Occasional musings from a Left-coast Canadian ExPat in Oxford.
When I came home from work today, my roommate informed me there were a couple message on the machine for me. Nothing unusual. He hung around as I listened to them, which isn’t odd in and of itself, though I soon realized why. Message 1: Someone wanting to come by and view the room for … Continue reading Is Nothing Sacred?!?!?
Apparently when they say “don’t overheat the magic bag” they aren’t kidding. I tossed mine in the microwave for about 6 minutes (instructions recommend 2 minutes max) figuring it’d just be really hot when it came out. Apparently if you do that, they will burn. It didn’t start on fire, but now the entire apartment … Continue reading Toast
As I lay in bed last night, with the bowl of dry cereal on my chest, using my chin to tip dry Special K into my gaping maw, I felt a wee twinge when Darren Barefoot mentioned that he was doing the 30 Hour Famine to help support 3rd world children who don’t have Special … Continue reading Starvination
And I feel fine. If you ever contemplated or worried about the destruction of the earth, Sam is here to tell you it’s really, really difficult to do. The entire body of research is a bit long, though worth reading. But if you’re pressed for time, at least check out the section of things that … Continue reading It’s the End of the World as we Know it
Go watch this. Take the 8 minutes. It’s the closest you’ll come to watching your life flash before your eyes without actually dying. http://oak.psych.gatech.edu/~epic/ UPDATE: (10:03pm) Now that the glow has worn off, it seems that after re-reading my description above, I was perhaps a bit overenthusiastic about the significance of the piece. I can’t … Continue reading Go Here Now
Via Metafilter, we find an in-depth analysis of the lyrical stylings of Jon Bon Jovi. I probably take more pleasure in reading this than I should, but Bed of Roses was my first ever slow dance with a boy (Shaun Cudney – are you out there somewhere?). Every time I hear it, I’m momentarily transported … Continue reading French Kiss the Morning
Received this in my email today and just had to share: A Spanish teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine. ”House” for instance, is feminine: ”la casa.” ”Pencil,” however, is masculine: “el lapiz.” A student asked, ”What gender is ‘computer’?” Instead of giving … Continue reading Mr. Computer