Day 581: Betting The House Against Microsoft

originally published: August 3, 2013 Depending on who you ask, Microsoft might be an arch-villain monopoly, a life-saving brilliance factory, or something in between. I happily smush my syllables through Microsoft Word, prattle my system along the rattly road of Microsoft Windows (sure, it’s Windows 8, but I try to pretend otherwise), and I’ve dusted […]

Day 580: Science, With Just A Dash Of Evil

originally published August 2, 2013 If you’re looking for a sobering way to spend an hour (and I can see no reason why you’d want to do so on International Beer Day), have a look at the Wikipedia article about unethical human experimentation in American history. It might make you think twice about heading to […]

Day 579: This August, Buy A Clown A Beer And Punch A Mime

originally published August 1, 2013 Ah, August. That first month of the year which marks the turning point, the crest of the hill after which my little northern town begins sliding on its heels toward that inevitable and forsaken pit of wretched winter. But I prefer not to dwell on the meteorological implications of this […]

Day 578: Rockin’ With The Ludicrously Tragic – Worst Films Part 6

originally published July 31, 2013 Back in the day when news was printed on paper and I wasn’t too tired to even lift my head in the morning let alone read something, I was a huge fan of movie reviews. I’d look forward to Friday, when all the week’s new releases would get treated to […]

Day 577: Uncle Pennybags’ Wild Ride

originally published July 30, 2013 At this stage in my adult life, when heading out to the bar requires a much higher douche-bag resistance quotient than I personally possess, not to mention an unfathomable tolerance for mediocre music and overpriced beer, I tend to pursue more sedentary party options. My wife and I occasionally indulge […]

Day 576: Fermi-ing La Porte On The Little Green Men

originally published July 29, 2013 “Where is everybody?” So declared physicist Enrico Fermi over lunch with some colleagues in the midst of a discussion about the possibility of extra-terrestrial life on other planets. The ensuing talk led Fermi to conclude that by now (or, by then, in 1951) our planet should be splattered with the […]

Day 575: The Cutlery At The Back Of The Drawer

originally published July 28, 2013 Every week, I receive hundreds of imaginary emails, asking why I haven’t yet written a piece on eating utensils. Not so much about the history of the fork, knife and spoon, the above-the-title stars of most of our meals, but about the other alternatives on the market. Well fictional fans, […]

Day 574: The Big Box O’ Juke – 60s Edition

originally published July 27, 2013 The day after writing about someone’s horribly-botched circumcision and subsequent medical torture, I really need to punch that gearshift into a new socket and spend this gloriously overcast day in a happier, more uplifting place. It is for this reason that we order up a shake, pull out that roll […]

Day 573: From Boy To Girl To Man – The David Reimer Mess

originally published July 26, 2013 Every so often, medical science allows for a horrific story to plop onto the table of discussion, the foul stench of How-Could-They mocking the air while the malodorous sludge of dangerous malpractice seeps off the edge and lands in a tragic little puddle of broken lives and stolen future. For […]

Day 572: Understanding Today’s Google Doodle: Rosalind Franklin

originally published July 25, 2013 When I opened up Google this morning, this was my string of thought: “Hooray! A new Google Doodle!” “Oh, it doesn’t have a built-in game or anything.” “Rosalind who?” “Oh. Something-something-biology. DNA. Never heard of her.” Well that’s hardly the breed of wide-eyed curiosity and insufferable openness that has led […]