April 2011
51 posts
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I am feeling ways about things.
Which is usually a signal that I should have another drink(s).
March 2011
46 posts
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“You don’t go to war with the Legos you want; you go to war with the Legos...”
– Sun Tzu, I think.
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Dear Every Old Man in the Gym Locker Room:
I’m glad you all like to stand around naked and discuss which one of you shot down more of the Kaiser’s zeppelins in the Great War, but I shouldn’t have to walk the gauntlet of your sagging purple bags of sadness when I’m trying to get from my locker to the shower.
Just put some boxers on that stuff. Please.
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Manly McManlington's Manly Adventures of Manliness...
Today I replaced a light fixture in my office without turning off the power to that circuit.
And yet I live to tell the tale.
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We've lost our way
From Bob Herbert’s last column in today’s NYT:
So here we are pouring shiploads of cash into yet another war, this time in Libya, while simultaneously demolishing school budgets, closing libraries, laying off teachers and police officers, and generally letting the bottom fall out of the quality of life here at home. […] The U.S. has not just misplaced its priorities. When the...
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Be gentle.
My Askbox™ is now taking entries.
Perhaps I could have phrased that better.
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Boots on the ground
Mark the date, because this is the first—and likely last—occasion on which I agree with something that has come out of Peggy Noonan’s mouth:
The biggest takeaway, the biggest foreign-policy fact, of the past decade is this: America has to be very careful where it goes in the world, because the minute it’s there—the minute there are boots on the ground, the minute we leave a...
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Two of my neighbors are running unsecured WiFi...
The right thing to do would be to inform them that they should lock down their routers with WPA2 and solid passwords.
And I am going to do just that.
Just as soon as I finish downloading the first two seasons of Being Human in HD.
And a couple of other things.
Come to think of it, it may be Monday before I get around to informing them.
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“What makes a great designer or writer is not what they do when they’re at their...”
– Shawn Blanc
lauralizcurran-deactivated20120 asked: Where do you find inspiration for your stories and bits of fiction? And you you have a preferred process for actually putting it on the paper? Just curious, I love your writing and would love to know more about your process...
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2002?
In 2002 I optioned a spec script and got my first Hollywood agent. I thought my writing career was off and running. I was so, so wrong.
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I hope Maru is OK.
[ UPDATE: thank you all for letting me know that Maru is fine. ]
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Dear copywriters:
The product you are describing is not revolutionary simply because it is new and different.
So you’re writing the campaign copy for a new dog shampoo? Good for you! You say the shampoo is all natural? Great! You say the bottle is biodegradable? Super! You say the cap is an edible dog treat? Well, that’s a neat feature, I suppose. You say your dog shampoo is revolutionary?
Whoa,...
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I don't maintain even the slightest belief in an...
And yet I like to think that, somewhere, Carl Sagan and Douglas Adams and Jim Henson are getting drunk together and writing the best novel ever.
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Megahyperglobalcorp, indeed.
It has just come to my attention that Pringles potato “chips” are manufactured by Proctor & Gamble.
Yes, the same conglomerate that makes, among other well-known consumer staples, Tampax tampons and Head & Shoulders shampoo.
This does not surprise me in the least, and yet I doubt I will ever feel the same way about snack foods.
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Name anagram?
“Does long story.”
Boom.
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I don't need an iPad 2
I don’t need an iPad 2
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Idea, interrupted
Do you know the electric feeling you get once in a while, when a concept for something awesome pops into your head and holy shit you need to get out there and create that thing RIGHT THAT VERY INSTANT WHILE IT IS STILL EXCITING YOU AND YOU HAVE THE VISION IN YOUR MIND TO EXECUTE IT PERFECTLY?
I’m having that moment right now.
Unfortunately, execution of the idea requires two actors, an...
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David Brooks is a contemptible little troll.
As if you didn’t already know that.
Today’s nugget of Village wisdom:
A second austerity principle is this: Trim from the old to invest in the young. We should adjust pension promises and reduce the amount of money spent on health care during the last months of life so we can preserve programs for those who are growing and learning the most.
What a complete and utter wanker.
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