Saturday, May 12, 2018
Friday, May 11, 2018
Thursday, May 10, 2018
Book Excerpt for the Day
“Are you really a magistrate?”
“Yes, I really am.”
“From where?” Her eyes narrowed,
like those of a suspicious cat.
“Charles Town. But I originally
served the bench in London for many years.”
“You have experience in witch trials?”
“No, I do not. I do, however,
have much experience in murder trials.”
He offered a faint smile. “All
the jurists I know who have experience in witchcraft trials are either writing
books or selling lectures.”
(from Speaks The
Nightbird, Volume 1 : Judgment of the Witch by Robert
McCammon)
.
Wednesday, May 09, 2018
Tuesday, May 08, 2018
Monday, May 07, 2018
Sunday, May 06, 2018
Saturday, May 05, 2018
Book Excerpt for the Day
What does a Riddler do?” she asked, breaking
the long silence.
Twardy Zarost grinned and jutted his beard into the air. “A Riddler’s work is a simple thing. I must hide the truth without lying.”
“Do you ever speak straight?”
Zarost laughed. “You mean to say
am I ever not a Riddler?”
“When do you say exactly what you mean?”
“Always will I tell the truth, always near the Ring, forsooth.”
“But you’re always confusing me.
All your answers have two meanings, or more.”
“If some people do not understand the Riddler it is because they are not
hearing properly.” He waggled a finger
at her. “If some people listened more
dearly, they may be able to hear things clearly.”
(from The Riddler’s
Gift, by Greg Hamerton)
8½*/10. The full review is here.
.
Friday, May 04, 2018
Just Desserts
And for the record, the phrase is "Just deserts". One 's' only. Taken from the French word meaning "to deserve". So sez Bill Bryson, and he should know.
Except in the particular scenario shown above, of course.
Thursday, May 03, 2018
Wednesday, May 02, 2018
Tuesday, May 01, 2018
Monday, April 30, 2018
Sunday, April 29, 2018
Saturday, April 28, 2018
Friday, April 27, 2018
Book Excerpt for the Day
Captain
Bly had once been first in his class in the Space Academy, had had all the
promise of the best and the brightest.
But he had thrown it all away with one small mistake, one moment’s
dallying where he should not have dallied, one moment’s surrender to lust. Unhappily, his commanding officer had,
tragically, returned to his quarters early that same day. He had found young Bly in bed with his
wife. And his nephew. Not to mention a sheep, and his favorite
hunting dog. The commander had really
loved that dog.
(from Bill the
Galactic Hero, Volume 1 by Harry Harrison)
.
Thursday, April 26, 2018
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
Tuesday, April 24, 2018
Monday, April 23, 2018
Sunday, April 22, 2018
Book Excerpt for the Day
Eminent,
eminent people, one and all, members of the Society for the Prevention of
Fantasy, advocators of the banishment of Halloween and Guy Fawkes, killers of
bats, burners of books, bearers of torches, good clean citizens, every one, who
had waited until the rough men had come up and built the towns and repaired the
highways and made everything safe. And
then with everything well on its way to Safety, the Spoil-Funs, the people with
mercurochrome for blood and iodine-colored eyes, came now to set up their Moral
Climates and dole out goodness to everyone.
(from The Martian
Chronicles by Ray Bradbury)
.
Saturday, April 21, 2018
Friday, April 20, 2018
Thursday, April 19, 2018
April Blizzards Bring May Lizards
This is for all my East coast and upper Midwest friends. Here in Phoenix, we've already had our first day of 100°F weather.
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
Quitting Smoking
Many years ago, my company started a wellness incentive program, where they'd give you $100 if you quit smoking cigarettes for at least 30 days.
I went in and claimed my reward, but they rejected me, pointing out that I didn't smoke cigarettes in the first place. I countered by offering to smoke a single cigarette, preferably without inhaling. Then "quit", never to touch tobacco again. They STILL rejected my claim.
This comic strip reminds me of that episode.
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
Monday, April 16, 2018
Saturday, April 14, 2018
Friday, April 13, 2018
Book Excerpt for the Day
Roen
scrambled to his feet and ran. Omer
snarled, and suddenly Roen heard a loud bang, and then a windshield near him
exploded into glass shards.
“Jesus, did he just shoot at me?”
Roen turned the corner and ran north, passing several rows of cars. Several more bullets hit cars and shattered
more windows. “God, he’s trying to kill
me!”
“Doubtful, he is most likely aiming for a non-vital area.”
“Every part of me is vital!”
(from The Lives of
Tao by Wesley Chu)
.
Thursday, April 12, 2018
Wednesday, April 11, 2018
Tuesday, April 10, 2018
Monday, April 09, 2018
Book Excerpt for the Day
“You’re
saying Peter Solomon comes down here to reflect on death?”
“I
really don’t know,” Langdon said sincerely.
“Maybe he created it as a sanctuary for his Masonic brothers who work in
the building, giving them a spiritual sanctuary away from the chaos of the
material world … a place for a powerful lawmaker to reflect before making
decisions that affect his fellow man.”
“Lovely
sentiment,” Sato said, her tone sarcastic, “but I have a feeling Americans
might have a problem with their leaders praying in closets with scythes and
skulls.”
Well, they shouldn’t, Langdon thought,
imagining how different a world it might be if more leaders took time to ponder
the finality of death before racing off to war.
(from The Lost
Symbol by Dan Brown)
.
Sunday, April 08, 2018
Saturday, April 07, 2018
Friday, April 06, 2018
Thursday, April 05, 2018
Wednesday, April 04, 2018
Tuesday, April 03, 2018
Monday, April 02, 2018
Book Excerpt for the Day
A
man sits in a room, manipulating his kneecaps.
It is 1983, on the campus of the University of California, Los
Angeles. The man, a study subject, has
been told to do this for four minutes, stop, and then resume for a minute
more. Then he can put his pants back on,
collect his payment, and go home with an entertaining story to tell at
suppertime. The study concerns human
sexual response. Kneecap manipulation
elicits no sexual response, on this planet anyway, and that is why the man is
doing it: It’s the control activity. (The opening paragraph of the book.)
(from Bonk: The
Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary
Roach.
.
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