Why We Love the Phantom Stranger VI or, The Phantom Stranger versus the TSA “Name?” “What is a name? A quick sound lost to the wind; only a man has substance, not his name, and I am just a man. No name can capture who I am – who anyone is – any more than naming a wave can trap it on the sand.” Metrics of Adulthood Personally, I like these two signs of being an adult: ...
I got tagged, so I must comply. Herd mentality, you know. These are five things you might not know about me, depending on who you are. 1. My favorite playlist in iTunes is an accidental (party shuffle) conglomeration of 25 great songs to listen to while working that I had to save permanently. It includes Toxic by Britney Spears, which is there for purely ironic reasons, and Crazy in Love by Beyoncé, which is not. ...
Chris Knight reviews Sophie Scholl: The Final Days --- the story of a member of the White Rose --- and finds the cover blurb “Chilling authenticity” goes further than anyone would think.
The first issue of Studies in Language and Capitalism is online. Looks interesting. The editorial advisory board includes the inimitable Jeremy Hunsinger.
That is apparently at least one possible sound made when you hit Dick Tracy in the head. The only thing I’m wondering is if that sounds more like KLUNK or CU-LUNKW?
I was glad to see this blog post from Scott Adams, in which he describes thinking about topics in the form of hypothetical conversations with people he knows. I was glad to see it because it’s how I do a lot of my thinking, and it’s hard to describe to others. (Except in my head, I guess.) The point where our experiences differ is that Adams concentrates on particular people in the role of hypothetical listener, while my listeners tend to either be particular people for the day, or people who make sense depending on what I’m thinking about. It is one of those things that’s hard to explain to others, though. Adams says it best: ...
Time’s Person of the Year is me! I didn’t even realize I was up for it, but now that I’ve found out, I pledge to use my newfound status to…wait…never mind. Time’s Person of the Year is You. That’s right…You. Not me. All of You. Everyone else besides Me. Guess there’s always next year. That should just be down to me, and all of the babies born next year. I think I can beat out a bunch of babies. (Who am I kidding? They’ll be cute.) ...
The blog Girlfriend ‘07 lists ten fictional women who make it difficult to date real women: Hollywood has a tendency to create female characters who make it nearly impossible to ever be truly satisfied with real women. Because not only do these women tend to be beyond beautiful on the outside, but they’re always unbelievable on the inside too. They’re cool. They’re fun. They always know what to say. And they always have that one little thing that makes you fall in love with them. Maybe it’s because they usually have guys writing their lines and making them perfect, but either way they’re a tough act to follow. ...
It’s Christmas, and therefore the time for various media outlets to list dangerous toys. Radar has a good one, listing a few toys that were out when I was a kid. What I like about this sort of list is the indication the corporate world of the Seventies not only wasn’t concerned about us swallowing small toy pieces, but they actually wanted us to use open hot plates for melting plastic and to throw weighted metal darts at each other. Survival of the luckiest, or at least the kids who preferred to read. :) ...
My score on The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test: Modern, Cool Nerd (86 % Nerd, 52% Geek, 47% Dork) For The Record: A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia. A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one. A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions. You scored better than half in Nerd and Geek, earning you the title of: Modern, Cool Nerd. ...