“Listen, this Bond guy, he’s some kind of commie assassin, isn’t he? I mean, look at the evidence. He works for the state — a socialist state at that. He went to university and worked with those guys Philby and Burgess, that MacLean guy — commie spies to a man. He goes after entrepreneurs who are a threat to the… Read more →
Author: Mr. McLaren
Just back from this…
A 1940’s swing night, full of sophistication and elegance, great music and décor will provide the perfect atmosphere to showcase the quality products at the upcoming Scotch Ceilidh. Come out to the Casino Nova Scotia Schooner Showroom on October 20th and enjoy a number of single malt and premium blend scotch offerings along with classic 1940’s décor and music. Just… Read more →
Three US political stories…
First, a story that is still giving me a happy–perhaps the second happiest U.S. politics story going after Fitzgerald’s perseverence: Texas Court Issues Warrant for DeLay A Texas court issued a warrant Wednesday for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to appear for booking, where he is likely to face the fingerprinting and photo mug shot he had hoped to… Read more →
Bookstore splurges
So, while I was in Ontario last month (you remember the 10-day blog blackout?) I did get a chance to take a run into Toronto and visit a couple of my favourite specialty bookstores. The trip started with a visit to Canada’s leading mystery bookstore, The Sleuth of Baker Street, where I primarily was looking for new authors. I then… Read more →
I like books, I like alcohol
It’s not often that I see a description of a non-fiction book by someone I am not familiar with and know that I must buy it without any other supporting information, reviews, references, whatever. This is one of those, though: Alcoholica Esoterica : A Collection of Useful and Useless Information As It Relates to the History and Consumption of All… Read more →
There are some searches you should never do.
No, this is not a post about ass-eels or anything. However, after finding this article at Wikinews… well, between that and the lobsters, I feel I must stop making good-hearted fun of the Minnesota State Fair. That is all. Read more →
Scotland and Nova Scotia
Charlie Stross reports on his LJ that: “The Scottish Socialist Science Fiction Vanguard Party exists, and periodically meets in a pub. I can report that last night’s session was attended by, among other people, comrades Banks and MacLeod, with guest delegate John Meaney from the People’s Reactionary Suburb of Kent. It was resolved that (1) Scotland is even damper than… Read more →
Taxidermy Art
So, seriously, is it wrong that I really, really think that a scotch decanter made out of a dead squirrel would be dead funny? That’s only one of the amusing items at Custom Creature Taxidermy Arts. This artist’s story begins as an unassuming science nerd who attended art school to study painting and sculpture at the Minneapolis College of Art… Read more →
Trial of Saddam Hussein to be televised – Wikinews
You know, I have the feeling Saddam’s TV Trial is going to be the dictionary definition of a kangaroo court, but Saddam’s lawyer’s legal strategy sounds pretty amusing: Hussein’s lawyers have outlined their defense which, according to defense team member Abdul Haq al-Ani, consists of four “pillars”: The first argues that the invasion of Iraq was illegal and as such,… Read more →
When I die
Note to self: arrange something similar for my obituary. The most awesome obituary I have ever read. Read more →
Your next president?
“You guys are missing out on a good deal if you kill me. See, I’m kind of an expert with just about everything” Sounds like a Tom Baker-era Doctor Who quote, right? Actually, it’s a quote from America’s next President. (“His solution for Iraq? A roll of toilet paper, a piece of coal and a bit of string.”) Read more →
Professor Membrane’s Science Stuff
A few stories that could broadly be interpreted as “science related” caught my eye today. Let’s do a quick run through them, with some additional commentary by me… Let’s start with one of the borders between politics and science. The unmatched vitality of the United States’ economy and science and technology enterprise has made this country a world leader for… Read more →
Yet another silly online quiz
Two funny things here: 1) the last time I played D&D–years ago when I lived in Ontario–I played a character of this type (although this predated the specific prestige class mentioned here) 2) I love that spirituality score. If I could completely get rid of that lingering love of the notion of karma, I could probably get that right down… Read more →
Civil liber-what-nows?
USA PATRIOT Act, Domestic Security Enhancement Act, C-7 (see), etc. It just never seems to stop, does it? My thoughts, I’m pretty sure, can’t top the supposed Franklin quotation about people who would trade liberty for security. I’ll quote someone else, just as concise and valuable, for the sake of diversity: “Experience should teach us to be most on our… Read more →
Wednesday Linkfest
B3n (yes, that is a three), who is another online acquaintance from the Delphi days, is just as much of a language pedant as I am, and shows it while talking about the list of recent additions to the OED. I completely agree that they’re taking the whole ‘descriptive’ thing a bit far… While it does slightly warm my heart-cockles… Read more →
