Musings from Brian J. Noggle
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Saturday, December 04, 2004
Extend Your Vocabulary Brainsaver: When you close your eyes and see the game upon which you've spent too much time over the last couple of days. Friday, December 03, 2004
Tis the Season For a holiday special:
In this hour-long radio drama, Santa struggles with the increasing demands of providing gifts for millions of spoiled, ungrateful brats across the world, until a single elf, in the engineering department of his workshop, convinces Santa to go on strike. The special ends with the entropic collapse of the civilization of takers and the spectacle of children trudging across the bitterly cold, dark tundra to offer Santa cash for his services, acknowledging at last that his genius makes the gifts -- and therefore Christmas -- possible. Prior to broadcast, Mutual Broadcast System executives raised objections to the radio play, noting that 56 minutes of the hour-long broadcast went to a philosophical manifesto by the elf and of the four remaining minutes, three went to a love scene between Santa and the cold, practical Mrs. Claus that was rendered into radio through the use of grunts and the shattering of several dozen whiskey tumblers. In later letters, Rand sneeringly described these executives as "anti-life." The Drug is a Brand That's what I make of this capitalization from this story about a drug bust in Wisconsin:
Thursday, December 02, 2004
Seasonal Safety Reminder Bobtails are not bobcat tails. Management cannot be held responsible if you try to affix bells to the latter. Thank you for your cooperation. Wednesday, December 01, 2004
The Unspoken Clue This article about the serial killer in Kansas known as Blind, Torture, Kill, gives numerous details about the killer that he's revealed about himself in new missives:
BTK's communications indicate a lifelong fascination with trains, police said. Among other details provided by police: BTK's father was killed in World War II, and he was raised by his mother, with his grandparents caring for him while she was at work. When he was about 11, his mother began dating a railroad detective. His grandfather played the fiddle and died of lung disease. BTK's communications include accounts of a cousin named Susan who moved to Missouri, and of a woman he knew named Petra who had a younger sister named Tina. Since he's only now opening up to the police after apparently going without killing anyone for 18 years and he's in his middle sixties and he's got a history of lung disease in the family. His final mockery comes as he reveals himself on his deathbed when we cannot punish him. Stick Your Yellow Ribbons Blackfive speaks about ribbon magnets for your car and suggests you put that money somewhere where it will actually help troops. I concur. A Canadian Capitalist The Meatriarchy guy defends Wal-Mart:
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Book Review: Journey into Fear edited by Richard Peyton (1990) I bought this hardback book from Hooked on Books in Springfield (Missouri) for 33 cents (part of 3 for $1). Hey, it was worth it. I don't read a lot of horror because it really doesn't scare me, but I bought this book because I figured it was worth the price. It was. It's a collection of short stories dealing with ghosts and whatnot around trains. The fiction within the book splits its time between the United States and England, with most of the pieces appropriately enough set in the late part of the ninteenth century or the early twentieth. In between the stories, the editor recounts several real alleged hauntings near rails that might have inspired the stories. A fairly even collection, with some highs and some lows (Algernon Blackwood, unfortunately). Stories by Charles Dickens, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and others. Worth a look if you're into that sort of thing. Pot to Kettle: Does This Hypocrisy Make My Butt Look Big? In the December issue of Playboy in the Republibashing Forum section immediately following advice on how to get your wife to agree to a threesome, Patricia Schroder writes:
Or one might read the whole thing (not available online, but guys, tell your wives you wanted the article by Pat Schroeder and not the Denise Richards pix) and understand the context of the Playboy Forum and conclude that Patricia Schroeder wants to cudgel the Bush administration. Packer Flag Protocol Exception As you all know, the Packer Flag Protocol is as follows:
Monday, November 29, 2004
Twice Read Hugh Hewitt started it when he said:
James Webb's new book, Born Fighting, Elizabeth Kauffman Bush's The First Frogman and The Lileks' Interior Desecrations are my trio of recommendations from among the "just published," but I hope to get some guidance from the blogosphere on modern novels worth reading twice that I haven't yet even read once.
Here's what Powerline's Deacon has read twice. Unfair Treatment The St. Louis Post-Dispatch expresses its continuing sympathy for illegal aliens with this story: Latvian family faces deportation threat:
After nearly a decade in the St. Louis area, though, Boudaguian says she feels let down by the American legal system, which has denied the family political asylum and now threatens them with deportation at any moment. "We live now day by day. It's so scary," she said. A knock on the door might mean that she and her husband, Vitalik Boudaguian, and their two children must gather their belongings, submit to arrest and go to a detention facility to await deportation. Their one-year tourist visas expired May 18, 1996. The system is only fair when it does what I want it to do, regardless of the existing rules. Natch. Not Just For Nutjobs Any More Headline on St. Louis Post-Dispatch story: Home schooling is attracting mainstream families. No comment. Remiss Belatedly, I have to admit that the Manitoba Moose beat the Milwaukee Admirals on Saturday, right after I talked smack. Here's the story: Manitoba’s Kesler beats the clock, Admirals. The Admirals got revenge on Sunday, though: Admirals hold off Moose. |
To say Noggle, one first must be able to say the "Nah."
"I will." Heather L. Igert, angelweave.mu.nu "Genuis." Neil Steinberg, Chicago Sun-Times "Some wanker." Kim du Toit, on the Noggle Library. "Brian J. Noggle apparently forgot that the proper design for a tin foil beanie calls for the shiny side out." Robb Allen, Sharp as a Marble. "I'm weeping openly right now. Thanks for hurting my feelings, pinhead." Bob Rybarcyzk, St. Louis Post-Dispatch Instapundit Protein Wisdom Ace of Spades HQ Wizbang! Outside the Beltway Robert B. Parker Dustbury Damn Interesting Michelle Malkin Radley Balko's The Agitator Exultate Justi Yippie-Ky-Yay! 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