Tribulation Force, pp. 162-169 Buck … still longed to see Chloe, but it was not the idealistic dream he had imagined. … The flowers are in the trash, he thought. Whatever in the world that meant. In comments to the previous post, many noted that this sounds like a line from a spy movie or from one of those coded World War II radio messages for the French Resistance. (And several commenters offered hilarious riffs on this, which you really... Read more
So I’m reading Satanic Panic: The Creation of a Contemporary Legend, by Jeffrey S. Victor. Excellent stuff. And I come across this paragraph: In order to avoid vague notions of what constitutes a “rumor-panic,” in my research I defined a “rumor-panic” as a collective stress reaction in response to a belief in stories about immediately threatening circumstances. A rumor-panic in a community can be identified by the existence of widely occurring fear-provoked behavior. Examples of fear-provoked behavior include: 1) protective... Read more
You might have laughed if I told you … "Leave Her to Me," Jeffrey Gaines"Leave My Kitten Alone," The Beatles"Leave My Monkey Alone," Warren Zevon"Leave One Light On," Rick Elias"Leave out All the Rest," Linkin Park"Leaves on the Sidewalk After the Rain," Jonathan Richman"Leaving New York," R.E.M."Leaving on a Jet Plane," Chantal Kreviazuk"Leaving on a Jet Plane," Bradly Richards"Left & Right," Milla Jovovich"Left of Center," Suzanne Vega"Left of the Dial," The Replacements Yeah, that's right, two versions of a John... Read more
* Traffic lights that have the same timing patterns at 3 a.m. as they have at 5 p.m. * Lamar Alexander's decision that it was more politically beneficial to lie about the effects of health care reform on skyrocketing insurance premiums than it would be to, you know, actually try to do something about skyrocketing insurance premiums. * The use of e-mail sig. files as confrontational tribal war dances. * Mars Inc.'s decision to rebrand the Twix candy bar as... Read more
Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing. — Arundhati Roy From Minnesota, “Residents work to purchase their own mobile home park“: Owner Bill Halverstadt decided to give the residents who live in the 14-acre Meadowview Manor park the opportunity to buy it and pointed them in the direction of help to make it happen. It started the residents on a path of forming a cooperative to manage... Read more
Tribulation Force, pp. 157-162 Rayford found Chloe miserable. And for the next 30 or so pages, there's no other way to find her. Except maybe as bitter and kind of nastily vindictive. She's been made miserable due to her confusion over the whole Alice situation — a misery made worse by her refusal to talk about it with anyone who might be able to clear things up. The anonymous flowers she received, which she mistook as a gesture from her... Read more
Throughout the 1990s I worked for religious nonprofits. Those groups were doubly blessed by the IRS. As religious organizations, they didn't pay taxes. And as 501(c)(3) charities, they were able to solicit tax-deductible donations. Those privileges didn't come without some corresponding stipulations and qualifications. The very same religious status that protected us from entanglement with the state also protected the state from being entangled with us. And the tax benefits that came from being a 501(c)(3) charity were in recognition... Read more
At least it's something you've left behind "Knockin' on Heaven's Door," Bob Dylan"Knoxville Girl," Nick Cave"Knuckle Too Far," James"Kody," Matchbox Twenty"Kohoutek," R.E.M."Koka Kola," The Clash"Kryptonite," 3 Doors Down"Kyle's Mom Is a Bitch," South Park"Kyrie," At the Foot of the Cross, Vol. 1"Kyrie Eleison," Sinead O'Connor Yeesh. The presence here of both Matchbox Twenty and 3 Doors Down is an unpleasant bit of self-discovery. In my partial defense, I acquired the latter track while putting together a mix of superhero-themed …... Read more
Tribulation Force, pp. 151-157 We return to Capt. Rayford Steele, still reeling from being accused of religious harassment toward the one co-worker with whom he has not been guilty of religious harassment. "Who's out to get you?" Earl had asked. "I can't imagine." Francine reported that the call she took that morning had been traced to New York. "It'll take them a few hours to get an exact phone number," she said, but Rayford knew in a flash who it... Read more
Snowfall in America brings with it, inevitably, a blizzard of "jokes" about the alleged absurdity of global warming. All of these jokes have two things in common: 1) they mention Al Gore, and 2) they're not actually funny. Being funny isn't the point of these jokes, so it's not surprising that they fail to achieve funniness. What is surprising, though, is that so many people feel compelled to tell "jokes" that aren't actually jokes — jokes that neither attempt nor... Read more
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