cause of inexplicable rug burns on the forehead.
No, this is not another post about me getting epically drunk. I just thought that title was funny. (It was selected from Rob’s Beer Quotes page.) What it’s actually about is the acquisition of new (to me) and interesting (I hope) beers. If you’ve been paying attention, you know I’m coming to the end of a three week run of… Read more →
The Fate of the Artist (and/or Writer)
I must share with you this anecdote that I ran across today at The Fate Of The Artist, blog of genius artist Eddie Campbell. (NOTE: For those of you not familiar with Campbell let me just say that his book The Fate Of The Artist, in my not-so-humble opinion the finest comic/graphic novel/whatever to be produced last year. How many… Read more →
Buying The War
Look, Bill Moyers kicks ass. There’s no disputing it. After a while in “retirement”, Bill is back with a new show on PBS, Bill Moyers’ Journal. The show starts its regular run this weekend with an interview with Jon Stewart, which should be fun to watch. However as a kind of kick-start for the show they ran the documentary “Buying… Read more →
I know at least one author/musician who will be pleased by this…
Democrat says expect online gambling bill Thursday House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (news, bio, voting record) on Wednesday said he will introduce a bill this week to lift a ban on online gambling. “Why anyone thinks it is any of my business why some adult wants to gamble is absolutely beyond me,” Frank told a community bankers group… Read more →
Are the spammers finally giving up?
This site has gone from over 30,000 spam attempts a week to around 2,000 over the last month. The number that get through my multi-tier blocking system hasn’t changed–it’s still more-or-less zero–but I am wondering why the sudden drop. I’m not complaining, mind. I’m just worried that this pause signals a new wave about to start any minute now. Read more →
An old wine softens old regrets
I mentioned in an earlier post that I had been delighted to find a whole bunch of Santayana stuff at archive.org, including a poetry collection I was unfamiliar with. Well, while in Boston, I’ve been using stolen moments to work my way through that collection. I haven’t made much headway with the initial sections–there’s a two-part 80-pager there that will… Read more →
