Last night I watched Woman in Black, mostly to see Daniel Radcliffe playing a grownup (which he did well). The movie was powerfully atmospheric and so genuinely scary that a couple of times a chill ran down my spine — which I always thought was only a metaphor. Nevertheless, at bottom it was, like all ghost stories, pretty silly. That, and the much-less-good ghost movie The Innkeepers, got me thinking. Ghost stories are always all about atmosphere — ivy-choked Victorian mansions, Olde New England inns, mossy graveyards, mists and fogs and shadows — all the usual stuff. Which usually serves…
Category: Books and Movies
This is a real book. You can buy it on Amazon. (And I’m figuring since at least two of you bought Obama Chia Planters last Christmas, this book is a natural for readers of Living Freedom.) It is apparently not a parody. Or at least not an intentional one. And the writer, according to his Amazon blurbette, is a pastor on … wait for it, wait for it … Wall Street. You see, this is another example of why I simply can’t write satire any more. The world is already so perfectly self-satirizing.
Our politicians should be so partisan! (H/T MJR) Another reason to have a dog. Or at least let the kidlets play in the dirt. Sweet dog-and-his-boy story via MamaLiberty. Oy. Now the security state is worried about drone hijackings. Me, I figure some of my friends could make better uses of drones than the gummint ever will. Bacon or bagel for breakfast? Well, if you don’t count the nitrates … Wendy McElroy has a new book out. Sounds like a must-read. Small-scale farming. Not just cool and trendy — but creating a new profit model? Considering relocating offshore? Panama just…
Summer comes suddenly in these parts, often turning up (as it did this year) after a relentlessly cold, wet spring. I once heard an explanation about it — something to do with a high-pressure ridge offshore that has to build up a certain amount of … oh, something or another. But once it does … whatever it has to do … man, it’s glorious. It might only be glorious for a week, but it’s a brilliant week. That’s this week. So along with everyone else in the neighborhood, I’ve been outside hammering and painting. When I’m not out “working” on…
After John Roberts’ Obamanable decision on Obamacare, Joel guessed that I would be holed up somewhere, fondling serious weaponry. Not unless you consider a hammer to be weaponry. I’ve spent the days since my last blog banging on the back of the house. Not in destruct-o-mode. But putting up trim and cedar singles. I love cedar shingles. Not only are they the most beautiful of all house sidings. But they smell sublime. And shingling is something I can do entirely by my lonesome. Great sense of personal power in that. So I’ve had three days of pure satisfaction broken by…
Your contribution can help a starving writer/crafter (no, not me) write his next novel and develop a novel new idea involving handmade papers and seeds. I’m talking about Carl-Bear Bussjaeger, long-time freedomista, who explains it all at that link. Once he reaches his goal, 50% of all further contributions will go to three named charities — one for animals, one for guns, one for kids. Even if you can’t contribute, please spread the word via your blog, your Facebook page, or any appropriate forums and listservs.
Here’s some wintry summertime cheer for ya. Those of “a certain age” could never have imagined something like this in Moscow of all places.
Proof positive. The Canadian government is as filled with paranoid weirdos as the U.S. fedgov. (H/T MJR.) Is it a good sign that even the mainstream media is starting to notice the DEA’s war on pain patients and their doctors? Speaking of the war on freedom, here’s your question of the day. Eric Holder: Liar, incompetent or both? If you liked J.D. Tuccille’s book, High Desert Barbecue, you might want to give it a v*te. How will the world end? You get to help decide. Not exactly new, but a healthy reminder: Humans may not be the only animals with…
When an American artist came under unjust scrutiny from the feds, he conceived a modern variation of the old “over-compliance” trick originated by 1960s draft protestors. (Video of him giving a talk about it.) (Tip o’ hat to MJR) This is such a cool, clever, innovative idea. Wonder how long before the feds hit it with a drone strike? (H/T C^2) Sharp-eyed Kent spotted this review of Safety Not Guaranteed, the movie inspired by the classified ad written by our own John Silveira. The film was a smash at Sundance, is just coming into theaters, and currently stands at an…
A certain “victim of the American drug war” has wisely said goodbye in her own inimitable style to posting about her experiences as a snitch. Apparently, she’s been in this mood for a long, long time — though I suppose it’s “statist” of me to say so. Speaking of statist, a gifted Virginia schoolboy has been suspended for touching the American flag. We may live in a police state. But at least we can still drink our troubles away. Idaho is going to permit Five Wives vodka to be sold after all. But only after a famous lawyer threatened to…