• Books

    Bookses Good and Middling

    The Sunday Philosophy Club : An Isabel Dalhousie MysteryBy: Alexander McCall Smith Finished this one a few days ago. I had really loved the “Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency” novels by the same author, and I hope to encounter a new favorite series with this one. That wasn’t the case, but I did enjoy meeting Isabel Dalhousie and seeing a bit of her world. She’s a very deep person who spends a lot of time thinking about things philosophical, romantic, and mysterious. Ultimately it’s an unsatisfactory read, because philosophy gets in the way of logic. In the real world, a…

  • Funnies

    Shark In Sight, Ramp May Still Be Avoided

    You may disagree, but the current storyline at PVP sure looks like a classic shark-jumper. In a nutshell, Brent is dreaming about a possible future, because Jade thinks she might be pregnant. I’m hoping it’ll turn out to be a false alarm, with some plotty goodness that makes it all just a scary side-issue. But it may well be the next direction for this strip, because quite often strips follow a kind of life of their own that may more or less mirror their creators’ lives. Which means that the classic dictum “write what you know” works just as well…

  • Clan: McTiVo

    The Disillusionment of Alton Brown

    If you were thinking about sending a picture of your open refrigerator to Alton Brown, don’t bother: Thursday, October 20, 2005 Some of you may have noticed that the “contact” button is gone from my web site and that my rant calling for refrigerator pics is gone. Here’s why: although many of you sent in some really nice pics and insightful, fun emails some of you decided to send vulgar, nasty, frightening messages and images. I always knew there was ugliness and meanness out there but you know what, I don’t have to give you a place to put it.…