Every time I checked the weather between 4:00 p.m. yesterday and 7:00 a.m. today, it said current conditions here were “heavy rain mist.” Um … but that “mist” pounded so hard for all those hours that I couldn’t hear myself think. Sure enough, woke up this morning overlooking a river. The one house I can see across the former wetland below is in at least a foot of water (if not more) and my neighbors across the street (who are, like me, on a hill) are joking that they’re going to list their place for sale today as “waterfront property.”…
Author: Claire
Vin Suprynowicz interview will continue as scheduled sometime tomorrow. Meantime, some tab clearing … The dangers of tasers. Better late than never, I guess, and the info about the post-tase brain fog is something to think about. Very impressive, resourceful, and brave little girl. Her father taught her well. It’s too bad her hell is just beginning. Speaking of a child’s (and a family’s) hell, the Washington Post has an unusually even-handed story about how that Idaho toddler shot his mother to death. It being a story about Idaho and guns, I note that the D.C.-ites (without apparent irony) assigned…
A Review
The Testament of James
By Vin Suprynowicz
194 pages
December 2014, Mountain Media
The Testament of James begins, as good mysteries often do, with a death. Actually, TToJ begins with an imposing figure in a black cape sweeping in through the door of a rare book dealer, which may be even better.
The death? Well, that may have been from natural causes, though in unnatural circumstances. The caped, cultured Mediterranean man enters the scene to inquire about a book. A book that may have had something to do with the death. A book that may or may not even exist.
So … any good resolutions to share? As I recall, you guys tend to be resolution-averse. Maybe a good hangover cure to share, then? Uh … your best tips for managing to stay awake until midnight? Your best tips to avoid having your beauty sleep interrupted next year by all those pesky merrymakers? I didn’t make any resolutions this year, but I have an idea of dedicating each month of 2015 to some different pursuit or goal. In January my aim is to see how little money I can realistically live on. Barring an emergency (knock wood), I’ll spend only…
As expected, the Second Amendment Foundation (in conjunction with other groups and individuals) has filed suit against Washington state’s ghastly new law, I-594. Grounds: vagueness, etc. That was also expected. A sixth grader could have written a clearer, more specific law. Those of us who’ve been watching Gottlieb’s chicanery on “background checks” for the last few years will also not be the slightest bit surprised at this part of his statement announcing the lawsuit: “We’re not trying to stop background checks.” Damn betcha he’s not. Gottlieb infamously wants background checks; he just wants them on his own terms and for…
… for the long, idle post-celebration hours ahead. In The Atlantic James Fallows writes about “The Tragedy of the American Military”. How we can reflexively say, “Thank you for your service” and claim that all soldiers are heroes — precisely because most of us are so removed from the realities of their lives, their missions, and the management of military matters. The German ‘zine Spiegel Online goes inside the NSA for an educated guess about what types of encryption the NSA has broken, which it’s working on, and which are so far safe from its prying eyes. Both articles are…
The latest Twitter hashtag: #IMBLOCKEDBYSHANNONWATTS. Go get ‘er, Nicki! So sadly believable. In the last century +, western nations have cut their average work weeks by 30 hours. Guess what people are doing with all that glorious free time? Was Santa good to you? Better doublecheck. Those Christmas presents may be spying on you. Not sure why this didn’t get more coverage a few weeks back: Woman abused and jailed for taking perfectly legal photos from a perfectly legal spot finally gets a little justice. Um … healthier ways to be lazy.
Or at least why you should never stand next to a heap of drugs while they’re being burned. Not if you’re expected to sound intelligent. (H/T MJR) Source Source
Mostly not nooz. 🙂 Think your way to stronger muscles. (No doubt has a lot of applications beyond muscles, too.) (Formerly) dying man says adopted stray dog — that he didn’t even want — helped cure his cancer. It’s not really news that religious people are happier than us non-religious. Question is, are they happier because of something about their religion or are they happier because they’re the sort of people who don’t poke and prod at every extraordinary claim, the sort who just accept the word of their chosen authority and get on with life? Yes, Christmas Eve was…