I just found this on my hard drive–I think it might have run in Harpers ages ago–and thought it was worth putting up here: A HO-HO-HO HOW-TO From the “Santa Manual” distributed by Western Temporary Services to employees in its “Santa Division” The Walnut Creek, California, firm provides as many as 3,000 Santas to department stores and shopping malls each… Read more →
Author: Mr. McLaren
Music For Broken People
This mix probably should speak for itself, but when I have I ever let something like that stop me from sticking my two cents in? We start off with the Canadian Music Icon of my university days, Mr. Jerry “Jerry Jerry” Woods, and his orchestra. He’s giving some helpful advice from one broken person to another, but doing it painfully… Read more →
Painfully limited
I’ve made no secret of the fact that Eddie Campbell is one of my favourite comic creators—not to mention one of the top five living people I’d want to spend a night drinking and talking BS with—and that I think Alan Moore is probably the best comic writer to have yet lived. So it’s probably not surprising that I’m a… Read more →
Wrongheaded
That’s a screen cap from the video for Amanda Palmer‘s tune Leeds United. (As an aside, that video was directed by sometime comic book writer Alex DeCampi, and I found out today that at least two of my online acquaintancesYou know, the people I know who I’ve never met IRL, and who live on another continent. are actually part of… Read more →
Aside
Wow, I hope this is accurate. I’m totally willing to trade for the chaos to get out from under.
Aside
so he starts to roam the streets at night
and he learns how to steal
and he learns how to fight
In the ghetto
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Also officially on The List: The Salvation Army. (Note to self–remember this for the next time someone starts off on “faith-based initiatives” and public funding.)
Book==Great, Publication==Confusing.
A few years back I made this statement on the blog: I have read everything Graham Joyce has ever published, and none of them have been less than excellent. Well, in the intervening years, a few more books have been published, but the statement remains true. In fact, if anything it’s more true for the book I just read… although… Read more →
Aside
Today’s recursion giggle: a concept map of concept maps.
Aside
While our family has several Christmas traditions, and these are very meaningful to me, there is also one Christmas tradition that is mine alone, and it brings me a great amount of pleasure. Every year, early in December, the people from Scrumptious Delights have a booth in Halifax as part of one of the Christmas craft shows. Every year, I visit them and buy one of their “Victorian Dark” Christmas cakes. It comes wrapped in a brandy-soaked cheesecloth, then cling wrap, then foil, then a lovely plastic packaging. I ration it out over as many days as I can–usually about five. If you dislike a good fruitcake, that’s fine with me–more for me. If you think fruitcake is a joke, then you have just never had one this good. I just had my second piece. So very, very good. I am leaving out one embarrassing part of this story.
Yes, I Am Enjoying This
A couple of times on the weekend I contemplated writing something about the proposed coalition. I’m kind of glad I didn’t, since things have moved at a much more rapid pace than I would have guessed possible. And besides, as usual, Patrick sums it up better than I could have. (As a bonus, the bit about Americans laughing derisively at… Read more →
I must be getting old
…because when I read an article with a throughline that’s essentially “Students lie, cheat, and steal a lot more than they used to, and still think they are good people, but it’s OK because there’s so much more stress on them, and anyway it’s not their fault but rather society’s” my reaction is essentially “Oh, phui!”. Everyone thinks they have… Read more →
Persistent Remnants
So, irony–I spent ten consecutive days in all day meetings in Boston, and what are the things that are the important concrete results of the trip for me (as opposed to my employers)? A signed book, and a signed CD. Important persistent result number one, is this: Amanda, as she apparently always does, stayed after the show to sign things.… Read more →
Nerding It Up Tinfoil Hat Style
So, a few months back I was thinking about an upcoming trip to Boston. A trip not unlike the one I’m on right now, albeit shorter and without the 9 day, all-day meeting marathon. Anyway, I was thinking about this trip with particular reference to the USA’s apparent new policy of having border guards copy data on laptops people bring… Read more →
Aside
I’m glad I wasn’t trying to drive home last week. Especially since my normal routing takes me through the Cobequid Pass at night. On the up side, I missed the normal post-snow power outage (which the girl apparently weathered with no trouble), which means I also skipped the several hours of impotent rage and ranting about privatization that usually accompanies that.
