Tuesday, September 30, 2014

RIP Rabbi Hyman Krustofsky


    He passed away Sunday night, 28 September.

Monday, September 29, 2014

Poetry Monday


    Kinda reminds me of the song Highwayman by (of course) The Highwaymen.  Kinda.

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Yellow Lights


    Really.  Yellow doesn't mean "Slow down and stop."  It means "Hit the gas pedal and floor it!"

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Book Excerpt for the Day


    “I don’t know what to expect,” she said in a tight voice.  “Everything is different here.  I’m trying not to expect anything – but that doesn’t keep me from worrying.”

    Dahleven blew out a deep breath.  “You should stop that.  Worry is a waste of time and energy.”  He slanted a sideways glance at her.  “Now planning, that’s another thing altogether.  Right now, I’m planning on a bath, hot food, and rest.  You should do the same.  Beyond that, only the Norns know what the future holds, and they never tell.”

    (from Dangerous Talents,  by Frankie Robertson)
  
    7½*/10.  The full review is here.
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Friday, September 26, 2014

Science Fridays


   The rollover caption reads : "I tried oxidizing them, but your bank uses some really weird paper and it wouldn't light."

    My gawd, don't we chemists have a crazy sense of humor?!

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Neutral Milk Hotel


    Actually, this is a pretty freaking fantastic album, despite the fact that Jeff Mangum can't carry a tune in a bucket.

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

"The Beatles or The Stones?"


    Some of us think the correct answer to that question is "The Doors".

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Book Excerpt for the Day


    Two-thirty comes during Testifying.  Aunt Helena is here, as well as Aunt Lydia, because Testifying is special.  Aunt Helena is fat, she once headed a Weight Watchers’ franchise in Iowa.  She’s good at Testifying.

    It’s Janine, telling about how she was gang-raped at fourteen and had an abortion.  She told the same story last week.  She seemed almost proud of it, while she was telling.  It may not even be true.  At Testifying, it’s safer to make things up than to say you have nothing to reveal.  But since it’s Janine, it’s probably more or less true.

    (from The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood)

    9*/10.  The complete review is here.
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Monday, September 22, 2014

About that election


    I can't say that I had an opinion one way or another on the issue, but I was mildly surprised that, given Scottish history, the measure didn't pass.

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Art Appreciation Sunday


    And I always appreciate a great twerk of art.

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Book Excerpt for the Day


    Drumknott continued, “A lot of this is to do with the crossword, of course.  You know how he is about that.  I intend personally to write to the editor.  His lordship considers elegant completion to be a test of his integrity.  A crossword is meant to be an engaging and educational puzzle.”

    And then, his normally pink face reddening, Drumknott added, “I’m sure it’s not intended to be a form of torture, and I’m certain that there is no such word as lagniappe.”

    (from Raising Steam,  by Terry Pratchett)

     7*/10.  The full review is here.
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Friday, September 19, 2014

Universal Remote Control


    I was devastated, I tell you.

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Flu Shots


    Sound advice.  Although for the record, I will be getting my (free) flu shot, at work, in a couple of weeks.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Science Wednesdays


    Aptly put.

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Oooo, that smell


    The litter mates that sleep together, keep together.

Monday, September 15, 2014

Dancing With The Stars


    DWTS starts tonight and I'm so excited!!  This means I get to play on the computer for two hours while my wife watches DWTS.

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Book Excerpt for the Day


    Major Benjamin Mapp-Flint, the town’s only resident warrior, enjoyed an esteem even greater than had been his when, on one never to be forgotten occasion, he had briefly (and erroneously) been clothed in the glamour of the desperate duelist.  The fact that both participants in this affair of honor had sought to escape to London by the early morning train and had converted their rencontre into a round of golf in no way diminished the antique splendour of the incident.

    (from Lucia In Wartime, by Tom Holt)
  
    6½*/10.  The full review is here.
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Friday, September 12, 2014

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Never Forget.


    The 9-11 historical event they DON'T want you to remember.  Arguably the most blatant illegal CIA activity ever.  And the CIA has done a lot of illegal activities over the years.

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Math Wednesday


    Or LOTR Wednesday.  Your choice.

Tuesday, September 09, 2014

Monday, September 08, 2014

Book Excerpt for the Day


    “Dogs are colour blind, did you know that?”

    “Of course, what has that to do with it?”

    “A dog can’t see a rainbow.  And nobody will ever be able to teach it what colours are.  But you know as well as I do that red, yellow and blue exist.  Who’s to say that isn’t true of people, too?  There may be things that exist, even though we can’t see them.  Like evil.  We know it’s there only when it manifests itself, by which time it’s too late.”

    (from The Lost Girls of Rome by Donato Carrisi)

    9*/10.  The complete review is here.
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Sunday, September 07, 2014

Stamp Collecting


    A little bit of Sunday punnery.  And yes, I was an avid philatelist as a kid.

Saturday, September 06, 2014

Dear YouTube


    So will I.  However, I do find it academically interesting to see how the Advertisers construct the opening 5 seconds of the ads to try to entice you to stick around.

Friday, September 05, 2014

E-Card Friday


    This is another cause that I totally support.

Thursday, September 04, 2014

Book Excerpt for the Day


    “I bet they drugged him.”

    “The way they drugged you?”

    “Not quite.  Not the same drug, or the poor bastard wouldn’t have been able to talk at all.  I wonder what she gave me.  It must have been powerful stuff.  It had me hallucinating.”

    “Like acid?”

    “I never had any acid.”

    “Neither did I.”

    (from The Burglar Who Liked To Quote Kipling,  by Lawrence Block)

     8½*/10.  The full review is here.
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Wednesday, September 03, 2014

The Battle of Carthage


    This is wrong for oh so many reasons.

    First of all, it was a 2-year siege, not a flippin' battle.  The citizens of Carthage put up heroic resistance, but it was ultimately in vain, and Carthage was destroyed by the &!^*$$*& Romans, never to be rebuilt.

    Second of all, there's been - what? - a gazillion battles in recorded history.  Why the frick did Mom choose this particular one?  It wasn't the Romans' finest hour.  It didn't have any brilliant tactics.  No songs or ballads were written about it.

    Thirdly, among my dozen or so multiple personalities, there is a Carthagenian general, and he's been in a royal snit all day over this cartoon.  Let's show a little respect for the crazies of the world.

Tuesday, September 02, 2014

But it's a dry heat


    Not funny, cell phone.  Not funny at all.

Monday, September 01, 2014

Wasted Life

   So sad.