Errol Morris is a brilliant film-maker, but did you know he’s just as good with essays? Nothing is so obvious that it’s obvious. When someone says that something is obvious, it seems almost certain that it is anything but obvious – even to them. The use of the word “obvious” indicates the absence of a …
Wow.
Paul J. passed along a New York Times article on independent bottlers of Scotch whisky. These folks buy premade whisky from distilleries an then work new magic on it. Suffice it to say, this isn’t your usual Macallan or Glenfiddich. And because of the intricacies of American importing laws, these gems rarely wash up on …
Now that I lease my own server, I should find things to do with it other than host a blog, yes? Lifehacker has 10 ways to put a remote server to good use. Good to save for future reference.
One of the benefits of having a popular weblog (not this one, obviously) is that your readers send you lots of interesting reading material. Here are a couple of blog posts that are actually closely related to each other: First up, at Brazen Careerist, Penelope writes about four weight-loss tips from her month in the …
“Poverty does not belong in a civilized human society. Its proper place is in a museum,” writes Muhammad Yunus near the end of Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty. “I want to see a world free from poverty.” If anyone else made such a pronouncement, you might be justified in …
If you’ve been following along elsewhere, you might be aware that Kris and I have been on a purging kick lately. We’re getting rid of all our stuff! Well, maybe not all of it, but vast quantities. For one thing, I’m purging books. You know how painful this is for me. I’m sure those that …
I keep forgetting that one of the reasons I chose this blog template is so that I could post some smaller entries. I also thought that this new format would be a great way for me to leave notes to myself. For example, somebody — I can’t remember whom — forwarded me a link to …
It’s not even autumn and Kris is already whining: “I’m cold and it’s only September. It makes me dread the long, cold winter ahead of me!” By the way, I should point out that the only way I’m able to write so damn much is because Kris picks up the slack around this place. She’s …
Serendipity is a wonderful thing. Some of the best things in my life have come through chance encounters. Here’s a new Seattle band called A Fine Frenzy, which features 22-year-old Alison Sudol. I love her music. Apparently I was meant to hear it, as it came at me from three discrete and varied sources last …