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December, 2008
...now browsing by month
More chaos, new order
Tuesday, December 30th, 2008The Code Review
Friday, December 19th, 2008The Code: Baseball’s Unwritten Rules and Its Ignore-At-Your-Own-Risk Code of Conduct, Bernstein. Non-fiction. I can’t say I’m surprised, though I am a bit disappointed, that sports writing seems to be far more about the sports than about the writing. If I never see the phrase “For whatever the reason” again, I will never again be irritated by it (first, it’s pleonastic: it adds no content to the sentence. Second, it’s ungrammatical: it should be “For whatever reason” or “Whatever the reason”). It showed up in both Bernstein’s text and the interviews, so either he re-wrote his subjects or everybody in sports talks similarly. Really, it could go either way. Complaints aside, though, the book does a reasonable job with its topic—and now, back to the complaints—though it could have accomplished its job in many fewer pages.
Ancient Dayplanner recreated
Thursday, December 18th, 2008A crazy English guy (not to be confused with a wackjob English guy) team of scientists has recreated the Antikythera.
Newsflash!
Tuesday, December 16th, 2008“SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION. On Wednesday morning a heap of coal of about 100 chaldrons, which had been placed several weeks before, on wet ground, in Boston, was discovered to be on fire, smoking like a volcano, with a volume of sulphuruous matter rising in a state of ebullition. Unquenchable by water, it was found necessary to remove them to prevent a conflagration. This is the third instance of the kind within a year in that city.”
The Saturday Evening Post, (Philadelphia, PA) Saturday, September 06, 1828
Another use for LPs!
Tuesday, December 16th, 2008This guy’s work is so cool. SO COOL!
Newsflash!
Monday, December 15th, 2008“Singular Accident. — A person named Duncan, who had just arrived at St. Louis from Louisville in the 16th inst., was walking up from the steamboat to the place where he was designed to lodge, when he was observed suddenly to fall, and when he was raised by the bystanders, it was found that one of his legs was broken a few inches above the ankle, and the flesh also severed half off as if done by the blow of an axe. If did not cause him much pain at first, and he stated that he could assign no reason for the accident except that he had borne more of his weight upon that leg to relieve a weakness he felt in the other, and he heard the bone crack as he fell.”
Milwaukee Daily Sentinel
April 14, 1845, page 2
History vs. parenting
Wednesday, December 10th, 2008Watching the end of a documentary about the Weather Underground makes me want to say “and how would you do it differently next time?” in an effort to have a teachable moment…
Surveillance Review
Tuesday, December 9th, 2008Surveillance, Raban. No. This is the first (to my knowledge) Publishers Weekly starred review recipient I have given a “No.” For much of the reading, I thought I would go the other way with the verdict, but (doubtless due to my own lack of sophistication) on reflection I must conclude that Raban has merely wasted my time.
It's been a while since we've had any FP here
Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008So I guess this will have to do.