The Orwellian mindset of the Bush Administration lives on. According to Mary Matalin, George Bush “inherited the most tragic attack on our own soil in our nations history.” Ms. Matalin, who was President on September 11, 2001? It wasn’t George Bush’s predecessor. Ms. Matalin, who was given a Presidential Daily Briefing on August 6, 2001Continue reading “On Historical Revisionism and 9-11”
On Late December Walks
Last night, I took a walk on the way home. When the light rail train pulled into the North Avenue station, the conductor announced that the train would be stopped there for several minutes, as there was a disabled train ahead of it. From time to time, I’ll walk from the North Avenue station, pastContinue reading “On Late December Walks”
On the Christmas Weekend
A hectic week at the office this shall be. I can already sense it, like a great disturbance in the Force. There’s nothing wrong with that; staying busy is a good thing. 🙂 It was a LEGO holiday. My sister and her husband gave me the LEGO Star Wars Visual Dictionary, which will prove invaluableContinue reading “On the Christmas Weekend”
On Doctor Who and Narrative Perspective
Before this website becomes a Doctor Who-free zone for the week, because I don’t want to think about what I watched on BBC America last night, I wanted to share an observation and insight I’ve had. For a very long time, going back to the spring, I’ve thought that Russell T. Davies might not showContinue reading “On Doctor Who and Narrative Perspective”
On Magnificently Mental Musings
As some of you know, I have a theory about where Russell T. Davies, henceforth RTD, is taking Doctor Who before he’s done next week. My theory is that it involves RTD pressing a Reset Button on his way out the door. The reasons are both narrative and personal. It lets RTD have his spectacleContinue reading “On Magnificently Mental Musings”
On a Christmas Eve Past
Ten years ago today, I received a surprising e-mail. Christmas Eve 1999 was a strange day. That was the day of the infamous company Christmas party layoffs, where as some of us walked into the party we were pulled aside by our supervisors and told we weren’t needed on the 26th. This does not aContinue reading “On a Christmas Eve Past”
On Telescopes and Temptation
I thought, seriously, of blowing my paycheck on a reflecting telescope. A couple of us had gone to Sam’s Club on our lunch break. One of the writers in the department needed to pick up some bulk food for a Christmas party. We wandered the cavernous building, and I felt somewhat exposed and endangered; IContinue reading “On Telescopes and Temptation”
On the Beatles and “Last Christmas”
People confuse me. Take, for example, some recent search phrases used to reach my website. “Did the Beatles record Last Christmas?” I’ve seen this in the WordPress stats several times in the past week. First of all, no, the Beatles did not record “Last Christmas.” The song wasn’t even written until 1984, when it wasContinue reading “On the Beatles and “Last Christmas””
On Morning with my Grandmother
My grandmother doesn’t appear to have gotten any sleep last night. I locked the house up, shut off the tree, and went to bed. The television was still on, however; she usually sleeps through the night with it on, so it made sense not to mess with it. When the alarm went off, I heardContinue reading “On Morning with my Grandmother”
On the Day After
The snow began falling at 10 o’clock Friday night. Work, last week, being what it was, prompted a number of us at the office to go to the local Irish pub after work. At the time, the forecast was calling for about twelve inches of snow. At the pub, one of the graphic designers passedContinue reading “On the Day After”