Bizarre
« Previous EntriesCold
Friday, January 8th, 2010The bottom’s dropped out here in Springfield. Overnight temperatures are dipping below zero, with significant wind chills. Schools have been closed for two days because of the frigid conditions. The snow is sparse, but I felt like my face went glacial as I shoveled the thin layer […]
113 or 13 — It’s in God’s Hands
Friday, September 25th, 2009 Walter Breuning of Great Falls, Mont., turned 113 on Monday. He is the world’s oldest man.
Breuning has many memories of life in early-20th-century America. Kerosene lamps for lighting. Having to walk just about anywhere he needed to go. Simple, frugal meals, sometimes of bread crust when times […]
Blowing Smoke
Monday, September 14th, 2009I ran across an ad for an electronic cigarette today. This device and others like it allow users to “smoke” by inhaling a nicotine-laced vapor. The cigarettes are battery-powered and even have a little orange light on the end to create the glow smokers expect with each inhalation. […]
Just How Big Is That Problem?
Thursday, July 30th, 2009I got to thinking about angular dimensions today. I’m sure there’s a math textbook or Web site that can give a more precise definition, but basically an object’s angular dimension is the degrees of angle it occupies in a visual field. An […]
The Tooth, the Whole Tooth, and …
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009The Pentecostal Evangel bids farewell to Managing Editor Kirk Noonan next week, so Kirk and I enjoyed a farewell lunch of our own yesterday at a local Indian restaurant. The buffet offered a variety of creatively spiced sauces over some light Basmati rice.
The rice got me to thinking of the following story.
Where the Gem of […]
Never Alone
Friday, May 29th, 2009Turns out, you’re never really alone. None of us is. We’re all a bunch of walking, talking planets to a staggering population of microlife. Consider these stats about Planet You, courtesy of the L.A. Times.
19: Average area in square feet of skin on a typical person
1,000: Approximate number of species of bacteria recovered from the […]
Big Brother Is Watching
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009I read George Orwell’s 1984 in high school. Lindsay read it this semester. We agree it’s one depressing story.
Whether or not you’re familiar with the novel and the misadventures of protagonist Winston Smith, you’ve probably heard the expression “Big Brother” used to describe an intrusive, totalitarian government. The book’s repeated refrain, “Big Brother is watching […]
Second Life
Tuesday, April 7th, 2009Scanning CNN.com today, I ran across a group of stories about Second Life, an online environment that now attracts several million visitors from around the world. Users create avatars, or alternate computer-generated personalities. These avatars interact in countless ways that mimic life. They meet socially, pursue career-related and entertainment activities, organize group events, even marry […]
Tales From the Judges’ Crypt
Thursday, February 26th, 2009In the early 1950s, few comic books offered more thrills than Tales From the Crypt. The series’ horror stories eventually came under attack from parents, clergy, schoolteachers and others concerned for children’s spiritual and emotional welfare. Congressional subcommittee hearings in 1954 led to the establishment of a national Comics Code. The original Crypt issues are […]
The ‘Alan Smithee’ Option
Tuesday, February 17th, 2009From 1969 to 2000, if you were a Hollywood director who believed the creative control of your film had been wrested from your creative little hands, you could beg the Directors Guild of America to replace your name with a pseudonym. If the guild agreed, “Alan Smithee” was the allowed name.
“Smithee” was first applied to […]
