Hot and cold
In the winter, our bedroom is so hot that we could grow bananas in it. Except that bananas need moisture, and the heat coming off the radiators dries out everything in the room.
So, O.K., maybe we could raise tarantulas or grow succulents instead.
When I wake up in the morning, I feel [...]
Random pilfered items
Unemployed? Can’t pay the rent? Try this. (Discovered at memepool.)
Believe me, I’m all for recycling, but some schemes are less immediately appealing to me than others. (Link via Boing Boing.)
Also, I used to visit Gawker all the time, but fell out of the habit. I was reminded of the site today by Lindsay Robertson, [...]
Just in case
It’s been mentioned all over the place, but if you’re still unaware of Crabwalk’s CD Mix of the Month Club, read the New York Times article.
Day job
Surprise! I disagreed with almost every aspect of Bush’s State of the Union address last night (except the added support for AIDS treatment in Africa, which I saw as a political ploy, but then I am biased). There are detailed analyses online. You can find them.
In other news, for my [...]
Novel writing
So my class with Linsey Abrams promises to be inspiring, nurturing, and lots of work. I’m going to need to focus on this one project and turn out a hundred pages, minimum, by the end of the semester.
I’ll beat that dead horse one more time
I thought I was finished talking about Treisman, but I was wrong. The Morning News‘ “Among the Unsavvy” is well worth mentioning. (Thanks to Andrea and an anonymous, early morning tipster for the link.)
Something new for me to worry about
Sitting in front of the computer for hours on end could increase the risk for the type of blood clots that cause “economy class syndrome” in long-haul airplane passengers, researchers said on Tuesday.
Times profile of Treisman, and Saunders revelation
Among other things, New Yorker Fiction Editor Deborah Treisman “is of a mind that one can’t, unless one is The New Yorker’s editor, David Remnick, ‘and sort of superhuman,’ be an exemplary editor and writer simultaneously.”
Treisman “made her choice back at Berkeley, where poetry was her favored literary form. She says she reads at [...]
Economics, Reagan redux, and more
Peter Preston reviewed 20:21 Vision – The Lessons of the 20th Century for the 21st, by Bill Emmott (editor of The Economist), in yesterday’s Observer. Preston dismissed the work, calling it:
an occasionally irritating, sometimes obtuse rendition of trends identified (and sanctified) by a very clever journalist who relies, for much of his magazine’s reputation and [...]
Unlikely side effects of Altoids
I’d never encountered this blow job tip before.
Wife swap
In a 4-part British series that started in early January, “wives from eight very different families agree to swap husbands, moody teenagers, the family home and lifestyles for 10 days.” (Link from Donnie.)
So much for states’ rights jingoism
John Engler, newly hired head of EDS’ state and local government operation in Virginia (and former Republican Governor of Michigan), evidently has advised Tom Ridge of a security threat created by the disparate communications and IT systems used by state and local governments.
Take it easy, I think you’re bending me
“The Beat,” from This Year’s Model, is one of my favorite Elvis Costello songs.*
Borges puzzle
It’s been around for a couple of years (and it’s been mentioned on Metafilter), but this hypertext puzzle based on Jorge Luis Borges’ short story “The Book of Sand” is a good thing to play with on a frigid January evening.
Truly blind dinner dates
Jonathan Green writes about his “blind date in the basement of a Lower East Side restaurant in complete darkness.” He says:
Ten minutes ago I was sipping orange margaritas in the bar checking out my fellow blind-daters. Then we were taken downstairs to the pitch-black basement and led by waiters in night-vision goggles. Now I am [...]