Archive for the ‘Feeling Peevish’ Category
It's the Law, Actually
Some years ago I frequently drove past a road sign in College Park [MD] that said "State Law: Obey All Traffic Signs". I thought it very odd that there was, apparently, a law stating that one must obey other laws; furthermore, it was expressed in a sign stating that one must obey all signs. How […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity, Feeling Peevish
Who Knows Your Car Best?
Here are two tips from a list of ten to help us get along with our cars better: 2) Learn your service schedule. The people who built your car know it best. 8) Listen for any strange sounds or vibrations. You know your vehicle better than anyone. [Trevor Traina, "Easy Ways to Get More from […]
In: All, Feeling Peevish, Writing
Mine! Mine! Mine!
In case your eyes are as old as mine, the caption reads: "Territoriality: Peeing on it doesn't make it yours." The sentiment is useful, the idea behind it is illuminating. This comes from the article "Territoriality: Peeing on It Doesn't Make it Yours — Staking Out Territory by Appropriating Cultural, Political Institutions", by Austin Cline […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity, Feeling Peevish
Don't Forget the Ligatures!
This morning I was reading my current mystery book, David Handler's The Sour Cherry Surprise. I'm enjoying it. It's published by St. Martin's Minotaur (2008, 230 pages). Right now I need to have a brief word with the publisher. Typeface ligatures were invented for a reason. You have them at your disposal–use them! This morning […]
In: All, Books, Feeling Peevish
Which Votes Decide?
Yes, I am getting a little impatient during this campaign, but not with the campaign itself, which seems to have been rather well paced. No, I've long ago lost patience with all the bellyaching from people who are so tired of this campaign and just want it to be over. It started (at least) near […]
In: All, Current Events, Feeling Peevish
Something Inside of Them
One Stephen Baldwin (a person not really known to me) is quoted (by Andy at Towleroad) as saying: It doesn’t mean that I think personally that making that [gay] lifestyle choice is wrong. The Bible says it's wrong and I believe in the Bible and I stand for that. Misdirection + indirection. Cool! This is […]
In: All, Current Events, Feeling Peevish
Pulman on Religion
My basic objection to religion is not that it isn't true; I like plenty of things that aren't true. It's that religion grants its adherents malign, intoxicating and morally corrosive sensations. Destroying intellectual freedom is always evil, but only religion makes doing evil feel quite so good. — Philip Pullman ["The censor's dark materials", Guardian […]
In: All, Common-Place Book, Feeling Peevish
Let's Section-8 'Em
I'm getting the idea that "to section-8" will, at some future time, become a popular political buzz-phrase. Probably not right away, because there's too much hysteria, too much raw emotion, too much manufactured urgency, and too much political pressure. But later, when cooler investigations have had time to do their work and we can look […]
In: All, Current Events, Feeling Peevish
Coy Coroners in Crime Thrillers
I am reading a crime thriller that I'm rather enjoying (Giles Blunt, Black Fly Season); it's the second of his that I've read and so far and he suits my taste. It's got elements of police procedural to it: the central recurring characters are police detectives working in the fictional northern-Ontario town of Algonquin Bay. […]
In: Crime Fiction, Feeling Peevish