I read an article on TheSwamp today that disturbed me. Actually, it wasn’t the article that disturbed me; it was some of the comments. (Click “an article” above and scroll down to the comments.) The article discusssed a possible leak about the U.S. government spying on “unofficial leaks” to the news media. Comments began arguing[...]
(A Movie Review) Like my brother said, “It could have been a lot shorter.” “King Kong” (directed by Peter Jackson) was a three-hour, eight-minute foray into one of the great legends of American cinema. I believe it was the advertisement for the 1976 remake that gave me nightmares as a child. I never saw that[...]
Recently, ABC News did a story about doctors’ frustrations with the FDA over the “morning after” pill. Apparently, it’s only available without a prescription in nine states. Some people say it’s the same as abortion, since the egg is already implanted when the pills action prevents it from implanting in the uterus. Make your own[...]
CLICK HERE for some pictures of the immigration demonstrations in New York City. All Photos by Marline François.
One Texas town is reportedly calling for a boycott of ExxonMobil, the world’s largest oil company, and the world’s most profitable corporation of any kind, according to Forbes.com. Of course, the town’s 13,000 residents didn’t all agree on it, but a poll showed that about three-quarters of them plan to participate. And, of course, I’m[...]
(My apologies for not posting here in a while. I’ll try to be better about that in the future.) Hey, I don’t want to jump into an anthill of debate here, about immigration, but let’s just set out a few things that we can (probably) all agree on: 1. Nearly every person in the United[...]
Title: The Raven, A Biography of Sam Houston Author: Marquis James Year: 1929 Publisher: University of Texas Press, Austin ISBN 0-292-77040-5 View it on Amazon View it on Google Books Sam Houston on Wikipedia This book was awarded the 1930 Pulitzer Prize for “Biography or Autobiography” (James is one of the very few people who’ve[...]
Flickr holds a special place in my heart, at least compared to other internet sites. I’ve spent more time on Flickr than most people have spent on Facebook or Twitter — daily participation since I joined in Sept. 2005. Not only have I uploaded over 30,000 images to my photostream (most of them now non-public),[...]
“I thought the left loved freedom of the press and open government. I guess that’s only when ‘The Man’ is someone else.” That’s what one commenter said on a news story about the federal government hoping to charge a journalist for publishing news. It’s an astute observation about the way our two-party political system works:[...]
Commentary: A record Powerball jackpot isn’t a record to celebrate (Christian Science Monitor) The editorial board of CSM concluded their piece with this: Before the news media play up the next record-setting mega-lottery like Powerball, they may want to add these kinds of caveats in their reporting. It could deter people from rushing to the[...]
Following are some passages I underlined during a reading of To Sail Beyond The Sunset (1987) by Robert A. Heinlein, the last novel he published before dying in 1988: “I remember Earth. I knew her when she was clean and green, mankind’s beautiful bride, sweet and lush and lovable… It is futile to mourn over[...]
There is a school of thought, albeit a relatively unpopular one, that poor grammar or punctuation on printed signs should be corrected with a Sharpie or other tool, vigilante style. In the News: Vigilante Copy Editor (New York Times) And there are older instances, such as this one (The Virginian-Pilot).
Following are some passages I underlined during a reading of The Cat Who Walks Through Walls: A Comedy of Manners (1985) by Robert A. Heinlein: “It does not do to encourage bad banners; one should retaliate, urbanely but firmly.”
In The News: Adobe starts subscription for Photoshop and Dreamweaver (BBC News) This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone; many software companies are moving in this direction. Instead of having to ship millions of boxes and discs every year when they upgrade the software, they’re just going to add the updates to the online[...]
Following are some passages I underlined during a reading of I Will Fear No Evil (1970) by Robert Heinlein: “…most people think of money as something to pay the rent. But a money man thinks of money in terms of what he can do with it.” “…it’s impossible for a woman to lay it on[...]
For about $5, I made this measuring cup holder that’s hidden inside a kitchen cabinet: (Copyright © 2013 by Wil C. Fry. All rights reserved.)
Not logged in