when genres collide

ELENDIL THE TALL, son of Amandil, Lord of Andúnië, became leader of the Faithful upon his father's desperate mission to the uttermost West. In seven ships the remnant fled the wrack of Númenór, and were cast upon the shores of... [read more]

famous

I—or rather my feet—have been immortalized in the Foot Fetishist's Guide to the Blogosphere. The backdrop of the Witch-king of Angmar was Jeff's inspiration. Disclaimers: Not Birkenstocks. Børn. Birks are for Volvo-drivers, what with their pansy-soft rubber soles and... [read more]

trick or treat

An unidentified volunteer hands out pill boxes with the Kerry-Edwards logo on them before a rally for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry Monday, Oct. 18, 2004 at the Century Village retirement community in West Palm Beach, Fla. Note also:... [read more]

"A blog about the most important issue of all time, ever"

I should warn that reading too much of this site will have a deleterious effect on your IQ. I think mine plunged about twenty points in as many minutes. It was fun, though. Thankfully, Rand Simberg was not referring to... [read more]

footprints (and other musings)

Thirty-five years ago today Apollo 11 touched down on the lunar surface. The image above is one of the most famous of that mission; the footprint belongs to Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the Moon. I... [read more]

gnostic trivial pursuit

My good friend Tim Collins is a man of many talents: physicist, scholar, and occasional artist. Unfortunately, although his cartoon page is available, the image files currently are not. But his collection of quotes is worth the visit. If... [read more]

globalization and jihad

I grabbed this picture from Drudge. The man behind the mask is presumably one of al-Sadr's “Mahdi Army” thugs. No deeper metaphor, really: I just found it odd. “Just Do It”?... [read more]

postscripts

A few miscellaneous updates. Last week I had a some choice words about the flag of Nunavut. Andrew Stuttaford of The Corner does one better, linking to this site which rates the flags of the world on aesthetic grounds. I... [read more]

bitterness

Yesterday my good friend Dean sent a link to despair.com. One good turn deserves another, so I'm passing it along. Here's one of my favorite images: Also not to be missed: Mistakes and Fear. (But if you're at all depressed,... [read more]

this could explain a lot

Via Instapundit comes a lovely bit of trivia from the world of science: One third of Britons carry the toxoplasma parasite in their brain. Its natural home is the cat and it's spread in cats' faeces. It can be picked... [read more]

is mithril yttrium silver?

TORn's Green Books presents the latest in an occasional series on the science of Middle-earth. I actually learned a little something about metallurgy: It so happens that there is a class of chemical compounds called “intermetallics.” Like alloys, intermetallics consist... [read more]