On Games and Nostalgia

Dear GameStop employees, You can blame me. It’s my fault. No, really, it is. kthxbye! Oh, wait. You’re wanting me to explain that, aren’t you? You bounder, you cheat! Well, okay then. I was at the mall this afternoon. I was looking for the new issue of MOJO at Borders. Mostly I wanted the secondContinue reading “On Games and Nostalgia”

On John McCain and his Mob

Frank Schaeffer, the author of Crazy for God writes in today’s Baltimore Sun that the John McCain/Sarah Palin political rallies “are beginning to look, sound, feel and smell like lynch mobs.” Jonathan Martin of Yahoo! News writes that among Republicans there is “belief that taking out Obama is the only way to win.” The WallContinue reading “On John McCain and his Mob”

On the BBC’s HMS Surprise

For people, like myself, enchanted with the Age of Fighting Sail, the BBC is broadcasting online a radio dramatization of HMS Surprise, the second book in Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey and Maturin series of novels, on Afternoon Play. It’s 1804, the Napoleonic Wars are in full swing, and Lucky Jack Aubrey is back at sea! It’sContinue reading “On the BBC’s HMS Surprise”

On Planetariums and John McCain’s Short-Sightedness

When I was younger, my father used to take me, my brother, and my sister to the planetarium on a regular basis. I loved it. Lean back in the chair, look up at the presentation, and learn something about the universe we live in. My interest in astronomy was kindled by Carl Sagan’s Cosmos. TheContinue reading “On Planetariums and John McCain’s Short-Sightedness”

On John McCain’s Health Care Plan

John McCain has offered a health care plan as part of his platform. Employer provided health insurance would be taxed as income, and then the taxpayer would receive a tax credit when they file their 1040s — $2,500 for the individual, $5,000 for a family. For workers who can’t get health insurance through their job,Continue reading “On John McCain’s Health Care Plan”

On the Obsession DVD

I mentioned on Thursday that I had received that day in the mail a DVD — Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West. Obsession is, according to Wikipedia, “a documentary movie about Islamist teachings and goals” that “compares the threat of radical Islamism with that of Nazism before World War II, and draws parallels betweenContinue reading “On the Obsession DVD”

On Ronald Reagan, Doctors, and the Republican Party

Last night in the Vice Presidential debate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin closed her remarks with a quotation of Ronald Reagan: It was Ronald Reagan who said that freedom is always just one generation away from extinction. We don’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream; we have to fight for it and protect it,Continue reading “On Ronald Reagan, Doctors, and the Republican Party”