The pros and cons of multiverses.
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
Monday, March 16, 2020
Friday, March 13, 2020
Book Excerpt for the Day
There
were some difficulties to be negotiated here.
Galileo had been tutor to young Cosimo when his father Ferdinando was
the grand duke, and that was good. But
he had also been asked to work up a horoscope for Ferdinando the previous year,
and had done so, and found that the stars predicted a long and healthy life for
the grand duke, in the usual way. But
then, shortly thereafter, Ferdinando had died.
That was bad.
(from Galileo’s Dream by Kim
Stanley Robinson)
.
Thursday, March 12, 2020
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
Monday, March 09, 2020
Sunday, March 08, 2020
Saturday, March 07, 2020
Book Excerpt for the Day
Say
a soft American Prayer
A
quiet animal sigh
for the strong plane
landing
We
rode on opium tires
from the colossal
airport
chess game
at
dawn, new from glass
in
the broken night
landed then in quiet
fog, beside the times
out of this strange river
(from Wilderness –
Volume 1 by Jim Morrison)
.
Friday, March 06, 2020
Thursday, March 05, 2020
Wednesday, March 04, 2020
Tuesday, March 03, 2020
RIP Neil Peart
We are committed to posting any comic strip that mentions Neil Peart, the drummer for Rush who passed away January 07, 2020.
Monday, March 02, 2020
Book Excerpt for the Day
“I
will never understand how on earth French food has this great reputation. Those heavy sauces play havoc with your
digestion, and just the thought of swallowing snails makes me want to throw up. As for that cheese that smells like sweaty
feet…”
Selva tried to get him to stop, but he
wouldn’t give up.
“Is there anything to beat the flavor of fresh vegetables cooked in
olive oil, for instance? Can you tell me
how they justify ruining the flavor of beautiful fish by smothering it in all
those sauces?”
“Why on earth have we come here, then, if you hate the food so much?”
“Because their wines are absolutely magnificent.”
(from Last Train
to Istanbul by Ayse Kulin)
.
Friday, February 28, 2020
Thursday, February 27, 2020
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
Book Excerpt for the Day
The
canning process was invented in 1809 by a French confectioner named Nicolas
Appert. Oui, the simple proletarian vessel that shepherded our Spam from
processing plant to dinner dish emerged in Paris, birthplace of so very much
genius, so very much chic. Is it
inappropriate, then, that a painter, Andy Warhol, had caused the soup can to be
the most recognized image in contemporary art?
Is it mere coincidence that the most representative Parisian dance is
called the cancan? Or that the famed
French film festival is held at a place called Cannes? Yes, of course it is, but no matter.
(from Skinny Legs And
All by Tom Robbins)
.
Monday, February 24, 2020
Sunday, February 23, 2020
Saturday, February 22, 2020
Friday, February 21, 2020
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Book Excerpt for the Day
“Do
you read well?” asked the Countess.
“I
think so. Recently I have had very
little opportunity. And the bookshelf in
my room is empty so-“
“That
is easily remedied,” replied the Countess.
“Mother taught both of us,” Maggie continued. “Tom and I, from a young age.”
She was going to say more, but stopped herself. Stopped herself from repeating the words her
father used to illustrate the importance of reading: reading and power go hand
in hand he had said. The rich prefer to
keep the poor illiterate and ignorant.
Remember, Maggie: knowledge is power.
(from Dark Remains
by Sean McMahon)
.
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Monday, February 17, 2020
Sunday, February 16, 2020
American Gods
A fantastic book that I read years ago. American Gods is my favorite Neil Gaiman novel, although I say that same thing about a couple other of his books. And today you can get it for your Kindle for the low price of $2.99.
Saturday, February 15, 2020
Book Excerpt for the Day
The kingdom to which Trurl repaired was
ruled by King Atrocitus. He was a
militarist to the core, and an incredible miser besides. To relieve the royal treasury, he did away
with all punishments except for the death sentence. His favorite occupation was to abolish
unnecessary offices; since that included the office of executioner, every
condemned citizen was obliged to do his own beheading, or else – on rare
occasions of royal clemency – have it done by his next of kin. Of the arts Atrocitus supported only those
that entailed little expense, such as choral recitation, chess, and military
calisthenics.
(from The Cyberiad Stories,
by Stanislaw Lem)
.
Friday, February 14, 2020
Thursday, February 13, 2020
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
Tuesday, February 11, 2020
Buddha Beatnik
I have hit a new level of obscurity for a music CD. The band's name is/was "Buddha Beatnik", and in 2000 they put out an album titled "Liberty School or...". Amazon doesn't carry it, indeed, just Googling the name gets zero hits. YouTube also lacks any hits.
Googling one of the band members' names - "Borfus Wallaby", gets a single hit to a Myspace site. Borfus apparently hangs out in the Portland, Oregon area.
My local used-record store offered the CD for $5.99 for a couple years, then dropped the price to $1.00, then further dropped it to $0.50, before some guy (me) took a chance on it.
I listened to the first 13 tracks today (there are 19 in all) as I did my Fitbit walk. The musicianship, songwriting, and vocals are surprisingly good for an album about which there is zero information out there.
Monday, February 10, 2020
Book Excerpt for the Day
“There were a couple cryptic inscriptions in
the temple. Gnothi seauton, which translates-“
“Know thyself,” Gray answered.
Painter nodded. He had to remind
himself that Gray was well versed in ancient philosophies. When Painter had first recruited him out of
Leavenworth prison, Gray had been studying both advanced chemistry and
Taoism. It was this very uniqueness of
his mind that had intrigued Painter from the start. But such distinctiveness came with a
price. Gray did not always play well
with others.
(from The Last
Oracle, by James Rollins)
.
Sunday, February 09, 2020
Saturday, February 08, 2020
Saturday Existentialism
I read the book when I was 18 and hated it. I reread when I was 50 and loved it. Go figure.
Friday, February 07, 2020
Thursday, February 06, 2020
Book Excerpt for the Day
Even
after a squirt of oil, the lock wouldn’t budge.
“Wrong key? Or maybe we don’t
have one. Now what?”
“We saw it off.”
“Got a saw?”
My
dad huffed out a laugh. “First time I’ve
been without my own tools in fifty years.
Makes me feel kinda naked.”
“Thanks for that mental image, Dad.
Got any other ideas?”
(from A Dead Red Alibi
by R.P. Dahlke)
.
Wednesday, February 05, 2020
Tuesday, February 04, 2020
Monday, February 03, 2020
Sunday, February 02, 2020
Book Excerpt for the Day
Under
the top-secret MK-ULTRA project, Dr. Hollister and many others across America
administered LSD and other psychedelic drugs to paid volunteers who were
observed and tested under hospital conditions.
One of these volunteers was a young creative writing student at Stanford
University named Ken Kesey (born 1935), who would soon find fame, fortune and
literary acclaim as the author of One
Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
Reasoning that lying on a hospital bed while being prodded and
questioned by an endless stream of not all that quick-witted doctors and
constantly having blood samples taken was perhaps not the most conducive
environment for psychedelic experimentation, Kesey liberated (as we used to say)
some Acid and other drugs when no one was looking. Thereafter there followed years of Kesey’s
more relaxed cosmic experimentation within his own home, in the company of his
friends, and, more famously, on an old clapped-out 1939 International
Harvester school bus.
(from Boom! – A
Baby Boomer Memoir 1947-2022 by Ted
Polhemus)
.
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