Nothing but links today, folks, so all you dial-uppers (word?) can bail, if you want (oh, no, I was kidding, stay, really). Here we go:
The Star Tribune’s Nick Coleman is just one in the paper’s formidable stable of columnists. I rarely read him, mainy because his headlines never grab me. He writes about “people and [...]
Sitcoms are the only type of entertainment I can think of that get more entertaining the less you pay attention. If you actually sit and watch – really watch, not just look at – most sitcoms, they become infuriatingly un-funny. But if you just sit back and stare at the television, you’ll find yourself grinning [...]
Note: This isn’t as cheerful a thing as I’d like to post, but at five in the morning it’s all I can muster.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation announced last week that roadside memorials, while an understandable expression of grief, were an unsafe distraction to drivers. They contacted the families of those who’ve died on our [...]
Whenever people ask me what Yom Kippur is about, I always tell them it’s the Jewish holiday for feeling bad about yourself. Every religion has one of these, seemingly; often they involve not eating or giving up some small luxury (see Lent, diet coke, in the case of my old boss). If you watch public [...]
Not the day, the detective.
In lieu of a light, meaningless story about some trivial aspect of my life, I’d thought I’d treat you to something more substantial. I don’t claim to be knowledgable about anything, but I am quick to use new technology to help do the things I want to do, so here’s [...]
Got a call late last night that the soup kitchen was open. So I went over to the neighbors’ house to see what was available. Their grandson (who’s my age) works in a Scandinavian bakery/deli near here called, naturally, The Scandinavian Bakery. He’s always bringing home leftovers.
Usually it’s bread in one of its various [...]
Sooner or later, you’re going to have to find a way to keep track of your keys. This is a task for which humans are not inherently well suited. Locks, from an evolutionary standpoint, make a lot of sense; they keep predators out. But keys aren’t really good for anything; they can’t protect your young, [...]
Credit: Bill Bamberger (interview)
Bus #663
The driver is compassionate. He waits at the stop for a balding Chinese man who is running at the bus like it was home plate. He wears glasses and a blue checked shirt. He sits on a bench seat across from the wheelchair lift.
A big wide-spaced-teeth smile flashes on the face [...]
Textiles come from plants and animals. My 300 count cotton sheets were once prickly tufts swaying atop tall reeds in a field somewhere in India. In my dresser are sweaters that long ago were permanently attached to the skin of a lamb. The lamb probably sat in poop once or twice, and the wool that [...]
Sometimes traffic just kills me. Tuesday driving home felt like trying to run in a swimming pool. Suffocating.
I left work about five. Normally it takes me a half hour, but I had a feeling it would be worse that day, so I took a different route. Back roads. Because I am so clever.
But the [...]