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Bush: Hungarian revolt should inspire Iraq

Kyle — 2006-06-22T16:41:00Z

The Pretender should be more circumspect in what he wishes for. What is he trying to say? That in 30 years, the Iraquis will be rid of the foreign invader? Or, that the revolution will be ruthlessly crushed?

Re: Resuscitating Book Club

Kyle — 2006-06-20T06:34:00Z

Apologies for the lacuna in book selection. I submit now these, you gentles.

Kurlansky, Mark. Salt: A World History.
Penguin Group. 2003.
and / or
Kurlansky, Mark.
Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World. Penguin Group. 1998.
Vince has been going on about Salt ... ever since he read it when it was new. Someone told me that Salt... is an offshoot of the Cod ... book.

Gardner, John. Grendel. Vintage Books. 1971.
I've been meaning to re-read this for well, decades now. Will it be as good now as I thought it was then? The current movie is not based on this book. Although there is an animated movie from Australia written by John Gardner called
Grendel Grendel Grendel. Also from iMDB: "In 1982, his novel, 'Grendel', was adapted as a stage play by Indianapolis actor Bart Simpson, who is now the artistic director of
The Blue Monkey Sideshow."

Eliot, George.
Silas Marner. Dover. 1861.
The Fishing News! Pfft! Let's get it right from the melodramatic source. Lisa Simpson's favorite book. Wait, no. Lisa Simpson's favorite book is
Ethan Frome. Never mind about Lisa. Or the Fishing News. Silas Marner is another one of those Queen Anne waists, threshing in the background, tea and tatting in the parlor, muddy boots, talkity-talk books. I'm sure there's a sexton or two to spare and any number of bloodless parsons.

Flaubert, Gustave.
Madame Bovary. Dover. 1886.
Translated by Eleanor Marx-Aveling, daughter of Karl Marx.

Atwood, Margaret. The Blind Assassin. 2001.
I looked at this on a remainder table once and it has been in the back of my mind ever since. Won a prize. Did we do a different book by Atwood?

Lego for less than half price

Kyle — 2006-05-02T05:40:00Z

The set is hokey, however. The "mutant" T-Rex is perhaps only a bit more posable than the old AMC model from the '70's.

I, Robot Is a Bad Movie

Kyle — 2006-03-17T05:09:00Z

Wild Wild West meets A.I.

RoboFlop - The mechanical heart of I, Robot. By David Edelstein

Kyle — 2006-03-17T05:03:15Z

RoboFlop - The mechanical heart of I, Robot. By David Edelstein: "There are people who regard Proyas' Dark City as a masterpiece for the ages—I believe Roger Ebert holds seminars in which he goes through the movie frame by frame for something like two years with breaks only for Yom Kippur and Lent."

I, Robot | The A.V. Club

Kyle — 2006-03-17T05:00:25Z

I, Robot | The A.V. Club: "Only in Hollywood could Asimov's robot theory somehow get processed into a sassy grandmother with sweet-potato pie at the ready."

I, Robot (Roger Ebert)

Kyle — 2006-03-17T04:58:00Z

:: rogerebert.com :: Reviews :: I, Robot (xhtml): "You can't even be mad at them, since they're only programs. Although, come to think of it, you can be mad at programs; Microsoft Word has inspired me to rage far beyond anything these robots engender."

loaded thoughts

Kyle — 2006-03-14T03:16:39Z

loaded thoughts

Vikings!

Kyle — 2006-03-13T21:47:00Z

Beagle on the ferry

Kyle — 2006-03-06T14:53:00Z

I looked up from reading the Stranger to find this squat hound staring at me.

Miscellaneous Spring Pictures

Kyle — 2006-03-05T19:40:00Z

Warren Buffett and the Fruit of the Loom Guys

Kyle — 2006-03-05T18:01:17Z

"For investors as a whole, returns decrease as motion increases." Isn't this part of what John Nash was on about?

Zardoz

Kyle — 2006-03-01T07:32:00Z

Preposterous claptrap and thoroughly enjoyable. Made for a mere million dollars! And a fifth was Sean Connery's salary. Urbane commentary from Boorman worth a listen. Finale as chilling now as the first time that I saw it.

LEGO V-Wing Modification

Kyle — 2006-03-01T06:56:00Z

Lego recently released a slew of Star Wars-themed sets, including a model of the V-Wing from Revenge of the Sith. It's a small set of a vessel not really featured in the movie. Normally, I am very forgiving of the design decisions made to render Lego models. It can be an ungenerous medium. However! This model has an error. The rear wings are not meant to fold over the cockpit like a broody hen, but rotate along the sides of the craft like a goose-stepping Nazi.
The correct action can be accomplished with just a few pieces: 1x2 hinge plates. After moving a few spacers around to allow for stud-play, it all works out almost exactly the same but with the correct mechanism. I think. In the movie, it's not easy to see what the ships are doing. Close enough!

Darren McGavin, Dennis Weaver, Don Knotts

Kyle — 2006-03-01T06:36:00Z

You guys were great, thanks for the TV.