I thought I loved him until I realized he was always going to say, "Let's get merry" and never "Let's get married."

Actually, it might just have been that he said, "Let's get merry."

Yesterday, the Senate Finance Committee voted down two public option bills, with multiple Democrats defecting. Sen. Baucus used the votes as evidence that a public option couldn't get the votes to pass in the Senate. This infuriates me because it is both cowardly and short-sighted, if not a massive m… Read full post »

Comparative Gamble/Huff, lesson number one.

The Chart Topper: Thelma Louise reached #1 in ‘76 with the Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff and Cary Gilbert composition.

Ultra ’80s new wave: Jimmy Somerville (ex-Bronski Beat) and the Communards scored no. 40 on the U.S. pop charts, but/… Read full post »

While I was watching Jay Cutler make the Denver Bronco's management look brilliant (3 interceptions with 4:39 left in the first half: go, Jay, go!), the Chicago Bears scored their first points of the season with a safety. The NBC announcer noted that since Lovie Smith took over the coaching duties,… Read full post »

Approximately an hour ago, I was working on chapter six of my novel-in-progress. As soon as I finish writing this post and return to writing, I'll be working on Chapter 22. Exuberantly freakish progress?

Yes! Absolutely, yes! Just like (insert baseball star's name here), I found a clever way of… Read full post »

When you betrayed my friend

I was there 
to feel the pain.

The surface, 
always 
so calm,
quivered
as you walked
away 

My friend
bitter,
yes,
but loyal,
undemanding,
giving, too

When you needed
energy and warmth
my friend
was always your
first love

The season changes
your mood
swings
My friend… Read full post »

[Rant alert: this post is pure rant and has no redeeming substance]

• American Cheese. I don't mean that I don't understand how American cheese came to exist. Without taking the effort to look it up, I assume it was developed during a war, when milk was expensive. Or something like
… Read full post »

By now, if you've followed my sporadic Tour posts, you surely know that the 2009 Tour de France was won by Alberto Contador. Climber Andy Schleck finished second and ancient champion Lance Armstrong finished third. Yes, in cycling, 37 is ancient. Although Lance isn't the oldest person to finish on th… Read full post »

As an accomplished writer, many people ask me "Specular, how can I become as successful as you, enlightening the world while gratifying their base needs for entertainment?"

This is what I tell them about my writing process.  

1. Procrastinate. This is an important step. Do not skip. Ever.
2. Re
… Read full post »

William Saletan's writing on abortion has been a primary driver of my thought on the issue. While I disagree with some of his assessments, his thinking on the topic forces me to think harder.

In the below clip, he's discussing abortion ethics and politics with Steven Waldman. I haven't watched to… Read full post »

Review of Dragon Hunters (DVD) and The Prince of Nothing Trilogy (books) 

Yesterday, a film I've been waiting to see for two years finally arrived in my mailbox. Chasseurs de Dragons, a French 3D animated film has come out on DVD, sadly never receiving U.S. theater distribution, d… Read full post »

“I understand capitalism and do not favor socialism, but unmitigated greed is rendering capitalism unworkable. There are just too many uncaring, selfish greedy assholes out there that are draining the financial and spiritual life out of most of the populace.”

This past winter, thee w… Read full post »

Julie requested samples of some of my other fiction, but wanted it kept under 500 words. Hard to take 500 words out of something that was originally 30,000 or even 260,000 and have them remain impactful. Hopefully, these fragments will retain something of their original power (and, hopefully, origina… Read full post »

It is cold and raining right now. I have exactly one cup of espresso left, with no unbrewed coffee sitting in the jar. I want coffee. Can I have that last cup? I had to check the weather first.

Ah... sunny and 73º. I go to the kitchen, poor the last… Read full post »

This is a reply to Fingerlakeswander's post which, in part, discussed today's Douthat column in the Times. Mostly, I'm referring to her response to my reply, so if anything here seems to reference something outside of this post, you'll need to scan the comments in her post for Finger and my/… Read full post »

Everyone said he was a mistake waiting for someone like me to make. But everyone knows what everyone says is wrong, so I went for it. Perhaps “went for it” is overstating my initiative. I let it happen to me, kind of like tripping and falling off the side of a… Read full post »

Professional cycling team Astana is the Los Angeles Lakers of professional cycling. With arguably the best rider in the world right now, Alberto Contador, supported by Levi Leipheimer and Lance Armstrong—both potential big tour winners—and a strong group of other riders, Astana can expect… Read full post »

My mother is retired. Since retiring, she's become a Jesuspammer. Not the hateful stuff some people's relatives were sending them during the election season. Just feel-good God stuff. Today, she sent me a PowerPoint presentation with a bunch of interesting math things and a bit of code.

If you assign… Read full post »

This morning, I ate breakfast but—as is typical—didn't have enough time to savor a cup of coffee. So I stopped in at the only coffee shop near my work, a Starbucks. I don't dislike Starbucks, per se. As a massive corporation, they're pretty good. In fact, I would go as far… Read full post »

9:38 AM, March 28, 2009—Last night, I discovered that CGToolkit is selling The Art of Rigging, Vol. 1 for $18 (vol. 2 is the same price, vol. 3 is $25), which is a third of the original price. The catch is they are no longer printing the book: it, and the companion… Read full post »

Ah, Wingnuts. On another forum I participate on, somebody is very excited about the recent International Conference on Climate Change, a meeting of global warming deniers. While questioning global warming is something I believe a reasonable person can do to a point, what startled me was the nature of… Read full post »