Mis-TAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE

7.30.2006


A portrait of the artistI'm numb as I write this.

A few hours ago, in an email discussion concerning an aspect of medical ethics, I took it upon myself to tear into a guy who posted what I consider to be one of the most smug, unexamined, self-righteous, fatuous articulations about God's sovereignty I've read in years.

And when I say I tore into him, I don't mean that I refuted his assertions, or rebutted his arguments. In fact, I did neither of those. I mean I ridiculed him; I tried to humiliate him. I wanted him to be the butt of every witticism I could devise in the 10 minutes I spent composing my response.

That's right, Ladies and Germs: I committed the cardinal mistake of electronic communication: I wrote and posted while enraged.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Now, this guy had something coming. He was going to get taken down a peg or ten. But not this way, and maybe not from me at all.

I've been boiling both about his initial posting and my response all day: mad at him, and mad at myself.

Sometimes I don't feel like I know who I am anymore.

Rollin' With the White Wolf

7.28.2006


Elric and Stormbringer

I've been hunting the first Elric of Melniboné novella for a couple of years now. Used book stores, library fire sales, regular chain stores, you name it. The dang thing is only available in a large omnibus edition.

Come to find out that the book has recently made an unabridged trip to audioland. I used a freebie subscription to Audible.com to get the thing for free (normally it's like $30). Burned it to disc, bunged it in the car cd player, and now on the way to work and back, I get to enjoy really hackneyed prose accompanyed by a clumsy arrangement of background music and sound effects.

Now, Michael Moorcock himself actually reads the introduction, and he does a great job of it. He is succeeded, however, by Jeffrey West, who neither enunciates clearly nor quite grasps the distinction between drama and drammer. You can almost hear Snidely Whiplash snickering in the background.

That said, I'm still loving it. For those of you unfamiliar with Moorcock's Elric saga (or the larger Eternal Champion collection, Elric is in many ways the complete inverse of the archetypal adventure hero. Instead of a plucky young nobody who fights his way to glory aided only by a strong moral conscience, a bit of cleverness, and a slice of mickle might, we have a guy whoSo our non-man Elric is a problematic, if eventually sympathetic character. It's great fun!

Six Hours to Tranquility

7.25.2006




Hambone and I spent the weekend with Piers, WH, and JH. A relaxing, beer-soaked time was had by all.

Friday saw us eating beercan chicken and Coca-Cola cake. Eeeeeeyummmay!

Saturday was nothing but loafing -- that and seeing some of historic Martin. One highlight was a visit to the former former Wal-Mart, now known as Rural King. Interesting fact about Rural King is that they keep all of the ammunition just to the left of the front door. Yes, you could grab an armload and run for it before they even realized what was happening. And yes, they had real ammo -- I found hollow-tip bullets.

Sunday was about skipping church and stuffing ourselves at the local catfish restaurant, named -- wait for it -- The Catfish Restaurant. I guess when you are the only one in town, you hardly need an inventive moniker.

Wonderful to see the little boy again, as he hits two years old. He's talking now, and counting, and even beginning to read.

And he has a backyard to play in that made Hambone and I jealous. In fact, she spent a good part of her time relaxing in the outdoor swing, breathing in all that country air and relaxing in the breeze.

Why do I live in Chicago, again?

Off to Martin as Bon Jovi Enters; Exeunt Severally, Pursued By Beers

7.21.2006


We're about to leave to go visit Piers and fam in Martin, TN. They're firing up the grill; we're bringing the beer in mass quantities (my favorite, actually). Woo hoo! On the hunt while we are there for Silver Queen corn and honest-to-god grits.

Coincidentally, Bon Jovi is playing in Chicago tonight, which makes leaving the city especially nice. I hated his music in high school, and time hasn't improved it. Redneck anthems -- bleargh!

Today I am 35.

Dwight Dreams the Impossible Dream: Battlestar Galactica / Lost Crossover!

7.19.2006


Okay, so if you've watched the U.S. version of The Office, you know Dwight Schrute, the Assistant (to the) Regional Manager. On a fictional blog, the character begins theorizing what would happen if the Battlestar Galactica crew were suddenly also marooned on the island in Lost.

As both shows involve ridiculous amounts of aggressive sexual tension, Dwight's, er, fantasy includes lots of making out, apparently.

Check it out here.

ISP Switcheroo - Stay Tuned

7.17.2006


We've switched ISPs, and I haven't moved all the files to the new space yet. Stay tuned.

The King Who Would Not Be The Man

7.15.2006


First: I play online correspondence chess at Red Hot Pawn.
Second: Most subscribers to the site belong to one or more clans, as is often the case with online games of any sort.
Third: A clan to which I do not belong, the Guttersnipes, just celebrated their 1st anniversary of play on RHP.

To commemorate the moment, they wrote a little story in pictures about a White King who is insecure about being white.

Hilarious (if explicit) stuff -- check it out here.

Championship Crap Prose

7.13.2006


Well, the results for this year's Bulwer-Lytton Prose Contest are in. Check 'em out here. My favorites:Gentle Reader, you have to work hard to craft something that damaging. Yee-hah!

All in the Family

7.09.2006


My esteemed brother-in-feathers Vulturus Lyricus arrived today, for a few days R&R between legs of The Myriad's tour. With both him and Ma Pesky visiting, it feels almost like a holiday or something.

Except for the part where I have to sleep on the couch for the next three days.

Just finished repainting the kitchen and butler pantry - this time we chose a color that is unfortunately very close to the hue of Booberry cereal. Unfortunate by comparison, but quite attractive in its own right.

Next up is the living room and the dining room, both of which are likely to be painted a shade of yellow. Boy do I love painting. In fact, that's kinda true. Ever since I finally invested the money in a couple of nice Corona brushes (and a brush comb), I've really enjoyed painting. It's calming, you know -- put the Shuffle on, listen to some tunes, drink some beer, and do some precision trim work and smooth coats. I learned to love painting while painting alongside Piers, now based out of Martin, TN.

Wuxtry

7.08.2006


Job sucks. Depressed.

Mother-in-law visiting. Delightful to have around. Indefatigable shopper.

Rock star brother-in-law visiting tomorrow through Wednesday. Looking forward to it.

Bands I'm into now:Shows I'm into now:Podcasts I'm into:Playing a lot of online chess recently. My rating at RHP is now mid-1300s, which is a definite improvement.

Beginning to try to think outside the box on a new job.

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