Book Excerpt for the Day

    “Harry,” said Lockhart, his large white teeth gleaming in the sunlight as he shook his head.  “Harry, Harry, Harry.”

    Completely nonplussed, Harry said nothing.

    “When I heard – well, of course, it was my fault.  Could have kicked myself.”

    Harry had no idea what he was talking about.  He was about to say so when Lockhart went on.  “Don’t know when I’ve been more shocked.  Flying a car to Hogwarts!  Well, of course, I knew at once why you’d done it.  Stood out a mile.  Harry, Harry, Harry.”

    It was remarkable how he could show every one of those brilliant teeth even when he wasn’t talking.

    (from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling)

  9*/10.  The complete review is here.

.

How Book Reviews Got Started

    ROFLMAO.  Yes, I review books.  Yes, the above applies to me.  And God willing and the creek don't rise, I'll be posting one tomorrow.

Pick-Up Lines

    Yessirree.  All three of our dogs perform this valuable service for us while out on a walk.  Although usually they'll sniff it to point it out.

Wash Day

    True dis.  Every Wednesday and every Saturday.

Happy Birthday Patrick Macnee (John Steed)

    Happy Birthday to Patrick Macnee, who portrayed the incomparable John Steed (alongside the most sexy Diana Rigg) in the 1960's British adventure/spoof TV show The Avengers.

    Yeah, I know I'm showing my age by thinking of the two heroes shown above when someone starts talking about "The Avengers", and not the freakish superheroes from the more-modern movie with the same name.

    But dammit, you young whippersnappers, the 1960's show was better!   😎

Anarchy

    When filling out the paperwork for his first passport, my son listed Revolutionary as his occupation.  I got on to him for this, noting that the US Government has no sense of humor, and would probably run at least a cursory investigation.

    Nope.  They sent him his passport with no questions whatsoever.  Your Homeland Security Department at work.

    And I had to wiki "Emma Goldman".  She was quite the lady.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    It was cold, and a harsh, constant wind tore at us from the east.  The ground was cracked, brown, and featureless as far as I could see.

    “It’s probably nicer at the equator,” said Rex.

    “This is the equator,” I replied.

    “I’m sure it warms up during the summer.”

    “This is summer.”

    “Well, it probably snows in the winter.  I bet that’s nice.”

    “This planet has zero axial tilt.  This is winter too.”

    (from Starship Grifters, by Robert Kroese)

     8*/10.  The full review is here.

.

Socializing

    Yah.  Pretty much.

Greek Cows

    It made me laugh.

Islamorada

    I've always been suspicious of those shifty Floridians!

Chess By Mail

    Not only do I not 'get' this comic at all, but I'm also a bit miffed that Arlo is dissing those (like me) who play chess by mail.

Mathematics In Line

    There's a story behind the posting of this sign, I'm sure.  I have no idea what it is, but I'd dearly love to hear it.

Corporate Teamwork

    There is no "I" in "Team".  But I'm pretty sure I can find a "Me" in there.  And I'm pretty sure Scott Adams is a co-worker of mine.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “What do you want now?  I don’t know any bombers or anarchists.  My ignorance of such things is precious to me, and I intend to keep it until I die peacefully of old age, sitting in the sun on some park bench.  I can’t help you – but I suppose I can try, if you insist.”

    “Lieutenant Edwin Lovat,” Pitt replied.  He liked McDade and he had nothing pleasanter or more useful to do than extract information from him a piece at a time.

    “Dead,” McDade said simply.  “Shot through the chest – heart, actually.  Small handgun, close range.  Very neat.”

    “Great skill required?” Pitt asked.

    “Only for a blind man with a moving target.”

    (from Seven Dials by Anne Perry)

  8½*/10.  The complete review is here.

.

In gratitude

    I am truly grateful for its support.

Friday Night Puzzler

    It took me far too long to figure out the middle image in this puzzle.

Science Thursday

    There are some advantages in being a chemist.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “You must forgive Uzzret,” he said.  “At times he is … overzealous.”

    Ellonlef raised her bound hands and wiped the blood from her split lips.  “I cannot forgive a man who would have killed me, bound or not.  As to his zeal, I say his devotion has become madness.”

    Varis shrugged.  “Fanaticism is, at times, useful.”

    (from The God King by James A. West)

  5½*/10.  The complete review is here.

.

My Kind of Gang

Grammar Police Alert!

Required Readng for 2018

     This is an actual book.  Unfortunately, it costs $14.99 for the hardcover, $15.74 for the paperback (WTF??), and $12.99 for the Kindle version.  So I guess the author really does give a f**k.

My Club

    I am a member in good standing of this club.  Our secret 'sign' is wearing one of each other's shoes.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    They were in one of those double rooms with a sliding accordion divider in case a large group needed the extra space.  Another meeting was under way on the other side.  Someone kept opening and closing the divider.  Serge caught glimpses of glazed adults in a variety of robes and talismans.  The Lower Keys Chapter of People Susceptible to Joining Cults.  The members attended religiously.  The moderator was trying to get them to stop coming.  The divider closed.

    (from Torpedo Juice by Tim Dorsey)

  7½*/10.  The complete review is here.

.

Page Turner

    For the record, there really is an author named Page Turner listed at Amazon.  But she doesn't look anything the lady in this picture, and has written two books on polyamory.

Geography Tuesday!

    Brilliant!

Inconceivable!

   This is a must-see.

Bupkes

    Well, I've heard of the word, and I've probably used it a time or two in conversation.  But I never knew how to spell it.

Star Wars Spoiler Alert

    I've seen the movie and this is the key turning point in the plot.  I don't feel guilty about posting this spoiler here, because surely everyone has seen the movie by now.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    Singer Janis Joplin, who in 1968 was screeching out her voice with a California group called Big Brother and the Holding Company, said that she was not a hippie, because hippies believed in trying to make the world better.  Instead she said she was a beatnik: “Beatniks believe things aren’t going to get better and say, ‘The hell with it’, stay stoned, and have a good time.”

    (from 1968 – The Year That Rocked The World by Mark Kurlansky)

  9*/10.  The complete review is here.

.

Please Pass This Along...

    True dis.  And 50 years ago, chain letters came to me to die.

RIP, Lionell Humphrey

    RIP, brother.  Too soon gone.  You always had a smile for everyone, and that's what I'll never forget about you.

You're Welcome

    There are worse choices.  Such as "Muskrat Love" by The Captain and Tennille.  Or Debby Boone's "You Light Up My Life".  Or "They're Coming To Take Me Away", Ha Ha!"

Walking the Walk

   True indeed.  I do the treadmill at 2.9 mph, and go for 2 miles.  That's fast enough and long enough for me.

Science Sunday - SETI Edition

    Hmmm.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    ”What exactly are you wanting from me?”

    “This is the time which the Starflyer has worked for.  The time for good men to draw a line in the sand and say: No more.”

    “No further,” Adam muttered.

    Bradley sipped his tea and smiled.  “In the past, maybe.  But in the here and now, I know what must be done.  Little of it will be pleasant.”

    “Revolution never is for those who live through it.”

    (from Pandora’s Star by Peter F. Hamilton)

    The complete review is here.

.

Verbs

    A repeat, but a good one.

Thermostat

    This is quite true at our house in the winter, even though we live in Phoenix.  I like things pleasantly warm  as I walk around barefoot and in cutoffs.  Liz prefers things to be arctic frigid.

    She wins every time.  Something about "dressing for the season".

Existential Wednesday!

    For the record, I hated reading Waiting For Godot as a freshman in college, and loved reading it 40 years later.

Treadmill

    The holidays are over.  I gained a couple pounds.  Time to get back on the treadmill again.  It's all about those Fitbit steps.

Canada Dry

    True dis.  Whenever I got sick as a kid, the only thing I was given to drink was Ginger Ale and/or Grapefruit Juice.  And in either case, it had to be Canada Dry.

    I doubt there's any medical justification for that.  But it beat being limited to water.  And hey, I always got better after a couple days of it.