Have a Cow, Man

If you start playing this game , you most certainly will.

And you'll get exactly what you deserve. ;-)

OMG

Never, ever let any of my students say I'm strict after reading this.

Oh, Dear Lord, Spare Me...

Suffice it to say this: if any article of similar ilk were written about women these days....

I should add the caveat that I realize Maureen Dowd is trying to be satirical, and part of her satire is the notion of the socially-conditioned wimp-ass man. But this strikes me as one of those instances where the satirist becomes complicit in furthering that which she supposedly satirizes.

Oh My God

Can we say SCAM, boys and girls? As if the nature of For Love or Money weren't odious enough in itself....

The North Wing?

Is Canada going to try a comedy about Bennett Macdonald? Well, it certainly looks like it, as evidenced by this report. At least it has an intriguing cast, including the ever-adorable Kathy Greenwood, better known as 'the blonde girl' on Whose Line Is It Anyway and as Grace Bailey on the CBC show Wind At My Back, and Jessica Holmes, another comedic cutie.

Sad News

The operation to seperate conjoined twins Ladan and Lelah Bijani ended sadly this morning. The twins were joined at the head, and early reports indicate that blood loss caused both women to die, Ladan first just several as the seperation wasnear completion, while Lelah survived several hours afterwards, but eventually too succumbed. Very sad, indeed.

For the CBC's preliminary coverage, follow this link.

From the 'Poor, Poor Baby' File

(also from imdb.com)

Jolie: I Haven't Had Sex for Ages

Stunning actress Angelina Jolie's status as a single woman has taken its toll on her nocturnal activities - it's been an extremely long time since she last had sex. The Girl, Interrupted beauty, who recently divorced eccentric actor Billy Bob Thornton, is now mother to her two-year-old adopted son Maddox, which has taken away the focus of dating and finding a new man. And since embarking on her calmer lifestyle, Jolie is amused at the way fans still view her as an icon of sexiness. She says, "Considering I haven't had sex in a really long time, I find that really funny!" But Jolie does have moments when she feels sexy - but it's usually when she's in the least appealing places for passionate lovemaking. She explains, "I feel sexy when I feel really wild. I feel sexy when I'm sweaty and hot in the middle of the jungle, or in the middle of the desert."


LOL. Is this why she kisses her brother on the lips in public?

Doctor J thus offers to star in Jolie's next film, shot in the desert or in the jungle, which he will tentatively call Doctor J: Womb Raider. ;-) (Even if she is a bit of a freak. Okay, a lot of a freak.)

Blast From The Past

From imdb.com:

Kalahari Bushman Dies

The Gods Must Be Crazy star N!Xau has died of natural causes while collecting wood in the Namibian countryside. N!xau, 59, gained international acclaim for his performance in the 1980 film and the 1989 sequel - but decided to return to life as an African herdsman. Mireschen Troskie-marx of Mimosa Films says, "Apparently he went out to find wood on Tuesday and never returned. His family went out looking for him and he was found dead in a field. We believe it was of natural causes. He went to America, to Paris, to Japan. He was a world star, but he came back and he want back to his old roots." The Gods Must Be Crazy was a comedy hit worldwide and made an unlikely star of N!xau, who appeared in a number of kung-fu flicks in Hong Kong

Two Recent Pieces From The NY Times

There are two recent op-ed pieces worth noting here. One appeared today: Nicholas Kristof makes some very good points in a comparison of Tony Blair and Dubya, arguing, quite rightly, that Blair's mode of dealing with ideas, and with critics, provides a more realistic and sensible model-- and, indeed, a reminder of the importance of (more) genuine political accountability. Kristof is a good writer, and a good commentator-- and Dubya would do well to take a few pages from Blair's notebook. The irony here though is, as Kristof writes, that "One of the saddest results of our war in Iraq is that it may finish off Tony Blair before Saddam Hussein." For the rest of the article -- if you have the free Times subscription--click here.

There's also a funny bit from William Safire from yesterday's edition: Nixon, on the phone from purgatory, commenting on the State of the Bush. Sad thing is, Safire/"Nixon" is probably right.

I Wake and Feel The Fell Of Dark

I wake and feel the fell of dark, not day,
What hours, O what black hours we have spent
This night! what sights you, heart, saw; ways you went!
And more must, in yet longer light's delay.
With witness I speak this. But where I say
Hours I mean years, mean life. And my lament
Is cries countless, cries like dead letters sent
To dearest him that lives alas! away.

I am gall, I am heartburn. God's most deep decree
Bitter would have me taste: my taste was me;
Bones built in me, flesh filled, blood brimmed the curse.
Selfyeast of spirit a dull dough sours. I see
The lost are like this, and their scourge to be
As I am mine, their sweating selves; but worse.

--- Gerard Manley Hopkins

Me sez nussing

"He was a burgeon of strength, always, even when I least imagined him so."

A Wish For Kashenka

I hope this little guy makes his way home. His name is Logan.

This Is Not A Guilt Trip

... but I'm very much considering erasing the Round Table site, as the usage there is pretty minimal, and (indeed) the last entry (from me) was June 14th. If any of the members of the Table have any objection, please let me know; but it seems increasingly pointless to keep the blog going as is. I'd like, ideally, to have a site where minds with similar interests in literature and other forms of culture can test ideas and thoughts, but I'am also inclined to dispose of those things which go unused (blame it on my practical-minded father ;-) ). Thoughts? Should it stay or should it go?

R.I.P.: Barry White

Unbelievable. See the Yahoo obituary for details. He was only 58.

Indivisible

Yet another disappointing Sunday Times puzzle, this one called "Indivisible" by Rich Norris. Once again, a series of incredibly desperate words/letter-combinations (xdin, ojai, dah, onea, iii), and increasingly arcane usages (creche, tetra), and the misspelling of "amoebic" with "amebic." The theme? Meh-- just reread phrases turning on the word "in." "Al Capone camping?" thus resolves as "Criminal Intent." Pretty standard, and pretty dull, really.

Will Shortz-- I am very disappointed.

My Salute to the US on the Fourth of July

Somehow, this strikes me as the best way to commemorate the US on its birthday.

Murtaugh: Are you really crazy? Or are you as good as you say you are?
Riggs: You're going to have to trust me.

-- a classic exchange in the original Lethal Weapon

Wisdom from Papa

"The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shock-proof shit detector. This is the writer's radar and all great writers have had it."
--- Ernest Hemingway, in an interview with George Plimpton

Hmmm.... And yet so many critics are terrible writers.... I wonder....

Thank God

Well, mercifully, Vancouver-Whistler won their bid for the 2010 Winter Olympics. I say mercifully for only one reason: that this means the earnest pursuers of the Games in Toronto will now pack up their hopes and stop wasting our time and money on the prospect of a Toronto Summer Games bid. Besides, Toronto can do without the chaos, debt, and bullshit.

My Hero

You've got to love this man's audacity. The world needs more such heroes.

Shots From The Onion

Oh Lord, this is hysterically funny. It's probably best I not say much more than that, tempted though I am....

But that gets me reflecting on my so-called horoscope which says:

Virgo: (Aug. 23—Sept. 22)
You'll once again avoid becoming a household name this week, except in the more perverted households.

Should I start my own business? I'm sure I could charge much less than $250.... ;-)