The

    Incredibly, it's true.  This is going to bug the crap out of me from now on.

Naps

    Naps.  Good for your health.  Scientifically proven.

Résumés

    I've been reading résumés today.  For some reason, this meme came to mind.

Duran Duran or The Guess Who

    I once had a roommate who refused to let me play my Irish Rovers LP's on the same turntable that we used to play Jimi Hendrix and The Doors albums.  In retrospect, I think his criticism was valid. 

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “These people have provided me with some fascinating insights, and together we have created a device which will end this madness once and for all.”

    “Really?  What, exactly?”

    “We have utilised the work I had previously done, effectively turning my previous theories and concepts on their heads.  Whilst previously I had focused the energies upon the positive actions forcing a breach, we are instead going to achieve the reverse.”

    “I know he thinks that’s an explanation,” said Kate to me.  “But I just hear noise.  You have any idea what he’s blathering on about?”

    (from The Infernal Aether, by Peter Oxley)

    8*/10.  The full review is here.

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Music Collections

    I have no idea whose tape cassette storage case this is.  But I can tell you with certainty the owner's gender.

Science Sunday

    I'm a scientist by trade.  Trust me, we have these kinds of discussions quite often.

Thunderbolts and Lightning

    We've been inundated two nights in a row by rain-soaking monsoons.  This calculation came in handy.

RIP Hieronymus Bosch

    Happy Death Day to this dude.  (d. 08/09/1516)  His artwork (see below), plus the fact that we have no record of where and when he was born, is arguably the most compelling evidence we have that time-travel is a reality.

The Last Straw

    Some things are worth fighting for.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “We only got three rules here.  Do what I tell you and don’t piss in the bed.”

    Ender nodded.  He knew that Rose wanted him to ask what the third rule was.  So he did.

    “That was three rules.  We don’t do too good in math, here.”

    The message was clear.  Winning is more important than anything.

    (from Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card)

  8*/10.  The complete review is here.

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Alignments

    In case you have trouble understanding the various "Evil" alignments in D&D.

Movie Quotes Sunday

American Gothic 2018

    Simply stunning.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “Do you suppose that, having once placed my shoulder to the wheel and my nose to the grindstone, I will leave the furrow unplowed?  I have sworn to redeem you and redeem you I will, with cooperation or without it.  In principle, I am in full sympathy with the right of every Englishman – or woman – or, come to that, and man or woman of any nation … What was I about to say?”

    Nemo’s frown had been replaced by a blank, almost imbecile stare.  “I haven’t the slightest idea,” he mumbled.

    (from Lion In The Valley by Elizabeth Peters)

    7*/10.  The complete review is here.

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Happy Birthday, James Baldwin

    Happy Birthday, Mr. James Baldwin, sir!  Author of The Fire Next Time, which I believe I read in junior high a long, long time ago.  I was not aware of the above quote, but it seems extremely appropriate for this nation right now.

Getting Rid of Books

    Now just hold on there a minute.  I've never read The Great Gatsby.  I think I'll move it back into the "Books Never To Sell" pile.

    But the two remaining books can go.

Ommmm. Mmmmm.

    This is  why I've never been big on meditation.

Dorian Gray

    We don't normally post any literary spoilers here.  But in this case, we'll make an exception.

Time Machine-Pooling

    This is why I never carpool when traveling in my Time Machine.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    It’s not lost on me that I’m so busy recording life, I don’t have time to really live it.  I’ve become like one of those people I hate, the sort who go to the museum and, instead of looking at the magnificent Brueghel, take a picture of it, reducing it from art to proof.  It’s not “Look what Brueghel did, painted this masterpiece” but “Look what I did, went to Rotterdam and stood in front of a Brueghel painting!”

    (from Let’s Explore Diabetes With Owls, by David Sedaris)

     7½*/10.  The full review is here.

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Where's Waldo the Convict

    It took me a surprisingly long time to spot him.

The Evils of Alcohol

    My wife has absolutely no sense of humor.

Anatomy of a Bookworm

    Seems pretty spot-on to me.

Doggy Diets

    Our dog Bella has been put on a diet, and asked that I post this. No, that's not her.  Although the body build is about right, she's colored differently.   And she prefers to give evil eyes instead of snarling.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “It’s said he betrayed a god.”

    Finally the man faced him.  His face was scarred, and something that might have been a burn marred his jaw and left cheek.  For all that, he looked young for a commander.  “Heed the lesson there, son.”

    “What lesson?”

    “Every decision you make can change the world.  The best life is the one the gods don’t notice.  You want to live free, boy, live quietly.”

    “I want to be a soldier.  A hero.”

    “You’ll grow out of it.”

    (from Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson)

    9½*/10.  The complete review is here.

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Listen To The Rain

        Laugh if you will, but I once bought an LP that consisted of nothing but random jungle sounds, none of which were in the least bit exciting.  Someone apparently just set up a tape recorder and let it go for 40 minutes or so, figuring there were idiots out there who'd buy anything.  Like me.

    And I won't even mention the 3-LP boxed set I once got, with nothing but all sorts of trains blowing their whistles at railroad crossings.

Pictures Without Text Saturday

    Just cuz I've been listening to punk music this afternoon.

Friday Picture Puzzle

    Answer in the comments, but you really should get this one yourself.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    He was small, but fast.  Herr Ninja was in front of Blake before he could react.  All Blake could do was raise his arm above his head, to shield himself, but he knew it would be useless.  Katana are made for lopping off limbs the way anapestic tetrameter was made for Seussian poetry, except Japanese swords don’t scan as well and poetry tends to draw less blood.

    (from The Fridgularity by Mark A. Rayner)

  7½*/10. 

    The complete review is here.

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The Ants Are My Friend

   "A Spring Clean of the May Queen"?!?!  I'm sure that's not correct.  It doesn't make any sense.  Of course, the way I've always sang it, "a sprinkling of the May Queen", doesn't make any sense either.

    As for this blog entry's title, the second line of the song is "They're Blowing in the Wind".

Dali Tuesday

    We are committed to all things Dali.

Monday Illusion

    Back from a much-needed and much-enjoyed sojourn in the Pacific Northwest.  Missed three days of monsoonal havoc down here in Arizona, and left Seattle just as a heat wave was approaching.  Timing is everything.

    Of course, a "heat wave" in Seattle means high temperatures above 90°F, while here in Phoenix, a 90°F high means it's time to get out a light jacket in the evening.  Location is everything.

    Alas, tomorrow I must return to work.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    The simple truth is that one person’s Druid is another person’s fantasy.  The Druids have been conjured in a wide variety of perceptions, as to who they were, what they believed and what they taught, since the sixteenth century.  The basic problem is that no Druid, nor sympathetic contemporary observer, ever committed to writing the necessary unequivocal information for our latter-day understanding.  We have to search diligently among many sources to come up with our answers and, as Levi-Strauss implies, the result of the search depends on what questions we ask.

    (from A Brief History of the Druids by Peter Berresford Ellis)

  7*/10.  The complete review is here.

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Druids

    Question: What mental image forms in your mind when you hear the word "Druid"?

Book Excerpt for the Day

    “I need a good trustworthy man in Charles Town.  Someone to make sure the supplies keep flowing, and to make certain such dirtiness as has been done to me in the past is not repeated.  A … uh … private investigator, you might say.  Does that sound at all of interest to you?”

    It took a little while longer for Matthew to find his voice.  “I do appreciate your offer, sir.  I do.  But, to be perfectly honest, you and I would eventually come to blows and our fight might knock the earth off its tilt.  Therefore I must decline, as I would hate to be responsible for the death of mankind.”

    (from Speaks The Nightbird, Evil Unveiled by Robert McCammon)

     9*/10.  The full review is here.

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Happy 4th of July

    No one is free, until everyone is free.

RIP Jim Morrison

    RIP, Jim Morrison.  d. 07/03/71.  When people ask me, "The Beatles or The Stones?", my response is always: "The Doors!"

About Those Tax Cuts

    That's pretty much the way they work.

Sunday Pun Day

    Clever.