Blowing Smoke


Tuesday, August 17, 2010 If anyone's still following this blog, I've been writing more at a new blog at http://trainingto.blogspot.com/. Hope to see you there! posted by Unknown 6:11 PM \| 0 comments


Sunday, May 10, 2009 I've probably written before on fantasy vs science fiction, but another perspective hit me today. My position's been for a long time that fantasy stories result in their ending because the world works a certain way - actors are important, but only because Powers That Be have set the board. Sci-fi results usually depend on the unique strengths of being human, often a particular type of human (often libertarian, I'm realizing, as I read the older stuff). Horror gets lumped in with fantasy because supernatural threats and especially their exploitable weaknesses are a function of the setting, not the protagonists. Make no mistake - Battlestar Galactica was fantasy that included science. Sitting in church today, I realized the common name for these categories is religion and science. Famous fantasy writers are notoriously (and unsubtly) Christian: Tolkien, Lewis, L'Engle, Rowling, Card. I must say I don't know much about the religion of science fiction writers - that might be first evidence. I am sure there are exceptions, and I don't mean to question the beliefs of anyone just based on their genre - I just think I see a trend. It also explains to me why I have very few friends who read both sci-fi and fantasy - most of them also pursue one or the other of religion and science primarily if not exclusively. The few I can think of who translate seamlessly also pursue both sets of knowledge (or at least have a respect, not just tolerance, for both). Me? I like both fantasy and sci-fi. My absolute favorites are fantasy, but I read a lot of both fiction genres. As to the broader knowledge, my science and religion shelves are pretty close to each other, separated only by philosophy (I think - been a while since I looked at the shelves of books I've read). I get a science magazine, but my non-friend blog tastes run to religion. And I really dig into discussions of how science and religion mesh (or clash, if you like). Anyway, this might be ridiculously repetitive and unfresh, but it struck me today. So I wanted to jot it down. Thanks for reading this far. posted by Unknown 9:47 PM \| 1 comments


Tuesday, December 23, 2008 3 Least Favorite Things about the Holiday Season: 1) Having a cold when a song like O Come All Ye Faithful is on the radio. I was in a children's choir for a year (soprano!) and loved singing that song, so I try to sing strongly. And hacking cough follows hacking cough. 2) That hideous Christmas Shoes song. There is nothing redeeming about the over-saccharinized self-celebration of a shopper loaded up with gifts (capitalist crack?) helping someone buy a pair of shoes and feeling like a hero who's done his duty. The music's bad, the lyrics/story possibly worse, and the message is confused at best. And stations seem to want to get a year's worth of playing time into one month. 3) Having to work when most of the office is gone. It's a good time to learn just how interrelated a company's work is, when 75%'s vacations cripple the remaining 25%'s productivity. That said, Merry Christmas and/or whatever holidays you celebrate! Hopefully everything beyond these 3 annoyances is just plain fun. posted by Unknown 9:39 AM \| 0 comments


Saturday, December 06, 2008 Sadly it takes a liar to get me to post again. See my February 23 and 24 blogs for my first mention of corporate litterers who leave fliers on porches (theoretically on the door). In the comments, the offender, who I'm happy to name now as Directly to the Door, promises not to deliver to me again. Guess what was rolling around my porch today? This flier distribution process has been held up in court only as a necessary evil to prevent the suppression of anonymous political speech, but this was technically illegal as it was not firmly enough attached to my door to keep it from falling to the ground where it becomes ... litter. I'm not going to bother filing a legal complaint because I think the cops have much more important things to do, but here's some free speech of my own. That doesn't litter. As if their core business wasn't enough of an intrusion onto property and public nuisance, the owner apparently doesn't even mean what he says. So I encourage all to boycott the business he owns The What's for Dinner Studio Kitchen in Round Rock, and the other businesses paying for his litter: PCS Carpet Cleaning, Pagel and Sons Jewelers, Round Rock Health and Wellness Center, Darling's Heating and Air Conditioning, and Rangoli Indian Grill. I hate to just complain and not offer an alternative. If you want to prepare great meals en masse, try Super Suppers Austin, or for A/C and heating needs, we've had great experiences with Patton's Appliances. I don't have alternatives off the top of my head for the rest, but would be glad to entertain them in comments. Also kudos to Austin's Pizza for no longer supporting litter (as well as responding quickly to my first complaint)! In case you needed a reason besides their excellent pizza (I'm an especial fan of the BBQ Chicken although they've all been good), here's one! posted by Unknown 2:11 PM \| 0 comments


Saturday, November 01, 2008 Bill Ayers' last criminal act was in 1973. By the time he hosted a coffee for Obama's campaign in 1995 (at which point he had made substantial contributions to Chicago's educational system and 2 years later would be Chicago's Citizen of the Year), 22 years of legal activity had passed. When they served on an educational board together from 2000-2002 27 years had passed. If the statute of limitations extends that long, shouldn't we still be afraid W's drinking is affecting his judgement? posted by Unknown 8:15 AM \| 0 comments


Friday, October 24, 2008 I just got a free Austin American-Statesman newspaper delivered to my house. I'm not a subscriber, but apparently Texas State Representative incumbent (and likely winner) Mark Strama paid for this issue so it included a wrapper touting his renewable energy plans for Texas. You know what's not very renewable, takes a lot of energy to produce and deliver, and doesn't help the environment? A newspaper. Especially one whose entire content is available for free online. But I guess this has more cachet than the usual litter-flyer on the porch. This message brought to you by the local 2008 elections with the apparent theme of "I guess I'm voting despite their efforts to convince me not to vote for them." This is why folks don't vote. posted by Unknown 10:27 AM \| 0 comments


Saturday, October 11, 2008 I was laid off on Wednesday. And yet this is still probably the best week of my 2008. UT 45, OU 35. In Colt We Trust. posted by Unknown 6:43 PM \| 0 comments