Retirement Job

    I'll be retiring, or at least be going to part-time hours, before the end of this year.  I do want to keep active though.  And if the part-time thing doesn't work out with my present company. I'm thinking Poems-R-Us is the answer.

Chalk Art Tuesday

    I still have no idea how they figure out how to draw these.

Memorial Day

    Remembering all those who have paid the ultimate price in war, no matter what side they were on.

Sunday Graffiti

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “She could be killed!”

    “True, but many women are dying for Spain, so why should Miss Parker not die for Britain?”  Vivar took off his shirt and brought out his razor and mirror-fragment.  “I think you are fond of her,” he said accusingly.

    “Not especially,” Sharpe tried to sound offhand, “but I feel responsible.”

   “That is a most dangerous thing to feel for a young woman; responsibility can lead to affection, and affection thus born, I think, is not so lasting as …”  Vivar’s voice faded away.

    (from Sharpe’s Rifles by Bernard Cornwell)

     9*/10.  The full review is here.

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Scandinavian Rock Bands

    I love these guys. They gurferben blimpen rock!

Star Wars Pun Day

    On this day in 1977, Star Wars opened in the theaters.  On this day in 1983, Return Of The Jedi opened in the theaters.

    And it took me an embarrassingly long time to "get" the above pun.

Work

    I don't care who you are or what you do for a living, some days work is just the sh*ts.

Other Drivers

   Yeah.  Pretty much.

Hidden Message

    There's a hidden message here somewhere.  If I could only find it.

A Non-Political Post

Book Excerpt for the Day

    The most common question, though, concerned the date etched into the rock’s surface.  Why did it say 1620, visitors wondered, rather than 1492?  Wasn’t that when Columbus arrived?

    “Or they ask, ‘Is this where the three ships landed?’” Claire said.  “They mean the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria.  People think Columbus dropped off the Pilgrims and sailed home.”

    Claire had to patiently explain that Columbus’s landing and the Pilgrims’ arrival occurred a thousand miles and 128 years apart.  “Americans learn about 1492 and 1620 as kids and that’s all they remember as adults,” she said.  “The rest of the story is blank.”

    (from A Voyage Long And Strange by Tony Horwitz)

  9*/10.  The complete review is here.

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True Love

   Or, as they say in my favorite movie, TWUE WUV.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “Of course, when the Chulduns began infiltrating the palace, they brought in their crocodile-god, too, and a flock of priests, and King Kurchuk let them set up a temple in the palace.  Naturally, we preached against this heathen idolatry in our temples, but religious bigotry isn’t one of the numerous imperfections of this sector.  Everybody’s deity is as good as anybody else’s – indifferentism, I believe is the theological term.”

    (from Paratime by H. Beam Piper)

     5½*/10.  The full review is here.

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Eric Clapton Lyrics

    It does make one think.

None given

Existentialism Monday

   Hey, I'd do the same thing.

Sunday Punnery

    Groan.

Help Wanted

  I'm soooooo close to needing a caretaker for my beach house.

Quadruple Pun Friday!

   

   Exquisite!

Book Excerpt for the Day

    He smiled as he eyed the dark-haired beauty in the first row who would prove to be Birte.  He had noticed her the minute he had entered.  He was aware that the combination of slim legs and large breasts was often synonymous with silicone implants, but Stop was no opponent of cosmetic surgery for women.  Nail polish, silicone: In principle, what was the difference?

    (from The Snowman, by Jo Nesbo)

     9½*/10.  The full review is here.

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Philosophy Wednesday!

    Or Science Wednesday!  Your choice.

History as a Function of Education

Geeky Introverts

    Well, I don't have a 35-inch monitor, but I can totally relate to Dilbert.

Book Excerpt for the Day

 "Excuse me?" he asked.

"There's something weird going on. You've got to get over here right now."

"Who is this?"

"It's Coaly Banks! Who the hell do you think it is?"

"Ahhhhh, Miss Banks, how are you?"

"I've got a big line down the middle of my body! How do you think I am?!"

"Beautiful," he replied.

    (from Lickety Split by Marlin Williams)

  8½*/10.  The complete review is here.

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Flat Earth

   At last!  Scientific proof that the Earth is flat!  And it's turtles, all the way down!

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “He’s a shrewd cookie, Philly Nine, always was.  Mad as a hatter, too, of course.”

    “I see.”  Jane sat down on a desperately fragile Tang-dynasty vase, the molecular structure of which Kiss was able to beef up just in the nick of time.  “So he’s dangerous.”

    “You might say that,” Kiss responded, spitting out apple pips, “if you were prone to ludicrous understatements.  If midwinter at the South Pole is a bit nippy and the Third Reich was, on balance, not a terribly good idea, then yes, Philly Nine is dangerous.  Apart from that, a more charming fellow you couldn’t hope to meet.  Plays the harpsichord.”

    (from Djinn Rummy by Tom Holt)

     8½*/10.  The full review is here.

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National Prayer Day

    Well, today is National Prayer Day, you know.

Horsing Around

    Hey, I saw it in the Internet, so it has to be true!

Music Tuesday

    Groan.

E-Book Hoarding

    True dis.  Hoarding is so much more space-saving on a Kindle.