Book Excerpt for the Day

    Fred flashed Mama Louise a lopsided grin.  “I had a mama once.”

    “Really?” Mama Louise asked while smoothing down the front of her flannel nightgown.

    Fred nodded.  “She went to sleep and never woke up.”

    Mama Louise blinked her round eyes once and her expression softened.  “You poor dear.”  She reached up and patted Fred’s cheek.

    Fred closed his eyes and made a grunting sound, reminding Ruckus of his old hound-dog, Bo, whenever he would lean down and scratch the mutt behind the ears.

    When Mama Louise finished patting Fred, his eyes shot open.  “Do you have donuts?”

    (from Driving Me Nuts, by P.J. Jones)

     7*/10.  The full review is here.

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Kate

    "After a long plane ride, let me just crouch in stilettos, put the fear of God in my older child while holding my younger on my legs -- in a dress and hat in front of foreign dignitaries -- and then gracefully stand up without falling over..."
Said no man ever

    (Cross posted from FaceBook)

Art Appreciation Thursday

    I'm not too sure what the difference is between Da Vinci and Rembrandt, but the others are spot on.

Rogue One

    We saw Rogue One this afternoon.  It is definitely a worthwhile experience.

Eat Yer Pudding

    Pink Floyd is sacred in our house.

Merry Christmas

     Merry Christmas to one and all who stop by this blog on their busy internet ways.  It was a great day, and Santa brought me a solar panel or two.

O Christmas Tree

    This is my kind of Christmas tree.

Christmas Lights

    Christmas Friday, Punny Friday, and Science Friday; all rolled into one.

Hang On, Sloopy

   A song from my youth, and actually, I thought it  was quite good.   But admittedly, it was also quite catchy.

Happy Winter Solstice

    T'is the reason for the season.

Decorating the tree

 
    That went easier than I expected.

White Christmas

   We're spending the Christmas holidays with friends and family in Seattle.  So a white Christmas is a definite possibility, both weather-wise and wine-wise

Christmas Spirit

    As of tomorrow, Christmas is but a week away.  And I feel myself bubbling over with the holiday spirit.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “Remember I told you there was no Second World War here, and therefore no computer revolution?”

    “Yes.”

    “Well, it had even greater effects than that.  There was no Manhattan project either.  No one has the A-bomb here.  Without the A-bomb, there’s been no need to develop a ballistic-missile programme.  Without a ballistic-missile programme, there’s no space race.  There are no huge government-funded science agencies.”

    “But surely there’s still some scientific research and development going on.”

    “In dribs and drabs.  But it’s unfocused, underfunded, socially unpopular.”

    Auger managed a half-smile.  “No change there, then.”

    (from Century Rain by Alastair Reynolds)

  8½*/10.  The complete review is here.

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George Orwell Quote

    Somehow this seems appropriate for the coming year.

Growing Up

    I totally agree.

Philosophy Tuesday

    This is why I don't get into philosophical discussions on Facebook.

Stick it in your Funk & Wagnalls.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    Some Schongauers regarded Simon as a dandy, but he didn’t care.  He knew that girls saw the matter differently.  The ladies of Schongau liked him on account of his dark and dreamy eyes, his well-shaped nose, and his slim figure.  Moreover, he was well-groomed.  He still had all his teeth; he took regular baths.  And he had rose-scented perfume delivered specially from Augsburg, as expensive as his meager salary permitted it.

    (from The Hangman’s Daughter by Oliver Potzsch)

    8½*/10.  The complete review is here.

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Christmas Trees

    I can't argue with his logic.

Whey to go

    A little bit of punnery to start the weekend.

Science Quote for the Day

Santa's Tattoo

    I think I can figure out the caption for this cartoon.  I'll put it in the comments.

Statues at the Phoenix Civic Center

    I am admitting nothing, mind you.  But it is possible that once upon a long time ago, I was in suggestive poses with one or more of these statues at the Phoenix Civic Center.

    Alcohol may have been a factor.  Pictures may have been taken.  But my cohorts in this antic have long since moved away, and I can only assume all the negatives were destroyed a long time ago.  Therefore I dismiss these rumors as idle speculation.

My Christmas List

    The word is out.  I'm to have my Christmas List done by the weekend.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “So do you have a car?”
    There was always Liz’s car.  He could borrow that if he had to.  If he got so much as a ding in the fender, she’d probably rip out his soul and eat it.  He’d seen her do that once to some guy who cut her off on the freeway, though really she didn’t eat the whole thing.  Soul went straight to her hips, so she’d just taken a small bite out of it before giving it back.  But Monster figured it would be better not to risk it.

    (from Monster by A. Lee Martinez)

  8*/10.   The complete review is here.

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Soylent Green

    We are committed to posting any comic that cites the fantastic movie Soylent Green.

Faking It

    Surely a book we all need to read.  And yes, it's a real book, and goes for $9.99 at Amazon.

Alt Write

    That's me.

Winter Fans

    Well, winter's finally arrived in Arizona, but we've yet to turn the heat on.  But when we do, we will still have not one, but two fans going in the bedroom.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    Tagwen struggled to his feet, straightening his rumpled clothes and squaring his stocky body away.  “Who are you?” he asked boldly.  “What are you doing out here?  How do you know so much about Pen and his father?”

    “So many questions,” the old man said softly.  “Life is full of them, and we spend it seeking their answers, first of one, then of another.  It is our passion, as thinking creatures, to do so.”

    (from High Druid of Shannara – Jarka Ruus by Terry Brooks)

    6½*/10.  The complete review is here.

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Word for the Day : Pleonasm

    Pleonasm : (n.) : the use of more words than are necessary (e.g.: "to see with one's own eyes") either as a fault of style, or for emphasis.

When music took talent

    True dis.  There was a time when your success as a musician was all about the talent you were blessed with, the motivation you could generate, and the amount of hours you were willing to devote to building on that talent.

    Nowadays, musicians are judged by the dance choreography in their videos and their ability to twerk.  Very sad.

Inspirational Quote for the Day

    That's me, folks.  Mr. Inspirational.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “I want you to take a team of men with rifles and search the whole forest,” she said.

    “Um, right.”  Dieter sounded confused.  “Sorry, did you say rifles?”

    “Rifles.  Rhymes with ‘stifles’.  I want you to search every square centimetre, and if you find a unicorn, or a white horse with a horn sticking out of its head, I want it shot and brought to me immediately.  You got that?”

    “Sure,” Dieter replied, making a note.  “Unicorns.  What if we don’t find any?”

    “Keep looking till you do.”

    (from Blonde Bombshell by Tom Holt)

  8*/10.  The complete review is here.

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Obligatory Holiday Greetings

    Happy Thanksgiving Day anyway!

24th Century English

    A glimpse into the future.

Camping

    "Go camping," they said.  "It'll be fun!" they said.

Kurt Vonnegut Quote

    Perceptive, and presumably a legitimate Kurt Vonnegut quote.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    You may find a lone mouse or a whole lot of mice,

    But the plural of house is houses not hice.

    If the plural of man is always called men,

    Why shouldn’t the plural of pan be called pen?

    The cow in a plural may be cows or kine,

    But the plural of vow is vows and not vine.

    And I speak of foot and you show me your feet,

    But I give you a boot … would a pair be called beet?

    (from The Adventure of English  by Melvyn Bragg)

  9½*/10.  The complete review is here.

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Jackson Pollock Saturday!

    We are committed to posting any and all Jackson Pollock references at this blog.

Young Earth Evolutionism

    I'm thinking of becoming one of these.

Reading Possibilities

    It's true.  I have about 150 reading possibilities at the moment.  Well, that doesn't include the Kindle, where there are another 200 possibilities or so.

Linguistics Wednesday

    Although, she really ought to be sipping a RED wine.

Tetris on the Road

    I will never look at this road sign the same way again.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    Rome awoke to the great, collective hangover of the day after Saturnalia.  All over the city hundreds of thousands of bleary eyes opened, the merciless light of morning pierced through them, and a vast groan ascended unto Olympus.  Patrician and plebeian, slave and freedman, citizen and foreigner, all were afflicted and were half certain that Pluto had them by the ankle and was dragging them toward the yawning abyss; and, on the whole, they viewed the oblivion of the trans-Stygian world as not such a bad prospect at all.  Even Stoic philosophers were retching into the chamberpot that morning.

    (from Saturnalia, by John Maddox Roberts)

     8*/10.  The full review is here.

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Science Sunday

    Dark Matter matters.

Today's Headline

    The headline in this morning's USA Today (along with this photo) : "Racist Graffiti Greets Trump Win Across USA".

     And so it begins.  When you elect a bigot, you can expect bigotry.

Oldies Music Reference Thursday

    And oldie but a goody.

Social Vegan

    True dis.