"No matter how cynical I get, I can’t keep up.” — Lily Tomlin
Remember Fredric Wertham, the 1950s anti-comic-book crusader? The Library of Congress has opened his private papers to scholars of censorship. Is that a photo of a man’s butt on the cover? Your book has just been banned in Canada! A new front in the fight against censorship: guerrilla libraries. Bummer. The small-brainers in Stockton, Missouri […]
What’s in Paul’s grab bag? Unconnected thoughts and observations too short to rate blog posts of their own, but which might amount to something when aggregated together: Damen und Herren I always wanted to write a lengthy post on restroom signage, complete with illustrations. Well, what do you know? Someone saved me the trouble! A […]
I thought replacing my handlebar-mounted electrical switch module would be easy. My friend Ed, who doubles as my spiritual and mechanical guru, told me there was more to the job than I thought, and boy was he right. You see, it’s not just the module on the handlebar. That part is easy, or relatively so. […]
. . . and other things. I’ve been on my hands and knees in the back yard, pulling weeds. I’m reluctant to spray because the dog spends a lot of time out there. When it comes to the front yard, where the dog is not allowed, it’s going to be chemical warfare all the way. […]
“Time to nut up or shut up!” — Woody Harrelson as Tallahassee in Zombieland (2009). If you think I’ve been posting a lot of DVD reviews lately, you’re right. I’m doubling the frequency of DVD review posts in an effort to catch up with movies I’ve watched, cataloged, and previously reviewed on Facebook. Trouble is, […]
Damn! I went away for a motorcycle ride this morning and came home to find Donna in the middle of a cleaning spree. She’s particularly proud of her sewing room, and I must admit, it’s looking pretty organized. Photos, please:
Certain words and phrases indicate a person’s inability or unwillingness to engage in honest conversion. I call them eye-rollers. When you hear them, you know you’ve hit a brick wall: whether it’s stupidity or willful close-mindedness, the person who utters them is not listening. Roll your eyes and find someone else to talk to. Ground […]
Is there something about aviation accidents reporters don’t understand? Upwards of 95% of airplane crashes (actually, more like 99.9%) are caused by the pilots involved. But you might never guess that from newspaper, magazine, and blog reportage, where a passive-voice form of politeness takes over. They report the who/what/when/where of aviation accidents, but rarely the […]