For the record, I’d like to see the rest of the world on the same scale. This obviously comes from Scientific American, but I got it from the always interesting Strange Maps. It kind of saddens me to see that “marred by creationist jargon” tag on Massachusetts though. I do kind of think of Boston and environs as a relatively… Read more →
Author: Mr. McLaren
Good Friday, Part 3
Speaking of those people that cocky atheists particularly love to make fun of, you should take a moment to read this blog post outlining the shock of someone who has lived in the middle east, upon moving to middle america. So when I came to the US I was shocked, absolutely stunned at just how absolutely people believed the Bible.… Read more →
Good Friday, Part 2
You know, you can’t make up stuff like this: The owner of a photo store, who says her business partner is Jesus, began Holy Week by putting signs outside her store urging passing motorists to show their support for the Christian holiday. “Easter: Beep for Christ,” the signs said. Phil Young, owner of a neighboring tattoo store, soon after put… Read more →
Good Friday, Part 1
An unexpected gift
Yes, what you are looking at there is my new Voco Clock, as previously discussed here. Sunday after the tournament, I stopped in at my local comic shop, and was given that item as a “thanks for hosting the tournament” gift. Damn. While I didn’t wake up Sunday until 2:30PM (and, wow, was that a nice change), and thus was… Read more →
Tournament Results
Well, Saturday’s tournament was pretty much an unqualified success–the house is still standing, with no capital expenditures required to put it into wife-ready order before Trish gets back, I think everyone had fun, and I certainly enjoyed myself. And, I got a lot of great stuff from the lads–giant cards, mathematically useful cards, poker signage, classy religious beer, fine whisky,… Read more →
…oh, and speaking of Chandler
Ian Fleming Interviews Raymond Chandler for the BBC That’s the only known recording of Chandler‘s voice. How cool is that? Phillip Marlowe‘s creator being interviewed by James Bond‘s creator. Chandler is getting on in years in this interview, and he comes across as a kinda-drunk cranky old man, but with a razor-sharp mind. It’s pretty awesome. And it’s a goldmine… Read more →
While I’m Talking About Movies…
..but this time good ones: We had a double bill of Double Indemnity and Body Heat last night. Best piece of dialogueBest delivery of a line, though, is a tie between Robinson‘s line about “Margie” drinking straight from the bottle, and Turner‘s “You don’t look lazy.” from the night: Phyllis: I was just fixing some ice tea; would you like… Read more →
Jeff Ford, Look What You’ve Done.
You know, things are so easy in this Internet age that it sometimes only takes a tiny impetus to start things rolling down the hill. For example, brilliant author Jeff Ford might make a slightly nostalgic post about the terrible 1975 movie The Devil’s Rain. One of the unintentionally funniest flicks ever. If I’m not mistaken, the last scene is… Read more →
A Clash Of The Titans
This Saturday night my home will be host, for the first time, to a Halifax Gentlemen’s Poker Association No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em invitational tournament. I’m quite excited–the logistics of getting the various and sundry reprobates required for such an event out to my secret base in the woods are not trivial, and attempts to have an event here in… Read more →
Have I Fallen Into Bizzaro World?
Yes, this is a link post. Each one of these links is something I’ve run into lately that makes me wonder if I’m still in the real world… or at least has made me suspect there is something subtly off about things around me… “Michael Jackson is in discussions about creating a 50-foot robotic replica of himself to roam the… Read more →
Favourite Blog Memery
So, over at Shaken & Stirred my pal Gwenda says some very nice things about this blog, and then tags me with one of those memes: list your top five non-book blogs. This is both easier and much harder than “list your top five blogs”. It’s easier since the vast majority of the blogs I followI do have literally hundreds… Read more →
Science Fiction Authors Say Smart Things: Brust on Thinkin’
Some days Steven Brust does a brilliant job of charmingly and knowingly talking a lot of bunk. Hell, I’ve seen him do it in a costume with a cheesy, fake accent, and that’s like the black diamond trail of bunk-talkin’. Today is not one of those days. Today he hits it straight down the middle with precision. He’s good at… Read more →
Of course he would know where the lost souls were…
You remember when I was hyping up that Judy Henske collection? Well, it arrived, and the music is just as awesome as I expected it to be. However, the liner notes are even better than I expected them to be. Especially this one: Hooka Tooka When I sang this at Mr. Kelly’s in Chicago, Martin Luther King came in. He… Read more →
A Story That Could Be True
If you were exchanged in the cradle and your real mother died without ever telling the story then no one knows your name, and somewhere in the world your father is lost and needs you but you are far away. He can never find how true you are, how ready. When the great wind comes and the robberies of the… Read more →
