Facebook Etiquette

    Really, folks.  Are you that neurotic on Facebook that you resort to this kind of sh*t to stroke your ego?

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “Aye,” Max shouted, almost hanging sideways from the instrument panel.  She slapped up the forward master hydro-lever on the hydrogen board, flooding the front ten compartments of the airship and the portside cells with every last cubic inch of hydrogen left in their main supply tanks.

    If any of those gas cells were punctured, if any were on fire, if flames somewhere licked a cracked feeder pipe, well, they would pop, vanishing from existence in one stupendous flash.  That was the way so many airships disappeared, without a story or a trace for those left behind.  They would live on only in the memories of the clan and perhaps in a children’s story or two about a ghost zeppelin with a Martian aboard.

    (from Romulus Buckle & The City of the Founders by Richard Ellis Preston)

    7½*/10.  The complete review is here.

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Adele "25"

   The official ranking of Adele's "25" album from Liz & Terry's house : 'better than "19"; not as good as "21".

Christmas Lights

    Black Friday holds two traditions at our house.  Liz gets up at 5:00 AM to go shopping with a friend, and I put up the Christmas lights.

    My task is always an extremely stressful one, usually consisting of three hours of swearing, dropping the staple gun, sweating, and gashing myself at least one time on the f**king step-ladder.

    This year was no exception.  However, I decided to try a new approach.  work on the lights for an hour.  Take a break and have a toot.  Work another hour, take a break, and have a toot.  Then have one more toot, for good measure.

    It didn't lessen the swearing or sweating, and I still gashed myself royally on the right forearm, bleeding profusely without even knowing I was cut.  But somehow it all seemed more bearable.

    And the light-hanging came out pretty good, doncha think?!

Happy Thanksgiving

    A holiday Mythtickle strip from way, way back in 2009.  Which means the strip's been going for at least 6 years.  I like Mythtickle for its fantasy element, and its tie-ins to mythology.  And most of all, I like it because the artwork reminds me of my all-time favorite (and long retired) comic strip, Pogo.

The good old days.

    I also remember the day we invented fire.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “The question then would be, who is the source of the imagination that imagines?  And the answer to that question could be: God.  And this would mean, if, for example, you, June, are the imagination that imagines us and the world, you could call yourself God’s imagination or: the goddess imagined by God.  How does that make you feel?  The man smiled and I admired both his brilliant thinking and his humor.

    For a moment there was silence.  Then someone yelled, “Great!”  That someone was me, I continued, “If these conclusions are correct, then I do hope indeed that the imagination that imagines things is June.”

    “Why?” the prosecutor asked.

    “It would mean I made love to a goddess last night.”

    (from The 92-Year-Old Lady Who Made Me Steal A Dead Man’s Car by Fred Schafer)

    6*/10.  The complete review is here.

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Children of the...

    Hmm.  I think I'll just keep driving until I get to the next little town.

Escher University

    For some reason, I keep thinking that this is the way dorm rooms would look at M.C. Escher University.

Catcher In The Rye

    I try to read at least one highbrow book each year.  I'm running out of time in 2015.  I vaguely remember Catcher In The Rye bring a popular selection for book reports back in high school, mostly because it has a bunch of cuss words to titillate teenage readers.

    As an adult, swear words are no longer an inducement to read a given book.  So the question is - is Catcher In The Rye a worthwhile read?  I'm going to the library next Saturday, and I'm sure there will be multiple copies of it available.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “Ben – may I call you Ben?” Narf-win-Getag asked, settling down in his chair.

    “By all means, Mr. Ambassador,” Ben Javna said.  Being of inferior rank to the ambassador, Javna had remained standing and had moved out in front of his desk.  Staying behind the desk would have been considered a breach of etiquette.

    “Thank you,” Narf-win-Getag said.  “I know my people have a reputation for being socially standoffish, but in private we can be just as relaxed as any sentient being.  I even encourage my secretary to call me ‘Narf’ when we are doing private business.”

    “And does she, Mr. Ambassador?” Javna asked.

    “Oh, of course she doesn’t,” Narf-win-Getag said.  She wouldn’t dare.  But it’s nice of me to offer, don’t you think?”

    (from The Android’s Dream by John Scalzi)

    8*/10.  The complete review is here.

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Dali Thursday!

   It was a pleasant surprise yesterday morning, to discover that the comic strip "Zits" found a clever way to work Salvador Dali's limp clocks into the day's cartoon.

America - Land of the Free?

    Land of the Free, my a$$.

Science Tuesday

    Yes, Light really does travel faster than Sound.

Back To Work Tomorrow

   It's been nice to be off work for six days, for various festivities.  Alas, all good things must come to an end.  Tomorrow it's back to work, starting with the alarm going off at 5:30 AM.

Twue Wuv

    There was no post here yesterday due to a lollapalooza of festivities in our backyard.  The highlight of the evening was a "Re-Wedding" ceremony for our son and his wife.

    And the highlight of the Re-Wedding was a flawless recitation of this scene from The Princess Bride.

Birthday Thoughts

    Today's my birthday.  It's somewhat of a milestone, although I'll not say which one.  However, I will tell you that the above picture has relevance.

Support Group

   This is my kind of Support Group.

Missing Kansas

    Especially Pink Floyd.

Step-by-step

    I are a chemist.  I can follow step-by-step instructions easily.

Historical Trivia Fact for the Day

    I swear this is true!

Graphic Novel for the Day

   This is a graphic novel, and is essentially a reread of  a recent novel I've read.  I wanted to compare the two formats, to see whether one was markedly better than the other.

   It was a toss-up.  I prefer books to comics, so will probably continue to wait for the novelizations.  But you won't go wrong by choosing either format.

    8½*/10.  The complete review is here.

Brothers and Sisters

    I am willing to wager a rather substantial amount of money that these are an older brother and a younger sister.

Flamingo Friday

Wasted

    Have you ever wasted that you discovered you're a moose and that you're stuck in a tree?

The new Princess Leia

    Not everything about Disney's takeover of Star Wars is a negative.

Book Excerpt For The Day

    Of more than one hundred nations and colonies involved in World War II, the highest death toll belonged to the Soviet Union.  Moscow initially estimated 20 million dead, a number viewed with much skepticism in the West.  More recent evidence suggests the assessment was in fact too low; a count of 28 million is more accurate.  Unlike most countries, the Soviet Union did not replace its losses quickly.  By 1950 the nation still had 12 million fewer citizens than in 1939.

    (from The History Buff’s Guide to World War II by Thomas R. Flagel)

    8½*/10.  The complete review is here.

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The answer to Life...

    And don't forget your towel.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    The townspeople kept their heads low, locked their doors, shuttered their shops, or, if they could, made off westwards into Wales, to old, friendly enemies less to be feared than Stephen.  It suited the Welsh very well that Englishmen should fear Englishmen – if either Maud or Stephen could be regarded as English! – and let Wales alone, and they would not grudge a helping hand to the fleeing casualties, provided the war went on merrily.

    (from One Corpse Too Many by Ellis Peters)

    7½*/10.  The complete review is here.

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