Medical Tuesday

    Ewww.   Just ewww.

The Pool Man Cometh

    This is all three of our dogs.  Every freaking Friday, between 11:00 AM and noon.

Sunday Sermon

Monty Python Saturday!

    This isn't photoshopped.  Eric Idle did really shake hands with Prince Charles while in a dress and with a swan on his head.

     It came at the end of the farewell Monty Python show, immediately after the curtain came down.  Eric, still in costume, hadn't realized that he would have no time to change before greeting the special guests at the show.   

Book Excerpt for the Day

    I recognized Saswanna’s father and remember his words.

    “The Spanish took our gifts and left us with war and Black Sleep,” Azaha shouted at the crowd.  “They took our pride, dignity and honor, and in return, gave us a cross.”

    He pointed up at it.  “It may be holy and honorable to the Spanish, but for the people of Casqui, it is the sign of sickness and deceit.”

    The crowd chanted.  “Death to the Spanish.  Death to the Spanish.”

    “Burn it before it destroys us all!” Azaha shouted back.

    (from Storykeeper, by Daniel A. Smith)

     5*/10.  The full review is here.

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Causal Fridays

    My brain misread this one three times before finally "getting it".

The crowded bed

    Three of them, actually.

Jury Duty

    I have jury duty tomorrow.  Maybe.  I have to call in at 10:15 AM to see if I've been picked for the afternoon shift.

Bookworms

   I spent an hour at Half Price Books on Saturday.  Walked out of there with only two books and no CD's.  Sometimes my self-restraint amazes even me.

420 Day

    Happy 420 Day to all!

When Editors go Questing

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “It’s wonderful to be back at the Bollywood Hole after all these years.

    I am proud to be here on behalf of Monty Python to accept this honor.

    I bring messages and thanks from the others.  Terry Gilliam sadly can’t be with us tonight as they won’t let him show his ass, which has been favorably compared with Spielberg’s ass.

    Graham Chapman can’t be with us tonight, as sadly he is still dead.  And John Cleese is finishing a movie.

    He has to get it back to Blockbuster by tomorrow.

    So that just leaves me here tonight.

    And so, I’d like to thank me, without whom I too wouldn’t be here this evening.”

    (from Always Look on the Bright Side of Life  by Eric Idle)

  9½*/10.  The complete review is here.

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Art Appreciation Wednesday

    It's called The Raft of the Medusa, and it presently resides at the Louvre in Paris.  Surprisingly (at least for me), "the Medusa" refers to a French ship, not the mythological creature.

Tuesday Motivational Message

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “Percival Lake… The name is familiar.  Constance, would you be so good as to look that up on… What is that website?  It was named after a large mathematical number.”

    “Google?”

    “Ah, yes.  Google him for me, if you please.”

    (from Crimson Shore by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child)

    8*/10.  The complete review is here.

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Determinism Man

    My new superhero hero!

Swann's Way - Part Deux

    This is the second time in less than a month that I've run across a comic referencing Swann's Way.  I'm thinking may it's a sign from the god of books, Libris.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “Do you know who I would watch out for if I were you?”

    “Catilina?”

    “Yes, him, too.  But the one who should really worry you is Antonius Hybrida.”

    “But the man is a half-wit!”

    “Cicero, you disappoint me.  Since when has idiocy been a bar to advancement in politics?”

    (from Imperium by Robert Harris)

     7*/10.  The full review is here.

Black Hole Size

    Just to keep everything in perspective.

Monty Python Wednesday!

    Just cuz I'm reading an autobiography by one of them. 

Industrial Death Metal Zits

    This is today's Zits comic strip.  I am familiar with Ulver, but the other two band names were new to me, and I wondered if they were made-up by the cartoonist.  So off to Google I went.

    It turns out they are real, and even have their own pages on Wikipedia.  They are indeed Industrial Death/Black Metal bands, but here's the curious part:

    All three bands are non-stereotypical for that genre, where the "norm" is pretending to be into satanism and ritual killing.  I need to camp out on YouTube and investigate them more deeply.

Monday Zen

    A clever take-off on one of my favorite Western movies.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    Contact popularized the idea of aliens listening in on our broadcast media.  Sadly, the odds are against it.

    Here’s the problem: Space is really big.

    You can work through the physics of interstellar radio attenuation, but the problem is captured pretty well by considering the economics of the situation: If your TV signals are getting to another star, you’re wasting money.  Powering a transmitter is expensive, and creatures on other stars aren’t buying the products in the TV commercials that pay your power bill.

    The full picture is more complicated, but the bottom line is that as our technology has gotten better, less of our radio traffic has been leaking out into space.  We’re closing down the giant transmitting antennas and switching to cable, fiber, and tightly focused cell-tower networks.

    (from What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe)

    10*/10.  The complete review is here.

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Technology Generation Gap

    In the "Digital vs. Vinyl" debate, I favor the former, while my son favors the latter.

Social Vegan

   Ayup.  That's me.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “Call the bank and relay the message that I can’t make it.”

    “What reason should I give them?”

    “It doesn’t matter, Sterling.  Make something up, if you have to.”

    “But, sir, that would be an untruth.  I – I don’t think I could do that.  A gentleman should always be impeccable with his word.  If I may be so bold to say.”

    “Well, explain that an emergency came up.”

    “Yes, sir.”  The puzzled look came back.  “What type of emergency?”

    “Tell them I have to go see an ailing friend.  And that’s the truth.”  Inspector Horatio Stagg always got a sick look on his face when he saw Ravenwood come through his office door.

    (from Trumpet of Triton by Marlin Williams)

     9*/10.  The full review is here.

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Gravy

    We made a gallon of gravy one time in college from about two teaspoons of meat-frying grease  by alternating additions of flour and milk.  It was pretty bland, but hey, we had gravy for our meat and potatoes.

Jumble

   It's true.  I do get vexed when I can't finish the Jumble in the morning.  But it gives my brain something to think about as I drive to work.

Vocabulary Building

    Learning a foreign language, one word at a time.