"The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter." —Mark Twain
Last time, I didn’t have the presence of mind to run get the camera. Unlike last time, it’s not a pack rat. Look close. Yup, it’s a rabbit. And oh by the way, while the pack rat didn’t chew through any wiring, the rabbit did. One of the cylinders isn’t firing, and so far I […]
Listening to today’s coverage of Samuel Alito’s confirmation hearings, I wasn’t sure which reality applied: the reality I grew up in, or the reality of the alternate universe next door. Like this unitary executive business: what the hell is that? Out of nowhere comes, to hear the media tell it, this well-precedented and widely-accepted doctrine […]
Remember this perennial Soviet Union joke? “If the USSR ever takes over the Sahara, within three years there’ll be a shortage of sand.” Yeah, that one? So how’s this for irony?
Several months ago, I bitched about the empty-headed celebrity chitchat that passes for “news” on NBC’s Today show. My complaints are usually ineffectual, and this was no exception: my wife still watches Today on the bedroom TV every morning. Then as now, as I brush my teeth in the adjoining bathroom, I’m an involuntary listener. […]
We’re all happy puppies today. It’s a wonderful Christmas at our house, and we hope it is at yours. Donna brought to our marriage a tradition we’ve followed for 40 years: decorating the tree on Christmas Eve. When our children were little, their first sight of the glorious tree, with presents arrayed beneath it, was […]
This one is called the Meme of Four. Who says you have to be serious all the time? Four jobs you’ve had in your life: truck driver, teacher, pilot, instructional designer. Four movies you could watch over and over: Dr. Strangelove, Klute, The French Connection, The Godfather. Four places you’ve lived: Wiesbaden, Germany; Hoevelaken, The […]
I meant to write something intelligent about the King’s President’s domestic espionage and warrentless wiretap program, but David Neiwert at Ornicus says it all, and says it better. All that’s left for me to add is this: if you’re surprised by this action of the Bush administration, you haven’t been paying attention.
On the matter of Stanley “Tookie” Williams, Crips street gang co-founder and convicted murderer who was executed in California early this morning, I look into my soul and can’t find an ounce of outrage. Simply put, I’m not opposed to the death penalty. I’m not opposed to retribution. I’m not opposed, that is, so long […]