Bart King's Blog, page 190

"Cute" review?

This month's issue of the School Library Journal has a kind review of Cute! A Guide to All Things Adorable :

King examines "cute" in American culture—from baby
animals to shiny objects and all manner of adorable things in between. [This
is] a well-researched look at what people find so appealing and why . . .
Filled with fun facts and interesting tidbits, this is a title that tweens and
teens are sure to flip through again and again. It's just the kind of book
girls will flock to in their libraries and media centers.

The Honesty Bookshop

Yep, it's real. (By never meant to see.)

Neil DeGrasse Tyson is cool. The End.

You know what's great about Portland? Me.

Here in Portland, we have a mayor's race underway. One of the candidates is Charlie Hales, a gentleman who has an essay in today's Oregonian. (His article is in response to a previous opinion piece by Dave Lister.) Hales' essay starts this way:

Like many readers, I was disappointed, if not surprised, by
Dave Lister's latest broadside attacking smart growth, transit, East Coast
transplants, urban renewal, bicycles, myself and most other things that are
great about Portland.

Did you see that? By using the word "myself" at the end of the list of things that are great about Portland, Mr. Hales has explicitly stated that HE is one of the things that is great about Portland!




I love it. I also think this is a fine campaign slogan:

Charlie Hales: One of the great things about Portland.

Addendum: I'm voting for Hales. Seriously. Not because of this, though.



Addendum II: It's official.

Now THAT'S a headline.

As you can see, a stolen bench was found in a shed. Case CLOSED.

(Story here, photo here, via.)

Wait, you mean it could have been AVOIDED?

Avoidance of Baldness...and of some defects, namely nearsightedness is a fine idea for a book. Clearly, baldness and eyesight are linked. After all, they're both located in the head.



Also, I love the subtitle:

How an engineer overcame baldness and how anyone may do so easily too




(Via!)

Only ONE thing can stop Dracula...

That hideous floral lamp!

Via Rex Parker. 

Sometimes a Bad Book Idea Can't Be Stopped

Dr. Seuss's character, the Lorax, "speaks for the trees." So the timber industry
financed a rebuttal book: Truax. It stars a fanatical "protector of
trees" (named Guardbark) who gets lectured about natural resources by a
lumberjack. 






The book features the immortal line: "How far will we go? How
much will we pay? To keep a few minnows from dying away?"
























Full pdf of Truax here. Tip via Mental Floss.

Well done, sir.

Something about this deal is making me "uneasy".

Via.