Crappy, crappy day. My uncle died this morning. It wasn't a huge surprise but it happened sooner than we were expecting. I *truly* do not feel like doing anything tonight, but resposibilities don't get put on hold unless you're dying or dead. Ich bin ein depressed grump.

Blah.

Alright...I can't let this pass without comment:

Salmon Spawn Baby Trout in Experiment.If you can't be bothered to click for the grisly details, here's the scoop: sashimi-mad Japanese scientists are massively concerned about bluefin tuna stocks. In a true example of outside the box thinking, they worked out that surrogate parenthood works in ( Read more... )

Ok, I'm breaking radio silence to announce my candidate for album of the year. I'm late to this party, so those of you who were ahead of me, feel free to gloat. The album is Boxer by The National. What an album! They've found a musical space halfway between bluegrass and Joy Division (which I didn't know existed). They are simultaneously ( Read more... )

Holy crap. What a devastation. In a spirit of magnanimity...oh...well...um....
Oh for heaven's sake...the only apropos thing to say is...
BOO-YAH!

Ugh. Argh. Heat destroying capacity for rational thought. Am considering the viability of a sacrificial offering to the gods to cease this inferno that has descended on the midwest. I slaughtered seven soybeans, but I am becoming convinced that this is unacceptable to the gods. (Not bambi, for heavens sake...to burn all that lovely venison... ( Read more... )

....Sweet Jesus it's hot. It's brain-roastingly mind-destroyingly hot. Frankly, I should be grateful, I can use all the excuses I can get. This heat fills me with a sort of grim despair. I confess, I hate it. I hate the dog days of summer. I cannot wait for the fall to arrive. In the meantime we must suffer under the great swamp of the ( Read more... )

Well, this weekend is off to a cracking good start. Friday was a bit hairy at work, but by day's end everything was delivered on time and to everyone's satisfaction. That evening though, leftyviolist and I had a lovely surprise as our friend P. invited us over and when her husband returned home, we spent a lovely evening on their boat on the reservoir. We ( Read more... )

This is a very, very strange coincidence. The very day that I check "The God Delusion" out of the library, Ingmar Bergman and Michelangelo Antonioni both died within hours of one another. I am not going to grieve, for the death of an old man is not a tragedy. Bergman was 89 and Antonioni was 94, and both of them had magnificently full creative ( Read more... )

I was not eaten by a bear during our camping trip, and by that measure alone, I would declare it "Great Success!!" It helped that everything else went well also. Going back to work after 9 days off in a row may be less than pleasant, however.

Here's hoping that the Decemberists concert with the Grant Park Orchestra will be released on CD or DVD

So. Once again, I will be furthering my somewhat tenuous relationship with the great outdoors. Yes, it's about time for another camping trip. I've made peace with the bugs, become one with the mud, and embraced our schloss-like tent; however there is yet one thing that tickles the back of my subconscious ( Read more... )