Bookworm Room

I always like Michael Ramirez’s political cartoons.  I often love Michael Ramirez’s political cartoons.  But what’s the word for how one feels about a political cartoon that so perfectly summarizes a complex issue that no further words are needed?  This is one of the best of the best.

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I’m not usually a Peggy Noonan fan (I find her a bit vapid, the right’s Maureen Dowd), but I think this is one of her better columns.

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Generally speaking, I am not a fan of the Disney Channel.  Parents think the teen-oriented shows are innocuous, because they are free of references to sex and drugs.  That’s true, but what they have in bushel-loads is attitude, bad attitude.  Whether you’re watching Hannah Montana (mercifully out of production), the Suite Life of Zach and [...]

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Sadie sent me this delightful video, and I now pass it on to you.

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Trump has played coy this morning, leaving people with the impression first that he was going to endorse Newt, and then with the fact that he endorsed Mitt.  He still has time to change his mind. My question for you:  Does Trump’s endorsement matter?  Are there still people out there who look to the man [...]

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In the preceding post, I spoke about life sometimes being so ridiculous that it defies art.  In that vein, I found amusing these paired headlines from the online edition of today’s San Francisco Chronicle:

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Twenty or more years ago, pulling an all-nighter was fun and/or profitable, since I was either out dancing or in earning money meeting some sort of legal deadline.  The whole all-nighter thing loses its luster when you’re caring for a sick child (migraine, for those interested).  Little Bookworm 1 is better sleeping so, as soon [...]

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I am working on another ebook.  Yes, despite the fact that my last effort earned me about $0.05 per hour, I haven’t lost the yen to publish.  This time around, I think I’ve got a better idea for a book that will actually see me making a more reasonable return on effort.  The book is [...]

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I don’t have enough material to offer “notes from all over,” but I do have enough material for notes from here and there. The re-hash of Newt’s marital woes got ABC to take a journey down memory lane to talk about famous philandering politicians.  Showing just how selective Pravda-esque memory can be, ABC got Thomas [...]

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I have a friend who’s looking for a job as C, C++ programmer.  My friend specializes in databases, and can also program in other languages.  He’s also very smart and very nice, which is always an excellent combination. If you know of any jobs, please send me an email (bookwormroom *at* gmail.com), and I’ll forward [...]

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I’m sorry I was incommunicado this weekend, but my Mom has been up and down, and up and down, both health- and mood-wise.  Yesterday, she was gasping for breath in the ER with CHF, today she says from her hospital bed “Actually, I feel great.” Obviously, I’m not suffering as my Mom is, since I’m [...]

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Just last week, I wittered on about my disrespect for so many ostensibly scientific studies nowadays, since they’re focused on establishing an agenda that they have little to do with the scientific methods.  And of course, I routinely lambast here those self-styled experts who are also pushing an agenda.  One of the worst areas for [...]

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I’m very suspicious of “studies.”  As a liberal, I was ready to trust anything that came out of academia.  As a conservative, I’m suspicious of academia, because I know it’s more interested in specific outcomes than in the scientific method.  A good example of this is a survey that was sent around to Marin County [...]

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I drove Mr. Bookworm’s car today.  That means that, when I turned on the radio, I got NPR.  I don’t listen to NPR anymore.  I find very dull the carefully packaged stories, all of which advance, with greater or lesser subtlety, a Progressive political agenda.  I prefer freewheeling talk radio, where hosts do live interviews [...]

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It’s been quite a year and, frankly, one that I think lots of us could have done without.  Let’s hope that 2012 offers more in the way of positive excitement and good outcomes!

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This is an exercise in pure speculation. I invite all here to bring their own notions to the table. An old friend of mine visited me last Saturday to catch up on things. We walked my dog and began a long conversation that ended later in my backyard over coffee and tea. Bob is fascinated [...]

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Merry Christmas!

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Mom’s in the hospital again and suffering greatly, not in body, but in mind. She’s mildly delusional, and very paranoid, angry and anxious. I can’t imagine how grim it is to live in her head. I slipped away for an hour and had lunch with Don Quixote. Our conversation turned to evil. I believe evil [...]

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OK, I’ve been mulling (as in mulled wine) Earl’s gingerbread pudding recipe (and thank you for introducing us to Earl’s blog and photo). Hmmm…I need to try this, but probably won’t be able to until between X-mas and New Year. Those of you that know me, know that I am, for better or worse, at-least [...]

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If you’ve been wondering what will happen if the North Pole ever falls under federal aegis, wait no more.  The answer is here:

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Hanukkah starts tomorrow night at sunset.  David Goldman explains beautifully how important this holiday is to our modern understanding of individual freedom, the value of life, and faith in God.  It is not, and shouldn’t be, Christmas’ echo.  Each holiday is an important remembrance in its own right. And here’s a little happy song to [...]

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I am buried under laundry, house cleaning, caring for parent and children, organizing photos to be digitized (half price, thanks to a Groupon), getting out Christmas cards created and sent, and paying bills.  Coherent thought eludes me.  Cogent essays are an impossibility. But, all is not lost!  Even as I moulder intellectually, others are writing [...]

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Please forgive me in advance for committing quite possibly the worst punning offense ever seen at this blog. Back in the 1970s, after assassinating San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, Supervisor Dan White’s legal team came up with the novel line of defense:  Dan White couldn’t help himself because he ate too [...]

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It was inevitable, but that doesn’t make Christopher Hitchens’ death less sad for those of us who valued and enjoyed his intellectual honesty, brilliant writing, and all around caustic joie de vivre. Christopher Hitchens — Requiescat in pace.

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You’ve been to other sites that have words that are randomly highlighted.  When your cursor accidentally drags over those words, an ad pops up.  I’ve now joined those ranks. If the highlighted words are too irritating, I’ll stop.  Truthfully, though, much as I love blogging, I would also love to see a little revenue flow [...]

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