Now you can view the Gospel miracles in a handy table. You guys love tables, right?
The link came in my feed from Secularright, a website promoting the idea of a God-free Republican Party–a movement which must have one or two dozen members by now!
February 28, 2009
February 27, 2009
February 26, 2009
Speaking of Radio…
One of the most interesting half-hours of my life was spent listening to an AM radio station in Kansas in 1999. A Christian talk-show was hosting calls from “reformed” Star Wars fans who were fighting the temptation, Satanic in origin as they saw it, to see The Phantom Menace. I imagine one such caller, having succumbed, staggering out of the theatre and blinking in the sunlight, muttering, “I gave up Eternal Life for that?”
February 24, 2009
Who Says NPR is Worthless?
I find NPR’s “Fresh Air” invaluable for learning about books I have no intention to read. This week I discovered that the popular Twilight novels are part of what I’m sure will be a growing trend in the US, Abstinence Porn.
February 21, 2009
Russia Sinks Chinese Ship
Expect more of these. Via AP:
BEIJING: China said Friday it was “shocked” by the sinking of a Chinese cargo ship by a Russian warship and had summoned the Russian ambassador to push for a complete investigation.
Deputy Foreign Minister Li Hui also told Russian Ambassador Sergey Razov that China “cannot accept the incident and expresses strong dissatisfaction,” according to a statement posted on the Foreign Ministry’s Web site.
Li called on Russia to do its best to search for eight crew members who went missing after the sinking in waters near Vladivostok.
“China was shocked by this incident,” he said.
February 18, 2009
Judgment Day
I’m so glad that when the time comes I can go to my rest never having bought an Apple product, except for the used IIc that replaced my Smith-Corona electric typewriter. God, but I miss that typewriter! I have no idea what became of it.
February 17, 2009
Chimp pwned
Valuable news from the New York Post:
Don Mecca, a friend of Herold and her late husband, said he was stunned, noting that Travis [the Chimpanzee] was normally “so well behaved.”
The chimp liked watering flowers, wine, expensive steak, brushing his teeth and even watching baseball games on TV.
He briefly rooted for the Mets when Stamford native Bobby Valentine was the manager, but later changed his allegiance to the Yankees, his owner said.
I wonder how he felt about the infield fly rule.
He also dressed himself and could log onto a computer, she said.
I wonder what handle he uses on the message boards? I have a few guesses.
RIP, Travis the Chimp
Magical=Schlock
There’s nothing drearier than Latin American “Magical Realism.” And it’s spreading; Asian-immigrant authors like Jhumpa Lahiri are aping the style, hoping the Nobel Committee will notice. It probably will. [To date, the most effective example of the form is a brief episode in the BattleTech novel Hearts of Chaos in which the martyrdom of a MechWarrior named Mariposa brings a sudden swarm of butterflies.] It’s about time to update the invaluable Reader’s Manifesto.
Slate, you Bastard
Color me extremely disappointed that an article titled “Calculate your time in Purgatory” includes no on-line Purgatory calculator! Surely such a thing already exists? Otherwise, shame on you, Internet!
February 12, 2009
El Dorado Cartoon
If you have forty hours to spare, watch The Mysterious Citites of Gold on Youtube.
