Putting grammar back in grammar schools: A modest proposal

'Tis and 10 other fun proclitic words

Flying Saucers Comics

Painted Ships on Painted Oceans: an Accidental Map of the Doldrums - This is very cool.

Thousand-Year-Old Vineyards Found in Spain - Traces of ancient vineyards that date back 1,000 years were discovered in the terraced fields ( Read more... )

Queen Pardons Computer Pioneer Alan Turing - The UK’s treatment of Alan Turing was one of the great crimes of the 20th century. Of course, persecuting a war hero to death for being gay was the proper, moral thing to do at the time, consistent with conservative thought then and now. Which is why conservatives are always on the wrong side of history ( Read more... )

Nelson Mandela, hero of South Africa, dies at 95 - Sic transit gloria mundi.

United States, Israel opposed Mandela, supported Apartheid - The attempt to make Nelson Mandela respectable is an ongoing effort of Western government spokesmen and the Western media. He wasn’t respectable in the business circles of twentieth-century New York or Atlanta, ( Read more... )

As I mentioned yesterday, I am having issues with United Airlines. This first cropped up a while back, as discussed here: [ jlake.com | LiveJournal ]

This all goes back to my troubles trying to get to this year's World Fantasy Convention in Brighton. (I have discussed some of this previously here on the blog.) Last summer, I tried to book plane ( Read more... )

Novelist Error Messages - Hahahah. (Thanks to Lisa Costello.)

Where writers get their ideas - Hahah.

6 Modern Playgrounds to Make Your Inner Child Lose Its Mind - Some weird stuff. Hah. (Via ( Read more... )

FDA orders personal genetics company 23andMe to stop selling tests - Claims company ignored repeated efforts to get safety data and approval. Hmmm.

Mushrooms 'Make Wind' to Spread Spores - Fungus farts? Really?

How cool is the airplane of the future? - I miss the stratoliner.

Redefining the habitable zone: where should we look for life? - Desert ( Read more... )

We Are All Strange - The final video edit.

The 2014 John Picacio Calendar - A Kickstarter for a project of which I am a small part.

14 Ways to Tick off a Writer - Because reasons.

Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin rules out sharing Westeros - (Via Scrivener’s Error.)

★What are some of the funniest and most clever advertisements? - Heh ( Read more... )

How Did @#$%&! Come to Represent Profanity? - The grawlix! (Via Daily Idioms, Annotated.)

Somebody Should Write about Those Conscientious Objectors - A bit of Oregon history. (Via David Goldman.)

The Remarkable Dinosaur Footprint Wall - Wow. This is seriously cool. (Thanks to Lisa Costello.)

'3D printed gun' discovered by police - Police have ( Read more... )

This past Sunday, one of Lisa's elderly parents had a serious medical emergency. Not life-threatening as it turns out, but absolutely life-changing in the way of difficult eldering. Other relatives stepped forward to respond with immediate help, but Lisa needs to fly to Maryland next week to help with the necessary but difficult lifestyle ( Read more... )

Lisa Costello and I continue to prepare for heading back to Maryland next week to aid her family there. The logistics of cancelling our trip to WFC in the UK have become nightmarish and very expensive. United Airlines turned down my request for a compassionate refund with no explanation. @united says they're reviewing the case. I am also getting a ( Read more... )