Yule Heibel’s Post Studio © 2003-2008

Why I’m lazy on principle

Recently, Halley’s Comment served up Rocky Road, and for what it’s worth, I thought it was the perfect Sunday dish. It started somewhere around here, and then some people apparently gave her a hard time about it, but she did it anyway, and had some interesting reflections about it. Opting out — and getting flak for it — reminded me of an article (in a Munich paper) I read in the late 70s that recounted the hostile reactions a woman got in response to keeping one day a week alcohol-free. Her drinking buddies went nuts. They said she had a problem; they didn’t see that they were the addicts or that they were enabling each other. Puritan America is happy enough to let you be alcohol-free, but it seems that there are always other addictions a-plenty that your co-dependents don’t want you to lose.

Why I’m not a teetotaler

William Gibson has the best by-line for the Pentagon’s scheme to revive democratic participation in current events by creating a futures market in terrorism. He calls it Ender’s Futures Market Terminated. Yes indeed, Ender: I guess science fiction writers always did have the inside track on the gifted, but who would have thought that badly challenged (read: misguided) intelligence in high places would come up with something as dystopic as this. Sci-fi pales in comparison.

Balls & Lanterns

Davin points to a very funny weird ping-pong game …uh, performance. He calls it Matrixpong.

It’s festival-all-sorts in Victoria right now, and last Saturday night was Luminara, followed on Sunday by an antique cars festival. (Victoria is where all good antique cars go when they die: they come here reborn in A-plus shape, unfettered by emission restrictions.) I went to Luminara on Saturday, but took no pictures. Luckily, Davin did. He posted them here — take a look, they’re beautiful. If anyone went to the antique cars extravaganza in Oak Bay, and has pictures, let me know.

Swissematter

According to a book review of Elizabeth MacLeod’s Albert Einstein: A Life of Genius in YES Mag; Canada’s Science Magazine for Kids, Einstein “approved the patent for the mold used to make the Toblerone chocolate bar.” (The review is by Reuben Wasser, age 9.) I ask you: did you know that? But, but…: Just two words re. the Toblerone: Billy Connolly. Listen to his review of the triangle-shaped bar by clicking on “Switzerland” a bit down the page. (I’d link to it directly, but those goons in the copyright / anti-file-sharing sector worry me.)