So, Litline (American Book Review) has what they purport to be the 100 Best First Lines from Novels. I don’t know about the 100 Best, but there’s certainly some good ones in there, although I could certainly argue with the order. For example, “He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad.” should… Read more →
Author: Mr. McLaren
OK, I might be alive…
Feeling much better, although not 100%. I just replaced some light bulb in my office–I have no windows in here, so I try to keep the place extremely well-lit, especially in the winter. For the last couple of years I’ve had four of the 100W-equivalent compact fluourescent bulbs, which are both more energy efficient and a whiter light. However, I’ve… Read more →
Oh, poor poor me
The Head Cold from Hell has really settled in now. It’s funny, because you’d think the head cold was the mildest ailment, and the easiest to get by, but I find that not being able to breathe right makes it impossible for me to sleep. Of course not sleeping is not the best way to get over a cold, so…… Read more →
I do not endorse Wikipedia vandalism.
However, every statement in the first paragraph of this particular revision of the entry is true. Read more →
Loathsome People
I had a good laugh (a “you have to laugh, or go insane” laugh) this morning while reading “The 50 Most Loathsome People in America, 2005” over at The BEAST . You should give it a read, and take your own laughs. Here’s two examples from the list: 15. Karl Rove Charges: A greasy pig whose only distinction in life… Read more →
This month’s All-Story magazine…
The current issue of All Story magazine features a “guest designer”. I picked up the magazine, not one of my normal picks, because that guest designer is one of my favourite characters: Mr. Tom Waits. The world is much more interesting place with him in it than it would be without. There’s actually limited material in the magazine for Tom… Read more →
Last election post today
This post brought to you by Laphroaig and Lagavulin. Well, I’m going to get drunk now and really enjoy this funk. Tomorrow I’ll try to focus on the positive things. There actually are some, but they go hand-in-hand with even scarier scenarios. Read more →
Who We Just Made Our Prime Minister…
This post brought to you by bitter, bitter tears. “Mr. Speaker, the issue of war requires moral leadership. We believe the government should stand by our troops, our friends and our allies and do everything necessary to support them right through to victory.” – Stephen Harper, supporting the American invasion of Iraq, House of Commons, April 1, 2003. “In terms… Read more →
Damn
CBC just called it. Damn. I need liquor now. Read more →
Election Beer #3
This post brought to you by Fuller‘s London Porter. So, here’s my perception of the parties at play in this election. Google will bring you all kinds of other perspectives, but here you get the McLaren view ™. Liberals – The least dangerous party to be in power–they’re generally progressive on social policy (most often when Prime Ministers start to… Read more →
Election Beers #1 and #2
This post brought to you by McAuslan St. Ambroise oatmeal stout. OK, all the predictions before the polls started closing (and I can’t legally talk about election results yet, even though I can see some of them now for Atlantic ridings) were that the Conservatives would end the night with a minority government. Before I go into a little Canadian… Read more →
Heading out to vote.
I am on my way out the door to vote in the federal election. My plan for tonight is to sit around watching CBC, and getting really drunk. I hope I don’t end up needing the loving oblivion of the bottle, but if the results go the way I (and the pundits) think they will, there’s no way I’m going… Read more →
Now that’s a short-list!
The short list is up now for The British Science Fiction Association Awards, and what a list it is. 9Tail Fox — Jon Courtenay Grimwood (Gollancz) Accelerando — Charles Stross (Orbit) (Free ebook edition) Air — Geoff Ryman (Gollancz) Learning the World — Ken MacLeod (Orbit) Living Next Door to the God of Love — Justina Robson (Macmillan) I’ve actually… Read more →
Hanging Around The House 3: Finishing The Basement
So, remember almost a year ago when I started the “Hanging Around The House” series? The idea was to take some quick digital snapshots to show things I have on the walls around the house, and give me an excuse to talk about them. I did a post on the things hanging in my office, and then another one on… Read more →
Top 5: First Blush
So, the question is “Ever get nostalgic for those first few blissful moments of being infatuated with someone? What are your top 5 songs for beginning a relationship, or looking back fondly thereon?” Let’s see… The first thing that pops into my head is the Oysterband tune “The Drunkard’s Waltz“. It’s the wild (and maybe just a little self-destructive) crazy… Read more →
