This is my protest vote.

My rage against the alternative "sexiest man living" list that has no "sexiest woman living" counterpart. What? Men can be sexy for being smart, accomplished, eccentric, talented or whatever non-beauty trait that makes one swoon, but women can't? Men are not judged by… Read full post »

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 »

Facebook is spying on me. They peaked at my age and relationship status and decided I was an older guy, looking for hot chicks. (I just lied about my age to see what happens with the ads—I love misleading online marketers.)

Last week, I had lunch with a female friend.… Read full post »

Approximately an hour ago, I was working on chapter six of my novel-in-progress, The Forty-Seven Words. 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… Read full post »

Initially, I assumed the shirt's "waiting" was intended to imply "waiting until we're married." But then I looked at it some more. And then some more. Oh, heck, and even some more. Thank you Safari and Firefox for allowing me to zoom in on a webpage. After all that viewing,… 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 »

After Sunday's impressive win, Alberto Contador took control of Team Astana and perhaps the Tour itself. But after Monday's rest day, Contador's challengers showed they weren't going to let him ride into Paris unchallenged. Does anyone have a chance at taking the jersey from el Pistolero?

At this poi… Read full post »

This morning's big news is that Levi Leipheimer broke his wrist in a late crash yesterday and will be withdrawing from the Tour. 

"He was in fourth place and could have potentially won the Tour. We've lost an important option and this will motivate other teams to attack us," said Astana… Read full post »

The general assumption is that the 2009 Tour de France is a race between teammates Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador. For the few who don't know, Armstrong won a record seven straight Tours before retiring for four years. At 38, he's much older than the typical late 20s/early 30s contender for… Read full post »

Every serious cycling fan I know loves Thomas Voekler. In ’04, he was in a break-away group that managed to keep away. While not winning the stage, he earned enough time to dawn the yellow jersey. Over the next ten stages, he managed to keep it, despite racing in stages that… Read full post »

I love cycling. I love bike racing. And I cannot stand Lance Armstrong. 

Lance Armstrong is a professional athlete. Which means he gets paid massive amount of money to be an entertainer in the most transitory medium possible. While there might be a few people who like to relive sporting moments,… 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 »

The above is the hypergraph view of Jinxx's spine. Not nearly as nifty as an MRI or x-ray, but for an entirely digital person, the MRI always comes up as a corrupted file. What you might notice is that it is relatively sparse. There aren't any extraneous nodes in there,… 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 »