It’s gotten so that I don’t enjoy going to the local shopping mall. The reason? Kiosks. In particular, there’s a kiosk at the mall that is invariably staffed by salespeople who barely speak English, who are selling sea-salt skin products, and who snag their customers by reaching out and grabbing them. Once, many years ago,Continue reading “On Being Accosted at the Mall”
On Veterans’ Day
Ninety years ago today, in the fields of Flanders, the guns of the First World War fell silent. In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. ShortContinue reading “On Veterans’ Day”
On Sgt. Obama’s Hopeful Hearts Club
This is really quite neat. Artist Michael Cuffe has taken Peter Blake’s famous cover art for The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and reworked it into a nifty Obama/Biden poster. Here’s a large version of it. Some personages on the poster are a little mystifying to me. Why Robert Downey, Jr.? Why J.K.Continue reading “On Sgt. Obama’s Hopeful Hearts Club”
On Random Road Thoughts
I was out, on the road, this weekend. I’ll write about it later. For the nonce, I listened to Death Comes to Time, the Doctor Who audio from 2001, and found it surprisingly better than I remembered. It’s only in its final fifteen minutes that it goes terribly wrong. The journey to that point, however,Continue reading “On Random Road Thoughts”
On Really Freaky Memes
Stolen shamelessly from Steve Roby… If I were a book, filed under the Dewey Decimal System, where would I be? Allyn Gibson’s Dewey Decimal Section: 652 Processes of written communication Allyn Gibson = 12254792954 = 122+547+929+54 = 1652 Class: 600 Technology Contains: Health, agriculture, management, public relations, buildings. What it says about you: You areContinue reading “On Really Freaky Memes”
On Sarah Palin and the Failure of the Media
We begin with this, noted by my friend Keith — Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin could not have passed a fifth grade civics test. Her handlers in the McCain campaign knew how unsuited and unqualified she was for the position for which she was running. They leaked to reporters — background, off-the-record, not-for-attribution —Continue reading “On Sarah Palin and the Failure of the Media”
On Things I Wonder About
Those rubber band balls you can buy at office supply stores? You know. The ones that are the size of a baseball. Round. Made entirely of rubber bands. And which would probably hurt like a motherfucker if you threw it at someone. Yeah, those rubber band balls. How are they made? Is it a machine?Continue reading “On Things I Wonder About”
On Post-Election Thoughts
Yesterday, I voted after work. I got to the polls about 7 o’clock. There was no line. There were a few straggling voters. Outside the school that is my precinct, a young man wearing a red Obama/Biden t-shirt was handing out flyers. It was the only lobbying going on outside the polling place. The flyerContinue reading “On Post-Election Thoughts”
On the Fifth of November
Remember, remember The fifth of November I can say that with a halfway decent Hugo Weaving voice, to which I usually append “Frodo Baggins.” But that’s just because I’m silly. 😉 From this day forward, the fifth of November will be remembered for two reasons. It will be remembered for Guy Fawkes and the GunpowderContinue reading “On the Fifth of November”
On An Antidote to Politics
Stolen from David McIntee, and completely apropos for today: Stop talking about politics for a moment or two. Post a reasonably-sized picture in your blog, not under a cut tag, of something pleasant, such as an adorable kitten, or a fluffy white cloud, or a bottle of booze. Something that has nothing to do withContinue reading “On An Antidote to Politics”