I had a picnic today with Darcy of Kaseri and Morbier cheeses, a ciabatta from Semifreddi’s, and smoked peppered mackerel, washed down with some sparkling cider. It was tasty, but even after vigorous soapy handwashing my fingers still smell strongly of mackerel. Which is not a terrible thing, but a bit disconcerting. I wonder what Lady Macbeth would do…
far off places with funny names
My friend Asad from high school is going on a Fulbright to Kuala Lumpur. As I mentioned to Sin today over IM, I always parse the city’s name as “Koala Lump Uhr,” some kind of Australian animal boxing show, televised in German.
embarrassing
It’s just plain embarrassing to ask at the hardware store: “where can I find some caulk?”
At least I can fix the bathtub now.
Information Theory and Evolution
William Dembski, noted crackpot “intelligent design theorist,” is attempting to abuse information theory to support his notion that evolution is impossible. His first paper is dedicated to setting up a new mathematical framework for his theories, but really contains no new contribution. Its own claim is that:
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grad school makes you evil
I went from so clean cut:
To paranoid and delusional:
And finally have sold my soul:
Prick Up Your Ears
I recently saw Prick Up Your Ears, a biopic based on a book based by John Lahr (played by Wallace Shawn) about Joe Orton (played by Gary Oldman), a promising and very funny British playwright who was murdered by his ex-lover, Ken Halliwell (played by Alfred Molina). To those who say Oldman and Molina are not good actors, this film should prove you wrong. It’s a fine bit of work, and quite riveting for the entire 110 minutes. The director Stephen Frears of My Beautiful Laundrette fame, another gem of a film. And I’m not saying that because it has brown people in it.
Serjeant Musgrave’s Dance
by John Arden. This British play, from 1959, is stunningly relevant to our situation today. John Musgrave, a army serjeant, has deserted with three other soldiers, carrying with them a Gatling gun and a skeleton of a murdered comrade. He goes to the victim’s town, a small mining village in the middle of a dispute between the colliery workers and the owners in order to impress upon them the horrors of war, and the terrible arithmetic and Logic of murder. He calls all the town together and unveils the skeleton, dressed in uniform, in order to incite the workers to kill the mayor.
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bearable pain
Apparently, spammers selling a type of pain medication really enjoy spamming my blog. Of course, thanks to MT-Blacklist, cleaning them out is a breeze.
Also, links and so on have been updated. At last. I am so lazy sometimes.
but where will I read?
The Morrison Reading Room is closed during intersession, 8/14-8/29. Reading outside is fun and all, but that place can’t be beat for a chapter of a novel and a 30 minute nap in the middle of the day. Lately I’ve been struck by terrible midday lethargy and I can’t get myself to focus on work, so I sometimes trundle down there for a change of scene. Now I’ll just have to drink more coffee.
Tartine
Guerrero and 18th. This little French-styled bakery and coffeehouse is awesome. I have heard their pastries are delicious but I had the croque monsieur with shiitake mushrooms and it was super tasty. I will probably go here again and again, although not if I’m in a rush, since the line is so long.
If you are looking for something more substantial, try Delphina next door.
An Ergodic Walk 