Sometimes, my mad ideas work. I went to fix a cup of coffee. And as I was standing there, getting a coffee mug down out of the cabinet, I noticed, on the counter, was a cannister of Instant Hot Chocolate mix. Hmm, I thought. Could I make a moccachino-like thing? Had I been more awake,Continue reading “On the Maddest Ideas”
Monthly Archives: January 2009
On Newt Gingrich’s 1945
I own Newt Gingrich’s 1945. Confession time. I paid full price for it. On the day it came out. 1945. It’s legendary in science fiction circles. Then-Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich made a deal with Baen Books for a series of alternate history novels. Co-written with William Forstchen, 1945 posited a world where AdolfContinue reading “On Newt Gingrich’s 1945”
On Today’s Inauguration
President Barack Obama acknowledged today that non-believers are part of the American tapestry. That’s a far cry from George Herbert Walker Bush, who said that atheists were neither citizens nor patriots. Or from his son, George Bush the Younger, who said that the hallmark of civilization was a belief in god. I’d like to thinkContinue reading “On Today’s Inauguration”
On the End of the Beginning
For a few months now, I’ve been referring to tomorrow’s inauguration of a new President by quoting Gerald Ford’s famous phrase from his address to the nation upon taking the office at Nixon’s resignation — “Our long national nightmare is over.” But that’s not exactly true. George Bush will be leaving office tomorrow at NoonContinue reading “On the End of the Beginning”
On a Nagging Question
I wonder if there’s a statue of Pitt the Elder in Pittsburgh. If there’s not, there should be; the city’s named after him, after all. I mean, if Philadelphia can have a statue of William Penn, surely Pittsburgh can have a statue that commemorates one of England’s greatest Prime Ministers.
On “The B Game”
I don’t have anything today. I blame my right foot. It still hurts like muddafudda. Strangely, the one piece of footwear I own that doesn’t hurt my foot when it gets like this is my Nike hiking sandals. So, naturally, on a day when it’s below 20 degrees outside, I’m wearing sandals, shorts, and aContinue reading “On “The B Game””
On the Cold
It was cold today. Really fucking cold. I shouldn’t complain. It was fifteen degrees here in Charm City. Other places were far below that. Still, it’s cold. I don’t like the cold. I especially don’t like the cold, because it makes me limp. Many years ago in college, I accidentally brutally broke a bone inContinue reading “On the Cold”
On Unwritten Scenes
I’ve had The Lord of the Rings on the brain of late, the proximate cause being the repeated e-mails I’ve received from GameStop telling me to come into a local store to pre-order Lord of the Rings: Conquest, which came out on Wednesday. And then, of course, there was my discovery that a new TolkienContinue reading “On Unwritten Scenes”
On Longer Days
For a few months now, my grandmother has expressed confusion at dinner time. It’s dark outside. And in her mind, we shouldn’t eat dinner when it’s dark. Dark, to her, means breakfast. Since it’s dark, the meal must be breakfast, even if it’s not remotely breakfast-like. Surely there must be a time change at hand,Continue reading “On Longer Days”
On Tricking Out Opera
Yes, I know. I’m an evangelist for Opera. I can’t help it. For this atheist, the Opera browser is the closest thing to a religious experience I’ve ever found. 😆 Gah, that sounded bonkers. Seriously, though. It’s not just my favorite browser. I simply couldn’t imagine using the Internet without it. Firefox, IE, Safari –Continue reading “On Tricking Out Opera”