Ladies and gentlemen, I present for your amusement, two quotations which I find myself thinking of entirely too often during the course of my daily employment. The first is from Mr. Charles Babbage, whom I have ultimately to thank for both my lucrative employment, and also for much of the pain of my existence. On two occasions I have been… Read more →
Author: Mr. McLaren
Book-hunting in Melbourne
I have been meaning for a while to write about the fruits of my book-buying excursion while in Melbourne. In some ways it was a much less fruitful day than I had been hoping, partly because I was feeling a bit delicate on the day I did the rounds of the bookstores–it was my birthday, and I was feeling delicate… Read more →
They really do have a word for everything…
Today’s word-of-the-day comes to us from author Matt Ruff, in a story about his grandfather’s missionary work. Urwahnfried is a word composed of old German word roots, and means in modern English, “Fulfillment.” Or, more explicitly: “The Place where my Fight for the Highest and Broadest Ideals of Life Came to an End in the Peace of Victory.” Go read… Read more →
Under The Covers
I don’t think I’ve mentioned here yet the news about oft-mentioned-here Danny Michel and his radio host gig. The short version is that Danny is going to co-host a radio show with indie rocker and occasional bandmate Emm Gryner on CBC. That’s the two of them in the picture above. The show will focus on cover tracks. In addition to… Read more →
Harper takes another page from the Bush playbook
Look at that, citing executive parliamentary privilege as a way to cover up shady partisan shenanigans. Get some details from shamelessly anti-Harper (and thus, completely Chris-approved) site HarperIndex.ca: Allan Riddell case contradicts accountability promises, threatens damage Stephen Harper’s invoking Parliamentary privilege, to avoid testifying in a defamation suit brought against him and the party by long-time Conservative Alan Riddell, exposes… Read more →
Minor Local Mysteries
I’ve lived in Halifax for a pretty long time now, but there are still lots of things that I just don’t know about the place. There are several things that I used to wonder about, but over time I’ve just stopped noticing them or being curious about them, unless something specifically draws my attention back to them. I’m not talking… Read more →
Amazon.ca, British Books, What The Hell?
Ever since Amazon.ca opened, I’ve been in a kind of book-buyer’s bliss. The Canadian variant of Amazon has a broader selection than native Chapters, and typically has lower prices–all good stuff. Even better, though, Amazon.ca put me in a position to leverage my special status as a Canadian lover of books: we can get both American and British editions from… Read more →
Several Dissimilar Things You Can Read For Free
Some times the Internet is like an unending river of chaos that just keeps washing all kinds of wild flotsam up on your shores. How is it possible that in the space of 20 minutes I get pointed to all three of these things? Full Revelations of a Professional Rat-Catcher After 25 Years’ Experience – A book from the end… Read more →
It’s about time
Look, I know there’s no guarantee of them going anywhere–indeed almost the opposite while W has veto power–but seeing legislation in both the House and Senate to close Guantanamo still makes me happy. It’s about time someone stood up and said of Gitmo that it is “plainly inconsistent with America’s proud legal traditions; it has become a stinging symbol of… Read more →
Canada is measurably different from the U.S.
I know where you think this is going, after reading that headline, and it’s not what you think. See, Canada is depressed. And our stuff weighs less. OK, enough with the cuteness: Canada is depressed because during the last ice age a sheet of ice called Laurentide, more than 3km thick, pressed down on the earth’s crust here, and apparently… Read more →
Yay for Justine!
Congratulations to my online friend Justine, who just won the second annual Norton AwardDespite what is says (at least at the moment I’m writing this) at Wikipedia, this is the second year of the award. Holly Black won last year at the inaugural occasion. for her Magic Trilogy. This must be an especially satisfying win for her, since the shortlist… Read more →
On Speeding Tickets
Did I mention that I got a pretty big speeding ticket in the backwoods of Maine (on the “Airline”) while on my way to that session in Boston last month? Some facts and observations: This is my first speeding ticket in more than seven years. Hell, I haven’t even been pulled over in more than seven years, except on the… Read more →
Those who fail to learn from history…
See also. Read more →
Saturday night with the books
Man, am I in a bad mood right now. Maybe closing a bunch of book-related tabs will cheer me up. Let’s start with Justine Larbalestier‘s justified outrage about another recent YA book-banning. This kind of shit really pisses me off–thinking about it probably won’t help me get out of my pissy mood, actually. If I didn’t already have a copy… Read more →
A Friday Afternoon Miscellany
Sorry about the pause there. It was a combination of tax shock, work, visiting friends, and my avoiding writing a big post about how to construct an amoral ethics. To ease myself back into blogging, let’s do a nice easy link-blogging post. Need to waste a few minutes at work? Are you a child of the 80s? Well then, you… Read more →
