Journal of Post-Ralphaelite Thought

I just learned today that my old friend and occasional debating partner, The Whited Sepulchre  has been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor of some type, and is scheduled to undergo brain surgery on Friday. From what he and others have said on Facebook (I hate that Facebook is now a venue for this sort of thing) the prognosis isn't particularly rosy, but I refuse to reflect on what that could mean. I saw him last Sunday after church from across the sanctuary; I hadn't seen him there in quite some time so I pushed through the exiting throng to say hello. It struck me at the time that he didn't seem quite himself...a little more subdued than usual. He mentioned a writing project he was thinking about starting then we agreed that we needed to get together and do some pickin' and grinnin' again in the near future and then parted. Today I saw a friend post something about his upcoming surgery and I was struck dumb. We didn't always agree (read: rarely)  but we alw...

It's true: of late I've taken to hanging out in a bar on Sunday afternoons. Wait, I'll explain: my friend and occasional debating partner, The Whited Sepulchre , has organized an acoustic guitar circle that meets on Sunday afternoons in The Corporate Image , a rather unpretentious watering hole over on the east side of Fort Worth. I'm not sure if the name of this place is supposed to be ironic or not, but the bartender is friendly and more than appreciative of our musical musings. We've done this about 4 Sundays now. It's great fun. There's four of us who could be called regulars and there's enough overlap in repertoire and musical taste that we all manage to play along, no matter who actually starts any given song. I borrowed a collection of harmonicas from youngest son and add a little harp when appropriate (or I can't figure out anything else to do). The Whited Sepulchre, by the way, is a natural for this -- he's quite a guitar player...

We are defined by our habits and god knows I'm a creature of habit. There are certain websites I go to almost daily, for information and entertainment. In no particular order, here's my daily reading list. This will go a long way to explaining why I hold the peculiar opinions that I do. Slashdot.org   "News for Nerds, Stuff that Matters," is their tagline. Where else can you read about programming, intellectual property law, the latest video game or the politics of anti-terrorism?  The stories are good, but the reader comments are where the real fun is. Geek cred at Slashdot can in part be determined by how low your user ID is (indicating how long you've had an account): mine is in the low 70,000's; account numbers are now in the millions range. Comics Curmudgeon Every few days Josh Fruhlinger waxes eloquently about ... oh hell, he waxes snarkily , about the daily funny pages. He spares no one. His favorites are the "soap opera" strips like Mar...

I remember reading Margery Williams' classic The Velveteen Rabbit to my kids when they were little. They are now young adults. If you've never read the book, get a copy, and find a kid to read it to. It is a subtle and beautiful work. I still can't read it out loud without getting choked up. But that's just me. "What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?" "Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real." "Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit. "Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt." "Does it hap...

Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah/Cozy Kwanzaa/Saturnalia/Solstice to all who put up with my nonsense and lunatic prattling. It's been an interesting year, eh? A holiday shout out to several of my blogging buddies, who, though I don't always agree with, have become good friends. This includes the Whited Sepulchre , TarrantLibertyGuy, Browncoat Libertarian and Stephen Smith . Proof you can disagree without being disagreeable. A special shout as well to my old friend Dan , who I've known since 5th grade and who writes much better than I and has led a much more interesting life as well.

Now for something completely different...a report on California fans of the Tour de France, as reported by Dan Brekke on San Francisco NPR station KQED. Why, you may be asking. Simple, really. Dan is old high school buddy of mine. I last saw him on his way to San Francisco, when I lived in beautiful Isla Vista. This was about 1979. Although Dan and I email periodically, it was fun hearing his voice. His blog, Infospigot , is worth a read, and a damned good counterbalance to all this Libertarian wackiness I find myself surrounded by of late.