I swear before Heaven and earth that I heard a young man say the following today, in the Men’s Room at the Bible School:

“I’ve been reading this book called The Faery Queene. I heard it’s where Shakespeare got some of his ideas. It’s really good.”

Somewhere, C. S. Lewis smiled.

As Phil noted below, Patrick McGoohan died yesterday (Ricardo Montalban too, but I have less to say about him). McGoohan is most famous for his roles in the TV series, Secret Agent (known as Danger Man in England), and The Prisoner. Also for his one-dimensional but massively entertaining portrayal of King Edward I of England in Braveheart.

I watched both Secret Agent and The Prisoner when I was a kid. Can’t say I was a big fan, though. Secret Agent, in my opinion, didn’t have enough pretty girls, and The Prisoner was all style, no actual story (and again, not enough pretty girls).

It turns out the lack of pretty girls was purposeful. According to McGoohan’s Wikipedia entry he accepted the leads in these programs partly on the condition that he do no kissing. Apparently he had moral objections (like Kirk Cameron) to kissing a woman who was not his wife. Continue reading RIP The Scarecrow, and other maunderings →

Having seen the imminent (eminent?) demise of personal blogging, I have decided to post my random musings for the day, adding to them as the day drags on. Feel free to join me by adding your own musings. Perhaps we will amuse ourselves a bit. Ha, ha! I crack myself up.

I like French Onion soup. A while back I had a great bowl of it at Big River Grill, which used one of their microbrews in the recipe. Yummy, heart-warming, reminding me of all the French matrons in my life who have urged me to have another helping of Marengo Veal Sauté or Tomates confites. I also had a bowl of Campbell’s Caramelized Onion Soup on Monday, and it could not compare. There’s something different with Campbell’s Select soups lately. They don’t taste as good as they used to.

I didn’t remember that Richard Montalban was Khan. I guess that means I am not a trekkie, even if I wanted to be. How could a fan forget something like that?

I see that it’s 25 below in Lileks neck of the woods. Continue reading Personal Random Musings →

Did someone ask for flying cars? Let’s drive to Timbuktu, baby!

UPDATE: A much better link here with video of an interview with the inventor and of the car flying on the beach.

Here’s a little story which explains everything. I’m hiding it behind the fold because it contains some bl**ped profanity. Continue reading Parable →

A non-profit organization dedicated to working with children, ages 6-18, on their writing skills presents a dramatic storefront to the public. Of course, readers of this blog will spot this instantly as a ruse for Norwegian propaganda, but let’s admit it is a creative ruse. From their website:

What is the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co.?

The Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co. sells capes, grappling hooks, antimatter, and more. All the proceeds from the store go directly to 826NYC. The store also gives passersby a reason to walk in and see what’s going on in the writing center.

What happened at 826NYC today?

This morning, we had a field trip. We hosted 20 sixth-graders from the Secondary School for Research in Park Slope, who entered the writing center with science and math on their minds. In class, they’ve been watching mold grow on bread and working in fractions. At 826, these scientists transformed into budding journalists capable of turning anything “even mold and fungus” into riveting news. Thanks to these students, today’s issue of The Daily Mildew features some incredible articles, including “Mold Lives!” and “Mold Attacks Manhattan.”

(hat tip: Page Plane)