Matt Ruff's Blog, page 60

Now that I've watched the Whale Wars season finale

I really want to see the companion reality series, that tells the story from the POV of the Japanese whalers.

(I'm guessing that'd be more of a Discovery Channel show than an Animal Planet show.)

Things we said while we watched Caprica

Lisa: So did this air on TV? Did we miss it?
Me: We might have missed it. We were so sick of the Battlestar Galactica franchise after that last season... Oh look, topless women dancing and making out!
Lisa: OK, I guess it didn't air on TV. At least not this version. [Several minutes later:] Do you understand what's going on?
Me: Not really, no. I mean, I've got no clue about the virtual twin thing. I think the teens-misbehaving-in-cyberspace thing is meant to show that Caprican society has become d

For those of you wondering what Senator McCain has been up to lately

Via Talking Points Memo, John McCain tweets:

'Late evening with Col. Qadhafi at his "ranch" in Libya - interesting meeting with an interesting man.'

Saving the newspaper industry, one bottle at a time

Expanding on its strategy to raise extra cash by selling granite drink coasters etched with crossword puzzles, the New York Times is starting a wine club for subscribers:

The new venture, called The New York Times Wine Club, will offer members a selection of wines at two price levels, $90 or $180 per six-bottle shipment, and customers can choose to have wine delivered every one, two or three months.

The club, an unusual brand extension for the paper, is one of several such ventures the company is

White House unveils death panel

After a week of unconvincing denials, the Obama administration reversed course today and released photos of the "death panel" that would, under a proposed new health-care system, make decisions about "when to pull the plug on grandma":

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Asked for a public comment, Trixie (second from left) said: "Fear me, Stephen Hawking!"

Neil Gaiman's "The Graveyard Book" wins Victor Hugo award

Gaiman will receive the traditional Quasimodo statue and complementary tickets to Les Misérables. Congrats to him and all the other Hugo winners.

Honduran crack dealers love the taste of squirrel

Mmm, squirrel.

The 2010 Festival of Faith & Writing

An early heads up, for those of you in the vicinity of Grand Rapids, Michigan: I've been invited to be a guest speaker at the Calvin College Festival of Faith & Writing, which takes place April 15-17, 2010. I have no idea what I'll be talking about yet, but I suspect my grandfather's adventures in the Brazilian jungle will figure into it somehow.

Also, next month I'll be giving a reading at the main library in Everett. That'll be at 2 P.M. on Sunday, September 20.

Here's hoping I look this good in 2077

Via Andrew Sullivan, this is the face of Walter Breuning, born Sept. 21, 1896, currently the oldest man in the world:

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Pretty spry-looking for 112.

Although Breuning is the oldest living man, he's not the oldest living person. That honor goes, for the moment, to 115-year-old Gertrude Baines:

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And as long as we're on the subject, the fifth-oldest person in the world, Neva Morris, will be turning 114 a week from tomorrow. Happy birthday, Neva.

Don't mind me, I'm just buying Nick Mamatas some lunch

James Joyce. James Joyce. James Joyce. James Joyce. James Joyce.
James Joyce. James Joyce. James Joyce. James Joyce. James Joyce.
James Joyce. James Joyce. James Joyce. James Joyce. James Joyce.
James Joyce. James Joyce. James Joyce. James Joyce. James Joyce.