Monthly Archives: April 2006

i can’t help loving The Onion

From the most recent Onion:

Donald Rumsfeld is under pressure to resign, first by a cadre of retired generals, now by Senior Democrats for his handling of the war. What do you think?

Young Woman
Danielle Bennet,
Daycare Provider
“As a daycare provider, I sympathize with Rumsfeld. 2,500 kids die on your watch and suddenly you’re not qualified to do your job?”

you must read Red Lightning

This weekend I read Red Lightning, John Varley’s latest page-turner. I stand by what I said about Red Thunder, its predecessor:

It’s a fantastic read, the kind of book that would be written by the mutant prodigy love-child of Varley, Robert Heinlein, Carl Hiaasen, Spider Robinson, Douglas Coupland, Neal Stephenson, and Carl Sagan.

You must read this book. If you won’t take my word for it, listen to Cory Doctorow:

There are few writers whose work I love more than John Varley’s, purely love — but now that I’ve finished Red Lightning, I love his stuff even more.

Go get it. Now. Why are you still here?  [Special thanks to Ted for lending me his copy before he read it himself.]

protecting us from (play) assassins

ATF agents at University of Georgia chased down and detained a sophomore because… he was dressed like a ninja for a “pirate v. ninja” party.

“Seeing someone with something across the face, from a federal standpoint — that’s not right,” [ATF special agent in charge] McLemore said, explaining why agents believed something to be amiss.

I’d hate to see what they would do if they saw pirates coming to the rescue.