Housework

    This happens at our house all the time.

Twoo Wuv

    I know people like this.

Back Problems

    Me : "I have a weak back."
   Them : "Oh, that's too bad.  When did you get it?"
    Me : "Oh, about a week back."

(a standard piece of workplace shtick at the company I work for)

Dark Humour

    I am so much in trouble. 

RIAA Metadata

    Did anyone else notice the warning from Amazon that record companies are (once again) inserting metadata identification info into the MP3 downloads you buy there?

    I'm not sure what the ramifications are; I'm sure there will be some articles on it in the coming weeks.  Personally, I buy very little MP3 music from Amazon, so its effect, whatever it is, on me is minimal.  Most of my music acquisitions are from Freegal, used-CD stores, and LP conversions.

Quest For Glory

    Ah yes.  This applies to the King's Quest games, and even more so to the Quest For Glory series.  Be sure to grab that cruddy old shoe, so that later you can throw it at the cat, so he won't catch the mouse, so that later...

Selective Hearing

    I do NOT have selective hearing.  Is my omelette ready yet?

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “I’ve been ordered to place you under arrest,” said Manuel Trujillo.

    “Really,” I said.  The two of us stood in front of the shuttle I was about to leave in.

    “The orders came in a couple of hours ago,” Trujillo said.  “Along with the new communications satellite the CU just gave us.  The CU’s not pleased about a Conclave ship being in our sky, incidentally.”

    “So are you arresting me?” I asked.

    “I’d love to, but it seems that you and your family can’t be found,” Trujillo said.  “I suspect that you’ve already left the planet.  We’ll do a colony search, of course.  But I wouldn’t really lay good odds on us finding you.”

    “I’m sneaky, I am,” I said.

    “I always said that about you,” Trujillo said.

    (from The Last Colony by John Scalzi)

     8*/10.  The full review is here.

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Jammin'

    I hate to say it, but I can identify with the guy on the left.

The 60's

   Ah, yes.  I do remember the 1960's.  And yes, I did participate in a protest or two.  But I was no idiot.  If you're going to challenge the cops (or campus security), do so as part of a large crowd of protesters.  It makes the chances of you getting your head bashed in rather minimal.

Books

    Books.  Capturing and corrupting kids' minds since ...well... since 1953 at least.

Pushme-Pullyou

    I think I've spotted one of those rare pushme-pullyou beasts.  Dr. Doolittle would be thrilled!

Book Excerpt for the Day

    Because Wes lived in Brooklyn for many years, to him “Lafayette” was just the name of the subway stop at Lafayette Avenue.  At his request, I rattled off the highlights of Lafayette’s bio.  He responded, “So, you’re writing about a Frenchman who got muddled up in a war on a continent far away from where he was from against a country very close to where he was from?  It’s like somebody from Ukraine battling Russia in Brazil.”

    (from Lafayette in the Somewhat United States by Sarah Vowell)

   9*/10.  The complete review is here.

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Make America Great...

    A timely pic, since I just finished reading a book about Lafayette and the American Revolution.

Bags of Ice

    Useful advice.

Church Co-Ed Softball

    Actually, the co-ed league didn't have many of these embarrassing incidents.  But the Men's Church Softball League?  Absolutely scandalous.

Buy Back

   The buy-back of a thousand acres begins with a single bag of dirt.

Chalk Art Wednesday

    Chalk Art Wednesday - Cinder Block Wall Edition.

Art Appreciation Tuesday

    Splat!

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “What are you looking at, friend Willow?”

    “Just small things, Henu.  The little lives that reside in the hollows and burrows of the river.  When I was little and on vacation, I liked to think they were my friends but I thought how they must be scared of me as well because I’m so big and they’re so small.  Still, I like watching them live their lives down there in the water, soil and sand.  I wonder what it must be like to live out of sight, so quietly, and always hidden away.  I think sometimes I’d like to be one of the small, unseen things in the world.”

    “I think we all feel this way at times, my friend.  Life is too big and we are so small.  I think we live in fear that it might tread on us when it is not looking.”

    (from The Door of Dreams by Greg James)

    7½*/10.  The complete review is here.

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In remembrance...

    I'm never sure what greeting to use on this holiday.  Somehow, "Happy Memorial Day" doesn't seem quite right.  The alternative is "Thank You", but really this day is about honoring those who lost their lives serving in the armed forces, and they won't hear anything we say.  Veteran's Day in November is more for honoring those who survived.

    So I figure "In Remembrance" is the best.

Religious Luck

    I know a statistically incredibly huge number of people for whom this is true.

Sadistic Bears

    Once it is seen, it cannot be unseen.

Kafka Backwards

    We are committed to posting any and all comics that have to do with Franz Kafka.

Pinewood Derby

    I wasn't the most avid Cub Scout in the den, but I did enjoy the annual Pinewood Derby contest.  I generally did good, thanks mostly to my father's carpentry skills and understanding of how to make a block of wood accelerate faster down a ramp.

    Aesthetically, my cars were usually just one solid color and a number on the side in black magic marker.  The above car, however, is a work of art.  And in enlarging the picture and examining the car's body and wheels, I can attest that this is indeed made from a pinewood derby kit.

Book Excerpt for the Day

        Esmun blanched. He looked sorrowfully around the room.  “This has ever been my project – to free mankind from these evil patterns.  Unfortunately, I have found few who are motivated much by the hope of a wonderful future.  Many more I’ve found who act only once the threat of a miserable future seems certain.  But my first rule has always been that the existence of mankind as a whole cannot be put at risk by the actions of a few.”

    “I’m beginning to think,” Alysa said quietly, “that even within the most penetrating levels of human altruism, there are few who actually aspire to be different from what they are.”

    (from The Beginning of This, The End of That; Part 1: The End by James Matteson)

    4*/10.  The complete review is here.

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Dinosaur Jr.

    Oh my!  These guys are coming to Phoenix in September!  Just announced.  After eschewing them for 15 years because of their kitschy name, I finally picked up obe of their albums, and kicked myself for avoiding them for so long.

Childhood Punishments

    True dis.

Stick Shifts

    There's a lot of truth in this.  Two years ago, when I wanted a stick shift in the truck I was buying, I was told that only 2% of the vehicles come that way anymore.  So I acquiesced and got an automatic.

    Now, after driving it for 2 years, I am a total mess when I try to drive Liz's stick-shift Rav-4.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    Serge lunged at the counter with an open wallet.  “Two tickets to the sixties, please.  I need my wonder years.  Only three channels and no remote control, sitting in a box with Tang till two a.m., national anthem, prayer, fade to static.  Today, YouTube has shifted the collective consciousness from moon landings to elevator beat-downs.  But the sixties ruled in every way except musicians choking on their own vomit.  The squares always bring that up, but the fifties had separate drinking fountains, which more than outweighs spit-up.”  He checked his watch.  “What time is the Age of Aquarius?  I’ve never actually seen love steer the stars!”

    (from Coconut Cowboy by Tim Dorsey)

    8*/10.  The complete review is here.

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I've Been Kidnapped

    I felt so stupid when this happened.

Quantum Physics Thursday

    Don't believe this?  Try timing your next "1-hour" meeting,

Art Appreciation Wednesday

My Darling, My Hamburger

   This is not photoshopped; you can buy this book at Amazon.  But sadly, it is not available in Kindle format.

    Paul Zindel has written a number of strangely-titled books, and my Phoenix Public Library carries several of them.  Our every-third-Saturday library visit isn't for another two weeks (Memorial Day weekend), but I'm going to try to remember to look for one of these.

Soylent Green meets SMBC

   Soylent Green was a great film.  Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal is one of my favorite comic strips.  So when they met...

In The Year 2525

   Listen, I can understand why Rhinestone Cowboy and Yummy Yummy Yummy made it into this cartoon.  But In The Year 2525 is a downright fabulous song.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “You missed your court date,” I said to Stuart.

    His face brightened as the lightbulb suddenly snapped on.  “Right!  My court date.  I’m sorry about that, but I had to work.  My boss, Eddie Rosenberg, couldn’t find anybody to sub for me.”

    “Did you inform the court of this fact and ask to have your date rescheduled?”

    His face returned to nobody home.  “Should I have done that?”

    “Oh boy,” Lula said.  “Stupid alert.”

    (from Three To Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich)

    8*/10.  The complete review is here.

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Art Appreciation Friday

    Tagger edition.

Philosophy Thursday

    I think I going to embrace Anti-Solipsism.

Happy Birthday, Salvador Dali

    Salvador Dali is without a doubt my favorite artist of all time.  He was born on May 11, 1904.