AT LAST WE MEET, SIR TERRY. More. Given that he had a rare form of early onset Alzheimers, his death at 66 may have been a mercy. But damn. He was the best. The best since Mark Twain. Maybe (we could argue about this) better. ADDED: It bugs me that the obits are calling Pratchett a “fantasy novelist.” That’s like calling Twain a “writer of adventure stories for boys.” Pratchett’s books, especially the Discworld series, are hilarious social and political satires that just happen to be set in a world populated by vampires, trolls, golems, witches, werewolves, one six-foot-tall dwarf,…
Month: March 2015
I Won’t Take the Mark:
A Bible Book and Contract for Children
By Katherine Albrecht, Ed.D.
Illustrations by Julia Pearson
Patterns and borders by AlfredoM Graphic Arts Studio
Designed by Monica Thomas
2014, 40 pages, $22.50
Available from VirtuePress.com
Or from Amazon.com
I have been remiss. I received review copies of this book around Christmastime and intended to write it up at the first of the year. I was planning to pair reviews with Vin Suprynowicz’s The Testament of James — something for believers, something for curious skeptics, good books from very different points of view.
Then the comment section on Testament got so weird (with people more interested in pushing personal grievances than talking about Vin’s book) that I freaked out & backed off from anything religion-related.
So I hope The Albrechts will be okay with “better late than never.”
Alrighty, then. Rain has now grabbed me by the scruff and tossed me and my projects firmly back into the house. So here I am, at the computer, and will try to catch up on blogitude in the next few days.
Actually, “rain” came Monday night in the form of one of those fogs so heavy it drips. The fog melted some of the outside work I’d done. Cedar boards are textury. They hold wet paint a long time in their woody little crannies. Even though I’d painted many hour earlier while the day was still sunny … eeew. Oh well.
Anyhow …
Okay, it’s just another great commercial. But boy, sometimes these days, the most commercial stuff is sooooo cool. (H/T PT) Source plus a little backstory * For those who don’t know, this is how I say heartwarming. I’ve been exchanging movie reviews every month with BHM’s webmaster Oliver Del Signore for (yikes!) about 13 years now, and in that time I have so come to loathe movies that are billed as either “heartwarming” or “inspirational” that where film is concerned, I treat those two terms as cuss-words. Thus h-wording and i-wording. Still, even my ice-cold Grinchly heart can be warmed…
I’ve been outside the last few days. In the sunshine. Sweating. Sweating. In March. The world has turned upside-down, but by golly you will not catch me complaining. (Still sorry, you east coasters. I know that your ghastly winter has been All Our Fault.) Been painting skirting on the house (no more piece-o-crap black plastic sheeting nailed around the foundation; the neighbors should love me!) and putting on the belly band between the skirting and the upper house. I’m hardly alone. The neighborhood is roaring with lawn mowers and at the lumberyard I’m in line with every contractor and handyman…
MamaLiberty answers today’s earlier post by asking, “Do you smile every day?” Everyone knows there is plenty in this world to worry about. Even those who avoid the world and national “news” as much as possible can’t help but note the downward spiral in their own financial situation, especially if they or those they love are unemployed. There is the constant push to destroy God given rights to life and liberty, and increasing efforts to criminalize and control everything. Then there is the cost of everyday necessities, increasing due to the sinking national economy and shrinking dollar. A great many…
“A Few Thoughts on Current Events.” I wake up every day around two or three in the afternoon, make a cup of coffee and turn on the news, just waiting for the day when it finally happens, the day that something finally snaps, and I am listening to Sheppard Smith breathlessly trying to describe shaky video of a mob of 500,000 or 800,000 pissed off taxpayers that has invaded Washington and are lining every street in D.C., armed to the teeth, and erecting scaffolding on the National Mall. Actually, that’s not how I think it is going to go, but…
Now it’s not only Mike Vanderboegh who is persona non grata at KABA. David Codrea gets sent down the Memory Hole. Remains to be seen whether all things Codrea will be “disappeared” or just that one news item. As David notes, KABA is Gottlieb’s property. He can ban anybody he wants from it. But perhaps somebody should send Mr. G a copy of The Commissar Vanishes and a certain Orwellian book or two
The newest, most shocking, and “scientifically proven” danger from legal cannabis! Stoned bunny rabbits! Srsly. Not from The Onion. (H/T JW) “The Envy of Frank Underwood.” Is Netflix the prime mover (and prime beneficiary) behind federal control of the Internet? Ever call your credit card company’s customer service line? They might have secretly voice fingerprinted you. If it’s such a great idea to prevent fraud, why aren’t they being upfront about it? Seems all that shrill weirdness coming from the hoplophobe ranks recently isn’t just a side-effect of “gun control.” Even some of the most major distracting drivel is apparently…
Monday evening, after a good day’s work, I relaxed in a recliner with a cup of hot, sweet tea. You know how it is; relaxing is often not actually relaxing, as our minds rove from the things we didn’t get done today to the things we’d better do tomorrow, then back to the things that happened 10 years ago or might happen 10 years in the future. But that evening I really relaxed. I felt profoundly happy to be in my little house, looking out a big window at a small, pleasant view. For once I wasn’t bothered by the…