Well, no, but this coulda been a post. Which, right now, it’s not going to be. Originally, this was supposed to be a highly informative post. A must-read. See, it woulda been fun. Interesting. Nuanced. Literary, but not in an alienating, egotistical way. It would’ve been a highly informative (and also, I might point out, […]
There be rattlesnakes in these shrubs
“An Oklahoma man went into a home improvement store looking for shrubs but left in an ambulance after being bitten by a rattlesnake, officials said on Wednesday.” (via Yahoo/Reuters: “Shopper Bitten by Rattlesnake” [April 15, 2004])
Posted by Ben on April 18, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/there-be-rattlesnakes-in-these-shrubs/
I don’t consider myself a salesman, but
…but there are some things too good to pass up. Too good to pass up mentioning, anyway. At Central Alarm Systems, which sells alarms, etc., I stumbled across this bit of keen copywriting: LCD Keypad – Custom English Display Same as above, but this baby reads out in Custom English! What this means is it’s […]
Posted by Ben on April 17, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/i-dont-consider-myself-a-salesman-but/
Mad Dog and Glory (***)
(1993) John McNaughton – Uma Thurman, Bill Murray, Robert DeNiro, et al. Synopsis: A mediocre crime-scene photographer—the eponymous Mad Dog, played by DeNiro— stumbles across a robbery-in-progress at a convenience store, managing to save the life of a mob boss Frank Milo (that would be Bill Murray). At the behest of his therapist, Frank makes […]
Posted by Ben on April 17, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/mad-dog-and-glory/
File-Sharing: The Saga Continues
Maybe you’ve heard and maybe you haven’t, but there’s a study out now by some business professor types that seems to say file-sharing doesn’t really hurt music sales. The study—which involves a lot more than simple surveys (e.g., “do you buy fewer albums now because of file-sharing?” etc.)—also points to the numerous weaknesses of “studies” […]
Posted by Ben on April 16, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/file-sharing-the-saga-continues/
Sweet dreams
So apparently Stanley Kubrick’s the Shining gets played round-the-clock at the resort on which the movie (by way of Stephen King’s book) is based. It almost makes too much sense. (via Boingboing: “redrum redrum” [April 14, 2004])
Posted by Ben on April 16, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/sweet-dreams/
Got Gas?
$2.00 for a gallon of gasoline may seem like a towering, ominous threshold, but the fact is, it’s a threshold we passed long ago—we just didn’t notice. By the time you’ve factored in tax subsidies (to those charming oil companies), program subsidies (e.g., fed/state costs to improve transportation infrastructure plus R&D, etc.), protection subsidies (that […]
Posted by Ben on April 15, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/got-gas/
From the bowels of the internet
“Flibbity Jibbit, a wonderful story about a duck that holds the key to saving the lives of a hungry town!“ In six handy PDF files, for all to enjoy!
Posted by Ben on April 15, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/from-the-bowels-of-the-internet/
In retrospect, the foresight was there
“Five months before Sept. 11, 2001, the officers responsible for defending American airspace wanted to test their ability to prevent a hijacked airliner from being crashed into the Pentagon, but the scenario was rejected by the Joint Chiefs of Staff as impractical, a Joint Chiefs spokesman confirmed yesterday.” (via BoGlo: “Pentagon crash ‘too unrealistic’” by […]
Posted by Ben on April 14, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/in-retrospect-the-foresight-was-there/
New World Disorder
“George Bush has had a “devastating impact” on global sustainable development and set the world back more than ten years, says Jonathon Porritt, the prime minister’s [i.e. Tony Blair’s] senior adviser on the subject, today.” (via the Guardian: “World set back 10 years by Bush’s new world order, says Blair aide” by Paul Brown [April […]
Posted by Ben on April 14, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/new-world-disorder/