Proverbs 18:22

Now, I don't want to suggest that everyone everywhere ought/must get married. Clearly that isn't the case. But I was very much struck by this book review of a book about the "virtues" of living a single life. The idea that such a choice should be a common one and one to be celebrated simply because it leaves one more time for the frivolous pastimes of this modern life is ridiculous. There has long been a place in Western societies for the single individual, but this was almost always because they were devoting themselves to a great purpose.

Most commonly, of course, are monks and nuns. Men and women who forego family life in order to devote themselves to the worship and service of God. The book, however, argues that one ought to consider singleness simply because it leaves you time to go to the movies of an evening and more free time to raid with your guild in World of Warcraft.

Of course people generally ought to get married and have kids. It's a bizarre notion to contend otherwise and no one has ever thought differently until very recently. It wasn't just kings and nobles who worried about having an heir, even the common folk wanted to have someone to whom they could pass their name.

In the end, of course, there's no real reason to get too terribly worked up about this, because like any movement that discourages its adherents from reproducing, it has trouble persisting for more than a couple generations. But it's worthwhile to sound the warning while it lasts.

You are not your dog's mother.

You know what really bugs me? When people refer to their pets as their children. I know, I know. They just think it's "cute". They'll tell you it's because they wuv the little wascal so, so, so much!

Balderdash. Not to say, bushwah.

It's ridiculous. Whatever it is, it is not your child. You can love your dog, but why would you deliberately conflate them with a human being? If you have kids (whether they exist actually or potentially) what kind of message does that send to them? "Love ya, son, but no more than the hound." If you had to choose which to carry out of your burning house, would you hesitate? Because that's what you're saying. Every time you say that you are your pet's parent, you're telling the world that it would get all Sophie's Choice up ins should you have to choose between them and your actual offspring.

Shame on you. Can't you express your affection for your pet without that kind of unthinking, imbecilic equivalence? If you can't, then I'm forced to conclude you're far more inarticulate than those fools who can only emphasize things with vulgarities and profanities.

Monday Movie Reviews #1: Primer

Hopefully this will be the first of many installments. I'd like to create a regular feature or two for this blog along with the random posts on random topics. Mostly because. But also because the few folks who read the blog might appreciate it. So here we go.

That's so meta

I dislike the term "meta". It's one of those annoying internet words like "leet" except that meta found a greater purchase in society at large and we seem to be stuck with it for the foreseeable future. But, though I dislike the term, I am not always averse to experiences with the concept. I was reminded of this strongly yesternight as I read to my elder daughter.

We've been (slowly) working our way through the oeuvre of Edward Eager and have just begun his seventh, and last, book Seven-Day Magic. I don't think I'll be giving too much plot away to note that it hinges on the discovery of a magic book. The book is introduced to the readers and to the characters by having them begin to read it and find that it describes them and their finding of that self-same book. The words it uses are the same as are used to start the real-life book that Edward Eager wrote.

I vividly remember reading this for the first time as a child and being awestruck that one could write a book like this. The idea that it could reference itself in such a way was a revelation to me about the ways in which an author could present his story. Not to mention, it's a pretty good book; not Eager's best, but not his worst either.

imprimatur, n.

 1. The formula (= ‘let it be printed’), signed by an official licenser of the press, authorizing the printing of a book; hence as n. an official license to print.
Now (in Great Britain and U.S.) only in works officially sanctioned by the Roman Catholic Church.

2. fig. Commendatory license, sanction.

3. Used confusedly = imprint n. 3

Such a fun and useful word. It's no longer easily recognizable because the original sense hasn't been needed in English-speaking countries for years and years. It's similar in that regard to "ukase"; another wonderful word that our open, free society doesn't provide too many opportunities to employ.

Many Happy Returns

"Well, I'm back" to coin a phrase.

More late than mid-June, but as promised. Various family members have concluded their visits and returned to the lands from whence they came, my son and heir is now six weeks old and sleeping up to 5 hours at a go, so the sleep deprivation of his parents is less severe than initially. Plus, now that my mom is gone, I can drink beer again without being lectured. That first Obsidian Stout was so good.

I still have grand plans, and now that work is settling down a bit (actually taking a day off!) I might be able to put some of them into practice.

Posting should resume at something like regular intervals, at any rate.

They've Gone Plaid!

I'm not sure how they come up with some of the benchmarks, but here's a way to check your reading speed and compare it to various (generic) folks. I don't recall the exact figure when I did it, but it was 500-something. A little more than double the "average". Anyway, kind of a fun little toy.

EDIT: Oh, and this is post 200 on this blog. Huzzah.

Troubles

Work has been very demanding the past week or so and augurs to continue in the same vein for the next month. I've got big plans for some things I'd like to post, but I don't know that I'll get to things that require thought and composition any time soon.

Also, new baby, mother-in-law visiting and my mom arrives tomorrow with my dad joining her next week, so I'm sure I'll be taken up with family for a while too. I'll continue to check in and post odds and ends, but check back mid to late June for more serious stuff.