Ten years ago I joined a mailing list devoted to the works of Larry Niven. I’d loved Niven’s works for years but never had anyone to share that love with, and one of the great things about the Internet in those wild and wooly days of the mid- and late-90s was discovering their were otherContinue reading “On Frank Gasperik”
Monthly Archives: May 2007
On Karl Rove's Atheism
I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this–Christopher Hitchens, author of the new book God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, outed senior Bush administration advisor Karl Rove as an atheist. Hitchens said in an interview with New York Magazine: I know something which is known to few but is not a secret.Continue reading “On Karl Rove's Atheism”
On McDonald's and My Grandmother
My neighbor has started taking my grandmother to McDonald’s, if not on a daily basis then at least four or five times a week. To be frank I’m a little surprised that my grandmother goes. McDonald’s… well, it’s never been her kind of restaurant. My grandmother’s McDonald’s is an interesting place. This is typical–“I hadContinue reading “On McDonald's and My Grandmother”
On Rescinding the President's War Powers
Senators Hillary Clinton of New York and Robert Byrd of West Virginia will be introducing legislation to rescind the 2002 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF), the legislation that allowed the invasion of Iraq, in October 2007 on the fifth anniversary of the AUMF’s initial passage. From Senator Clinton’s speech on the SenateContinue reading “On Rescinding the President's War Powers”
On Wally Schirra
Wally Schirra, one of the Mercury 7 astronauts, passed away earlier today. He was 84. I hate to say, I actually don’t know much about Schirra except that he was the only astronaut to fly on Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo. And that Lance Henricksen portrayed him in The Right Stuff. The Mercury 7 now numberContinue reading “On Wally Schirra”
On the Bush Dyslexicon
I’m sorry, this is one I can’t let pass. President Bush referred to himself today as, and let me make sure I’ve got this exactly right, “the commander guy.” Referring to the Baker-Hamilton report Bush said: By the way, in the report it said, it is — the government may have to put in moreContinue reading “On the Bush Dyslexicon”
On Some Really Cool LEGO Videos
I love LEGO. But not as much as some people love LEGO. These people love LEGO. And stop-motion. And making videos. Grand Theft Auto: LEGO City. LEGO Halo 2. The first takes one of the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City commercials and redoes it using LEGO. The second takes one of the Halo 2 trailersContinue reading “On Some Really Cool LEGO Videos”
On WinAmp and Doctor Who Skins
I decided I wanted a Doctor Who WinAmp skin. And why not? I remember discovering WinAmp back in college. It was new at the time, and it seemed like all the cool kids were downloading WinAmp and ripping mp3s in those pre-Napster days. I’m not sure when I outgrew WinAmp–if I’d ever truly grown intoContinue reading “On WinAmp and Doctor Who Skins”
On Mission Accomplished, Plus Four Years
Said President George W. Bush on May 1st, 2003: Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed. And now our coalition is engaged in securing and reconstructing that country. Wrote I in September 2006, for the Star Trek: Constellations annotations: On May 1,Continue reading “On Mission Accomplished, Plus Four Years”
On the Old Mission
As I wrote on March 1st I had a short story to write. It’s been sent off. It’s either the work of a twisted genius, or I’m a goofball prat. The truth, most likely, lies somewhere in-between… Twelve thousand words. Which is pared down from the fourteen thousand the story hit. It’s funny. There areContinue reading “On the Old Mission”