The office was a ghost town. Tumbleweeds could be seen rolling through the cubicle maze. Somewhere in the distance, a harmonica twittered. How much of the building was closed today? I couldn’t begin to guess. A good two-thirds of the company seemed to be gone today. The parking lot was deserted. People were getting doneContinue reading “On Ghost Towns”
On Watching British Television
So, while viewers on the other side of the pond are watching The Next Doctor (that being the 2008 Doctor Who Christmas special for those of you who don’t keep up with all things Whovian), I have Blackadder to watch. I need to watch Blackadder’s Christmas Carol, obviously, but then I think I’ll watch someContinue reading “On Watching British Television”
On Apollo 8
Forty years ago today, Apollo 8 orbited the moon. It was the first time that a manned spacecraft entered orbit around another celestial body. Her crew — Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders — were the first humans to witness an earthrise across the lunar horizon, and they took a famous photograph of theContinue reading “On Apollo 8”
On Christmas Traditions
My friend Todd has recently been on a Christmas Carol watch-a-thon. He wanted suggestions, and last night I said, “Surely you’re watching Blackadder’s Christmas Carol; I watch it every year on Christmas Day.” It hadn’t occurred to him, to watch, not the redemption of Ebenezer Scrooge, but the corruption of Ebenezer Blackadder. Hopefully, it’s inContinue reading “On Christmas Traditions”
On Typos and Fonts
I don’t have a font problem. I’m not an addict. I can quit them any time. So why is it that when I’m writing about Ariel, the Little Mermaid, for work, I keep typing “Arial”? By the way, has anyone tried Minute Maid’s Orangeade? This stuff is really quite good. My throat feels all scratchy-like,Continue reading “On Typos and Fonts”
On “Beautiful Dreamer”
Sometimes, the depths of my ignorance surprise me. In this instance, the song “Beautiful Dreamer” by Stephen Foster. Like, doubtless, a good many people, I knew it from Danny Elfman’s Batman score; he used the melody as the Joker’s “love theme” for Vicki Vale. And I’ve been known to whistle it or hum it inContinue reading “On “Beautiful Dreamer””
On the Start of the New (Hobbit) Year
Happy New Year! In the Shire, anyway. 🙂 If we were Hobbits, if we lived in the Shire, today would be the first day of the new year, the 2nd of the month of Yule. Yule is a strange month. It’s only two days long. The first of Yule is the last day of theContinue reading “On the Start of the New (Hobbit) Year”
On Reflecting on the Wisdom of Carl Sagan
Carl Sagan died twelve years ago today. Last year, I participated in Joel Schlosberg‘s second Carl Sagan blog-a-thon. The idea was simple — bloggers the world over would write a few words about Sagan and his importance on their life and the world we inhabit. Last year, I wrote about my discovery of Sagan’s work,Continue reading “On Reflecting on the Wisdom of Carl Sagan”
On Rediscovering Planetary
Warren Ellis is my mortal enemy. Okay, okay, he’s not, really. I’ve never met Ellis. Ellis would have no idea who I was. Yet I’m massively impressed by the man’s versatility as a writer, he’s skilled at writing anything, and I’m jealous. Yes, I’m jealous. Thus, Ellis is my mortal enemy. 🙂 I bring thisContinue reading “On Rediscovering Planetary”
On the Hardcore Atheism Meme
I’ll let this speak for itself — Am I a Hardcore Atheist?. Let’s answer this meme and find out. 🙂 Copy and paste the list below on your own site, boldfacing the things you’ve done. (Feel free to add your own elaboration and commentary to each item!) Participated in the Blasphemy Challenge. Met at leastContinue reading “On the Hardcore Atheism Meme”