Guardian writers Sarah Crown and John Crace offer advice on how to arrange one’s shelf of books, for instance: “The kleptomaniac: Easy. You just arrange your books in accordance with the numbering system of the library from which you nicked them.” I suppose some collections could be arranged by theological tradition–Reformed, Wesleyan, Catholic, Dispensational, maybe Humanist. I doubt that would be helpful.

(But then, pretty much everything is oddly frightening.)



I’m remarkably empty of rational (or any other kind of) thought tonight, but this story caught my eye.

You don’t often find me blogging about cars.

I’m not entirely sure I’d enjoy meeting the lady, as they describe her in the article, but she definitely has her own style.

Nearly 600,000 miles later, the 90-year-old Florida woman still drives her 1964 Mercury Comet Caliente every day.

I might note that you don’t generally find cars that old in Minnesota, because of the road salt. So don’t blame me for Mrs. Hermanson’s rust. It’s society’s fault.

Oh yes. I have a book out. You can order it here.

“The Vinland Map,” subject of much controversy over most of my lifetime, is genuine after all, according to a Danish scientist.

COPENHAGEN, July 17, 2009 (Reuters) — The 15th century Vinland Map, the first known map to show part of America before explorer Christopher Columbus landed on the continent, is almost certainly genuine, a Danish expert said Friday.

Tip: Ori Pomerantz.

“One small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Speaking of government-run health care: “The public option won’t be an option for many, but rather a mandate for buying government care.”

The Obamas are asking for artwork to display in the White House, emphasizing “works by black, Hispanic, Asian and female artists.” (via ArtsJournal)

Today, when I came in from my walk, I came in to warm up, not cool down. Clouds had blown in on a puff of fall-like air. It looks like rain, but the guy on the radio says it’s not supposed to do that tonight.

I love this Global Cooling, at least in July. Speaking as the guy who pays the air conditioning bill around here.

I’m seriously tackling the Archives Room in the library now. I spent today organizing old magazines and shelving them in boxes.

This is a process that induces long thoughts. “Long thoughts” is the phrase that comes to my mind. I have the idea it’s a Norwegian idiom. That would be “lange tanker.” I have no specific memory of ever encountering those words in my Norwegian reading, but my brain insists it must be so.

“Long thoughts” (whether a genuine Norwegian phrase or the effluvient of my own imagination) are a combination of memory and melancholy. The kind of thoughts old people think when they look back over their lives. Sad memories are sad, but good memories are sad too, because they (and many of the people in them) are gone forever. Continue reading Long thoughts →

Last week a pastor friend of mine asked to borrow my mail shirt, as he wanted to do a demonstration on “the full armor of God” at a youth conference. I had to refuse because a) my mail is rusty and oily right now, as a consequence of the recent zinc removal, and b) I needed it myself this past Sunday.

As it turned out, he borrowed a shirt from someone else. Which meant he had the unpleasant experience of trying to take it off for the first time without knowing how. Getting out of mail the wrong way (that is, trying to take it off like a sweater) is a splendid method for inducing claustrophobia and giving yourself nights of bad dreams. Getting out of it the right way is easy and fun.

So, for future reference, this is how you do it.

1. Having removed your belt, bend forward at the waist.

2. Grab a handful of the mail behind your back, and pull it forward.

3. Keep pulling it forward until most of it is bunched up around your shoulders and neck.

4. Now pull it all off over your head. Because the weight of the shirt is now forward of your body, the whole thing will fall to the ground by force of gravity, without any further effort on your part (unless it gets caught on something). The side of the shirt that was inside will now be outside, but since there is no inside or outside (nor any front nor back), that doesn’t matter in the least.

(Photo credit: Emily Chesley)

Today I was given access to some more excellent photos of Sunday, taken by an entirely different friend, Emily Chesley. Emily is a painter (the fine arts kind), and the daughter of two old college friends.

First, a picture of me signing a copy of West Oversea. (You know I’ve got a book out, don’t you? You can order it here.)

Continue reading More mayhem →

Saturday was a day for some housecleaning, a little yard work, and shopping, as Robbinsdale was celebrating Whiz Bang Days. There were multiple opportunities to pick up cheap DVDs (I like to embrace technology about the time it’s going obsolete; that’s when you get the sweet bargains!).

Sunday was Norway Day at Minnehaha Park (as previously advertised in this space), and it was a day worth waiting for. The temperature was moderate, and early clouds gave way to partly cloudy skies. The weather was dry, as has been our Viking Age Club schedule this summer. Some events have canceled altogether, and other usual venues have merely neglected to invite us this year. If it keeps on like this, we may be forced to raid a monastery.

I saw some friends and acquaintances, who stopped by. Some people who thought they might show up didn’t, but on the other hand some I didn’t expect did show up. One of them, Renae Allard, took some pictures of Ragnar’s and my second combat show, and I got her permission to share some of the best with you.

I like this picture very much. It’s like a screen capture from some good Viking movie (a phenomenon which does not actually exist in our universe). Continue reading Mayhem in the sunshine →