“Take a walk up ladder lane and down hawser street: a humorous old nautical term for [being] executed by hanging, a hawser being a thick nautical rope.” (via QPB Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins, by Robert Hendrickson)
Pinocchio: A Rude and Violent Piece of Living Wood?
The New York Review of Books has a surprisingly fascinating piece on the truth about Pinocchio. I can’t say I’ve ever given the story much thought, but, as it turns out, there is much thought to be given. For starters, I need to confess that I didn’t know—it never really occurred to me to wonder, […]
Posted by Ben on June 15, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/pinocchio/
Minor Blog Rundown
Noam Chomsky doesn’t think Bush is lying. His treatment of the question is more or less simplistic, but he delves into some interesting topics re: Iraq and Afghanistan along the way, and it’s a pretty worthwhile read. Mark Kleiman brings up the topic of whether Bush spared Zarqawi (who’s potentially linked to the Berg killing), […]
Posted by Ben on June 15, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/minor-blog-rundown/
Anecdotally yours
Via Digby at Hullabaloo: The one and only time I interviewed Mr. Bush, when he was running in 2000, he called me by the wrong name several times, which was no big deal, and I didn’t correct him. But after this went on for a while, his adviser Karen Hughes, who was sitting in on […]
Posted by Ben on June 14, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/anecdotally-yours/
The Geography of Nowhere
In The Geography of Nowhere, James Kunstler takes the subjects of urban planning, the American Dream, and cars, crafting from them a surprisingly witty, irreverent, and at times cantakerous assault on the state of place in modern society. These are topics, mind you, for which Kunstler is able to marshal no small amount of vitriol. […]
Posted by Ben on June 13, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/the-geography-of-nowhere/
Two Pictures, Two Links
Above: “Eventually, the mines faced an end, and in 1974 the world’s once most densely populated island become totally deserted. The island, after all its inhabitants departed leaving behind their belongings, became an empty shell of a city where all its peopl disappeared overnight, as if by some mysterious act of God.” (via BoingBoing) Above: […]
Posted by Ben on June 13, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/two-pictures-two-links/
Tiger in Your Tank
Into Thin Air. It makes a nice title for a book about a climbing disaster on Mt. Everest, sure. It’s also good science, apparently. A physicist (of all people) thinks that what happened is, the atmospheric pressure changed, whisking oxygen away from the mountaintop and effectively making the top of Mt. Everest almost 1/3 of […]
Posted by Ben on June 12, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/tiger-in-your-tank/
Rabbit-Proof Fence (***1/2)
(2002) Phillip Noyce – Everlyn Sampi, Tianna Sansbury, Laura Monaghan, David Gulpilil Synopsis: Set in Australia in 1931, ‘Rabbit-Proof Fence’ details the true story (it’s based on a book called ‘Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence’) of three aboriginal girls who were snatched up to be put in “boarding schools” to be taught how to be a […]
Posted by Ben on June 12, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/rabbit-proof-fence/
Music To Your Ears
Ease your way into the weekend with a listen to the madly wonderful tunes of Lederhosen Lucil. Enough good things I cannot say; it’s excellent stuff, virtually guaranteed to hit just the right spot in your ears and nestle in your brain. Absolutely destined to [eventually, hopefully] become a cherished and keystone component of my […]
Posted by Ben on June 11, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/music-to-your-ears/
What You Don’t Know You’ve Eaten Can’t Hurt You
I was going to relegate this link (alert: PDF file) to the sidebar, because who needs yet another list of cicada recipes? But then I started skimming over the intro, and came across this reasonably interesting bit of trivia: “You have, in fact, probably already eaten many pounds of insects in your lifetime. Most Americans […]
Posted by Ben on June 10, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/yummy-bugs/